Chapter Text
JACK-
The first time you ever saw Gabriel Reyes is. Uh. Sort of embarrassing?
Basic training is over, and you have some free time before you find out where you’ll be assigned. It’s your first break since you enlisted, and you aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself. Home is a little too far to travel for you, so you opted to stay on base. But that gets old quick, so you’re taking a bus out for a little field trip today. It’d be nice to explore the nearby city, you think.
Explore the nearby city, your ass. It’s been an hour and you’re lost. Really, really lost and yes, you’ve tried asking people for directions and no, you don’t know how this place is so confusing, there are so many buildings why are there so many buildings.
You curse yourself for deciding that you didn’t need a map.
The absolute worst part is you don’t know even know which bus stop to go to for a ride back and everyone you talk to tells you something slightly different and you think they might be hazing you? Some of them have trouble keeping a straight face at your predicament. Eventually you decided that fuck it, you know that the base is a couple miles to the south, so you’ll just walk out of the city and look for a cluster of low buildings. It’ll be late by the time you get back, though. You’re just going to be in a lot of trouble for missing curfew or whatever, but surely it couldn’t be that bad? You ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach saying yes, it is going to be that bad.
The bus to the city was about thirty minutes, more or less. So if you want to make it, you have to get back now.
You’re jogging down a deserted street when you hear the sounds of a fight. You slow down- should you check it out? You don’t have any illusions about being able to help, of course. Basic training or not, you’re still best described as… somewhat noodle-like. You’re eighteen, alright? You might just be a late bloomer. You've got some muscle definition now, at least.
…The fight’s getting worse, you think. People are shouting now.
Surely it can’t hurt to just take a look?
You cautiously peek your head out into the alley where you think the fight’s happening. It doesn’t look good. Four against one isn’t amazing odds even if the one person- noticeably darker skinned and wearing a beanie of some sort, you think- is built like a truck. But he seemed to be the only one who was trained in any kind of hand-to-hand either, it might be for the best if you just-
knife.
You move like you’ve been fired from a rifle, nailing the thug who was sneaking up behind Beanie while the other three were distracting him. It was a perfect football tackle, you register distantly. Your folks would’ve been proud of you. Nobody really knows how to react to your entry into the fight, but Beanie recovers faster than the others, grabbing two of the men by their collars and smashing their heads together. They collapse to the floor unconscious, and now that it’s an even fight, the other two seem to have lost their nerve. They run, and you’re left alone in an alleyway with a really pissed off Latino man wearing a black beanie hahaha fantastic you did not think this through.
While he’s catching his breath, he looks at you, assessing. He sort of reminds you of the drill instructors at basic, you realize. You shift a little bit uncomfortably, and you have the sudden urge to explain yourself to Beanie.
“Uhm. I was just passing through? And- I mean, it looked like you were handling it pretty well, yourself- but that guy had a knife, and I thought that maybe you might get killed or something? And that’s really bad, so. Uh. Nice to meet you, Beanie. The name’s Jack Morrison.”
Okay, that could have gone better, but it also could have gone-
“What did you just call me?”
Wait. Oh god. Did you just- oh god you want the earth to just swallow you whole, this is the worst, you’re flushing red, explain nOW YOU DUMBFUCK
“Oh, fuck. Shit. I mean, you’re wearing a beanie and I don’t know your name, so I was just- I didn’t just want to call you, like, guy or something, in my head that’s just rude, no wait Beanie is worse, it’s definitely worse I am so so sorry-”
You realize somewhat belatedly that he’s bent over wheezing in laughter. Despite everything, you’re sort of insulted. Actually trying to apologize here, dammit. Laughing’s rude. When he finally catches his breath somewhat, he waves a hand in your general direction. “No, no-pfffft, it’s alright. I’ve been called worse than- snrk- Beanie.” He straightens up fully and flashes a sharp grin in your direction. “Corporal Gabriel Reyes. Nice to meet you, Morrison.”
Oh wow, he’s a corporal? But he doesn’t even look much older than- oh, wait. If he’s a corporal, wouldn’t he probably know how to get back to the base? Nice!
“You’re in the military?”
He stiffens a tiny bit and narrows his eyes. “…Yeah, you got a problem with that?”
“Wh- Oh, no, it’s just that I am too! I only just finished basic, though. This is honestly my first time in this city. And I …might be a little lost?” You scuff your foot along the concrete, feeling very much like a child. “If you could tell me which bus to take back. That would, uh, bereallyniceofyou.”
Corporal Reyes looks at you. “If you’re taking a bus, then what the hell are you doing in the south side of the city? You do realize that this is the shit district, right? That bus doesn’t even stop here.”
You resist the urge to bury your face in your hands. You had thought that the houses were a bit more busted up as you were jogging along, but you Ma had raised you to not judge people by their appearances so you’d ignored it. “I didn’t want to assume, or anything. And anyways, I was going to see if I could walk back to base.”
“It’s- Morrison, are you not aware that the base is at least ten miles away from here.”
You grin abashedly, rubbing the back of your neck with one hand. “Yes? On the bright side, at least I don’t have to walk it through snow like back at the farm?”
He shakes his head. “You know what- never mind. You’re a crazy kid, Morrison. We can still make it to the bus stop if we hurry.”
He takes off at a brisk pace like he knows that you’ll follow. And you do.
By the time you’ve reached the bus stop, the one that you two need to take back is just pulling up, in the first stroke of luck you’ve had all day. The bus trip back is nice. You somehow manage to make small talk with the corporal on the ride and you learn that he’s just here for a few days while the higherups assign him a team. He’s from Los Angeles, and he has two sisters- one younger and one older. He’s really a lot nicer that you were expecting. But as soon as he bids you farewell and turns the corner, you sink your head into your hands and fleetingly contemplate changing your name and leaving the country.
Beanie. Why, Morrison, why?
The corporal must hate you. You can never speak to him again oh god.
On the bright side, you probably never will. He’s just going to be here for a few days, right? You’ll be able to put this in the past, thank god.
(you don’t know this, but after Gabriel Reyes waves goodbye to you, he immediately files a request for you to be transferred to his squad.
normally he’d be dismissed out of hand, but he’s a rising star in the military and the omnic conflicts are… not going well. it can’t hurt to humor him.
when asked for a reason why, he only grins and says something about you having balls, for such a weedy looking farmer boy.)