Gabriel walked alongside Moira to the common room, the air filled with silence and her quiet whispers here and there, too low for him to make out anything coherent. She seemed to spend a lot of time speaking to herself, he absentmindedly noticed, and, perhaps against his better judgement, decided to comment on that fleeting thought.

"You really like talking to yourself."

Moira went silent for a moment-too-long. "My apologies. I didn't realize you were able to hear that."

"Hey, it isn't bothering me. Continue."

However, she didn't continue. As a matter of fact, the poor doctor's cheeks bore a heavily-saturated pink, and he suddenly felt like a jackass for making her feel so self-conscious.

A pit grew in his stomach as he thought of something to say; and as his mind drew blanks. Gabe's thoughts ran back to her note to him, and the way she spoke about herself.

She used the term undesirable to describe herself.

Undesirable.

What was so undesirable to her? Was talking to herself on that metaphorical list of undesirable aspects? What was so wrong with that?

"You know," he sounded more quietly now, "you seem to really enjoy doing a number on yourself."

"What do you mean?" she responded.

They entered a main hallway, a place perpetually buzzing with life, and it was no different then. He decided to step closer to her, voice level approaching a whisper.

Holy fuck, he loved the proximity.

"You're always beating yourself up. For one reason or another."

She glanced in his direction for a singular second before returning her gaze to the path ahead. "I have my reasons."

"I can guarantee you, they're not good ones."

"Well," she huffed, "sometimes I feel as if I deserve it."

"What the hell makes you think you deserve it?"

To his utmost surprise, the Irishwoman smiled, though it seemed slightly pained.

"There's a lot of things that cause me to believe that I deserve to be scolded, Gabe."

"Like what?"

The duo stopped in front of the doors to the common room, laughter and discourse emanating from behind the wall.

"I suppose..." She paused. "I suppose it's a more of a particular instance than a series of anecdotes."

That confession both confused and intrigued Gabriel, and a part of him did not want to attend the gathering and instead sit and chat with the woman that stood before him.

In private, specifically.

"What instance?" he questioned, and she shook her head and opened the door she faced, the noises from inside now escaping the room and dancing into the hallway.

"I'll talk to you about it at a later point," Moira explained, her voice raised.

She looked to him. "It isn't a story I'd like anyone to overhear."

Shit, that nearly made him smile.

"I got you," he told her, then decided to add, "Glad I'm special."

He couldn't not comment on the fact that it was a story she was entrusting to him and him only.

The Doctor raised her eyebrows, a miniature smirk forming on her features. "You're something, that's for certain." The Commander scoffed at her remark and looked into the now-breached entrance to the common room.

Before Moira could venture inside, he questioned, "You're sure you're all good?"

It was completely fine if she needed a few more minutes to relax.

The redhead's smile faded. "We're already here. I'll be alright."

"I don't mind, you know that."

"I do know that, and I appreciate the sentiment, however..." She trailed off and shook her head, breaking their eye contact. "No, don't say that," Moira seemed to say to herself, then proceeded to glance back to him. "I'm going to be fine, I'll get over myself eventually." All he could do was roll his eyes and follow her inside at that point.

I'll get over myself, she says. I'm upset and kind of emotional for some pretty damn valid reasons, but I'll just need to get over myself.

Gabe could hardly believe his ears at that moment.

Un-fucking-believable.

He was beginning to worry about this woman, now, more than he did previously and for extremely different reasons.

Does she think that lowly of herself? Does she believe becoming upset is wrong?

Or not "normal"?

Fuck, when Gerard died, he was a mess...

Didn't want anyone seeing that, though.

Perhaps that was it: a sense of pride and dignity.

Even if that were the case, however, he never believed "getting over himself" was ever a notion he should rightfully believe.

God in Heaven, the closer he became with this strange individual, the more depressing her story seemed to be.

All Gabriel could do is be there for her when she needed him, he decided for the night.

No one else was going to be.

"Looks like Gabriel and his cohort finally decided to show up," Ana's voice sounded, and he realized he stood at the bottom of a stairwell and in front of a group of sundry individuals.

"Yeah, sorry, got distracted fishing my cohort out of the depths of Hell," he smiled in return.

"This place is akin to Hell, isn't it?" chimed Moira's melodic voice.

In the meantime, Gabe glanced around the room, admiring the large assortment of food resting on the tables placed haphazardly along the walls as well as the empty alcohol bottles strewn about the television stand. At the moment, there were too many to count-go figure.

