#mcreyeswinterbreak

A minute or two after, the door knobs wiggles and Jesse places the mistletoe back between his teeth. Gabriel comes out with a robe around himself and a Santa hat. His eyes widen when he sees Jesse, then he laughs as his eyes twinkle.

“You like?” Jesse asks, mistletoe still hanging from his mouth, as he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Love it,” Gabriel answers, stepping closer to the bed. “Mistletoe is a nice touch.”

“Do I get a kiss?” Jesse asks, grabbing the mistletoe from his mouth.

Gabriel leans into the bed and kisses the younger man sweetly. He almost lets himself melt into it and lie on top of Jesse. “I just hope you love mine as much.”

“Oh, this wasn’t it?” Jesse moves his hand over to show Gabriel’s bathrobe. “I was starting to get a little disappointed.”

Gabriel scoffs and shakes his head as he unties his robe. He lets it slide down his shoulders, already displaying the red choker around his neck with a small, gold bell. Jesse lets out a light, approving laugh as he puts the mistletoe between his teeth again. Besides that, it seems like Gabe has nothing over his shoulders. Jesse bites his bottom lips in anticipation, and Gabriel drops the robe. Jesse’s mouth falls open and his eyes widen.

Gabriel’s wearing a strapless red corset, with a few white laced assets, a darker shade of red lacy panties, and a lighter red garter belt that’s holding white and red stockings. The more Jesse stares, Gabriel’s body heats up, and he shifts on his feet. The cowboy moves to sit on the edge of the bed and stretches out a hand for Gabe to take and pulls him a little closer.

“What’d you think?” Gabriel almost whispers, looking innocent, as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing to Jesse.

“You look gorgeous, sugar, and so delicious,” Jesse answers feeling out of breath already. His hands hold Gabriel’s hips before he says, “Guess you win.”

Gabriel smiles and places his hands around Jesse’s neck before he leans down and kisses the cowboy. They kiss for minutes, letting the moment slowly pass as they indulge in it. Jesse moans to the decadent taste of Gabriel’s hot mouth on his, almost like hot, melted chocolate. When his shorts start feeling tighter, he wraps his arms around Gabriel, and lifts him up with himself before turning around, landing Gabriel on the bed and the cowboy on top. Both laugh and Jesse sways the cotton ball at the end of his hat over Gabriel’s face before he kisses him.

“Tell me,” Jesse says and kisses Gabriel’s temple. “What does your little heart desire, darlin’?”

Gabriel hums and captures Jesse’s mouth with his own before answering, in a whisper that’s sinful, and it runs straight down to Jesse’s hardening cock, “I want to ride you, cowboy.”

“Fuck,” Jesse sighs before kissing his lover deeper, almost pushing him into the mattress.

Gabriel holds on to Jesse’s suspenders while Jesse’s hands explore every inch of fabric on Gabriel’s body. It isn’t until he feels Gabriel’s heavy, thick, hard cock, restrained by a thin layer of lace that his throat clogs and he growls with hunger coiling in his stomach. He slips a finger on the garter and slides it from side to side, feeling the goose bumps on Gabriel’s skin rise against his finger.

He takes his time, he doesn’t even know where to start with the beautiful display underneath him. He just keeps caressing every corner of Gabriel’s body and tracing the corset’s pattern with his fingers. He counts the times Gabriel’s breath catches in his throats and the small gasps that escape his puffed lips.

“I don’t even wanna unwrap ya,” Jesse murmurs, kissing down Gabriel’s neck.

“Then don’t, just fuck me already,” Gabriel begs and Jesse lets out a deep laugh.

“In a minute,” Jesse says before kissing him on his lips and then trailing down to his neck, shoulders and collarbones. Then what he can kiss of his chest before being covered by the corset.

Gabriel’s squirming by the time Jesse believe he has covered every part he can reach of Gabriel’s body and finally pulls the lacey panties to the side. They slide so easily and soft, it still amazes Jesse they’ve been able to restrain Gabriel’s cock.

He strokes, spreading the pre that beads on the tip, and drowns Gabriel’s moans with his own as they kiss. He peppers kisses as he lowers, even over the corset and patches of skin he sees, before reaching Gabriel’s cock. He kisses the shaft and licks a few lines, mapping the veins.

“Let me lie down,” Jesse says against Gabriel before both move. Jesse lies down and Gabriel makes sure to kiss him fiercely before climbing on his chest. Jesse’s pupils blow to the sight of Gabriel’s cock covering over his face and brushing his swollen lips. Gabriel slowly pushes his cock into Jesse’s opened mouth and the cowboy starts pressing his tongue around it, starting to taste and moan.

