Archive of Our Own ^beta

The second Reaper stepped into the warehouse he knew he’d been set up.

He stilled, waiting in the shadow of the doorway for a sign of movement. He allowed himself to mist slightly, the edges of his figure blurring. Listening hard, he heard, faintly, the sound of radio feedback and then a slight rustling of movement to his upper right.

He disintegrated quickly, using a draft to whirl up through the metal grated floor and onto the crosswalk above him. Reaper touched down silently, glancing around carefully. There was no one.

Reaper’s eyes narrowed and he froze, hearing something click in the distance. Instantly, he disintegrated again, narrowly missing a bullet aimed straight for his head. He hissed lowly, floating along the walkway. He knew the sniper’s eyes were on him by the way his skin prickled, by the way his molecules thrummed with anticipation.

Reaper hadn’t expected much from this lead, it had been small enough, but this...This was on a new level. He couldn’t tell who the sniper was working for, couldn’t even see them, for god’s sake.

A bullet whizzed through his smoke, making a hole for a brief second, before his body misted over again and stopped moving.

A warning shot.

Reaper’s eyes jumped from shadow to shadow, checking each one for hints of an attacker and, aggravatingly, finding none. He growled and started moving again, carefully keeping watch for movement. The warehouse was completely still.

What the fuck.

Reaper couldn’t tell where the sniper was and it was...strange. Normally he could sense someone's life force from a mile away but here...there was nothing.

A light flickered down on the ground floor and Reaper zeroed in on it, eyes narrowing.

Before he could even identify where the flicker had come from, a burst of white light flooded the warehouse. Reaper’s arm went up to block the burning brightness from his eyes instinctively and something bit into his shoulder. He took a sharp breath, realizing that, in his surprise, he had materialized. He glanced at his shoulder and hissed. It hadn’t been a bullet that got him, either, it had been a vial.

A tranquilizer maybe? He didn’t know, but it didn’t really matter either. Reaper reached up and yanked the needle out of his shoulder with a huff, frowning in annoyance. He could deal with a tranq for a little longer than the average human, he had time to escape.

It was that exact moment when he noticed something was really wrong.

His limbs were...incredibly heavy. He felt woozy, the world spinning a little bit, but the worst thing was that he couldn’t desolidify. He stayed whole no matter how hard he tried. Reaper growled, realizing that the vial of something wasn’t actually a tranq at all.

He wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, but his mind was screaming at him that this was bad . Really, really bad .

The sudden heaviness of his limbs caused Reaper to stumble backwards, giving his attackers an opportunity.

A series of gunshots sounded, bullets ripping through his right side, tearing through his armor and into his shoulder. Reaper hissed, barely holding back a pained scream. He yanked out his gun with his left hand and fired in the direction the bullets were coming from.

He missed, obviously, but his gun didn’t stop shooting. He started moving, ignoring the searing pain in his right side, running through the catwalk and shooting in the general direction of the sniper.

A new gun Reaper hadn’t noticed before started to shoot from somewhere behind him and, this time, he couldn’t hold his scream back. Bullets rained from all directions, tearing through him.

Dully, Reaper’s brain registered that something was seriously wrong with him, and it wasn’t just the chemicals from the vial. A bullet hit his leg and he collapsed, hitting the metal of the walkway with a clang. He looked down and blinked, oddly detached, at the damage on his body.

He was riddled with bullets, his blood pouring out through the holes in his armor. He swallowed, brain slowing down.

He howled as another round of bullets bit into him, using the force to hunch forward.

Except his right arm didn’t come with him. He looked at it and it took a second for him to realize that his arm was gone .

There was nothing but a bloody stump where it had been.

It had been shot off.

Reaper knew that he wasn’t going to die but nothing could stop the rush of primal fear coursing through his desperate mind as he stared at the ragged hole above where his elbow should be. Vaguely, he knew that he would regenerate his arm and that he would be fine in a week or two, but the pain was so intense that he was starting to lose his mind. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He felt like he was dying.

A flash of bright light and a thump caused him to look up slowly, and Reaper realized that the warehouse had suddenly gone eerily silent, his labored breathing the only sound. The ground spun below him and he struggled to his feet, stumbling. He needed to leave, and quickly, while there weren’t any bullets cutting into him.

Reaper took one step and his leg gave out from underneath him. He tumbled forward, reaching out to grab the railing to keep himself from falling any farther, forgetting for a crucial second that the arm he needed was gone. He kept going, unable to stop his own momentum.

And then the world came rushing back and Reaper fell over the edge of the catwalk and plummeted to the ground below.

He hit the ground with a loud crack, something snapping within his body. He lay still, unable to bring himself to move any more. Everything hurt and he was just... tired.  

Exhaustion hit him in waves, his mind unable to keep up with the mess of thoughts running through his head. His eyes slid shut tiredly and he struggled to stay awake.

Reaper heard, distantly, the sound of someone walking towards him. He heaved, coughing up blood and gunk from his (most likely) punctured lung.

Words were being spoken to him, but Reaper couldn’t make them out, his head foggy from pain.

He opened his eyes, head lolling back to look up at whoever had come for him. He registered blue and red and something bright shining into his eyes. He felt fingers on his mask and shrank back, letting out a pained moan in resistance. The fingers were insistent, though, and Reaper was losing his will to move at all. He let them hook under his mask and pull, and he blinked tiredly in the bright light as his face and identity was exposed. Reaper was fighting to stay conscious at this point.

He was losing, badly.

The moment before blackness overtook his vision, he heard someone speak, the words incredibly clear despite his struggle to keep himself from passing out.

“Gabriel…?”

Reaper drifted in and out of consciousness, barely keeping himself breathing. He hurt. Everywhere. He knew, vaguely, that he needed to let his body heal, but he felt trapped in the darkness behind his eyelids, didn’t like the feeling of helplessness at all, so he fought it. He fought to wake up.

He had registered a form sitting beside him at one point, red and blue swimming in his vision.

He felt hands on him too, the tightness in his chest easing slightly. It felt familiar, calming, fingers ghosting across his chest. He shifted slightly and the pain cause him to fade back into the black.

When he regained consciousness again, he was alone. Reaper moved his head slightly and a shooting pain raced up his spine, but, this time, he stayed awake, gritting his teeth.

He blinked, testing how much he could move despite the ache in his bones. Quickly, he determined that he could probably move half an inch before passing out from exertion. He wasn’t willing to try it out and hurt himself, so he stayed put.

He struggled to keep his eyes open, focusing on the white ceiling above him. It was speckled with peeling paint and water stains, and Reaper turned his head slightly to take in the rest of the room.

It looked pretty dingy, just an unkempt room with shitty wallpaper and a dirty rug.

