#mcreyesweek17

“Do you have to go tomorrow?” Jesse asked, voice pleading, though he already knew the answer the other man would give.

“Couldn’t you… I don’t know” he shrugged noncommittally “stay a little longer?”

Gabe turned to look at him then, face still the same apologetic one that Jesse could remember. He walked over to the window where Jesse stood, wrapping his arms around his broad chest, leaning his head on Jesse’s shoulder. He sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry, mi corazon.” Gabe whispered and leaned forward to place a soft kiss to Jesse’s bare neck. “If I miss a day, Talon would get suspicious. And don’t even get me started on Sombra. I’m still not entirely convinced she hasn’t attached a micro tracker somewhere on my gear.”

Jesse snorted at that. He’d met the woman once, though his memory of the event was rather fuzzy.

“I know…” he opted for instead. “This will soon be over, Jesse. I promise.”

Gabes hands loosened to move down Jesse’s furrowed belly, stopping to knead and caress on his chubby belly.

“Stop it Gabe.” Jesse warned.

“Mh…” Gabe protested in the back of his throat. “But I love the way you look, the way you feel against me.”

Jesse sighed as Gabe’s big hands groped more insistently, kissing up and down his freckled shoulders.

“Come to bed with me?” was uttered into his skin and Jesse smiled as he moved them over to the rumpled bed. Jesse got in first, taking both pillows and fluffing them up against the headboard, before stepping in, reclining against the pillows. Gabe followed right behind him, resting his massive body against Jesse’s front, head leaning against his chest, right above his heart.

“Do you remember where this all started?” Jesse asked, metal hand coming up to caress through Gabe’s growing curls, muscle memory still remembering what that felt like. Gabe’s silky smooth hair falling through his fingers. How he missed being able to actually feel them with that hand.

“How could I forget? You were insufferable!” Gabe snorted as that smug smile spread on his lips.

“Hey now, jefe...” Jesse protested and tugged a little on Gabe’s hair.

“Ai…! Ai! Stop it…” Gabe laughed as his hands came up to remove Jesse’s hand from his abused scalp, bringing his arm around to his front and kissing his knuckles softly.

“Of course I do, pendejo. How could I ever forget.” Gabe whispered that last part against Jesse’s metal knuckles, soft smile spreading on his lips as they both fell silent, remembering the where it all started.

*

“THE FUCK I WILL!” Jesse roared in Reyes’ face and turned to storm out of the office, ignoring Jack.

Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt a major headache push to be let through.

“Well that could have gone better.” Jack’s soft voice roused him out of his misery.

A big, heavy hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

“You alright, buddy?” Jack asked softly.

“I honestly don’t know, Jackie. I think we might’ve made the biggest mistake recruiting him to Blackwatch. We should have just sent him off to prison with the rest of them.” Gabe sighed as he squeezed his eyes shut and hung his head.

“Hey now…” Jack soothed, hugging his oldest friend from behind.

“He’s a good boy, he just needs some help getting there. He hasn’t known kindness for a very, very long time, Gabe. Remember that. I know he can be trying, hell, infuriating, but you see it too. Underneath all that grime and fuzz and anger, there’s a good young man just waiting for a chance to break free.”

Gabe’s arms came up to hold onto Jack’s, head tilting backwards to lean against his shoulder.

“I know, Jack. I know. He’s just so…” Gabe grunted at the frustration the kid left him with. He was supposed to be the adult one here, but still, he bit onto Jesse’s -hook, line and sinker- every single time the kid fired up.

“Yeah… Luckily though, he’s your everyday responsibility. I just get him after work hours, he's good then. Well...mostly.” Jack laughed as he loosened his hold and poked Gabe in the ribs.

“Fuck you, cornboy!” Gabe growled without any heat behind it.

Jack feigned insult with a hand on his chest, mouth gaping in a pink frown, and Gabe couldn’t hold in a laugh at the ridiculous sight of the Strike Commander. His oldest and most dearest friend.

“Thanks, Jackie.” Gabe said smiling, play-punching Jack’s shoulder lightly.

“Anytime, buddy-o.” Jack winked. “Now go find Jesse.”

Gabe nodded as he turned to leave the office, not really needing to look for Jesse, as he already knew where he was hiding.