Gabriel arches his back and moans up to the ceiling, as his eyes close in pleasure. One of his hands dig into Jesse’s hair, pulling and gripping tight to the soft locks. He leans forward, getting his cock deeper into Jesse’s hot mouth, the cowboy moans more, the vibration shaking through Gabriel’s body and making him whimper.

After Gabriel’s satisfy, and he’s ready to move along, he slips his cock out of the cowboy’s mouth and slides his body back, letting his cock glide between their stomach, leaving a light path of saliva and pre-cum, before both their cocks touch. Jesse gasps lightly and Gabriel kisses him, dipping his tongue to taste himself. “Can you fuck me now?” Gabriel almost growls and Jesse chuckles.

“Yes, baby. All night long.”

Gabriel raises an eyebrow and smirks, “You give yourself too much credit.” Jesse frowns and Gabriel laughs before kissing the expression away. He feels their bodies dissolving into the other, combining their bones and their hearts beating together. He can feel them heating up until they glow, thumbing in their ribcages until it burns, until it feels like fireworks are crackling in their lungs.

Jesse’s sneaky hand finds its way to the back of Gabriel’s panties and slithers inside, his finger feels the beginning of the crack and slowly teases down. His eyes snap open when he feels a flat, round surface where Gabriel’s hole is supposed to be. When his lips stop moving, Gabriel laughs, knowing what the cowboy felt.

“Had it in me almost all day,” Gabriel says, obscenely, and licks Jesse’s bottom lip before kissing him.

Jesse purrs as he kisses back, “Yer killin’ me, and I love it.” It’s a slow torture that boils his blood that makes his bones rattle and a fever run through his skin. “You knew you were gun’ win?”

Gabriel shrugs as he smiles, “Just hope if you did, you’d want me to ride you.”

“You can tell me anytime you wanna do that. I’ll never be against it, sweetpea.” Jesse kisses him with a moan, already imagining Gabriel’s round ass bouncing around his cock, taking him fully and making Jesse whine and squirm under him.

Gabriel’s on his knees, with his head down and ass up, a moaning and whimpering mess and hat long gone. The plug lies by his foot and Jesse’s tongue deep in his lose hole. It’s been minutes that feels like an hour since Jesse started teasing him like this. Poking his tongue in and out, rimming the gaping hole and using his fingers to keep it open.

“Jesse,” Gabriel cries into the pillow. His cock feels too heavy between his thighs, ready to burst, but he doesn’t want to, yet. He knows Jesse’s must be the same, especially after receiving hardly any attention. “I know you want it too.” Gabriel wiggles his ass, causing Jesse to moan and dive deeper, his nose pressed against Gabriel’s skin.

“I do, I do,” Jesse says before kissing one of Gabriel’s butt cheeks and then the other. The cowboy grabs the bottle of lube he had pulled out from the nightstand and coats his own weeping cock. He pushes Gabriel’s hips to the mattress and spreads the cheeks to have a good look at the gapping, lose hole, waiting to be filled. Once his cock is aligned, he rubs it over the rim of the pucker before slowly slipping it inside.

A sinful moan escapes Gabriel’s mouth, finally feeling full as his body shivers. Jesse’s movement is light, barely a jerk so Gabriel can adjust around him. He doesn’t move much yet, he’s only getting Gabriel ready for what’s to come. Once both have a quick taste, Jesse pulls out and lies beside Gabriel as the commander moves to saddle his hips. His hand eagerly grabs Jesse’s slicked cock and he lowers himself. His quivering thighs lower him as he swallows Jesse’s cock and the cowboy almost cries loud enough for the whole base to hear on this silent night.

Gabriel doesn’t wait for much, he starts bouncing as soon as Jesse’s balls touch his ass. Jesse rambles a string of pet names and beautiful words that Gabriel can hardly pay attention to. His head feels light, as if he’s soaring through clouds, and Jesse’s tight grips on his waits is the only things keeping him from completely leaving this world.

The corset goes lower with every bounce and Jesse’s right hand flies to catch one of his nipples, finally being able to play with it. Gabriel’s head leans back to the sensation tingling from the touch and coming from his ass.

Jesse’s lost for words when he looks up at Gabriel. The Christmas lights shimmering on his bronze skin, adding an extra glow to his shine. He’s like an angel that has fallen after tempting Jesse to sin with his body built by Lucifer himself. Jesse holds Gabriel still, tries to control him before he thrusts upwards into Gabriel. The older man gasps as his mouth remains gapped, but his eyelids are too heavy to keep open.

Jesse feels a coat of melted gold slipping around them. It brings them a glow and heat, the sensation of becoming one. Of their hearts clashing together in a fierce race, seeing which one spills the three sweet words first, and who says it louder.