The only furniture that was in the room was a rotting dresser, the bed Reaper was on and a wooden chair pulled up next to him. There was a door on the other side of the room, half cracked open, and he vaguely made out a dim light coming from behind it.

He didn’t know where he was, his brain too fogged up still for him to think straight, and he didn’t really care either. He didn’t have the capacity to care at this point, his entire mind overtaken by his injuries.

Suddenly he realized that his mask was gone, having been too preoccupied with staying conscious to notice this earlier. He growled lowly, wincing. Whoever had helped him probably got a good look at his fucked up face and...Gabe squeezed his eyes shut. It didn’t matter, it was too late already.

He sighed, moving his arm to touch his cheek. It never came, nothing but air where his fingers should have been.

Reaper looked at what was left of his right arm and felt ill.

“Oh god.”

He turned onto his side, ignoring the pain of moving, leaning over the edge of the bed to retch violently. He heard footsteps approach quickly and the door open.

Reaper dry heaved, unknown hands coming up and touching his back gently, avoiding his wounds with care.

It was only when Reaper collapsed from exhaustion that he realized he’d been crying. A cloth wiped at his face softly and he shivered at the touch, eyes opening slowly. It took him a second to realize that he wasn’t looking at a face, but instead a mask.

He blinked slowly, squinting to try and make out more details of the mask. It was metal face piece with an orange visor and something nagged him that this was familiar , that he ought to know what he was looking at, but he couldn’t place it.

Reaper shuddered painfully as the person wearing the mask moved him slowly, rolling him gently back to where he’d been before, hands still soft and careful on him.

Reaper made a small noise of pain, and the hands stilled briefly, before continuing their movements.

“Sleep, Gabe.” He heard someone shush him gently. “You need it.”

The use of his name didn’t phase him in his exhausted state, it just made him feel...calmer, somehow. He felt his body relax and let out a quiet breath, already drifting out of consciousness.

He felt fingers trace the planes of his face and closed his eyes.

The next time Gabriel Reyes woke up, he felt significantly better. He was still in incredible amounts of pain, but it was a lot less than it had been before. He could make out the ceiling without having to concentrate too hard, and his body stopped fighting each breath he took.

His stomach still tried to kill him when he thought about his arm, and he could barely bring himself to move more than half a foot, which was better than before, but still. It sucked.

He laid there for a long time, concentrating on counting the holes in the ceiling to keep himself from passing out again.

The door opened and Gabe slowly looked over. He felt his heart hammer in his chest and he hissed in alarm.

“You’re awake.” Solider 76 said simply, ignoring Gabe’s obvious surprise that he had saved him, walking over. Gabe registered that he was holding something in his hands. It was a bowl of food, he guessed from the smell. His stomach gave a harsh growl and Soldier 76 snorted, sitting down in the wooden chair next to the bed.

“Hungry? I thought you would be. It’s been four days.”

Gabe jerked in surprise, the movement triggering a sharp pain shooting through his body.

“Hey, hey, hey…” Soldier 76 placed the bowl on the ground, hands coming up to steady Gabe, his voice stern. “Don’t go passing out on me again, I made some food for you.”

He waited until Gabe’s breathing evened out before picking up the bowl again.

“Open your mouth.” He ordered and Gabe looked at him, confused.

“What?” Soldier 76 snapped. “Did you think you were gonna eat this by yourself? Jeez, don’t be stupid.”

Gabe growled lowly, but opened his mouth anyway. He didn't like this but...he was incredibly hungry, after all, and he wasn’t about to turn down a meal for the price of his ego.

Soldier 76 scooped something out of the bowl and pushed the spoon into Gabe’s mouth gently. He snorted as Gabe stills in surprise, the taste of good food making him practically delirious, it had been so long since he’d eaten.

Gabe finished the bowl off in no time, his stomach’s growling sated somewhat. Soldier 76 pulled back, shaking his head when Gabe looked at him, reading his mind.

“No more or you’ll get sick.” He told Gabe, standing up slowly, stretching his joints.

Gabe made an annoyed sound and Soldier 76 laughed softly.

“I’ll be back soon. Try not to fall asleep.”

Gabe watched as Soldier 76 turned away and out the door, straining his ears to follow the man when he could no longer be seen.

The sound of water running and dishes clicking together reached Gabe and he settled into a half awake state, listening to Soldier 76 clean up with a detached sense of calmness.

He didn’t know why he was here, he didn’t know how Soldier 76 knew his name, Gabe didn’t even know why he was in the man’s home in the first place. He must have saved Reaper back in the warehouse...but why?

Memories of what happened rushed back to him and he hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. Gabe still wasn’t sure of what had actually happened that had put him into his current situation, he had no idea who had set him up in the first place. He shifted slightly, settling into the mattress, and a bolt of pain raced up what was left of his missing arm. He grimaced and tried to ignore the sick twist in his stomach. He hated this.

A thought occurred to Gabe and his eyes snapped open, confusion evident in his sharp intake of breath.

Why hadn’t he reformed yet? Normally it took him a minute to heal from bullet wounds, and, though he hasn’t regrown a limb before, it shouldn’t have taken this long to get his arm back. Soldier 76 had told him that he’d been out for four days, too. Something was wrong, way worse than he’d even originally thought. Gabe’s wounds were terrible, he was in constant pain, and...now this too? He couldn’t even disintegrate, not even a little bit. He growled at the empty room, frustration flooding his body.

Why had this happened?

Gabe was interrupted from his thoughts by the door opening and Soldier 76 walking through, humming a song that was vaguely familiar.

“How are you feelin’?” He asked, plopping down on the wooden chair and leaning back comfortably.

“Not...good.” Gabe’s voice was rough, rougher than usual, and sounded broken. He could barely speak, it had been so long since he’d used his vocal chords. He turned away as his voice caused him to descend into a coughing fit, the sound painful, and Gabe breathed hard to regain his composure.

“Easy…” Soldier 76 leaned forward, hand hovering near Gabe’s heaving chest, as if he was unsure of whether or not he could touch him, now that Gabe was awake and all.

His hacking eased slowly and he turned his head back towards Soldier, significantly more tired than before.

There was a brief silence where they just looked at each other, before Gabe turned away and stared at the ceiling instead.

“Why am I here…?” He asked, voice whispery and barely audible.

“Because you needed help.” 76 shrugged, leaning back again. “I know you probably wouldn’t have done the same for me but...I figured that because Talon wanted you dead, that put you and I on the same team. You know that old phrase? An enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine?”

Gabe frowned.

“That was Talon?”

76 nodded, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Fuck.” Gabe growled out, gritting his teeth.

76 laughed quietly, shaking his head.
“Yeah. Though there’s not much you can do now. You’re just gonna have to sit tight and heal.”