The thing that caught his eye, however, was the barely-familiar face that pushed her way through the wall that was Reinhardt Willhelm and stood before the Blackwatch Commander, a jubilant smile accompanying her features.

"It's nice to finally see you in person, Commander!" Mei expressed, and took his hand in her much smaller one and shook it firmly.

"Good to see you," he replied.

The brunette then turned to Moira and repeated her gesture, her hand once again being much smaller than the one she grabbed.

"Hi! I'm Mei-Ling Zhou, but just call me Mei."

"Doctor Moira O'Deorain. And I've heard of your research, Mei. I'm impressed."

Mei giggled, visibly delighted by the redhead's comment. "Thanks! I'll have to, um...tell you about it sometime!"

"I look forward to that."

"Good! And can I just say, you're really pretty!"

"Oh?" Moira seemed to be genuinely taken aback by the smaller woman's compliment, and her ears seemed to flush in the slightest bit.

You are pretty, was what he thought at this point.

"Mhm. Even your voice is pretty," Mei nodded.

The tall geneticist scoffed rather awkwardly. "Thank you, that's kind of you to say."

"Just saying what I'm thinking! But now I have to go, I think my food is getting cold."

"No problem," Gabriel assured her. "Go and enjoy yourself."

"Thanks, you too!" The Chinese woman spun around and waved her goodbyes, then proceeded to jog over to the couch and disappear behind its headrest.

"I talked with her for a bit," Lena spoke up, "she's awfully nice."

"A wonderful addition to the team!" Lieutenant Willhelm boomed before turning to Ana. "You and Jack have a good eye for new comrades!"

"Only the best for my organization," was the Captain's response.

While Gabe listened to the two soldiers absentmindedly, Moira decided to lean closer and mutter to him, "I wasn't expecting that."

He couldn't help but chuckle at her admittance. "You're funny."

"I'm not joking."

"I know, that's why it's funny."

The woman gave him a look that screamed what the hell is wrong with you?, yet she smirked as she did so. "You're such a child sometimes."

"Hey, I'm a guy, it's in my genes. I'd think you of all people would know that."

She rolled her eyes wholeheartedly. "I'll be back shortly, I'm going to use the restroom."

"I'll be here."

Moira nodded and headed towards a doorway, and all the while, he, trying to make it as unnoticeable as possible, watched her go.

After the geneticist disappeared, Gabriel opted for examining the various types of alcohol and treats that were scattered about the room; however, his scrutinization was cut short when he discovered Cadette Oxton simply staring at him with an almost childlike curiosity within her gaze.

She stepped closer to him, possibly so her voice wouldn't be drowned out by the white noise bouncing off the walls of the large room. "You know, Boss, I don't want to be nosy, but do you actually have a thing for her?"

The group had since dissipated; it left only her and him.

And he was somewhat relieved by that.

"Didn't I already answer this a while ago?" Gabe nearly spat out rather defensively, and he hated how he could hear the defiance in his voice, because that meant she could hear it, too.

The Brit shrugged. "It really seems like it, from the way you act around her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I'm just saying, it seems to be turning into a 'you can't find one without the other' situation. And you just told us that you went out of your way to bring her with you. Not to mention that it's hard to ignore that you get kind of flirty around her." Lena shrugged as his skull burned with embarrassment. "I'm a girl," she giggled nervously, "we tend to notice these things."

Oh my God. It's that noticeable.

He put his hand over his eyes and shook his head, unable to form words at that moment.

If she picked up on shit like that as easily as she did, who else picked up on it?

Who else is laughing to themselves right now?

"You know..." he started, yet those two words were all that came forth.

He needed to dig himself out of this hole he caused.

"It's alright, Commander!" Oxton patted his shoulders reassuringly. "I get it. You're forced to be stuck with someone for a while; that could lead to some weird feelings."

He sighed, defeated.

There was no getting out of this one, either, was there?

"Is it that noticeable?" He could barely look her in the eye.

Why am I like this?

"Well, to me and maybe a few others, sort of. To her?" She seemed to look back on some things before answering. "It's hard to say, honestly. She's really good at not showing how she feels. Like, crazy good."

"You're telling me," he scoffed.

Lena giggled once more. "Well, I'm rooting for you! And this will stay between us, don't worry!"

"Thanks."

"No problem, Commander!" She offered him a quirky salute and blinked over to where Winston stood placing food onto a plate.

She definitely knew, he thought. She's smart as all hell, nothing got past her.

If she were aware, that meant she wasn't acting upon it because she didn't feel the same, then, right?

Oh...

Oh, that was so fucking depressing.