“I love you, Gabe,” Jesse pants.

“Love you too, Jesse,” Gabriel answers, panting as much.

“Fuck, I love ya s’much,” Jesse winces when he feels a spark of pleasure heating up in his groin.

“Jesse!” Gabriel gasps as he places his hands on the cowboy’s chest, swaying his hips faster and stronger, wanting to shatter at Jesse’s mercy and let him pick up the pieces and shape him back, just to break him again in the morning.

They come together, and break apart in breathless gasps and moans. They whisper their names softly before they grow quiet and Gabriel remains around Jesse, taking every drop of come he can.

Jesse sits up, hisses a little to his softening cock inside of Gabriel, and wraps his arms around the older man. He kisses him like it’s the first time, like they hadn’t just crumble in each other’s arms and he’s new, ready to go again.

“Good Christmas Eve?” Gabriel asks against Jesse’s lips.

Gabriel looks up from the boiling pot and smiles at Jesse as the cowboy approaches him. His not sure how close is too close now, even if before the holidays they’ve had little to no space moments during mission or debriefings. He keeps a few feet away from Gabriel, but enough to see the boiling chocolate brown liquid in the pot.

“Made more in case someone wondered in,” Gabriel says. “I was hoping it was you.”

Jesse smiles and lowers his head just a tiny bit when he feels his cheeks blushing, “smells good. Is it ready?”

“Almost,” Gabriel responds as he stirs the pot for a few seconds before turning and grabbing a second mug from the cabinet. “Got a big craving with a weather like this.”

“I just got up to watch a movie or something since I couldn’t sleep,” Jesse confesses and Gabriel looks at him with a hint of concern. “Maybe make popcorn, but this is way better.”

Gabriel scoffs, “I’ll move my papers and get out of your way.” Jesse looks at the living room and sees two folders on the coffee table, along with Gabriel’s tablet. It seems he had just placed them there before he started making the chocolate.

“I don’t want ya to,” Jesse says as he looks back at him. “Those papers need yer urgent attention?”

Gabriel looks into his eyes and Jesse hopes he gets the message. Reyes softly smiles, “Not really, why?”

Jesse shrugs and chews on his bottom lip, “Maybe we could watch a movie together.”

“Do you need my urgent attention, Jesse?”

Jesse’s breath almost stutters with Gabriel’s words. “Something like that.”

Gabriel nods, “Something does need our attention.” Jesse nods in agreement and watches as Gabriel chops two chunks of a chocolate bar and drops one on each mug. A shiver runs through Jesse, making him hug himself. “You cold?”

“Freezin’,” Jesse answers, even in his long pajama pants and long sleeved shirt.

“There’s a blanket on the couch, you can get comfortable.”

Jesse looks back at the living room and sees the dark gray blanket on the couch, neatly folded. Must also be Gabe’s, he thinks as he approaches and sits down to wrap it around his body. It’s big enough to wrap it around himself a second time. “Oh, man!” Jesse lets out when the warmth quickly embraces him. “You don’t even need this, yet body’s always warm and shit.”

Gabriel laughs, “I still like how it feels. Do you want marshmallows on yours?” Jesse can hear the pouring of the hot chocolate into a mug.

“Hell yeah,” Jesse responds, snuggling deeper into the couch.

“How much is too much?”

“Surprise me. So you came here to work?”

“Something like that,” Gabriel responds as he tears the bag of marshmallows. “Thought it was best to do some ahead of time.”

“You still can’t, I won’t bother ya.”

Gabriel doesn’t say anything quickly, “I’d prefer talking to you now.” Jesse says nothing as his face heats up, but Gabriel asks, “Why couldn’t you sleep?”

Jesse shrugs lightly, the blanket around his neck lifting to his chin. “Too much noise. Takes me back to those days in Deadlock when raids happened. Or when they thought it would be fun to play a prank on me… Just couldn’t, you know?”

“I understand,” Gabriel says. After a minute, his commander appears in front of him, with both mugs filled to the rim with hot chocolate, whipped cream that drips down the porcelain mug, chocolate syrup and little marshmallows almost melting into the drink.

Jesse unwraps himself to grab his. “Thanks, Gabe. This looks really tasty.”

“You’re welcome, Jesse,” Gabriel answers as he sits down and takes a sip from his mug. Jesse waits for it to cool a little, even if the temptation is pulling him to drink.

“You feel too far,” Jesse confesses and Gabriel looks at him. “I-I mean, after what happened… We slept so close and side by side—it’s nothing.”

Gabriel chuckles before he scoots closer and wraps one end of the blanket around himself. Jesse does the same and moves closer, careful not to spill any of his drink on the blanket. “It’s not that I’ve been avoiding you, Jesse.”