They descended into silence for a second or two, but it was somehow vaguely comfortable. 76 uncrossed his arms, studying Gabe through his visor.

“What happened back there?” he asked after a pause, voice questioning.

Gabe sighed quietly, shaking his head minutely.

“I don’t know.” he growled, his voice frustrated. “It was supposed to be an easy job, but I walked into the warehouse and it...felt wrong. There was no life force or anything, no signs of another human being in the area, just silence. I never figured out where the shooter was, either. There weren’t any hints I could pick up about them, nothing at all. The first shot was a warning, and then the second was a vial of... something… and then the bullets came.”

Gabe shrugged slowly, trying not to hurt himself.

“A vial?” 76 leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees.

Gabe blinked, trying to remember what had happened after he’d gotten shot with it.
“I thought it was a tranq at first. It made my limbs heavy and my brain slow and then...I couldn’t dematerialize anymore. That’s how they were able to shoot me in the first place.”

76 tilted his head, thinking.
“That’s probably why you haven’t healed yet.”

Gabe looked at him, frowning.

“The vial must have had something in it that slowed your body down, kept you solid and kept you from regenerating.” He shook his head, leaning back again. “That must be why.”

Gabe nodded. It made sense.

“What happens now?” he asked slowly.

76 shrugged again.
“Beats me. We’re probably gonna have to wait until it passes through your system which...might take awhile? I have no idea.”

Gabe grunted and 76 laughed.
“Yeah, yeah, get over it. It’s not like you can get up and leave anyway.”

He stood, stretching his arms above his head and cracking his back.
“You should sleep.” he told Gabe, stepping away from the bed and towards the door. “You’re probably really tired.”
Exhaustion washed over Gabe like a wave at 76’s reminder, and he nodded. 76 made his way to the door and, right before he left, Gabe spoke up again.
“Hey, uh…” he called quietly. 76 paused, looking back over at him over his shoulder. “How do you know my name?”

76 was quiet for a second, before shaking his head.
“Ask me again some other time.” He told him, turning back and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him gently.

Gabe stared at the doorknob for a long time, watching it just in case 76 would come back in.

He didn’t, and, after a while, Gabe fell into a restless sleep.

He dreamed of fire, a searing pain racing up his legs, flames licking at his lower body, and screaming.

The pain was intense, like nothing he’d ever felt before. He ran as fast as he could, not looking where he was going, just trying to get as far away from the fire as possible.

He tripped over something and fell hard, face down into the floor. He tried to get up, tried his hardest to push himself off of the ground, but he couldn’t, it was like an incredible pressure was holding him down.

He looked up at his surroundings and his eyes widened. He was in a place he hadn’t see in a lifetime, a place he’d never thought he’d see again. Overwatch HQ was gone, the building had fallen along with him and...

He heard his name whispered in his ear and he jerked away, head falling back to see who was next to him.

Jack , he said softly, pain making his voice weak.

This is your fault. Jack told him, anger in his eyes. Because of you I’m dead . How could you do that to me?

Gabe shook his head quickly, tears welling in his eyes and falling down his cheeks.

I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! He pleaded, reaching out towards Jack with his hand. When he made contact, Jack screamed, Gabe’s touch burning his skin.

Stop! Jack yanked himself back, eyes wild. All you do is hurt me!

No, please, Gabe howled, tears pouring down his face. I didn’t mean to hurt you, please believe me, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!

Jack stepped back, cradling his burned arm. A red spot appeared in his shirt and it grew in size until Gabe recognized it as what it was: blood. It spread down his shirt, dripping from the hem onto the floor and he stumbled back, gripping his chest.

You did this. Jack hissed, falling to his knees. You did this to me.

No... Gabe reached towards him, trying to drag his heavy body forward to get closer. Please, I’m sorry, please..

He heard his name being called somewhere in the distance, frantically. His head snapped around, looking for the source, confused. When he looked back to where Jack was, his body had disappeared. Gabe let out a broken noise, his shoulders falling. He let out a hollow sob, reaching out to the space where Jack had been.

He felt hands on his body, and the weight pressing down on him slowly disappeared. He heard his name again and then-

Gabe woke with a start, his breath hitching in his throat, eyes snapping open. He looked around wildly, quieting slightly when he saw he was no longer at the old HQ. Soldier 76 hovered over him, worry in his posture and in the way his hands shook. He was holding Gabe’s head in his hands gently, and he seemed to be speaking. The world came back to Gabe slowly, first the pain from his injuries, then the softness of the bed underneath him, the feeling of warmth from 76’s hands on his cheeks and finally the sound of his voice.

“Breathe, Gabe. In and out. In and out.”

Gabe tried to match his breathing with 76’s words but, after a second, his heart rate sped up again and he started hyperventilating, his left hand coming up to grip 76’s wrist tightly.

“I killed him,” Gabe gasped, staring up at 76 in horror as the contents of his dream rushed back.

“Killed who?” 76 wiped his tears away and Gabe realized he’d been crying. “Gabe, talk to me.”

Gabe stared at the ceiling, his voice hollow when he spoke.

“Jack…”

76 stilled.

“What do you mean…?” he asked slowly, fingers soft against Gabe’s face.

Gabe closed his eyes, wincing.
“I didn’t...want to hurt him.” he whispered hoarsely, his grip on 76’s wrist tightening. “But I did...I did.”

“Hey, hey,” 76 stroked his thumb across Gabe’s cheekbone. “Take some breaths, okay? Just breathe.” His voice was soothing and Gabe felt warmth spread through his body. He shook in 76’s hands, struggling to keep his breathing steady. Eventually, his heartbeat started to even out and he shuddered, incredibly tired.

Gabe opened his eyes, looking at 76 pleadingly.

“He’s dead because of me.” he whispered, broken.

76 laid his head back down on the pillow, grabbing a section of the sheet and wiping sweat from Gabe’s forehead.

“Is that what you were dreaming about?” 76 asked softly, hands tugging the sheet off of Gabe, exposing his torn up chest.

Gabe nodded slowly, watching as more and more of his mangled body was revealed. 76 pulled him up gently, so that his back rested against the wall and he was sitting up. Gabe grimaced but settled into the position easily, and 76 stopped pulling the sheets when they reached his hips. He tsked.

“You moved around too much when you were dreaming. I’m gonna have to redo these.” He gestured to the bloody bandages criss-crossing Gabe’s body with a sigh.

76 stood and stepped over to the dresser. He pulled out the top drawer and grabbed a first aid kit, snapping the clasps up and opening it quickly.

Gabe tried to still his shaking body, breath still coming in faster than normal, but he was no longer hyperventilating, which was good.

