Work Text:
“So, where will you be going to dinner, Jack?”
“Place Ana recommended, new restaurant in town. Has a weird name, but good food and nice staff apparently.”
“I went with Satya and Amelie. It was very nice.”
“My collar’s not gonna get any straighter, Angel. You can stop trying.”
Angela giggled and did a little dance of excitement after she stepped away. “I’m sorry, I’m really excited! You’re going on a date-”
“Not a date.”
The girl ignored the interruption and continued on. “With Mr. Reyes! You’ve never been on a date before, not as long as you had me! I’m happy!”
Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Honestly, it was hard enough to swallow the butterflies. True, he and Gabriel had been… interested, for a while. Small glances at each other. Gabriel would occasionally drop a comment and Jack would reciprocate. It was slow building up, but it was definitely happening.
So Jack made the first move and asked Gabriel to dinner. Even though he hadn’t attached the label to it, it was a date. And that was all up on Jack’s nerves. He really hadn’t dated, not in a long time. Not since Angela. She took up his time, he didn’t find the need to find ‘his other half’.
Course, no one planned for things like this.
It’s just dinner. Dinner.
Angela gave him a sudden hug, jerking Jack out of his thoughts.
“It’s okay, Jack. I’m sure Mr. Reyes is just as nervous as you,” Angela said, squeezing him tightly.
Jack slowly smiled and stroked his daughter’s hair.
“I doubt that. But thanks, Angela.”
~*~
“Non! Not this shirt! It does not go with your pants!”
“If I wore these pants, it would match.”
“But then your shoes would look awful! Try again!”
Gabriel grumbled as he marched back into his bedroom, honestly, Amelie was like having a mother and a daughter all in one when it came to clothes.
He came back out again, sighing. “This work?”
Amelie pursed her lips, giving her adoptive father a careful look over. “… It’s decent, at least,” She said, her arms crossing.
Close enough. Gabriel had an outfit picked out over an hour ago, but Amelie looked at it like someone would look at a rotting animal.
(“Those jeans?! You are not going to a theme park, go get your slacks!”)
It was sorta cute, in a way. Just how she showed she cared. Gabriel patted her head. “Thanks for helping, Amelie.” He said.
A brief smile crossed her face. “You are going on a first date. You need to show you’re serious.”
Gabriel snorted and ruffled the girl’s hair. “It’s not like we don’t know each other, Amelie.”
With an undignified ‘ack’, Amelie dodged away and smoothed her hair. “Don’t mess up my hair!” She scolded.
Jesse poked his head down the hall. “Can we go to Jack’s now?” He whined, doing a small dance in place.
~*~
“Jamie is in bed now, Genji can stay awake for a bit longer with his video games and the rest of you can stay up until ten. If you need anything, Ana is next door. Keep the door locked. And stay out of the ice cream. Good?”
“Yes, Jack.”
“I’ll make sure they behave.”
“Jesse? Amelie?”
“Since when have I ever misbehaved?”
“I’ll be good, honest!”
Jack nodded and then glanced at Gabriel. “Let’s be off?” He said, sliding his hands into his pockets.
“Might as well. Be good, kids.”
The second the door was closed, Jesse turned to the others. “… So, he said something about ice cream?”
Thirty minutes later, Jamie was woken up, ice cream had been dished out to everyone, and Angela was picking a movie. She lifted up two.
“So, Inside Out or Frozen?”
Everyone immediately chimed ‘Inside Out’, as Mei always made them watch Frozen. It got a little much after a while.
The movie was put in and Angela sat next to Jamie, who was mowing through the giant bowl of chocolate ice cream on his lap. “Slow down, Jamie, you’re going to get a brain freeze,” Angela gently warned, attempting to smooth the boy’s hair.
Jamie shoved another spoonful in his mouth. “I don’t get those!” He proudly proclaimed before suddenly gripping his head. “Owwwwwww…”
Amelie pulled a face. “Don’t talk with food in your mouth, either.”
Jesse grinned before shoving as much ice cream in his mouth as possible and leaning in close to his sister. “Hey, Amelie?” She turned and Jesse opened his mouth, revealing an astonishing amount of half melted ice cream.
“Ew! Jesse, you’re disgusting!” Amelie moved away in horror while Jesse and Genji howled with laughter.
Hanzo looked equally disgusted. “That wasn’t necessary.” He said.
Jesse swallowed it down and wiped off his mouth on his sleeve. “It was funny! Come on, it’s not like I spat it into her lap!”
Amelie shivered. “Please don’t.”
The movie distracted them all shortly, Angela kept getting up to get them refreshments and taking away the bowls.