“I know, I know. We’ve been busy with the Christmas dinner, and your meetings and training. Plus, I think we’ve been too busy trying not to act like something happened.”

Gabriel huffs a laugh, “Yeah. One of the others’ bound to suspect something.”

Jesse barks a laugh, “Well, I went with my boss to meet his mother, I’m sure they joked about something being up since before I left.” He sips from his chocolate and his tongue stings a little to the burn, but the flavor melts it all away. It’s thick and creamy, and full of sweetness. “S’really good!”

“Thanks,” Gabriel says before licking his lips. Jesse gazes at the movement for a second before looking back at his own mug. “What do you wanna talk about, specifically?”

Jesse sips and swallows. He licks his lips before answering, “Are we somethin’?”

“Do you want to be?”

Jesse nods, almost afraid of what might follow. The thought of Gabriel storming off scares him too much.

“If you’re sure, and you want me, then, I’ll be happy to have you, Jesse.” The words come sweeter than the chocolate through his lips. “But we gotta have in mind it won’t be easy.”

Jesse nods, “which we also have to talk about.”

“Nothing big should change, only when we’re alone. I’ll bring it up with Jack and Ana, see if there’s any paperwork we need to fill, but I trust they won’t shout it from the rooftops.”

Jesse scoffs, “Can’t say the same for my friends.” Gabriel laughs softly and they drink in silent for a while. When Jesse looks at Gabriel again, he’s licking his lips once more, cleaning the leftover chocolate on them. This time, Jesse does what he wanted to do before, he holds Gabriel’s cheek with one hand and leans forward to kiss him. There’s a spike to the chocolate from Gabriel’s tongue, like a spicy that boils Jesse’s blood. He’s sure Gabriel can taste it too when he moans and deepens the kiss with a brush of his tongue in Jesse’s mouth.

The older man feels Jesse shivering, so he grabs the cowboy’s legs and slides them over his lap, making Jesse move closer as they kiss. Suddenly, the blanket is too hot and tight, but Jesse doesn’t wanna push it away yet. It shields them both from the outside world, from a place that kept them too far apart for too long.

They finish their drinks while they talk between sips. It already feels like it used to, talking about everything without holding back, including places they’ve been to, stories that never get old and past missions. But this new position they’re in makes Jesse learn new things form Gabriel, like how he likes to look where he’s caressing Jesse and back at the cowboy’s eyes, making sure it’s okay. Or like how he smiles and bites his bottom lip when he really wants to kiss Jesse. McCree indulges him in the latter many times.

Halfway, Jordan hands him his cup of coquito and do a quick toast before he’s dragged again when the twins take him to the new people that arrive. He thought he would get to spend this time by Gabriel’s side, but so far they always seem to be at opposite sides of the big backyard, which takes him a while to actually notice every decoration. The trees and bushes are adorned with lights and a few ornaments and ribbons. There are colorful paper lanterns hanging across that will look beautiful in the night, no doubt. Music is always blasting through the speakers and someone always seems to be dancing, as well as eating. There's always food on the tables set out and drinks ready to grab. When he finally can be with Gabriel, the man looks younger, more alive than he has ever seen. He’s always smiling and his eyes twinkling. His laugh reaches Jesse’s ears as loud and clear as the songs playing, and if he could save it in a bottle and drink it later until he was delirious enough, he would ask for nothing more for the rest of his life.

At first, Jesse worries about taking too much food, until Clarisa comes after noticing his shyness and fills a plate for him, he loses the worry and feels comfortable enough to grab something every time he passes by. The twins ask him to dance and he follows gladly, not afraid to show up his moves. After that, he spots Clarisa picking up the empty plates and he hurries to help.

“You don’t have to, cariño,” she says.

“Please, I like to help.”

She smiles, “well, would you mind following me inside? There’s more to bring out.”

“More? Isn’t everyone full yet?”

She laughs and pats his shoulder, “wait until we pull out the pork. These people will look like they haven’t eaten a day in their life.”

Once in the kitchen, she asks him to clean up the plates while she grabs more food to refill them. Once that’s done, he can see more clearly what they’re having: small sandwiches, meatballs, gingerbread cookies, chicken and beef quesadillas, chicken flautas, guacamole with pita chips, chips with spinach dip, chicken wings and blue cheese, mozzarella sticks and bread rolls. Even if he didn’t want to get too full for dinner, his mouth was watering and his hands twitched to grab something.