“And tell Jesse that Rein’s cooking tonight!” Jack shouted in the distance, but Gabe didn’t answer the call.

Walking up the stairs that lead to the small terrace rooftop, Gabe couldn’t help the butterflies that fluttered around in his stomach. It was ridiculous that he felt nervous, but this kid wasn’t just anybody. That day when Overwatch picked him up, Gabe had seen the scared kid beneath the rough exterior. The frightened eyes that stared back at him. He’d had the chance to run, he could have just turned to his gang member buddy and ran, but when their eyes met and Gabe shouted duck, the lanky, grimy kid had ducked, thin hands holding onto his ridiculous cowboy hat.

The other man had dropped down dead a few seconds later, gun clattering to the floor, but Jesse had remained on the ground, still holding onto his hat. Gabe approached him, gun raised as he calculated the new change in his plans.

Jesse hadn’t surrendered without fussing, throwing a hissy fit as only an angry teenager could do. The interrogation had been disastrous, Gabe ending up with a bloody and broken nose, while Jack fell to the floor in hysteric laughter.

They ended up offering him a deal; give up his leaders + their locations and join Blackwatch, or join the rest of his “buddies” in prison for life. Jesse’s face fell so fast that Jack and Gabe had looked at each other with worry. As they were about to address Jesse again though, he had opened up, giving them everything he knew. The shame on his face was heartbreaking, a look someone his age shouldn’t know how to bear.

It had been roughly a year since that day, but though Jesse had mellowed down considerably since then, he still gave everyone hell once in awhile. The past three months had been pure torture for Gabe though. He had started lashing out on him, no one else, just him. It seemed they no longer could be alone in the same room together. Jesse had stopped coming over for movie nights with the team if he knew Gabe would be there. He sat the furthest he could away from Gabe at the cantina and even during their rides for missions, where he always used sit beside Gabe, he now moved away from him. Gabe couldn’t fathom what he’d done to upset the young man, but something had to give before harm would befall anyone accidentally.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Jesse’s lone figure at the end of the roof, sitting before the sunset, hunched over on himself.

Gabe walked over and sat down a small distance away from him.

“I’m sorry if I’ve upset you, Jesse.” he started softly.

Jesse only grunted into the hat he was passing around in his hands and Gabe felt it would be easier pulling teeth instead of coaxing the younger man into talking with him.

“I don’t know what’s up lately. You’ve been pulling away and I’ve tried to figure out if I’ve done something to deserve the cold shoulder you’re giving me, but I can’t. I’m your Commander and the leader of this team, but I trust that you would come to me if you feel like I’ve done something wrong. Especially if you feel like I’ve done you wrong. We’re friends, Jesse, and I care about you, bu..-

That had obviously been the wrong thing to say, as Jesse’s back stiffened and he growled low in his throat.

“ Course we’re jus’ friends.” Jesse sneered as he stood up to leave.

“Sit your ass down, pendejo.” Gabe sighed, but didn’t reach out for him.

After a little while of Jesse grumbling under his breath, he finally sat down beside Gabe again, his hat still being strung between his nervous fingers.

“Listen, kid. I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do, that’s all up to you do decide.” Gabe starts.

Jesse just grunts as a reply.

“What I will do though, is give you an advice." he smiled softly at what he was about to tell the younger man. "Just try to be the best version of yourself that you can be right now. The rest will fall into place eventually.”

Gabriel put his hand on Jesse’s shoulder and squeezed gently. He rose from his spot beside him and without looking back, left Jesse to ponder.

As an afterthought, he shouted back to Jesse that Rein was cooking tonight and that he hoped to see him there.

*

“I never understood what I did to set you off like that though.” Gabe said as he twinned and untwinned their fingers on his chest.

Jesse’s heartbeat skipped underneath Gabe’s head, and he leaned back to stare at the underside of Jesse’s bearded chin in confusion.

“You uh… you didn’t actually do anything. You were great back then. Patient. Strict, without being cruel. But most of all you were kind to me when you really didn’t have to be.” Jesse turned his head away to stare at the wall opposite them.

Gabe reached out for Jesse’s head and pulled it down. Soft lips met Jesse’s slightly chapped ones, and they both gave a breathy little moan at the contact, still electric after all these years.

