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[dadication]

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[dadication]

Tipping his face carefully into that hand, he allowed his eyes to close for a few moments to relish the moment. His ears were still pricked for foreign sound, but it was still quiet where they had set up camp. He hummed roughly in return to the words, enjoying them as he could.

"Probably," he agreed, sounding tired. "But I'm not driving, so my lack of sleep won't be detrimental on our travels later," he pointed out logically. All the while, his hand never stopped stroking up and down Gabe's back. "Take another hour or two."

[gr1m]

Jack was going to burn himself out and end up just passing out from sheer exhaustion at some point, and that wouldn't be good. Stubborn as the man was, not worrying about his own health; not that Gabriel was surprised no. Had been like this ever since the hell of what happened started, hadn't it? Jut had to work through it all.

His head rested back against Jack's thigh all the same, looking up at him. "Just a little longer, then both of us need to try and eat something before we set off," break down what little camp they had. Take what they could of meds to try and make the trip a little more... easy on their bodies, at least.

[dadication]

He knew that was true, that he was pushing it harder than he had any right to, but Gabriel was his priority. He needed to worry, even if he might collapse and pass out at some point. Hopefully when that happened, they would be hidden away and safe where both of them could recover and the heal.

"Yes, alright," he agreed softly. "Let me take care of you a little longer. You know that you'll do the same for me soon enough." He stroked his fingers between Gabe's shoulders, affectionate. "Rest, lover boy."

[gr1m]

Gabriel was far more worried it would happen while they were still on the road, much as he hoped that Jack could make it to the bunker. That he'd have whatever they needed on hand rather than having to struggle through it with them both only having a stolen bike and bag at their disposal. His own worry would remain until they were safe somewhere solid that he knew was off the grid enough to make finding them almost impossible.

"Okay," relenting softly, taking in a slow and deep breath and letting it out all the same. "Just... just a little while longer, then we have to get ready and go." Repeating himself almost as he couldn't help but let himself be lulled, even some soft amused noise at the pet name. "Hard not to with you."

[dadication]

Jack honestly couldn't fathom how much longer they had to go. He had slept yesterday, and they had both hit the point of exhaustion. He knew that they would continue to suffer as they tracked their way to where Gabriel was taking them, but he took some solace knowing that his bond was resting. He needed that to convince himself to keep his eyes open right now and hopefully for the rest of the day.

Paranoia was a powerful thing, and the idea of failure here and now was unacceptable.

His hand continued to stroke Gabe's shoulders and then moved up to cup and stroke the back of his bond's head, watching his damaged fingers slide over equally damaged flesh. He sighed heavily and shifted slightly to find a bit more of a comfortable position where he sat. He made no effort at all to wake his bond either, letting Gabe sleep as long as physically possible.

[gr1m]

Large part of him didn't want to try and get more sleep in, antsy and needing to get them both out of there quickly and back on the road. Keep as far ahead as possible, of what he couldn't even say exactly other than fear of them somehow being found. Needed to escape, get them both as far away as possible.

Rest of him knew the more rest he got, the longer he could drive and the further they would get. Needed that rest after pushing himself, but there was further to push. Reason to continue doing so.

There was some more rest gotten at least? Could have been better, and could have certainly been worse, but there was a hand lifted to cup the side of Jack's face when Gabriel did stir again. They needed to eat, both of them. Even if a little, slowly get moving. Couldn't make himself sleep longer than that.

[dadication]

The birds were coming awake, the sun was rising to lighten the sky and the forest, and it seemed as if the day tried to start without them. His vigilance wavered slightly now that it was light, causing his head to droop and his shoulders to twitch as he fought off exhaustion while Gabe rested.

It wasn't as long as either of them probably wanted, but it was more than Gabriel had before trying again. His eyes slowly focused when a warm hand pressed to his cheek, and he managed a small smile at the corner of his lips. His hand stroked the older man's head affectionately.

"As attractive as the first day I laid eyes on you," he murmured, voice slurred and heavy.

[gr1m]

Jack looked beyond exhausted, and he wished that he could do anything for his bond to ease him in to some sleep himself. Be better for him, give him that little chance to heal a little better and recharge. Trying so hard just to watch over Gabriel himself despite his condition, and knew the man would try if he were even worse off.

Couldn't hide the twitch at the corner of his mouth, keeping that hand there and giving affection as well as he could with that one hand. Christ, just as sappy and sentimental as always-

"Flatterer."