76 walked back over, dropping the kit onto the bed next to Gabe and sitting down on the edge, twisting his body so that he could see what he was doing. He snipped the dirty bandages off, revealing partially healed wounds and new scar tissue. Gabe watched in tired fascination as the man got to work, his fingers deft and gentle as he cleaned Gabe’s wounds.

He brushed his fingers over a particularly tender spot and Gabe hissed, wincing. 76 hummed soothingly and pulled out a roll of bandages, wrapping his wound with expertise. Gabe let himself relax partially, listening to the song 76 was humming and trying to place it.

It was so familiar...but he couldn’t think of why.

He closed his eyes, breathing through his nose as 76 moved to another wound and repeated the process. He felt calm, calmer than he’d ever felt before, which was incredibly surprising, since the person who was currently tending to his injuries had wanted him dead last week. His nightmare was already fading to the back of his mind. Not gone, but no longer his main thought. He didn’t know what had changed but, considering the fact that he was still even alive at this point, he was thankful.

He sighed softly to himself as 76’s hands ghosted up his chest, checking for any missed wounds in the area, before pulling back.

Gabe cracked open an eye, watching 76 stare at an old scar crossing his abdomen for a second too long. He looked at the soldier questioningly, but 76 just turned away and went back to cleaning Gabe’s wounds, this time on his arm. 76’s fingers were soft as he undid the bandages on what was left of his missing arm. He paused right before they came off all the way.

“You don’t have to look, you know.” 76 told him. “It’s pretty bad.”

Gabe shook his head resolutely, determined.

76 shrugged and removed the last of the bandages.

He’d been right; Gabe’s arm was a mess. The skin was ragged and an angry red, the end covered in stitches, some already broken from his sleep thrashing earlier. He felt his stomach twist, but Gabe didn’t look away, steeling himself instead. 76 tsked , clearly disappointed by the state of the stitches.

He pulled out a sterile needle and began to sew him back up, ignoring Gabe’s wince. The bite of the needle was surprisingly dull, though, as his senses had grown used to the feeling of pain, at least a little. The room descended into silence and Gabe let his head fall back onto the pillow, steadying his breath.

76 had just finished tying of the stitches when a knock sounded in the distance. He sat up and glanced at Gabe briefly before standing and making his way to the door.

“I’ll be...back.” He said softly, turning around and exiting the room. From afar, Gabe heard a door’s hinges squeak and the sounds of quiet greetings reached his ears. After a minute or two, 76’s voice grew louder, footsteps following him towards the room Gabe was in.

“He’s in here.”

Gabe tensed, not liking the tone in 76’s voice. He sounded mostly tired, but a tiny bit nervous too, and Gabe didn’t recognize the weight of the other person’s footsteps. The door opened.

“Jesus Christ Almighty.”

Gabe’s head snapped towards the door in surprise, his heart jumping in his throat.

“Jesse…” his voice was quiet, shocked.

The cowboy stood in the doorway, hand over his heart, as if shock alone would cause it to fail.

“You…” Jesse’s eyes flickered over Gabe’s exposed upper body, finally settling on his missing arm before staring at him angrily. “You lying son of a bitch.”

He didn’t give Gabe a chance to answer, instead clenching his fists and stalking forward.

“I was there when they buried you.” He hissed, eyes flashing. “You died.”

Jesse’s hands shook at his sides, anger making his breath uneven.

“All this time you were running around as Reaper and it never occurred to you to tell anyone?”

He collapsed onto the wooden chair next to Gabe’s bed and shook, leaning forward to cover his face with his calloused hands.

“Did it never occur to you to tell me? ” he asked hollowly, voice muffled through his fingers.

76 stood near the doorway, his arms crossed and his body language closed off. He watched Gabe with a certain type of tension in his shoulders.
“I…” Gabe started, starting to cough wetly when his voice caught in his chest. “After all the shit I pulled at Overwatch, even before Zurich, I couldn’t...show myself to anyone. I was too ashamed.” Gabe grimaced. “Part of me died that day, died along with Overwatch but...I’ve never had a second go by where I didn’t regret every action that brought me on this path.”

He breathed out shakily, looking away from the two other men in the room to keep his composure.

“The truth, though…” He spoke quietly to the wall. “is that I was just scared.”

He felt Jesse’s eyes on him, the admission making his chest tighten. Gabe had never said any of this out loud before, hadn’t even thought about it really, but now that the dam was open, the waters didn’t stop.

“I thought you never would want to see me again, that I would fuck up everything even more if I showed myself to you. I...I couldn’t lose you too, Jesse.”

Gabe shrugged, wincing from the pain in his shoulders.

“I don’t know if anything I say will make a difference, but it’s all true. I’m...I’m sorry.”

He felt both Jesse’s and 76’s eyes on him and he looked down at his hand in his lap. He clenched his fingers one at a time, testing his dexterity, trying to distract himself from the tension in the room.

“I don’t know whether to punch or kiss ya, Reyes.” Jesse mumbles, sighing lowly. Gabe looks at him finally, surprised. “I’m just...glad you’re still here.”

Jesse meets his eyes and he just looks so incredibly tired. Gabe couldn’t bring himself hold Jesse’s gaze for long, unable to handle the pressure in his eyes. He felt the guilt of everything he’d done pressing down against him.

He glances at 76, whose posture had relaxed somewhat, checking his reactions. He was leaning against the wall, watching the two of them with clear interest.

76 pushed himself off and stepped towards the bed, touching Jesse’s shoulder gently.
“I think that’s enough for now, Jesse. You have time to work things out later.” He glances at Gabe. “It’s dinnertime anyway.”

As if on cue, Gabe’s stomach growls and 76 snorts, turning away and heading to the kitchen.

“I made rice.” He calls over his shoulder as he exits, leaving Jesse and Gabe alone in the room. Gabe stares down at his hand awkwardly, feeling Jesse’s fierce eyes on him.

“What happened?” He asks, bitterly, after a long time, sitting back in the wooden chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “Why haven’t ya healed and run off yet?”

“I can’t.” Gabe sighs. “Talon pumped me full of chemicals that slowed down my-” he pauses, searching for the right word. “...Regeneration.”

Jesse raised his eyebrow.

“Talon? I thought you worked for them.”

“ With them.” Gabe corrected softly. “And I did, at least for a little bit. They’re the reason I’m in this state too, according to 76.”

Jesse looked at him weird and Gabe tilted his head questioningly.

“What?”

“76?”

Gabe blinked.

“What about him?”

Jesse’s eyes widened fractionally, but enough for Gabe to notice.
“ What ?” he frowned.

“Nothin’....” Jesse said after a second, shaking his head. “It’s nothin’.”

Gabe narrowed his eyes slightly, but didn’t press the issue. He had no right to.
Silence settled between them until 76 walked in, carrying three bowls of food.