“It wasn’t hard to see the real you under all of that pretence, Jesse.” Gabe said with a small smile on his lips.

“When I pushed you away back then, I had just realized that I’d fallen for you. I was embarrassed and ashamed. Felt like you should’ve taken responsibility for it, but knew you wouldn’t. I wasn’t worthy of your attention like that. 'Least that’s what I told myself, so instead I got angry and pulled away.”

“Oh…. I uh… “ Gabe stumbled over his words, tongue feeling too big for his mouth, as his words failed him.

Jesse smiled down at Gabe as the other man’s cheeks were visited by a red blush crossing them. He looked flustered and Jesse couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Madrè… I was so clueless back then, wasn’t I?” Gabe closed his eyes as he shook his head softly in embarrassment.

“Ya kinda were.” Jesse agreed with a drawl and a grin. “I’m sure if Jack didn’t snitch on me, you wouldn’t have ever found out about it.”

Gabe turned around on Jesse’s chest then, crossing his arms and leaning his chin on them. His eyes were such a deep brown right then, that Jesse was sure he could very well drown in them.

“It ugh… it was a rough time in my life. I um… I didn’t do very well with my feelings.” Jesse whispered almost inaudibly.

Gabriel uncrossed his arms, placing them on either side of Jesse’s body, before leaning up over him, looking Jesse deep in the eyes. Then Gabe smiled. The smile that had always made Jesse’s knees weak and that always caused his heart to race.

“I can hear your heart beating, cariño.” Gabe whispered, his lips just out of reach from Jesse’s own, warm breath teasing him.

Jesse didn’t get the chance to answer though, as Gabe’s lips descended upon his own. A soft push of lips, barely more than a touch, promising Jesse everything he’d ever need. Gabe increased the pressure, still keeping the kiss light. His right hand coming up to smooth Jesse's shaggy hair out of his face, long fingers gripping his wild locks and holding onto them, making Jesse strain his neck.

“Only for me, Jesse.” Gabe whispered as he trailed kisses across Jesse’s bearded chin, down his neck, pausing to suck gently on his adam's apple.

____________________________________________ 

Jesse moaned as Gabe bit down hard on his neck, making the heavy length pressed into the crook of his hip jump. Gabe let out a breathy moan of his own at the resistance it met, soft and warm.

“Don’t ignore me, Jesse.” he growled as he nipped Jesse’s throat to get his attention.

Jesse couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him. Gabe could be quite the possessive man at times, sometimes bordering too much. He would scowl or growl warningly at other people giving Jesse too much attention, at touches that lingered too long, but Gabe would never be mean, and that calmed Jesse enough to let him continue his little territorial dance.

“I’m here, Gabriel.” He soothed. “I’m right here.”

Jesse’s hand came up to grip Gabe’s neck, anchoring him at the same time. He knew well what the other man feared the most, but his worries had alway been a tad pessimistic.

“I’ll never leave you.” he whispered into the mop of Gabriel’s curls, tightening the hold on the bigger man. A small whine came from the crook of his neck, shortly followed by a bite, and Jesse couldn’t help the sad smile that pushed it’s way forward.

“It’s ancient history, pumpkin…” he added reassuringly.

*

The days that followed their argument had been nothing short of a nightmare. Reyes was grumpy and short tempered 24/7. Even the Strike Commander walked on eggshells around him.

Jesse sighed as he hid from the Blackwatch Commander for what seemed like the umpteenth time that very same afternoon. He hated seeing him troubled like this and wished more than anything that he could make the older man’s day just a little bit better.

But Jesse had promised himself to stay away from Gabriel. His heart couldn’t take the pain that followed every day when dinner was over and everyone went off to do whatever they did at the end of the day. Reyes would always go to his office in the Blackwatch part of the base, winking and giving Jesse that smug smile of his as he passed him by.

He’d stopped doing that now. Well….to be honest, Jesse didn’t actually know if he had, he just never stuck around long enough for the older man to finish his meal. Jesse couldn’t stand to look at the other man anymore, the longing to touch, to smell and hold him, too much for Jesse’s poor heart to bear.

Instead he lashed out. Hiding his slowly crumbling heart behind sneers, anger and mean comments. After training he’d pull back, tucking his tail between his legs and crawl back to his room. Back to being lonely, back to being a nobody no one cared for. This wasn’t where he belonged anyway.