[dadication]

He would have leaned down to steal a kiss, but he knew for a fact that his wounds wouldn't tolerate it. No, he closed his eyes and turned his head to kiss Gabe's palm. That warm hand was welcomed, and he knew he could stay that way for a good while. They didn't have time for that, but he could savour it all the same.

"One of the reasons you love and put up with me," he murmured softly, then coughed a few times. Just small, probably removing some of the junk still in his lungs from the building fall.

"I guess this is us having to pack up and go?"

[gr1m]

"Just one of them, there are a few others on top of that." Hiding the worry from his face at least from that coughing, knowing exactly why he was but it didn't stop the feeling. Gabriel pushed himself up slowly just so he was eye-level with Jack then, pressing a light kiss against the corner of his mouth once up there.

They would be okay. With time.

Shaking his head, just a little. "We're going to try and eat a little first, take what medication we can, and then pack up and go. Okay?"

[dadication]

"Now who is the flatterer?" He was reluctant to let Gabe sit up, but he also knew better than to stop his bond too. They needed to get a move on, get on the road and further away from the wreckage of their lives. His brain felt fuzzy and sluggish as well, which limited how quickly he could react. Hence why he tried and missed kissing Gabe in return.

He made a sound, tilting his head a little. "Still have those m&ms and protein bars. Feel full from the stuff we ate last night." He ached a lot, so medication would be easily accepted.

They couldn't risk an infection at this point.

[gr1m]

"Not flattery when it's true." Seating himself beside and tucked a bit against Jack all at the same time, still within their makeshift tent. Offering his bond the chance to lean against him if he needed, already tugging their bag closer to himself, going through it as he nodded.

"We do, yeah. Which do you want to start with, first? Can open one of the sports drinks, too." Wash it all down, why not.

[dadication]

"Hush, you're going to make me blush, and I can't spare the blood for that," he replied with a faint tired smile. He shifted and stretched his legs and arms now that he had more freedom to do so and then he was leaning against Gabe's side, enough that he settled down enough to lay his head on the older man's shoulder.

"Maybe I'll start with sport's drink. Hydrate first," he murmured. His face was still sore and eating aggravated that. "Pills and drink first then... see about food."

[gr1m]

At least he bit his tongue on a 'all the more reason not to keep my head in your lap' comment, it far too easy to keep going in some effort to keep the mood light. Comfortable. Ignore the horror still surrounding them, that they weren't far away enough from yet. Soon they would be.

There was a bottle pulled out of the bag, already snapping it open so the lid would unscrew easily, holding it for Jack to take with his good hand. "Here. I'll get the pill bottles and other things while you tell me if that's any good." Still a light tease.

[dadication]

He thankfully managed to prevent himself falling asleep then and there by not closing his eyes while his head rested on Gabe's shoulder. He took the sport's drink and sipped from it, so tired he barely even tasted anything. It was sugar and water and that was enough to keep him from fading away completely to sleep.

"Tastes fine, I guess," he murmured and had to yawn, which cracked his jaw but more stretched the sutures to their limits and causing him to make a sound of pain. He touched his own face hurriedly but felt not blood. It just felt like he was ripping them out, not that they were out. "I need to turn off my yawn button."

[gr1m]

Jack was allowed to stay on his shoulder as long as he needed or just wanted, Gabriel was glad to have him so close, really. Easier to believe they'd be okay in little moments like this, really.

A free hand moved to rest against his bond's jaw, coaxing hi head to tilt just a little. "Going to be like that for a bit, and going to hurt until we can take out the stitching when it pulls I'm sure." Held up a palmful of pills then, offering for Jack to take first since he had the drink bottle already, "Here, get these down and see if t helps."

[dadication]

He knew that they would have to pack up now that they were both awake - or semi-awake in his case - but it was comfortable being so close. Finally, he could allow his guard down a small amount to allow his thoughts to drift, his brain to fill with static and his face to only marginally throb with pain.

"Yeah... just wish my body knew not to yawn at this point," he pointed out. He touched his face gingerly and then reached out for the pills, sighing heavily. "These better not make me drowsy or I'm going to be even more useless than a sack of potatoes."

He still threw back the pills and downed them with only a bit of trouble by having to take several sips of sport's drink to wash them down. He drank more fluid because logically he knew he had to before offering it to Gabe to finish off the last half of the bottle. "How many more days do we have to travel again?" His memory was like tissue paper at this point.

[gr1m]

"Automatic responses like that are hard to stop, sunshine." A little kiss placed against his jaw, Gabriel taking the bottle once it was handed over to him and throwing back another palmful of pills for himself to wash down with the liquid. Wincing just a little from the taste of the mix at first. It was fine, just not what he wanted in the morning.

