dadication | Open Post

Eyes remained narrowed, and for the moment it looked as if things would simply remain that way, even as Gabriel got himself in to bed. But the fact he was silent should have been a clue to something. The anger of Jack's was one thing, but there was something he wasn't going to sit and take.

Jack acting as if he was the one in the wrong.

Gabriel cut off the connection without a word, not even looking at Jack. Let that dead air hang.

Reyes was a vengeful man, always had been and the need for theatrics never helped in that manner. He knew that he would pay for his attitude and pay he did. When the connection between them suddenly shut off, he made a surprised sound of a man choking for a second in the shock of it, jerking in the bed next to Reyes. Then he realized what had happened and growled.

He said nothing but refused to close off his side of their connection, leaving wide and searching. The only thing he knew instinctively was that Gabriel was alive but other than that, he had nothing. It was deeply lonely; it was amazing anyone went their whole lives with this feeling and didn't go mad.

He lay with his back turned, fuming and achingly lonely but said not a word.

It was also very, very rare that Gabriel went so far as to cut off his end of the bond like that, even if angry with Jack over something. If nothing else it was a testament to just how angry he was over the entire thing, on top of the fact Jack had the nerve to act as he was over the entire thing.

So he kept his back turned to Jack, laying on his side and curled in a way that left him as far away from the other as physically possible. While remaining on the bed. Gabriel wasn't about to compromise his health by pulling another move like going to the bathroom, even if something like that had crossed his mind.

He simply remained like that.

Their anger was potent but boyish, always had been. Usually it was a hissing fight, a punch or two and then they would find common ground again, but with as many injuries as they had, that wasn't possible. Hell, they could still barely stand for more than a few minutes at a time, so rolling around in a fight was not going to happen.

With Gabriel hooked back up to oxygen and them occupying the bed as far away from each other as physically possible, Jack suspected there would be no walking away from him at least. The opposite wouldn't always hold true, though he was wary of going to the bathroom after how frightfully cold he had been once he had woken. His body couldn't cope with another stunt like that.

He lasted about half an hour in the quiet, listening to the distant sound of emergency sirens. It wasn't often that their link was cut and if it was, Gabriel let him know ahead of time for mission security sake. It was stifling, and he was being punished.

After thirty minutes, he made a wounded sound and pushed himself up from the bed, slipping from it to head to the bathroom himself. He grabbed the blanket still in the filthy tub and tossed it out, kicked the door closed and turned on the water to the shower. He shouldn't get his wounds wet, but he was filthy and impotently angry and hurting.

He pulled off his clothing gingerly, some of it sticking to him from dried blood and dirt. He had to remove his bandages just as carefully, ignoring the blown stitches on his abdomen and reached out to touch the water to check for heat. The water was blessedly warm even if the tub made him thank god he was taking antibiotics. He stepped in and shut the shower curtain after him, just standing under the spray and watching dirt, blood and who knew what else streak down his body and swirl down the drain.

Felt it was apt if Jack wanted to turn his back on him, act as if he wasn't there; may as well step it up and let him feel as alone if he was going to hold up that attitude. Try and punish Gabriel for not letting him run out on some foolish self appointed mission. How he felt at least with his own anger, and it wasn't dying down even as time passed.

A punishment in turn for another, more or less. More so when he felt it was undeserved; there were times he knew he'd earned it, but this damn well wasn't one of them. One unfairness called for another.

He kept shoulders hunched in his own curl, ignoring the fact Jack was there. Gabriel kept arms wrapped around himself in his curl, eyes closed after that half hour rather than boring a hole in to the wall with a stare. Didn't open them when Jack started moving, and didn't move when he heard the door kicked close and the water turn on.

Anger and stubbornness combined, and he wasn't about to move, let alone let the connection fall back in to place. That remained cut off.

Cooler heads were supposed to prevail, but the water wasn't exactly helping with that, not as it poured over him unevenly, the stream not of best quality but it was warm and washed away the filth that covered him slow but sure. His hair might even be back to some odd silvering blond by the time he bothered to step out of it. Maybe.

He knew it was stupid to run off, but he wanted to, needed to. Gabriel was his everything, especially now. If the road was closed for the man in future, he had no idea what the way back was. His only course seemed to be trying to head it off, but it was reckless. He still thought he could do it, could make it, could trick the snipers.

It didn't matter in the end, did it? Cut off from his bond, life honestly lost most of its meaning. Unprepared for it as he had been, injured and broken, nauseous and worn thin... it weighed on him more than usual. Yet another loss, even if it wasn't permanent.