Everything changed when Reyes stopped showing up at training, instead leaving the responsibility to Captain Amari. Jesse thought it would be easier not seeing Reyes at all, but his absence burned stronger and stronger every passing day. He’d never realised how much he depended on the other man, how much just his presence guided him. And without him, Jesse was lost.

-

Gabriel stared at the recruits training from the window of Jack’s office. The constant gloomy veil rustling around him as a constant reminder of what he couldn’t have.

“Just go to him, Gabe. The worst that could happen is him rejecting you, which by the way he won’t, and things would be awkward for a week or so before going back to what they used to be.” Jack commented as he twirled around on his chair, behind his desk.

Gabe’s brain short-circuited so fast he never registered what hit him.

“E-excuse you?” he asked bewildered, panic making itself known by sweating in his hands.

“Jesse. Go to him.” Jack stopped spinning and looked at him, offering a soft smile.

Gabe could feel all color drain from his face. His heart was going to beat out of his chest, he was sure of it. He’d never told anyone. Especially not his best friend. He was so caught off guard that he completely forgot to play his part as a grump.

“Wh-wha…I don..- Jack? Gabe didn’t know how to proceed.

“Listen, you’re as transparent as this glass of water, Gabe. We’ve known for a while. “ Jack held up his hand as Gabriel opened his mouth to protest.

“It’s alright, Gabriel.” he smiled and Gabe felt a chill run down his spine. Jack never referred to him by his name, unless he needed Gabe to listen.

“You’ve watched that welp grow into a wonderful young man and I have to agree, he does clean up nicely. But this moping around, pulling away from your friends, pulling away from me! That can’t go on much longer, Gabe. I need my Commander, my best friend to make this whole organisation run smoothly. Rein is exhausted, Ana has her arms full with your agents and barely got any time to see little Fareeha.”

Gabe flinched at the mention of his goddaughter. He hadn’t for a moment stopped to think about how his moping would affect others around him. “But most of all, Jesse isn’t doing too good without you. He landed his ass in one of Angela’s beds again.” Jack said with a sad smile.

“Again?” Gabe asked gruffly, trying his best to seem uninterested.

“Again, Gabe. He’s been to Angela’s seven times in the last four months. That’s six more than the other thirteen months he’s been here. The kid’s lost everything even close to resembling concentration since you left him.” Jack’s face scrunched up as he leaned back in his chair.

“Now ho..-” Gabe started, but Jack shot up from chair, hands smacking down on his desk, making it and it’s content move.

“He’s lost thirteen pounds, Gabriel! Hell, the kid didn’t have thirteen pounds to loose to begin with. He’s suffering while you mope around like a coward.” The veins in Jack’s face had popped, meaning the other man was infuriated with him.

Gabriel’s scowl would have made any other man crumble to the far corner of the room in fear, but for a second, he forgot who it was he was talking with. This was Jack, his best friend. Hell, who was he trying to kidd, Jack was as good as family at this point, had been for a long time.

But Gabe couldn’t do what Jack wanted him to. He didn’t know if he would be strong enough to survive the heartache when Jesse would reject him. So Gabe turned around and left Jack’s office instead, making sure to violently shut the door behind him with enough impact to rival the great earthquake of San Francisco in 1906.

“You’re a fucking coward, Gabriel!” Jack shouted after his retreating form shortly after. But Gabe ignored him as he kept walking away, pulling the hood on his sweater tightly over his head, shielding the world from his sight. He’d go to bed and try to sleep, maybe he’d get lucky tonight and actually accomplish that easy task.

-

Jesse watched Gabriel’s hunching form as the older man retreated back to the Blackwatch section of the base and felt a sting in his chest. He didn’t know how long he could do this for. This was the first time in over a week that Jesse had spotted the other man, apparently he was just as disgusted by the prospect of Jesse’s love for him as Jesse was.

His suspicion only got confirmed when Gabriel had lifted his head and looked straight at Jesse and sneered, before retreating more hastily. Jesse couldn’t suppress the broken gasp that left his mouth as the pain of that realization set in full force. Tears ran down his face as he came to the conclusion that he’d had enough.