He handed one to Jesse and sat himself on the edge of the bed, balancing another on his knee while he gave the last bowl to Gabe.

It was filled with rice and vegetables, steaming gently and warming Gabe’s hand through the side of the bowl. He stared down at it, stomach growling, but didn’t move for a long moment, just taking in the smells of the meal reverently.

He looked up at 76 and smiled softly.

“Thank you.” he said quietly, before taking his fork and digging in.

It smelled delicious, tasted even better, and that wasn’t just because Gabe hadn’t eaten solid food for almost a week. It was genuinely good, something that sated his hunger rather well considering his appetite. He savored it, the food being the best he’d eaten in a long time.

He’d grown used to shitty food over the years, he’d never had enough time or the right supplies to cook himself a meal, so he had learned to settle with whatever was put in front of him.

The room settled into a semi-comfortable silence as the three of them ate dinner, all too busy with food to speak.

Gabe was the first to finish, placing the bowl on the bed next to him and adjusting his body slightly to get more comfortable. He winced but tried his hardest not to make any pained noises, though it ran up his spine like a sharp knife.

Despite his best efforts, 76 glanced at him, concerned.

“I have pain killers, you know.” he said suddenly, turning to face Gabe. “They’ll help.”

Gabe swallowed, shaking his head slowly. “I’m...good.” he mumbled, unwilling to admit that he needed them.

“For God’s sake, Reyes,” Jesse growled, putting his bowl down on the floor. “Don’t be stupid, yer not even close ta good. Take the damn pills.”

Gabe huffed, knowing that Jesse was right, but not liking it.

“Fine.” he snapped, glaring at the cowboy.

76 snickered and stood, starting to walk to the dresser that he’d pulled the first aid kit from. This time, however, he produced a pill bottle and an unopened water bottle.

He snapped the lid off of the bottle and dumped the contents out on his palm. 76 picked out two and put the rest back, making his way back to the side of the bed.

He opened the water bottle and handed the pills to Gabe.

Gabe studies the nondescript pills with caution.

“What kinda pills are these…?” he asks, staring at them warily.

“A tranq and some ibuprofen. The first’ll put you right to sleep, and the second will kill the pain while you’re out.”

Gabe frowns at 76’s explanation but throws the pills back anyway, grimacing at their bad taste and taking a long drink of water to wash it all down.

Gabe nods to himself and lets his body relax, his left hand unclenching and laying slack next to his body.

76 guides him down onto his back so that he could sleep lying down, and Gabe thanks him softly, already feeling the effects of the meds weigh heavy on him.

His breathing starts to even out and it gets harder for him to keep his eyes open.

He blinks slowly and watches as Jesse gets up and follows 76 out, glancing back at Gabe once, before leaving.

Their voices carried sluggishly through the still open doorway but, in Gabe’s haze, he could barely make it out.

He strained his ears and listened.

“You’re not gonna tell him?” Jesse asked, his voice quiet and low and accusing.

“No.” 76 told him, voice firm. “Not now. I don’t know if he can handle this in his current state.”

He heard Jesse grumble something and 76 laughed quietly.

As Gabe fell asleep, 76’s laugh bounced around inside his skull and it felt...nice.

It felt familiar.

He didn’t dream that night.

Maybe it was the tranq, maybe it was the painkillers, maybe it was the fact that when Gabe woke up all he could think about was the way 76 laughed, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t feel sleepy anymore either. He barely felt tired.

Gabe breathed in deeply, letting it out after a second or two, trying to psych himself up to move around.

Instead, Gabe shot up suddenly, surprised as hell.

Smoke had come out of his mouth.

He let out a groan as his body protested at the sudden movement, but it didn’t hurt like it did yesterday. He blinked.

Gabe breathed out, shakily, to double check if the smoke would happen again and...he hadn’t been hallucinating it after all.

His regeneration was speeding up again.

Gabe checked his body over, ripping off bandages to look at the shiny new scar tissue where his wounds used to be just yesterday.

“Oh my god.” he said, out loud.

The door opened and Gabe glanced up, grinning when he saw it was 76.

“Look at this...” He swallowed hard, gesturing to his healing chest.

76 stood in the doorway, surprise clear in the way he held himself. He stepped closer to Gabe, shutting the door behind him.

“Can I?” he asked quietly, hands reaching out, nervously, towards Gabe’s new scars.

Gabe nodded and laid back on the bed, allowing 76 to ghost his hands over his chest, each scar getting checked, fresh and old alike.

He relaxed, breathing out easily, as 76’s fingers moved up his abdomen and towards his collarbone and shoulders.

“You’re smoking too…” he observed, not looking up from the inspection. “The chemicals must be wearing off.”

Gabe nodded, watching 76 work with a quiet reverence. The soldier really knew what he was doing and it fascinated Gabe.

He wanted to know more about 76, wanted to learn about the man who’d taken him in without complaint, he wanted…

He realized, with a sick lurch of his stomach, that healing also meant that he would have to leave soon. 76 would kick him out once he could care for himself, there was no doubt about it, but it still made Gabe swallow down a hard lump in his throat. He didn’t know when he had gotten so attached to 76, didn’t know why that had happened in the first place, but he did know that he didn’t want to leave.

He was snapped from his thoughts by a sharp finger pressed into a bruise in his side.

He hissed, glaring at 76.

“What was that for?” he growled, frowning.

“You were zoning out.” 76 shrugged. “How are you feeling?”

Gabe sighed, watching smoke escape past his lips slowly.

“Better.” he told 76. “A lot better. How do I look?”

“You look beautiful.” 76 told him, tone light and Gabe’s heart skipped in his chest.

“I meant my injuries, asshole.” He snapped, looking away and trying to hide how his face heated up.

76 laughed at that, shoulders shaking softly, before he replied.

“You’re healing up nicely.” he nodded and gestured at Gabe’s arm. “Even your arm’s doing better.”

Gabe glanced at his missing arm and, for the first time, didn’t feel like throwing up. The skin had become less irritated and swollen, and when he moved it slowly, expecting an intense pain, nothing happened.

He felt good .

A smile pulled up at his lips, and he let it grow.

He must have looked like an idiot, staring up at the ceiling with a huge grin, but he didn’t care.

He heard 76 laugh quietly next to him and he breathed in, listening to it carefully.

“You’re doing really well, Gabe.” 76 said softly, and Gabe could hear the smile in his voice.

“It’s because of you.” he said truthfully, turning his head and watching 76 still in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

Gabe shakes his head, feeling a sense of fondness warm his chest.

“You helped me. You didn’t have to, but you did.” he paused, his eyebrows drawing together as he remembered a question. “Why?”

76 exhaled quietly and leaned back in the chair.

“I’ll tell you later.”

