#mcreyesfallbreak

A hand pushes against his chest, gently.  It takes him several seconds to process that he’s laying down, again.

“Wha-”

“Shhh, Jessito,”  a gravelly, yet tender voice speaks from the darkness.  “I’m here.”

Jesse furrows his brows, confused.  He has to be dreaming, because the only person who ever called him that was-

“G-Gabe?”  

He tries to twist back up, but the hand pushes, again- firmer this time. 

“Settle down. You’re in no condition to be moving right now.”  

He registers the familiar rough fabric of a glove brushing against his cheek, and the tickling of a sleeve, much softer, like velvet.  He can’t help but lean into it.  It’s been a long time since anyone’s gotten close enough to touch him, especially like this, even in his dreams.

“You trespassed onto the Witch’s land,” the voice says.   “I found you unconscious in the forest.  The blood,” the form gestures, ”is what made me discover you.  Someone hit you pretty damn hard, hunter.  But they must not have wanted you dead.”  The thumb brushes lightly, and Jesse winces as it makes contact with a fresh bruise.  “I’m glad,”

“Gabe...is it really you?”  Jesse peers up at the shape.  

The figure moves, and the light finally hits just right.  He widens his eyes.

“It is.  Though...I no longer go by that name.”

“What...,” he swallows.  “What happened?  I thought-  this ain’t a dream, is it?”

Reaper shakes his head.  “Not a dream.  A nightmare perhaps.  But not one any of us can wake from.”

There’s a sigh, and then Reaper is looking off, staring at the wall, a frown plastered on his face.  

“I’m not sure what exactly happened, after we got separated on that mission.  I just remember...dirt.  So much of it.  I clawed my way out.  Never thought I’d reach the surface.  When I finally made it, the world was too bright, too much.  It hurt.  And then...,”  he swallows, and even in the dark Jesse can make out the way his hand trembles.  

“They were on me.  I was too weak, too overwhelmed to fight.  They brought me here, to this castle, and the Witch...she made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Eyes, now red, instead of the warm brown he was used to, gaze into his own.

“I wanted to go find you so badly.  But it took me so long to learn to control my...urges.  I didn’t want to hurt you, mi amor.”  A hand reaches out, again, brushing lightly.  “And I didn’t want them to hurt you, either.”  

Jesse can feel the contained rage, can sense it in the tension of the hand against his skin.  He reaches up, gently captures it in his own, rubs his thumb against the gloved fingers in reassurance, and hopes that is enough as he listens.

It must be, because he feels the way he seems to soften, again.  

“So I kept my distance, kept track of you for years.  You’ve made me proud, Jesse,” Reaper smiles.  And Jesse can feel the tears prickling.  He blinks to keep them back, but even through his blurred vision, he can tell Reaper’s eyes mirror his own. 

“I thank G-,” he chokes, tightens a fist.  And then Jesse’s latching onto his arm, dragging the vampire down until his head is pressed against his aching chest.  He combs through the hair, grown-out longer than he ever remembers it being, and feels the way the man he loved, usually so strong and composed, trembles against him.

“Shhh, pumpkin.  I know.”  He closes his eyes, continues the soothing motion, then lets out a soft chuckle as he thinks.  “You know, I could do without these injuries and all, but I’m glad it brought me back to you.  It’s funny how fate works, but after all these years,  I’ve finally found my way back home.”

"Mmm I have to agree with that sentiment.”

They lay in silence for several minutes, Reaper’s ear pressed to his heart, like he used to do, when they shared the same bed.  When they shared a life together.  

Jesse is the one to break the silence, to shatter the found moment, so much like a long-lost memory.  “Do they know I’m here?”

Reaper tenses, then shakes his head.  “Not yet.  But I can’t keep your presence hidden forever.  As soon as you are well, you’ll need to-”

“No.  I ain’t leaving without you.”

Reaper sighs.  There’s the stubborn hunter he’d fallen for.  

“Jesse, I can’t.  I can’t just-”

“We’ll find a way.  I ain’t givin’ up on you, and I ain’t lettin’ you go when I just got you back, you hear?  Besides,” he says, “I know you’d do the same for me.”

Reaper raises his head and looks him dead in the eye.  “You may be right.  But we better come up with one damn good plan.  We only have one chance at this.”

The corner of Jesse’s mouth quirks up.  “Well, it’s a good thing I have the world’s best tactician at hand.  But before we get to all that brainstormin’, you happen to have a smoke anywhere, sweetpea?”

Reaper smiles, hesitating for just a second before pressing a kiss to the man's cheek.  “Stay put.  I still have the last pack you gave me back in my quarters.”

He gently and half-reluctantly pushes himself up and away, and Jesse watches, as much as the darkness allows, as the man he loves slips away.  This time, he hopes, only for a few minutes.