He reached up, slowly rubbing a hand through his hair and wincing, the broken knuckles lighting fire down his fingers. He punched the tiles in the bathroom hard, undoing all of his previous work resetting them. Just to feel anything at all.

He slowly washed one handed, letting the broken one hang by his side. He didn't end up staying too long in the shower, not about to stand under cold water so when it was heading that way, he finished up and shut off the tap. He stood silent and miserable, letting himself drip dry for a few minutes before deciding on an off-white towel and had dubious stains that had been unsuccessfully removed. He basically threw the towel on his head and another around his waist.

Gabriel didn't stay in place for the amount of time that it took Jack to shower, the anger still sizzling under his skin, keeping it all to himself. Isolating in keeping the bond disconnected; a punishment and letting it be very clear that Jack had apparently crossed a line, a sort of anger that wasn't to be taken lightly.

He moved off the bed, throwing down the oxygen mask and nearly let the thoughts to just leave himself filter across his mind. Knew better than to act on them, even as he eyed the sniper on the floor, picked it up and just set it out of sight, inside the poor excuse of a closet. Hell, even had the temptation to just go outside the door and pay for another few hours. Anything to get out of the room rather than dwell.

Instead he picked up the MRE that had been knocked to the floor, the packet still warm to the touch and seated himself on the floor, back against the bed and facing the entrance door to the room itself. Tearing open the packet and using a spork that came with the pack to very, very slowly eat the still warm macaroni and cheese.

Fuck going another day without eating more than a few bites of an energy bar.

With the link closed off from Gabe's side, he didn't know the location of his bond mate. He didn't know what he was doing, his state of health beyond 'alive', anger or comfort coming down the link. He stepped out of the shower, but didn't even bother with the mirror which was steam covered at this point.

No, he decided to pick through his damaged clothing to see if any of it was salvageable. He washed what he could one-handed in the sink, removing filth and blood from the dark material. Then he hung it to dry, though there was nothing to be done with all the holes and tears in the material as he had no replacements aside from a jacket they had stolen from the EMTs.

After that, he emerged from the bathroom still dripping water but also curling tendrils of blood from his side. Clean made all the deep purple bruises stand out stark on his pale skin, and his knuckles were heavily discoloured but he was grasping the towel that hung on either side of his head. Anxiously, he picked out where Gabriel was immediately, assuring himself his bond hadn't just left for air and space.

He stood quiet and morose for a long moment by the bathroom then glanced aside. "...I'm sorry..." he murmured, his anger having turned to ash and burnt itself out for the most part.

If he hadn't been keeping the link closed off Gabriel would have left, even if not going far, for space and air. As it was he wasn't going to be more cruel as to up and leave with it cut off. No matter the fact it had crossed his mind a few times; he wasn't aiming to cause panic or worry in the act that could already be seen as cruel on its own.

Wasn't tasting any of what he ate, it was just warm. Little at a time was already an effort on it's own, more some mindless act that was needed than anything more. Done so very slowly it was like he wasn't even making a dent in the amount in the bag itself, more or less eating one noodle at a time.

He didn't turn his head when the door opened didn't move other than the same slow chewing, but at the very least when Jack spoke the bond re-linked slowly. As if that was all it would have taken in the first place-

"Do you know why." Sounded dead and hollow.

Well, Reyes was eating, so that was something. Better than they had managed otherwise, so he could at least take that as some kind of consolation prize. He still was waiting for the older man to simply rise and leave the room now that he could watch it happen rather than find it out while in the bathroom. He likely wouldn't panic given how long they had been bonded, but it would have made him deeply unhappy.

He lingered where he had come to a stop, and he was ever thankful the holovid was still off. He felt the first prickle of the link reopening and twitched visibly, shutting down his side enough that his emotions wouldn't bleed down it. Stress and negative emotions were things he had learned to hide so as not to worry Gabe and distract the man, particularly on missions.

Did he really have to be treated like a child all over again? He chewed his lower lip, ignoring the pain that brought on to the sutures there. "Because I turned my anger on you unfairly."

If he wanted to think of communication as being treated like a child- "You feeling better, or did it just burn up while you punched a wall and showered." Same dead tone, because with how long they'd been bonded it wasn't difficult to guess what that noise had been..

There wasn't a trace of much on his end of the bond, open as it was, no feeling of why his voice sounded so dead. Easy to guess it was how tired his own anger burning quietly had left him, or easy enough to guess. Just the feeling of him there was open again.