Clarissa’s laugh brings him back, “See? Go ahead! Call first dibs!” She hands him a plate and he believes denying it will be rude, so he grabs a bit of almost everything and keeps it on a corner of the kitchen island. “Why the cowboy get-up?” She asks while refilling the guacamole bowl and handing him a bag of chips, “Put a few around, please.”

“Will do,” he answers as he pours the chips on plate around the guacamole. “My ma and I used to watch western movies late at night, when she came off work. They were always on at that hour and it stuck with me.”

“She was a doctor, right?” She looks at him and Jesse’s a little surprise. Just how much has Gabe talked about him?

“Y-yeah! One of the best. I use to go to seminars she gave, she was wonderful up on stage.”

“Did you ever wanted to follow in her footsteps?” Clarisa asks as she looks for the quesadillas she kept warm in the oven.

“At some point in my life, then…” He trails off, not really knowing how to follow. Clarisa finishes up placing the quesadillas neatly in a plate and then look at him. Her face changes to worry.

“Perdón, mijo [Sorry, boy], if I asked anything too personal.” She, and her daughters, must also know Jesse speaks Spanish. They’ve said a few lines in the language without worry Jesse might not understand, as if he was someone they talk to everyday.

“Nah, nah, it’s just that after what happened, after the doctors told me they couldn’t save her, I didn’t believe in them anymore.” Her gentle hand touches his arm, and even through the long sleeve shirt, he can feel her energy, almost as if it was his own mother’s touch.

“You let me know if ever ask about a touchy subject, besides, no sad faces today, alright?” She lifts his chin so he can look at her and he can’t help the genuine laugh that escapes him. “Also, you look handsome, never forget the hat!”

“Thanks, ma’am. Yer son helps me keep it, ya know?” He steps away from the counter and lifts one pant leg to show her the beautiful boots he only wears on special occasion so their color remains. “Got me these boots last year.”

“Oh, they’re beautiful!” She leans down to have a better look. “He has good taste in many things.” Jesse raises his leg when she’s about to touch to feel the leather and the carver design before she straightens up. “Including men.” Her smile is wicked before she turns to get the chicken flautas and Jesse’s there with a blank expression before he continues helping out.

“Already got him a slave for you, mamá?” Gabriel’s voice almost startles him, as if he had known they had been talking about him and sneaked past their senses. He approaches his mother and kisses the top of her head.

“It was about time you talked to your mamá,” she says as she rolls her eyes.

“You know how it is. I miss a year of pictures and stories, everyone wants to tell it first.” He looks over at Jesse, “you should be out there, having a good time.”

“What’d ya mean? The real party’s here,” Jesse says.

“He knows who matters in this place, who works hard to make this happen,” Clarisa says in strict voice, but it covers a lot of years of teasing.

Gabriel sighs playfully, “¿Quieres estar afuera y disfrutarte la fiesta? Yo me puedo encargar de esto. [You want to be outside and enjoy the party? I can take care of this.]”

“¡Ay, mi hijo tan bueno! Ya tú sabes como a mí me gusta acomodar todo. ¡Estaré afuera si me necesitan! [Oh, my good son! You already know how I like to prepare everything. I’ll be outside if you need me!]” She pets Jesse’s cheek before she leaves. Jesse watches her leave and laughs before Gabriel joins in and starts preparing the other dishes.

“She loves attending people, but she also deserves the time off.”

“Agree. She’s wonderful, sir.”

Gabriel elbows him, “You know you can call me Gabriel here.”

Jesse nods because he knows, and he has called Gabriel in other moments, moments he shouldn’t because he’s surrounded by other agents or Jack or Ana. Hell, even ‘Gabe’ has escaped his mouth and the older man hasn’t corrected him yet. But here, it feels too intimate, too private even to call him by those names, at least not naturally. It all feels official to something they haven’t even had yet.

“She knew about my ma,” Jesse says after a few seconds of bags, plates and soft noises. “Does she know about my pa, too?”

“Yeah, and she would send a chancla flying to his face if she ever met him,” Gabriel says, either not realizing what Jesse means by pointing it out, or brushing it off.

Jesse decides to act directly, “does she know about other agents’ parents?”

Gabriel remains quiet as he places gingerbread cookies on a plate, but didn’t even flinch when Jesse asked. Maybe he knew what Jesse was implying. ”You’ve grown so much since you joined, Jesse. In many way. You’ve become an important asset to Blackwatch, so yeah, I talk about you to her. About how good you are at taking care of your teammates, how you’ve saved my ass in the last six years even after I yell at you for it.” There’s a glint of gratitude in Gabriel’s eyes and Jesse chuckles. “How you didn’t let your past determine your future and you chose the right side—even if the other was prison—you accepted Blackwatch after you joined. And you let us accept you. You grew from that and became someone you can be proud of in the future, someone I’m happy to bring here.”

