Author's Note - Request from Tumblr, one kiss limit. Fandom is Overwatch
Reyes wiped a smear of blood from his mouth, ignoring the sting of pain that it brought. He glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room, its red light blinking a steady rhythm. This wasn't the first time that Gabriel had been locked in an interrogation room. He peered at the two-way mirror, wondering who stood on the other side. Had the orders to seize him come from Ana or Jack? Someone higher up in the food chain? Gabe didn't know, and honestly he didn't care.
The men who dragged him here could have come from anywhere. Well, anywhere except Blackwatch. Reyes knew his soldiers as well as he knew himself. He would have been surprised if Jack ordered this despite the man's seething anger the last time that Gabe had seen him. The soldiers that dragged him from bed made it clear that they intended weren't above excessive force.
Reyes hadn't made it easy on them, at least. His swollen eye reduced his vision considerably. The soldier that gave him that had gotten lucky with an elbow, mostly because he was surprised to see a female in the squad sent to bring him in. He'd fought with and against both genders and knew that women could be as deadly as men. But, he'd expected the body mass that grabbed him to belong to a male. A comment along those lines had earned him the busted lip as well.
Running his tongue across the wound, Reyes tasted blood a second time. He focused on the details around him: the coppery tang in his mouth, the blinking red light, the chill of stainless steel beneath his finger tips. He forced his heartbeat to slow and curved his lips into an unaffected sneer. If they wanted to paint him a villain, he'd be damned if he didn't give the performance of a lifetime.
The door handle jiggled, giving Gabriel three seconds of warning. He tensed, considering making a break for it, then relaxed. Whoever had put him in here sent six heavies to bring him in. Even if GAbe made it through the door, it would be suicide to step into the hallway. He would only be playing into their hands to run. It would be better to wait and see what this farce was about.
The man that stepped through the door made Gabriel's heart stumble in his chest. Jack wore the white and blue of Strike Commander, the conforming armor making him seem larger than life. He carried a datapad in one hand but he didn't glance down at the device, laying it on the table. He didn't look at Gabriel either; his eyes bored into the wall above Reyes's head as the door clicked shut behind him.
The silence dragged for several long seconds. Gabe wondered what the hell he'd done this time. Finally, when no answer was forthcoming, he cleared his throat. "Jack? What's this-"
"Strike Commander Morrison," the blond snarled, voice icy steel and disdain. "Try to get at least one thing right, could you?"
Reyes sneered. So, it was going to be like that was it? He didn't bother repeating the title of his one time lover. That distinction had caused enough problems already. Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and held his silence. Jack rounded, looking at him for the first time. The man's blue eyes were hard, unreadable. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
"It would be nice to know you want me to say," Reyes shot back, anger bubbling up too easily. It had been weeks since he'd talked to Jack beyond feigned cordiality. A month or longer since he'd had anything but cold stares and angry distance, like Gabe was a problem the busy Strike Commander didn't have the time to deal with. Despite his desire to be unaffected, Gabe's rage burned his throat. "Maybe some clue as to why you dragged me here in the first place?"
Jack's gaze slid across Gabriel's face, pausing momentarily on the swollen lip and eye. He shook his head sharply and activated the datapad. The screen behind him lit up with a map of Rialto. Jack scrolled through the images. Headline after headline appeared: questioning the power of Overwatch, wondering who watched the watchdog, and suggestions that power always corrupts. The words flew across the screen until they blurred together. Then, came the photographs, pictures from Antonio's manor, the shattered glass and broken body on the stones. More and more scrolled over the screen. Images from Rome, and older missions that Reyes had almost forgotten about.
Jack continued until Reyes felt an itch between his shoulder blades; he waited for the inevitable dagger. He knew what Jack wanted, what Jack needed, but he couldn't carry those ghosts. Reyes shrugged. "So?"
The datapad hit the table so hard that the screen cracked. The images vanished. "Do you really think you're above the laws we made?"
"Yes," Reyes answered, snorting under his breath. "You're the one that opted for plausible deniability, not me."
Gabriel should have seen the movement, noticed the snap of a coil wound too tight, but his face hitting the table still surprised him. It reopened the flow of blood from his lip, made his eye sting, and knocked the breath from his lungs. He splayed his fingers on the top and pushed himself back up. Reyes made himself grin. "Look at that, even Boyscout can get his hands dirty when he's angry enough."
Jack slammed a fist into the table, making it tremble against the bolts holding it to the floor. The sound echoed between them. His next words were emotionless as ice. "You're going to give me the answers I want, one way or another."
Without looking at Reyes, Jack walked to the corner of the room and activated the biometric panel. The machine beeped when he placed his palm on it, then he leaned close so that it could scan the pattern of his iris. The two way mirror across the room turned black, and the red light on the camera stopped. Reyes started to speak but Jack held up one finger, eyes glued to the analog clock above the door. Then, he nodded. "We have two minutes."
"What the fuck-"
Reyes barely got the words out before Jack was beside him. One hand fell on his shoulder, the other came to brush his cheek. "I'm sorry. I had to make it convincing."
"Well, you fucking convinced me," Gabe seethed, jerking away from the touch. "What the hell?"
Jack withdrew his hand and glanced at the clock a second time. "They won't tell me what they plan to charge you with. I barely got access at all; they're afraid I'm compromised."
The pieces fell into place with a resounding click. Shit. Gabe tipped his head to look up at the blond. "So, I'll take the fall, and you'll keep your pristine reputation."
"We have one minute left together, and you want to waste it arguing," Jack grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Ana and I are doing everything we can, but Overwatch doesn't have the pull it used to."
Gabriel grunted without answering. The disastrous missions that Jack had thrown in his face were the main reason Overwatch had fallen from grace. Jack reached out a second time. "I didn't know they planned to take you until it was over."
Reyes turned away from the almost caress, anger burning his chest. "Don't act like you care. You've hardly looked at me in-"
"Dammit, you're all I see," Jack hissed, hauling Gabe to his feet by the front of his shirt. "Do you have any idea what I risked turning off that monitoring, coming here in the first place? They're waiting for me to mess up so they can drag all of Overwatch down with you."
"Then, let it burn." Gabe growed. He saw the pain flash across Jack's face and almost felt bad for the sharp words. Almost.
Jack sighed and scrubbed through his hair. "We don't have time for this. Just remember, no matter what happens, I'll get you out."
Gabe wanted to ask for more information, but irresistible pressure dragged him forward. His chest hit Jack's, their lips meshed together, and the world spun. He had no idea how long of their two minutes Jack saved for that kiss, but it was worth every bruise on his battered face.
The hand in Gabe's shirt shoved him back into the chair almost at the same time as the door opened. Jack picked up the busted datapad and turned away, nodding toward the stranger. "He's all yours."