"Food's still warm if you want a go at trying to eat."

"No, not better," he said softly, but he eased forward to head over to the bed slowly. The shower had eased some stiff muscles, but he still moved gingerly for the sake of not tensing up all over again. "Burnt itself out, I guess." He eyed Reyes with the continual dead tone. That was never a good sign.

He seated himself on the edge of the bed, noting the discarded mask and oxygen tank. It seemed that they tired very easily once they weren't high on their emotions, but he also suspected they were hiding some of their emotions from each other. He reached up and carefully rubbed the towel over his hair, but he ended up stopping when he worried he'd dislodge scabs there.

"...I'll pass. You finish it up."

"Figures." Never a good sign, but he just didn't feel like putting in the effort to change how he sounded. "Were in there long enough," for it to burn out.

The tank was on empty, hadn't really been a whole lot of it left, but it had lasted well over half an hour at the very least. Been no reason to keep it on when it wasn't helping any, and Gabriel just... hadn't felt like hooking up the last one there. Why bother? If his lung was re-filling with blood it would have been wasting air.

That plastic spork was tapped against the package, "Can't." Finish it up.

He grunted softly at the comment about being in the shower long enough. He probably should have kept it brief for the sake of his wounds, but the water had only run clear at the end. He had to wash slowly with one hand anyway. "Probably a bit of hot water if you want it," he murmured back.

Maybe Reyes should sleep instead, if that dead tone of voice was any indication. He pulled himself up on the bed and made his way over to the opposite side to where he had sat, taking up the spot he had slept in, except sitting there and leaning his toweled head against the wall.

"...still nauseous or just exhausted?"

"Don't trust me in a shower just yet," at least it was some admittance to how he felt? Even if that wasn't great on it's own, but he knew himself. Worried he'd be out of it if he got too hot even i only in a slightly heated shower. With how exhausted he was all over again.

Gabriel fell silent for a moment, listening to Jack move and partially just thinking over an answer.

He ended up holding the packet of still warm mac and the spork in one hand as if just silently asking it to be taken. "Mix of both."

"You'd probably topple," he agreed. It didn't look like Reyes was about to get up and wander around. Hell, he wasn't certain the older man would make it back to the bed without assistance and he had no idea if he had the ability to actually be useful in helping either. They were such a mess. "We can clean you up tomorrow morning before we leave."

He was exhausted all over again crawling back into bed. He also ached, but that was the new normal too.

It took him a moment to recognize the gesture of holding up the package, and he struggled to lean forward to take it from Gabriel's fingers, setting it on the bedside table next to him instead. Best not to leave such items on the floor. "Come back to bed and rest?"

There was a slight sound of agreement there,because really, "And I doubt you're in any condition to deal with me if I get another concussion from falling in the shower." Not at the moment anyway. "Yeah, be more rested and you can probably help me keep my footing better," so at the very least he wasn't refusing help. That apology had gone a long way it seemed.

He let his hand fall back down on to his lap, legs stretched out in front of him, still sitting on the floor, back rested against the side of the bed.

"Give me a minute- and we still have to check you over and redo any of your stitches that popped." Of course he was going to be sticking to that. "Did you fuck up your knuckles again?"

"Don't think either of us are in any condition to deal another concussion at this point," he agreed. He wasn't certain he had the strength to hold Gabriel up or pick the older man up if fallen in a shower. "It will feel better when you're clean, I imagine," he added softly, though it would have to wait until tomorrow.

He should apply bandages to some of his injuries again, but that took energy that he didn't have. Already, his head was dipping towards his chest, and he almost regretting choosing to remain seated. They also probably didn't have enough supplies for lengthy bandaging, so it was better to save their supplies.

"It's not bleeding anymore," he grunted. It would heal. He would heal. He glanced at his knuckles which were swollen bruised and obviously broken. "They'll heal like everything else. Might need to hold off driving stick for a few days."

Definitely agreed with that point, too. They were still in the beginnings where all of it was so fresh, and had to get it through both their thick skulls that they needed to try and take it easy, let themselves heal before running off to do shit. "Probably," but right now he couldn't chance it.

Gabriel let out a slow breath, head falling back to rest against the bed, looking up at Jack. His eyes were... not quite glassy, but somewhere just before it as if to match that dead tone of his voice. Exhausted, tired, hurt in more ways than just physically. Both of them were such a fucking mess and as much as they wanted to do something now... It wouldn't help anything. Wouldn't help either of them like this.

