Chapter Text
Jack slowly woke, soft Gibraltar moonlight streaming through his window. He frowned. Something wasn't right.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Jack whipped around, looking for the source of the voice while scrabbling for the handgun beside his bed. Reaper stepped forwards, dangling the gun between his claws.
Jack sighed deeply through his nose. "Was it really necessary to wake me up at-" he glanced at the blinking clock, "2:41 in the morning?"
"Yes."
"Asshole."
Gabriel chuckled before moving forwards, placing the gun back on the nightstand with a soft clink before settling onto the end of the bed. "I just couldn't wait until the morning,
cariño
."
Jack glared at him, but it had little effect on Gabriel's smirk, especially with sleep still clouding his expression. Gabriel simply chuckled again before leaning forwards and pressing a soft kiss against his forehead. "You're always so beautiful when you just wake up. So soft and vulnerable."
The edges of his form dissolved into smoke, drifting down and curling around Jack's body. The bulk of his weight settled behind him, between his back and the wall. Shadowy tendrils gently wound around his body until Jack was securely ensconced in his grip. Jack took a brief moment to contemplate his situation. With a being known to literally suck the life out of people snugly wrapped around him, he supposed most people would panic. Gabe had never harmed him before like this, however, and his odd embrace felt safe, somehow. Secure. The back of his mind had accepted that the cool tendrils coiled around him were virtually harmless in this situation; he let himself relax and slowly drifted into a drowsy state.
They remained like that for some time, with Gabriel shifting every time Jack moved so he wouldn't constrict too tightly around him. If he focused, he could feel Gabe's heartbeat of sorts, a soft pulse of energy against his skin. It would slow to a near crawl for some time, then speed up again. He considered asking about it, but the haze of drowsiness hung over him and he couldn't bring himself to concentrate on speaking; then Gabe shifted more insistently against him, pulling him back to the waking world.
"Jack." Gabriel rumbled from his place behind him. "There's something I want to do."
Jack turned his head slightly but said nothing. Gabe moved until he could look Jack in the eyes.
"You know I can see souls."
"Of course." Jack replied, allowing the slightest bit of a sarcastic edge to slip into his voice. "Your entire existence kind of revolves around them."
Gabe's crimson gaze narrowed momentarily at his comment, but he continued nonetheless.
"I want." He leaned forwards, nuzzling under the curve of Jack's jaw and coiling tighter around his chest. "I want to show you what I see."
Jack's breathing quickened. He was no expert, but he was reasonably sure that you needed your soul, and that Gabe's method of "showing" would likely relieve him of it, possibly permanently. He looked at him in confusion.
"Won't that hurt?"
Gabe's face was inches away from his own, concern masking a slightly predatory stare that sent chills up Jack's spine. "Not if you don't fight it."
The darkness coiled fitfully around them both as Jack mulled it over, before returning his gaze to Gabriel's.
"Do it then."
Crimson eyes widened, it was clear Gabe hadn't been expecting him to acquiesce so soon. A grin spread across his face as he closed the distance between them; the kiss started chaste but quickly deepened, and soon Gabe exhaled deeply into him. Smoke rushed down Jack's throat to settle in his lungs. The faint buzzing of Gabriel's form caused Jack to groan into the kiss, but Gabe didn't move any farther than that for some time. He let Jack drink him in, sharing their breath until Jack's gaze grew unfocused and he pulled back.
The shadowy tendrils curled around him twitched and wound themselves into him, sliding between his bones and organs, tracing the path of his veins and nerves. Jack could feel them shifting inside his guts as Gabe pulled back to allow him air. He exhaled a long stream of inky mist, clearing his lungs momentarily before his next breath sucked more of the surrounding smoke inside him.
Jack felt claws trace their way lovingly over his torso before Gabriel roughly tugged his gloves off; settling his palms against his bare skin, he locked eyes with Jack. Taking a steadying breath, he asked softly,
"Are you sure about this?"
Jack swallowed roughly, and replied simply,
"Yes."
Gabe closed his eyes, and Jack could feel his fingertips slip under his skin; sinking deeper and deeper into his chest. He had to bite back a laugh, of all things, at the absurdity of the situation. A terrifying monster-
his lover
- straddling him as best he could with his hands buried wrist-deep in his chest cavity, all by choice. Before it could cross his lips, however, it was knocked out of him with a whimper as Gabe's fingertips brushed
something
inside him.
As Gabe reached for it again, utter animal panic surged through Jack. Whatever it was he was going for, it was not meant to be taken. He didn't even realize he had started hyperventilating until Gabe buried his face in his shoulder, whispering
"Breathe, breath, Jack."
as tendrils rubbed reassuringly at his shoulders.
"Don't resist, Jack." he murmured softly as Jack's breathing slowly settled. "It won't hurt if you don't struggle.
"It doesn't hurt." Jack rasped. "Just feels... strange, is all." It was true. It felt more like it did when Gabriel had first wriggled between his organs: not supposed to happen but tolerable if he focused on staying calm.
Gabe frowned, looking at him worriedly. "We can stop-"
"No!"
His outburst surprised even him, and he continued in a softer tone, "You've made me curious dammit. You can't back out now." Jack gave a weak laugh, reaching up to tug Gabe's face down to his own again. The hands buried in his chest moved again, gently grasping the thing inside him that had caused him to panic.
They
tugged
.
Jack gave a wheeze as his back arched, his body refusing to relinquish his soul so easily. It felt like someone had tied a string to his very essence and pulled on it. Dimly, he wondered if it was a mistake to trust Gabe with this. He
ate souls, after all
. But as he looked at the wraith hunched over him, face twisted with worry, he couldn't believe that he could truly bring .himself to hurt him. Gabe kept a steady stream of reassurance and apologies in his ear even as he slowly pulled him apart.
And then he was free.
Jack blinked open his eyes. Everything was fuzzy and his senses felt dulled as he glanced around, finally settling on Gabe's face. It was lit by a soft blue glow, and when he looked down he gasped. A shimmering ultramarine orb hovered just above Gabe's cupped palms. Shades of gold rippled across its surface, mixed with a thousand other incremental hues. The light from it washed over the room, tinting everything a soft blue. Jack stared, transfixed, as he saw his own emotions written clearly in front of him as they shifted. He didn't really need to ask, but he did anyway.
"Is that... me?"
Gabe gave a strained laugh, bumping their foreheads together.
"Yes Jack, that's your soul." He glanced at Jack, taking in his stunned expression before gently rubbing his thumb against the surface of the luminescent orb. Jack's breath caught, he could feel it plain as day, as if Gabe had ran his fingers against his skin. It felt so intimate he could hardly bear it. Gabriel was literally holding his entire being in the palms of his hands; a display of trust strong enough to make him shiver. He did it once more, making Jack tremble, then gently pressed the orb back against his chest. It slipped easily through his skin, settling inside him. Immediately the fuzziness in his vision vanished and he felt complete again. Interesting, he hadn't even noticed the sensation of loss before. Gabe let him adjust before pulling him close and asking, "So, what did you think?"
Jack paused before replying, "It went in a lot easier then it came out." Gabe's shoulders shook as he let out a muffled snort.
"It's supposed to be like that. Would you rather it rattle around inside you like a loose marble?"
Jack shook his head before slumping against his chest bonelessly. Gabe gently carded his fingers through his hair; lowering them both onto the bed to sleep until someone came to wake Jack up.
The resulting chaos would make his day.