Gabe frowned for a long moment, before nodding slowly. He wanted to know why really badly but...after everything 76 had done for him, he didn’t have a right to push.

“Okay.”

“Let’s work on you moving yourself around.”

Gabe groaned, covering his face with his left hand.

“No complaining.” 76 reprimanded him, crossing his arms. “You’re gonna have to get up eventually, and I want you to do it with me in the room in case your dumb ass messes up.”

Gabe huffed, glaring at 76 before pushing himself up into a sitting position.

“Good.”

Gabe rolled his eyes at 76’s affirmation, but his chest still warmed up without his permission.

It was harder to move himself when he only had one arm, but Gabe managed it somehow. He pushed his body, forcing his legs to move again, and swung his lower half off of the side of the bed.

“Alright. Let’s see what you can handle.” 76 kneeled down in front of Gabe, hands running up his left calf to his knee and back down again. 76 pulled at Gabe’s ankle, straightening his leg out before letting it relax again. He repeated this process a couple times, and then switched to Gabe’s right side and did the same.

He sat back on his heels after a while and looked up at Gabe, who had turned significantly red.

“You okay?” He asked, concerned.

“I’m fine.” Gabe nodded frantically, looking away too quickly. His heart jackhammered, pounding in his chest and he swallowed hard.

76 raised his eyebrow skeptically but didn’t say anything, for which Gabe was incredibly thankful. He wasn’t sure what could have come out of his mouth if 76 had asked, and he was glad he was never gonna find out.

76 stands, stretching and stepping away from the bed.

“Let’s see if you can stand.”

“Wait, what?” Gabe’s eyes widened.

76 nodded.

“It’s about time you got out of bed.”

Gabe made a face.

“Fine.” he groused, shimming his butt closer to the edge of bed to get his feet on the floor. He looked down, pursing his lips and putting weight on his legs. When they didn’t give out from under him, he pushed himself up and off of the mattress, wobbling a little.

Gabe took a couple steps forward, testing his strength. He cracked his back and groaned, stretching his body slowly to get used to moving around again.

“Good.” 76 hums, hovering nearby just in case. “You’re doing really well.”

Gabe grins, flushing. He still feels a little wobbly, not used to being on his feet after so long, but he follows 76 out of the room anyway. He moves carefully, making sure he doesn’t trip on anything.

He walks slowly down a short hallway and into a small kitchen, glancing around with interest. The room was clean and tidy, plates and bowls stacked neatly on the counter and silverware next to the sink. A small wooden table sits in the center of the room, surrounded by a couple rickety looking chairs. 76 turns around to root through a cabinet and bring out a box of cereal, grabbing two bowls and spoons and putting them on the table.

“Hungry?”

“Always.” Gabe sits himself down on the only solid looking chair, gently, as 76 hands him the box of cereal. He pours himself a bowl and shovels a spoonful in his mouth, grinning around the utensil. 76 snorts and plops down hard on a chair that looks like it’s about to give out. Gabe flinches, expecting it to fall, but thankfully it holds up and he breaths a sigh of relief.

76 stares at him through the visor for a long moment and Gabe shifts uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze.

“So,” 76 finally says, tilting his head slightly. “Why does Talon want you dead so bad?”

Gabe stills, spoon stopping inches from his open mouth, and glances warily at 76.

“Who doesn’t?” he looks away, fingers clenching.

There’s a long pause before 76 speaks.

“I don’t.”

Gabe looks back at him, caught off guard. The man was staring at him evenly, arms crossed over his chest and Gabe could feel that he was telling the truth.

He puts his spoon back in the bowl, cereal forgotten, and turns to look at 76 fully.

“Why?”

76 waves his hand dismissively.
“I asked you a question first.” he says, leaning back in his chair and studying Gabe calmly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Gabe grunted, narrowing his eyes slightly. “They wanna kill me ‘cause I didn’t want to work with them anymore.”

76 hmmed softly, watching Gabe fidget under his stare.

“See, I know a lot of shit about Talon, stuff they don’t want spread around, so when I told them I was out, they weren’t too happy about it.” He leans over his bowl of cereal like he’s sharing a secret. “I got an opportunity to take out some head honchos and I took it.” He shrugs, sitting back in his chair. “It was a trap, obviously, a big mistake on my part for taking the bait.”

76 nods, visor flashing in the overhead kitchen lights, and Gabe finds himself, in a strange way, mesmerized by the man. Something about him made Gabe’s heart hurt, made his head get weird . He didn’t like thinking about his feelings, like at all, but it was getting hard not to at this point. Gabe looked away quickly, heat rising to his cheeks.

76 felt familiar, he made Gabe feel comfortable for the first time in years and it terrified him.

As he sat there at the kitchen table with his (former) enemy, his chest tight, Gabe realized that he felt almost...good.

He was warm on the inside, he’d smiled more, he hadn’t wanted to die, he hadn’t even thought about dying once while he was with 76 and it freaked him out a little.

He’d been so used to his own loneliness, he’d forgotten what it was like to feel fondness for someone.

“Gabe,” 76 says abruptly, dragging him from his thoughts. “Your arm...”

He follows 76’s gaze down to his right arm, which had suddenly started smoking.

“Holy shit.” Gabe stares, wide eyed, as his missing arm rebuilds itself in front of his eyes. He feels nothing except a faint coldness where empty air used to be. He watches, mesmerized, as his arm literally grows back. First his upper arm, then his elbow, his forearm, his hand and Gabe feels nothing but awe at his own body. He moves each finger slowly, testing that they still work, and he shakes.

Black smoke dissipates and Gabe doesn’t look up from his arm for a long time, slowly clenching and unclenching his hand again and again.

Gabe startles at a hand on his shoulder, 76 touching him gently, and he suddenly feels like he’s on fire.

“I-” Gabe starts, like a deer in headlights. “I need to sleep.”

He can’t see his face, but he knows that 76 is frowning and he stands slowly, balancing himself on both of his arms now.

“Thank you.” Gabe says quietly, turning towards the door, and he can feel 76’s surprise.

He stumbles down the hallway towards his- no, the room he’d been staying in and shuts the door behind him quickly.

He stands in the center of the room and stares at the bed. It was unkempt, sagging in the middle, white sheets stained with his dried blood. His hands clench at his sides and he drags his eyes away from the mattress and back to his newly reformed arm.

It was scar-less, bare skin unmarred, a stark contrast from the rest of his body. His fingertips still gave off the occasional trail of smoke and when he sighs, he can see the blackness creep out of his mouth too.

Gabe closes his eyes for a long second, before disintegrating. He stays in that state for a couple seconds, before reforming again. He feels a little dizzy but otherwise there were no side effects that he could tell. Whether that was good or not, he didn’t know.