“Chucks, Gabe,” Jesse looks down, hiding his blush. “Didn’t expect that.”

“Hey,” Gabriel says and lifts Jesse’s chin, like his mother did, but this touch makes Jesse shiver, makes him follow every moment like a puppet under Gabriel’s control. “It’s time you start expecting good things, Jesse.”

Jesse smiles, and tries to control the warmth running through his body. He looks at Gabriel and thinks it’s the best thing in the world to be on the edge of his fingertips, and by his side on such special occasions that means a lot to him.

“Seems like you guys need help,” Jordan steps into the kitchen, and Gabriel’s hand falls from Jesse’s chin.

“I can take these ahead,” Gabriel says, grabbing one plate on each hand. “Can you help with the rest?”

“Sure,” the man says before Gabriel walks away. When he passes behind Jesse, he teases the cowboy’s hat and laughs before taking two plates. Jesse follows with two more and Gabriel returns until the tables are full again.

That’s when things change. When Jesse places the last plate on the table, and turns around, the twins are there, giggling. He’s about to ask what’s funny when both kiss him at the same time on his cheeks and Liliana asks him to dance again. When the song ends, Mariana’s girlfriend, Mariela, asks to take the next one, but not before also kissing him in the cheek. When they’re done, he retreats to get some water, where a little girl is trying to grab a cookie.

“Let me get that for you, lil lady,” Jesse says and grabs the treat for her. The quiet girl smiles at him before her eyes focus on his hat, which is not new to Jesse, but then she curls her little finger so he leans down. He follows and he thin lips press quickly to his cheek before she hurries off. He takes it as a thank you, before grabbing his cup and continuing mingling with the rest. He’s about to walk towards Gabe when he’s stopped by Clarisa, who wants him to meet the neighbors that just arrive. They’re daughter, who seems to be about Jesse’s age isn’t shy about giving him flirty eyes and he’s sure her lips linger too much on his cheek.

It goes on like this. Two other twins, who he can’t remember who they belong to, kiss his cheeks too. As well as a few other women and younger girls. Even Clarisa does it, one for each cheek. He doesn’t get much time to think it over since they usually dive into conversation after that, or it happens when he doesn’t expect it. If Gabe’s family was this affectionate, why hasn’t it shown through Gabriel? At least in kisses, because they have hugged and grabbed each other’s wrists, along with miscellaneous touches like the one Gabe did earlier, or when he brushed Jesse’s hair after the cowboy got hit in the head—though that happened again one time when Gabriel thought his hair was too long. Yet his hand brushed it with longing, as if he never wanted to let go.

When he sees two plates of food become empty again, he decides to go place them in the kitchen and see if there’s more food to put out. He finds Gabriel in the kitchen, who had the same idea and was filling up the flautas plate again. Though eating them was more like it.

“Don’t let yer ma catch ya,” Jesse jokes as he looks for the guacamole. “Man, yer family is great. They’re like black holes.”

“You’d fit right in,” Gabriel comments and Jesse turns to him. His sees his eyes briefly shift to his hat then back to his eyes.

“When’s dinner?”

“In about an hour, tio’s coming with the pork. We always let him cook it there since there’s less hassle.”

“Need any help?”

“I could use it. I’m usually in charge of setting up the table and getting the sides and the rest of the meal ready.” Gabriel steps closer to him, steady, as if Jesse will run.

“I’m yer guy,” Jesse comments, shifting on his feet when Gabriel steps closer. “It’ll be like last year.”

Gabriel scoffs, and he’s close enough for his breath to brush Jesse’s face. For their chest to almost touch if Jesse breathes too hard, which he’s trying not to do as he keeps his breathing steady, even if he’s lungs are gasping for air and his brain’s spiraling as it starts feeling light. Jesse steps back, knowing the kitchen counter is right there, just to feel trap, just to have an excuse as to why he didn’t stepped away. And he’s glad Gabriel steps closer, his smile growing to something wicked.

Gabriel’s hand goes to Jesse’s hat and pulls something off. When Jesse looks up, he’s holding a mistletoe with a strip of tape. “Do you remember that story I told you about last year?”

Jesse laughs, almost chokes with the knot in his throat. “There was so much happening, but I was stupid not to realize why everyone’s kissin’ me all of a sudden.”

Gabriel chuckles, “Like you need a mistletoe for people to kiss you.”