It got half way through before Jamie piped up with the famous question.
“Are our dads gonna get married?”
Dead silence, only broken by Angela laughing nervously. “It’s only a date, Jamie.”
“I don’t think Gabriel likes marriage anyway.” Jesse threw some more popcorn into his mouth and kept talking while he was chewing. “I think he was married when he was like, twenty, and it didn’t last.”
Genji tapped his fingers on the floor, a nervous habit. “It wouldn’t be so bad if they did though. That means we’d be brothers, Jesse!”
Jesse perked up. “Wouldn’t be so bad! Come here, bro!” He yanked Genji over in a half hug, Genji giggling loudly.
Hanzo frowned. “But wouldn’t we have to move? None of our houses are big enough.”
“If the boys bunked together…” Amelie trailed off as she glanced at Jamie. “… Nevermind. I don’t want another little brother.”
Jamie seemed oddly subdued, his bowl of chips going untouched. Angela picked up on that immediately. “Is something wrong, Jamie?” She asked.
“… I don’t want things to change.” The boy hugged himself, looking much smaller than he normally did. “I like things the way they are.”
The movie immediately forgotten, everyone gathered around Jamie, even Hanzo and Amelie.
Angela practically pulled him into her lap on the couch, stroking his hair. “No, honey, things aren’t going to change. Gabriel and Jack like each other, but this is their first date.”
“Yeah, you don’t get married on a first date. It’s a bad idea,” Jesse said, pushing the boy back his chips.
Amelie sat by Mercy’s feet. “Nothing’s going to change, little rat. We promise. Gabriel and Jack are just going to make each other happy, and it’ll be okay,” She reassured, the name she attached to him out of spite used in a much more gentle manner.
Jamie sniffled a bit. “Really?”
Jesse nodded. “Mmhmm. How about we go back to watching our movie? Do you want more ice cream?”
Jamie shook his head. “More chips, please!”
~*~
“They got into the ice cream, didn’t they?”
“I saw the look on Jesse’s face. They did.”
Jack sighed as he turned the car down his street. It wasn’t so bad, going out to dinner with Gabriel. Little awkward after the waiter realized they were on a date and had a bit of a reaction, but Gabriel’s stern look quieted any nonsense down.
It was… nice. It was just like normal, except now Gabriel’s snark was coupled with a grin and a gentle brush of Jack’s hand, and there wasn’t a half dozen kids around. It was honestly really nice.
Jack pulled up to his driveway and the car turned off. Oh man. End of the date.
“So…” Jack cleared his throat and looked over, that odd sense of nervousness gathering in his throat. Forcefully quelling it, he managed to smile. “I had a good time. It was… nice.” Really? Couldn’t say anything better?
Gabriel chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “I did too. Let’s make sure the kids didn’t kill each other and we’ll do this again?”
Jack released a breath that he didn’t realize he’d been holding. “Sounds good to me.”
They got out of the car and walked to the front door. Jack had started unlocking the door when Gabriel said, “Wait a sec.”
“Hmm?” Jack turned to Gabriel, wondering if he’d left something in the car, when he was met with a very soft kiss.
It was only a second, but Jack’s mind was whirling for several more. He blinked slowly.
Gabriel kissed him.
The key nearly slipped from his fingers but Jack managed to grab ahold of it. Gabriel didn’t miss that at least. Looking very pleased of himself, he took the key and unlocked the door himself. “Your ears are red.”
Jack grumbled quietly under his breath before following Gabriel into the house.
Everyone was passed out in the living room, the TV softly playing the main menu music over and over again. Dirty bowls and chip bags littered the floor. Amelie and Mercy had stolen the couch, Amelie’s blanket stretched over both of them as they snuggled. Genji was snoring in Jack’s chair, a little drool dripping from his mouth and his DS still clutched in his hands. Hanzo and Jesse had clearly originally fallen asleep next to each other but Jesse was a snuggler and was now sleeping across Hanzo’s chest while Hanzo slept blissfully unaware. And Jamie was in the middle of the floor, all limbs stretched out, a bowl of half finished potato chips beside him.
Jack had to bite his inner lip to keep from laughing but a snort did escape. Quietly, he walked in and examined them all. “… They even woke Jamie up.” He muttered.
“Let ‘em sleep. Clean up the mess in the morning.” Gabriel took out of his phone and took a few pictures, particularly of Amelie and Jesse. “Crazy kids.”
Jack picked Jamie up, the boy softly murmuring in his sleep and curling into Jack’s arms. “Our crazy kids.” He agreed.
And he wouldn’t have them any other way.