"At last wrap your hand with something, sunshine." Trying, but he just didn't have the energy to pick himself back up. Couldn't hide the sound of his voice like he could keep the feelings going through the bond. "Don't do this to yourself."

Had they even made twenty-four hours yet? He doubted that they had. It wasn't as if they were two guys that sat still much for anything, and there was no one in medical to nag them into bed or lock them down to it. No, they were fully capable to be reckless stressed idiots that still believed there was some mission or another to partake in. He figured the only reason they were still here in one place was because of a combination of exhaustion and a deep need to take care of the other when severely injured.

His eyes were on his knees mostly, half closing as he fought the urge to just shut them completely and nap like this. He would definitely live to regret it if he did. With the bond between them narrowed so his emotional state didn't cross, he was somewhat unaware of Reyes' own suffering. He had felt much of it before Gabe had previously locked down their link, suffered in the same way his bond did.

He shifted and lifted his head a little then shrugged. "No point. You can't cast a broken hand and bandaging it will waste our materials." Apparently they were back to pet names now, or Reyes was too exhausted to notice at this point. "I already did this to myself. I'll live with the consequences."

"We'll get more- remember the bunker? Well stocked in case of emergencies." Because Gabriel Reyes was a paranoid bastard and always wanted to prepare for the worst. This was not the Worst that he had planned for, however. "We can use this and stock back up there, and your hand will heal or at least feel a bit better if there's some sort of... reinforcement to stabilize it."

It was easier to concentrate on Jack rather than himself, even if he sounded so very detached due to the dead tone. Only stating things instead of... well.

"Consequences will effect the both of us now, not just you and not just me."

"And who knows how long we'll be there with the way we're pulling our stitches," he remarked, even if he finally gave in and shifted on the bed to lay on his back. It was so much easier, even if he curled on one side to take the strain off of some of his incisions. He would have liked to encourage Reyes on the bed with him, but he understood that such a feat required energy. "It's fine as it is. I just need to leave it suspended. It's too swollen for a bandage and I doubt you grabbed splints."

He hadn't looked that deeply into their medical supplies aside from what they had needed in the now of putting each other back together. After all, he'd crawled out with a sprained wrist and so maybe he had added to that with the busted knuckles. Reyes was concerned, he understood, but he just... wanted to lay here and not do anything anymore.

"Bigger consequences if you can't even muster energy to get back into bed. What's a hand compared to that?"

Eyes closed, Gabriel tired of staring up at Jack and towards the ceiling, seeing more of it than him anyway. "Can make do, done it before with even less at our disposal," Not like they could keep full supplies while moving during the Crisis. Supplies running short, separated and holed up in some blown out building. How were those almost better times than what had been happening around them lately? Things had been circling, hadn't they?

Shoulders slumped and he couldn't even hold the slight block on his end of the bond, the exhaustion and... everything flooding through without him even realizing. Detached and running on practically nothing. The bit of food just enough to all go towards his own healing. Body taking every last thing it could for it.

"Two hands are pretty useful."

Their situation now was a little like the Crisis where they were constantly on the move and had limited supplies to get them through. Unlike the Crisis, they had no idea who to trust or how to deal with injuries. They had been assigned medics here and there thankfully. "I know. We'll make it like we always do."

He was still able to reign in emotion on his side of the bond, but he was aware that Reyes' side was opening again, bleeding through utter defeat and exhaustion to him. Gabe needed sleep, food and limited stress. How the hell were they going to be able to move by the morning hours? He had no idea.

"You should get up into bed or you're going to end up sleeping down there and be even more stiff and uncomfortable when you wake," he murmured, ignoring the comment of two hands. He didn't have that right now, wouldn't even with a bandage on the broken one. "I can help you if you need it."

At the very least there wasn't the constant patrol of weaponized omnics to worry about. Just had to find a way to slip out of the city and get out to the bunker. Steal a car, maybe? Would have been a bad idea to keep the ambulance, and maybe a bike would be better. Easier to ditch than an entire car. Especially out near any wilderness— "Just have to work together."

And not go running out alone on an emotion fueled one man mission that would be suicide for someone who could die easily. Still incredibly stupid for either of them, but at least he wasn't of the mind or mood to think it.

"The floor's softer than the bed, or so it feels at the moment." Or he was just that tired, snorting a bit. "You should be trying to eat- at least one of us should."

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