Jesse’s cocky smile drops, his heart thumps against his bones and his blood runs hot. He swallows hard, and notices clearly how Gabe’s eyes follow the motion, and go up to his lips. Jesse can’t help it, there’s still a devil in him that tells him to lick his lips, and he sees how Gabriel licks his own, before he gazes up at Jesse’s eyes. Jesse takes the dive and wraps his hands around Gabriel’s neck, pulling him to meet him in a kiss. Gabriel breathes deep before he responds and wraps his strong arms around Jesse’s middle. He still pushes Jesse closer to the counter, keeping him there for himself, to devour and drink his breath.

“Seems like you needed it,” Jesse says, almost breathless against Gabe’s mouth.

“Just waiting for the right moment,” Gabriel responds, one of his thumbs drawing circles over Jesse’ shirt. “I think this one’s pretty perfect.”

“Not. Yet,” Jesse says, in a dreamy, almost delirious voice, before he leans forward and kisses Gabriel again. This time, he pushes Gabriel, until the older man’s waits hits the other counter, pushing a plate close at the edge against bottles of species and making them knock against each other. He laughs in the kiss while Gabriel smiles and bites the cowboy’s bottom lip lightly. The action causes a soft moan from Jesse and makes him pull Gabriel towards him, as a sign to do it again, but Gabriel doesn’t, and Jesse knows he does it because he wants to hear Jesse say it, but this isn’t the place to beg.

--

When everyone’s fed and tired, when everyone but Gabe, Jesse, his mother and the twins leave, and the dishes are cleaned by Gabriel and Jesse, the five of them sit on the couch, after some delicate steps between all the presents pile and littered around the three. It isn’t big, which makes the amount of gifts underneath it look massive. Jesse bets he could build a wall and cover the whole three. The little kid in him wants to read all the names, find how many are for who. He’s sure he can expect one from Gabe since he hadn’t given anything so far. His stomach flips when he thinks about sitting by himself the next day, with one present on his lap while the others keep opening and create an ocean of wrapping paper on the floor. He looks at Gabriel, highlighted by the Christmas lights and colors, and he thinks it’ll be best to worry about that when the time comes.

Jesse was close to Gabriel’s side, hoping it would be enough for the ladies to not notice something was different. He tried to keep everything normal after the kiss, hoping no one could tell they almost made a mess in the kitchen after Gabriel got carried away and lifted him on the counter for a minute or two.

“I never saw you bring up your bags, Gabe,” Clarisa points out, while the twins look almost asleep by her side.

“They’re in a motel close by,” Gabriel responds and his mother gives him a stern look. “I wasn’t going to leave Jesse there by himself.”

“Of course not! Both of you can stay here. The bed in your old room is big enough for both of you.”

Jesse’s eyes widen and he eyes Gabriel quickly, but the man doesn’t look bothered.

“Oh, no! One bed!” Mariana says.

----

His hands are deep into bread dough, and his cheeks brushed with flour. Reyes looks almost the same, but his fingers are tinted with different colors from the cookie icing. When Jesse woke up, Gabriel was already in the kitchen, ready to prepare food for Blackwatch, including lunch, snacks, drinks and their usual dinner. He usually calls a caterer for this since he’s tired from the holidays to make it himself, but this year was different, and he wanted it to be special. They were baking gingerbread cookies, brownies and lemon cakes.

The eggnog was already in the fridge, ready to drink, and most of the snacks were done; Gabriel was just finishing up the cookies. Meanwhile, Jesse was following a recipe for an oatmeal honey bread Gabriel’s aunt does and he loves. Gabriel was going to start making cream cheese filled pumpkin bread after and then they will start with the salads to keep them fresh in the fridge. When those were in the oven, they started making pizzas for lunch: one roasted garlic, chicken spinach, another philly cheese steak, margherita and veggie pizza. When the first two were ready, the first six agents arrived, and started grabbing from the snacks and bread already set up on the table. They spoke almost at the same time and asked Gabriel and Jesse about their holiday while they finished up the other two pizzas. When those two were done, a few slices were already missing from the first pair. More agents had arrivd, enough to fill one dining table. Gabriel sat at one end and Jesse a few seats away from him, but by how much the other agents talked to him, keeping his attention away, it felt like a world apart.

Gabriel excused himself first and Jesse followed him with his gaze until he left the room, then he lost himself in conversation and helped cleaned up the table. Most of the agents went to settle back into their rooms or called family members to let them know they arrived safely. Around four in the afternoon, Jesse found Gabriel in the kitchenette again, with more ingredients in front of him, ready to be used and turn into something amazing. It surprised Jesse such little space could do wonders.

“Need help?” Jesse asks, leaning over the counter and looking over all the spices lined up.

“You’ve done enough, Jesse. Relax and spend some time with your teammates.”

Jesse shrugs and looks over his shoulder at Kimura, Rainer, Shannon and Taylor playing UNO on the coffee table. “I spend enough time with this lot. Not much with you.” When he looks back at his commander, he catches his face shifting to something warm. “And I like it.”

