Gabriel wasn't one for keepsakes. He'd long ago lost all the things he once held close to him. He had things he'd recovered from back home that he kept safe far away from anywhere he could lose them, but it wasn't often that he accumulated more. Since he'd returned, he kept to himself and the two people in his life who seemed to be the focus of his world — Jack more so, but details were details. His thumb rolled over the weakly stringed bracelet in his hand. Alternating skull beads were threaded with a piece of elastic. A child's bracelet colored dulled over time from exposure, whether that be weather or wear.
She came up to him so casually following the mission. No one got severely hurt and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. He was watching the boisterous round of slaps on the back and smiles on familiar faces, but hadn't expected Lena's gentle smile in his view. He never quite expected her to smile around him much. He'd taken a step back, face puzzled behind his mask as he was holstering his shotguns. It wasn't the typical smile she wore — the big grin, ear-to-ear with a bounce in her step. It seemed more meaningful. No teeth were bared and her cheeks burned from the exercise.
She was hiding something. Her hands folded behind her back like a child hiding a present from their parent. He didn't want to ask what it was, but he was sure he was going to find out anyway. "Found this out there." She revealed her secret when her hands uncrossed from behind her and brought the small piece of jewelry into view. The skulls were made of some sort of hardened clay or glass, but it didn't look cheap. It was something that its owner once loved by the looks of it.
Now, waiting to leave to return home, Gabriel sat on the outside of their rendezvous point while everyone chatted inside. His claws grazed over the outline of the one skull — a black one with faded eye sockets. It was chipped at the top, a flaw in its design that he couldn't tell was purposeful or not. Each one had its defect. Some were nearly completely worn and others were chipped as if hanging on their last leg. Despite that, it was still pretty in its own right. It was something special to its previous owner and now… it felt special to him.
His thoughts clung to the words that left Lena's mouth as she pushed it into his gauntlet out on the field before bouncing off to reunite with Jack after he'd taken the charge on the last mission. "It reminded me of you." They were spoke so quickly, but there was a certain amount of kindness about them. A genuineness and concern that was absent in their relationship at most points. They repeated over and over again as the smallest of smiles curled on his lips, slipping the bracelet past his claws to wear it underneath his sleeve. It would remind him of her too.