Did mean one it was down he was fishing out the pack of candy coated chocolates to hand over to Jack after ripping open for him. Didn't have to chew those after all. "we'll find out later, won't we?" He honestly wouldn't mind Jack falling asleep during the drive.

"Going as we are? About a week, if we keep a steady enough pace about it."

[dadication]

"I know... just don't want to hurt so much. Also don't want you to have to stitch my face back together again," he murmured tiredly, though he hummed in pleasure at the kiss belatedly. He shifted slightly with Gabe's motions, but otherwise, he was fighting to keep his eyes open as they sat there in their relatively comfortable make-shift shelter.

He took the package of M&Ms and fiddled with it, but with only one usable hand, he mostly just jabbed his thumb at the package until he punctured it. He dumped a few in his lap where it was easier to pick them up and also share them with Gabe.

"A week?" He made a soft broken sound. He couldn't stay awake that long on watches. He knew it, and sleeping on a moving vehicle was going to require rope and prayer to keep him from falling off. "We might be healed by then."

[gr1m]

"I know baby, I know." On both counts, even if he'd be the one to stitch Jack's face again, rather not have to need him to sit through that pain again. While they were both still running mostly on adrenaline was one thing, any time now would be feeling the full brunt of it. Would rather it hold until it was time to take them out.

Did pick a little, taking an M&M or two as he worked at the protein bar, breaking it up in to little bites to mix with the M&Ms on Jack's lap for him to maybe have an easier time to eat. Better than him taking bites, hoping it'd be easier for him to chew, too.

Knew that sound, "At most, can probably cut it short by a few days if I drive through a couple of nights." No sleep for him, but he could manage it. No bringing up it would be much sooner if Jack was capable of driving. "We won't be healed until we can rest properly, just limping along."

[dadication]

Maybe he was whining, probably was. He knew it too, but he had very little left of reasonability to contend with at this point. He was leaning more heavily on Gabe, a touch on the needy side as they picked at the food in his lap. He ate some candies and a few chunks of protein bar.

He moved the fingers of his broken hand, wincing a little. It would heal because it had no choice at this point, and he considered the idea of them sharing shifts on the hoverbike. He knew he would so they could share duties, but they would have to come up with something to secure one to the other for the trip.

"No, you need to sleep too," he grumbled, aware he might not be making sense. "I'll... be able to drive one handed if its on the highway," he pointed out. That shouldn't be too difficult as long as the sharp corners were minimal.

[gr1m]

They would figure something out.

Gabriel was sipping the sports drink slowly, letting it last in order to just... not drink it too quickly in fear of it not staying down. Mixing a palmful of M&Ms and protein bar pieces as if it were a trail mix in order to eat that well enough, too. Still breaking up pieces to be sue Jack could get enough, too.

"I can go a night or two without if it means us getting there sooner, shaving a couple days off that rough estimate." Wouldn't feel great, but he could and that was his point. Head tipped just a little more towards Jack. "You sure?"

[dadication]

He slowed his eating before Gabe had finished down the sport's drink, leaving more of the food for the older man. His jaw hurt from chewing anyway, and they had made good headway on food last night, so he wasn't all that hungry even if he knew he needed the calories. It seemed less important with his tiredness.

"I don't want you to go that long without sleep," he murmured, not even caring how contradictory it sounded. He nestled in against his bond and pressed his face to Gabe's warm neck, finally closing his eyes for a few seconds. Probably a mistake.

"Yeah, I'll make it work. I'll need a few hours of sleep before making an attempt, but I can do it."

[gr1m]

Gabriel still left more M&Ms for Jack, something he could just let sit in his mouth rather than chew, picking pieces of protein bar out for himself to try and encourage him to take the candies. Felt like he still could take a bit more if he could let them melt rather than have to chew.

Let Jack rest his head, wasn't about to dislodge him. "I know, but I'm willing to lose that bit of sleep if it means getting us both somewhere safe that much sooner." Between the two of them he was a bit more fit for it. Right? Could keep telling himself that if he needed to, honestly.

"Maybe by the time we reach highway you'll manage some sleep."

[dadication]

He took a few more M&Ms slowly, sucking on them rather than chewing. He didn't finish the ones left behind for him, but he had taken more than before. He nodded at the self-sacrifice they both seemed perfectly stubborn about doing for one another. That's how it had always been since they had met.

"I just want you safe and able to heal. We'll do what is necessary for that," he murmured, nudging at Gabe's neck carefully with his nose. "You going to strap me to you if I try to sleep?"