Gabriel huffs a laugh, “Alright. Go down to the cafeteria kitchen and get me two yellow bags that are in the freezer. Then we can get started.”

Jesse solutes him, “yessir.”

---

He returns with the bags, which Gabriel didn’t mention are quite heavy. When Gabriel opens them, he pulls out a turkey, ham and a rib eye roast. He puts Jesse on turkey duty, since it seems like the simplest one. It doesn’t have much by the recipe Gabriel hands him. He looks over the other notes and finds out the ham will be honeyed and the rib eye will be turned into a rosemary and garlic roast beef. His mouth waters already.

While they work together, Gabriel shares stories of his past family holidays. He mentions how his sisters placed a mistletoe on his hat ones when he was entering his teen years and got him a lot of embarrassing kisses from cousins, aunts and his mother every time they saw him. Back then, he was on a loner phase and hated being there. He confesses his ashamed of that and the thought of wanting to be away from his family. He recalls the day his older sister, Delilah, was getting married. She really wanted it and her now husband waited almost a year to propose to her in one of these gatherings, knowing family meant a lot to her. It was a normal festivity, until the husband kneeled in the middle of a dance. Then they had another thing to celebrate.

The more Gabriel speaks, the more Jesse aches to one day be a part of these stories. To be told who he is through Gabriel’s mouth, for his voice to describe how he felt when Jesse met his mother and sisters, and ate until the last crumb of food was licked clean from his plate. Maybe next year he will be involved in a story, hopefully a happy one.

Gabriel also put him in charge of baking more bread, this time garlic. He was massaging the dough, getting it ready to separate it in rolls, when Gabriel stepped behind him, pretty close. “Gentle, Jesse.” The cowboy swallows hard as one of Gabriel’s hands covers his and slows down his movement, but Jesse swears Gabriel can feel his pulse speeding up in his wrist. “You did well earlier.” The praise doesn’t help the knot in Jesse’s throat as he tries to breathe.

“Thank you, sir,” he mumbles, lowering his head. When Gabriel pulls away, he wants to mess up again, do something fast just so Gabriel can say those words in his ear again. Or do something really great just to hear the pretty praises.

The table was set with all the delicious smelling meats, along with the warm, garlic bread Jesse made, which looked a little burnt, but Gabriel still told him it was good, baked mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, mushroom chestnut soup, cranberry almond spinach salad and strawberry salad, and steamed vegetables. All the agents were here, in exception of one or two, which is normal, and they begin to eat after everyone has served the first plate. The room becomes a mess of words, and Jesse can hardly hear the clatter of plates and silver wear, less Gabriel’s voice.

Gabriel remains in his chair after finishing up, while the agents gather all the dirty plates. Four offer to wash the dishes, while two take care of the leftovers. But to everyone’s surprise, Gabriel pulls out a chocolate cake and a velvet cake and leaves them on the counter for those who can still manage more food. He takes a velvet piece, while Jesse knocks himself to the chocolate. Rainer, Kimura, Shannon and Taylor also grab a piece and a few others, while the rest call it a night, retrieving to their rooms with a full stomach and sleepy eyes.

Kimura, Rainer and Jesse are the ones left in the rec room, munching off a few leftover snacks and talking about their holidays. Jesse lets them do the talking, until they yawn so much they can hardly speak a full sentence. They finally decide to retreat and Jesse tells them to go ahead, while he takes care of the plates they’ve used. Once he cleans them, and it’s ready to call it a night, Gabriel walks in, with the bottle Jesse gifted him and the two glasses with ice.

Jesse raises an eyebrow, “What’s the occasion?”

“I just thought you deserve it,” Gabriel responds as he places both glasses down and fills them up. “You helped a lot today.”

Jesse shrugs, but still accepts the drink, “Not like I had anythin’ better to do.”

“You could’ve left base, you know? You aren’t chained here or have a collar that will shock you if you walk out the doors.”

“Thought about it, but couldn’t think of anything to do. Besides, it was fun to make all that food. S’more that I’ve seen in a long time.”

Gabriel chuckles, “Yeah, guess I’m so used to it, I still wanted to see it.”

“And it’s not bad, you fed everyone well.” They sip from their glasses almost at the same time. “Woo, good stuff!”

“One of the little pleasures in life,” Gabriel comments with a smirk, that Jesse can’t help noticing.

“What are the others?” Jesse asks cheekily.

“Good food,” Gabriel responds, but there’s still a wicked spark in his eyes. “Music that won’t let you stop moving.”

“I like the won’t stop moving part,” Jesse comments.