He could disappear again, he could become solid, he could probably generate his guns if he needed too, he could-

He could leave.

The thought hit him in the gut, made his stomach twist sickly.

He could leave.

He was strong enough now, he didn’t need any more medical help, especially with his arm grown back, but…

Gabe didn’t want to.

He hisses, fingernails digging red crescents into the skin of his palm.

He didn’t want too, but...he needed to.

Talon was still after him and, though he could handle himself, Gabe didn’t want 76 to get caught up in something bad.

76 was strong, yeah, but a lot can happen in a fight, and Gabe didn’t want to push either of their luck. Talon was a big organization. They had nearly taken him out with some strange chemical and a couple bullets, so who knew what else they had up their sleeve?

But they had their sights set on Gabe right now and that was all that mattered. He couldn’t drag 76 into a fight that wasn’t his.

Gabe glanced around the room one last time and breathes in deep through his nose, readying himself. The edges of his body blur as he steps forward, allowing himself to dissolve into black mist.

After a long second, he leaves.

“You’re a hard man to find, Reaper.”

He looks up from a dirty diner menu and frowns.

“Amélie.” he puts down the laminated menu and sits back in the booth. He’s in a gas station diner in the middle of nowhere, sitting in a booth in the corner and he really doesn’t want to deal with this right now. It’d been roughly three weeks since he’d gone into hiding, three weeks since he left 76, and Gabe was just...tired.

Amélie sits herself down across from him and smiles.

“What do you want?” Gabe growls, watching her warily.

She ignores him, choosing to wave the waitress over instead.

“I’ll have an ice water and a coke for my...friend here.” She looks at him and raises an eyebrow.

Gabe sighs and places an order for a burger, all while keeping a watchful eye on Amélie.

The waitress nods and scurries away, freaked out by Gabe’s scarred face and he rolls his eyes at her retreating back.

He turns back to Amélie and glares.

“What do you want.” he spits out in a growl.

She shrugs, smiling.
“I just wanted to catch up with an old co-worker of mine,” she tilts her head. “Is that so bad?”

“ Ay dios mio .” Gabe looks up at the ceiling pleadingly. “Why is this happening?”

Glasses clack against eat other as the waitress comes closer, setting their drinks down on the table and, after a rushed Here you go , running off.

Amélie stirs her water with a straw, ice clinking as she smiles at him.

Gabe decides he tolerates her more when she’s frowning.

“Amélie,” he growls, losing what little patience he had. “Why are you here?”
She takes a sip of her water before leveling him with a calculating stare.

“Talon wants you back.”

Gabe snorts.
“Is that why you’re here? You’re trying to recruit me?”

She sighs, shaking her head.

“I’m here as a warning, Reaper. This is your last strike.”

“If they wanted me so bad, why didn’t they send their army to come get me?”

“They didn’t want any more casualties.” she shrugs. “They want you to come back on your own.”

Gabe shakes his head, taking a long drink of his coke.

“Not happening, cariño .”

She shrugs.
“Your decision.” she stands. “Just know that your actions have consequences.”

Gabe frowns.

“What do you mean?”

She grins and walks away. Gabe growls.

“Amélie!”

She stops at the door and looks at him.

“They’re gonna pay your friend a visit tomorrow. You should be there.”

With that, she’s gone.

Gabe sits back and frowns, turning her last words in his mind.

It was a threat, obviously, he knew that, but...what did it mean?

‘They’ was obviously Talon.

By paying a visit, she probably meant an attack of some sort, which meant that someone was in danger.

But who? Gabe didn’t have any friends, not anymore.

He swallows, stomach twisting as the thought hits him.

They’re coming for 76.

He stands, throwing a couple bills on the table and practically running out of the diner towards the motorcycle he’d been using.

Well, stolen would be a better word, but that didn’t really matter at this point.

He needed to get back, and fast.

Gabe starts the engine and flies out of the gas station parking lot, thinking his route through.

He could probably make it just in time, but he’d be breaking a lot of laws. Which didn’t mean much, actually, as Gabe could just disintegrate away anyway, now that he was thinking about it.

He rides for miles, nothing but 76 on his mind.

He imagines what will happen, what his house would look like when Gabe arrives, what state 76 would be in. He smacks the side of his head with his hand.

“Stop that.” He growls to himself. “You’re gonna get there in time.”

The motorcycle gives out after five hours.

Gabe curses and leaves it on the side of the road.

He disintegrates and starts moving.

It’s not as fast as the bike, but it’s better than running.

He flies at full speed.

Gabe gets to the city where 76 is about half way through the next day. He moved slower than what he would’ve liked, but at least he’d missed traffic, which probably evened out travel time. He growls.

The city was big, really big, and Gabe didn’t exactly remember where 76’s house even was. He had been in too much of a rush to get out that he’d never looked where he was.

He reforms in a dark alleyway and puts his hood up. No use having people see his ugly mug while he’s walking down the street, he hates when they stare at him.

Gabe steps out into the sunlight and starts walking quickly.

He lets his power take over and breathes out. He always had a gift for life forces, and after what happened at Zurich his powers had multiplied exponentially. He concentrates and soon he sees nothing but life forces around him. They flickered and moved past, taking vague shapes that look like their hosts in an odd way. It was weird and hard to describe, so Gabe concentrated on finding 76 instead.

He wandered around the city for an hour before he got a whiff of something.

He slowed down, glancing around warily.

He hadn’t found 76, no, it was something darker, something dangerous and a little less familiar. He followed the scent off the sidewalk and into a side street. It took him less than a minute to understand what he was smelling.

Talon operatives were nearby. He smelled their evil, their blood rushing in anticipation, he smelled Talon on them.

After a small pause, Gabe followed the scent.

It lead him through the maze that was the city, the streets getting darker and less populated the farther into the city he moved. Gabe kept his hood up and walked quickly, avoiding everyone on the street; it was only when he picked up the sound of gunshots that Gabe started running.

His shoes pounded against the pavement with loud thuds and he cursed his pace as more gunshots sounded. He skids around a corner and freezes, feeling a sick punch in the gut at the sight.

He found the house but...it was a mess. Half destroyed and burning, the small building was not as Gabe remembered.

What was left of it was on fire, the rest just rubble on the street. Smoke billows out from inside the ruins and there’s the sound of fighting coming from within.

Gabe hisses and darts forward through the smoke, forgoing stealth in order to find 76 faster.

He ducks behind a crumbling wall when he hears someone talk.

“Where the fuck did he go?!”

Gabe glances around the edge of the wall and narrows his eyes.

Two Talon agents stand in the middle of the crumbling house, their backs together and their guns up defensively.

They eye the smoke, as if something would jump out at them.

They underestimated him, Gabe thought, a sigh of relief pulling itself from his mouth.

A bullet rings out and one of the agents tumble to the ground, knee shot out from under him. He screams, grabbing for it desperately, but another bullet gets him in the shoulder and he stills, breathing hard.

The last Talon agent stands frozen, staring, shocked, at his fallen friend with wide eyes.

Something rustles and the operative whips around, aiming his gun into the smoke, terrified.

“C-Come out!” he calls, voice shaking almost as much as he was. “Face me like a man!”

A clang echoes and the man spins again, firing recklessly in the general direction of the sound.

One second, he’s alone, the next 76 is on him, ripping the gun from the agent’s hand and throwing it behind him somewhere.

It takes a second for Gabe to realize that 76 is weaponless, his holsters empty and ammo discarded. His jacket is nowhere to be found either, he’s wearing just a bloody t-shirt and his pants, the rest of his outfit forgotten or lost in the fighting.

The agent lunges at him desperately and 76 sidesteps easily, countering back with a punch to the agent’s gut. The guy lets out an oof , stumbling back, and 76 takes the opportunity. He punches the guy in the face and quickly kicks him into a wall, stalking towards his crumpled form.

He hauls the man up by his collar and slams him back against the crumbling drywall.

“Who sent you?” he growls out, visor flashing dangerously.

The man glares angrily but doesn’t say anything.

76 shakes him viciously, slamming his head into the wall.

“Who. Sent. You.” he spits out.

“Reaper.” the man coughs, blood dripping from his nose and into his mouth.

Both 76 and Gabe freeze.

The agent kicks out desperately, landing one in 76’s abdomen by pure luck alone. 76 grunts, reflexively letting go, and the agent makes a break for it, racing past his fallen comrade and into the smoke.

76 swears and goes to follow, taking off in the direction the agent went off in. He darts forward, briefly forgetting about the agent on the ground.

The fallen man grabs 76’s ankle as he passes by and yanks him down, causing him to hit the ground with a thud and a curse.

The agent that ran off burst through the smoke with his gun and an angry look on his face.

He skids to a halt in front of 76 and spits on him, grinning maniacally.

76 growls and tries to get up, but the other agent yanks him down again.

The first guy laughs and points the gun at 76’s head.

“Congratulations, old man.” He hisses, grinning. “You’re gonna die in the dirt.”

“Fuck you.” 76 lunges up at the agent, who instinctively kicks out and lands his foot square in 76’s mask.

He falls, hard, hands tearing at his broken visor. It sparks and crackles, a broken noise of pain pulling itself from 76 and Gabe winces, finally remembering how to move.

The agent had a gun and Gabe didn’t, which put him at a significant disadvantage, but 76 needed his help. He growls to himself and takes a deep breath.

He grabs a rock and throws it, as hard as he could, into the smoke. It crashes into rubble, making a huge noise, and the agent spins around, pointing the gun in the direction of where the rock had landed.

“Who’s there?!” he snaps nervously.

Gabe materializes behind him suddenly, arm swinging back and he punches the agent right in the face. The man stumbles back in surprise, but recovers quickly, whipping around to face Gabe.

He fires just as Gabe disappears into smoke. The agent swears and jerks back, glancing around wildly.

Gabe shows himself suddenly, delivering a strong kick to the side. The agent swings at him desperately and he easily dodges to the side, but Gabe still gets smacked on the side of his head with the gun, hard, anyway.

He ignores the dull pain and lands an uppercut to the agent’s jaw, then another to his gut.

Gabe swings around and kicks him in the head and then their fight is over, the agent crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

Gabe breathes heavily, staring at the agent for a second.

He hears a noise of pain behind him and Gabe remembers why he was fighting in the first place.

“Oh my god, 76.” he hisses, kneeling next to the man. He was curled up into himself, fingers scrabbling at the shards of his broken mask weakly. His chest heaves with each breath, visor sparking painfully. Gabe grabs his hands gently and pushes them to the side.

“Hey, now…” Gabe whispers soothingly, trying to calm the man. “I’m here to help you, ok?”

76’s shoulders relaxed briefly, before tightening up again and he pulls away suddenly.

“Soldier, you gotta let me help you,” Gabe pleads, fingers brushing the edges of the mask softly. “I need to take your mask off.”

76 shakes his head violently, breath hitching as he pushes Gabe’s hands away from his face.

“N-no.” His voice was weak and static-y, both a result of the pain and the broken mask speaker.

“Please.” Gabe practically begs him, desperate. “ Please, you have to let me help you.”

76 shakes in front of him, but doesn’t say anything more. Gabe reaches forward again, gingerly touching the mask. 76 flinches but doesn’t pull away and Gabe takes that as a sign to keep going.

He slides his fingers around the sides of the shattered visor, slowly prying it from the soldier’s face.

He’s gentle, moving slowly to ensure 76 doesn’t get hurt, but still fast enough to prevent more damage.

“Almost there,” Gabe tells 76 softly. “I’ve almost got you free.”

With a final crack, the mask separates itself from 76’s face and Gabe stills.

76’s hands come up quickly, covering his own face, and he’s shaking violently.

Gabe stares at the red gloves for a long second, shock running through his system.

“Show me your face.” he asks in a small voice. “ Please.”

“I’m sorry.” he whispers back quietly

Gabe swallows as blue eyes peek through fingers, looking up at him nervously.

He knows those eyes.

He reaches forward, still in shock, and gently pulls his hands away from his face.

There’s a long pause as they take in each other.

“Jack…?” Gabe’s voice is hoarse and he can’t bring himself to let go of the red gloved hands in his own.

“Hey,” The man under him gives a weak grin. “Surprise.”

There’s blood on his face, cuts and scratches from the broken metal of his mask painting him in red. Gabe touches Jack’s cheek gently, wiping blood away from his blue eyes.

“You’re supposed to be dead…”

Jack laughs, but it comes out more as a wet cough.

“So are you.”

There’s a acidic lump in Gabe’s chest, a tidal wave of emotions rolling through him all at once. He wants to punch Jack, he wants to yell, he wants to shake him until he understands how much this hurts , but he does the only thing he can think to do.

Gabe kisses him, hands coming up to hold Jack’s face in between them. They’re both shaking.

Jack stills in surprise below him, sucking in a small breath through his nose before he pulls Gabe closer by the back of his neck and kisses him back, harder, hungrier, more desperate.

Gabe is the first to pull back, hovering an inch away, eyes taking in every detail of Jack’s face. He presses their mouths together, softly, again and again, until neither of them could breathe.

“We should leave…” Jack whispers in between kisses. “They’re probably sending backup.”

“Yeah, probably.” Gabe says softly, but he doesn’t pull away immediately, choosing instead to press their foreheads together for a long second. Jack smiles fondly.

“I missed you.”