Chapter Rating: PG-13
Chapter Content Warning: Not really anything this chapter, just some movement in plot, bit of fluff at the end

Notes from the Idiot Author:

As a heads-up to anyone following this story, I'm much further ahead on my AO3 account (under the same name) and I can hardly ever remember to update here (plus trying to format my stories is a lot easier on AO3 than it is here) so, if you want to continue reading my work, feel free to continue reading over on AO3! I'm under the same pen name and this story is under the same title.

Summary:

Change is usually a good thing, but the apprehension that comes with it feels like a knife when the uncertainty starts to set in, and Gabriel doesn't know how this change will affect himself and Jack.

Gabriel wasn't the most familiar with feeling shame, being quite open to the parts of his life he could afford to be, but now, as Ana stared at him and Jack, he started to understand.

Ana, their first friend after joining Overwatch, the third of the Big Three, had just seen Gabriel fuck Jack. In Jack's office. On Jack's desk. While choking him.

The static-laden air was filled with silence, Gabriel and Jack staring at Ana, and Ana staring back at them. He had no idea how long they stood there, locked in what was singlehandedly the most embarrassing moment in Gabriel's life, but he was sure that it was at least a lifetime. Maybe two.

The silence broke as Ana cleared her throat, tearing his eyes away from the two naked men as she crouched down and collected her folders. "Well, I was coming to tell you that Gabriel was back, but I think you're well aware, Jack." How could her tone be so casual?

"Ana, I'm so, so sorr-" Jack's face rivaled a stop sign in color, but Ana cut him off.

"No, no, don't even try to apologize." She shook her head, taking a deep breath as she focused her gaze on Jack's face, quite noticeably avoiding even moving her head down enough to risk a glimpse of Gabriel's ass again. "Now, if you two are done, which for the love of God if you aren't then I'll be the first to start the obituary for Jack's ass, I need to talk to you both about what changes Gabriel's new position will bring to our usual mission lineup and execution." Gabriel grimaced a bit when he saw Jack's brows furrow in confusion for a moment before his eyes widened in what appeared to be fear. "I'll leave you two to… clean up, and definitely get dressed. I'll be in my office when you're both decent."

Without leaving a chance for either of the men to respond, Ana turned and hurriedly left the office, leaving Gabriel to shoot Jack a cheeky smile. "I, uh… I think we forgot to lock the door, mi amado."

"What did she mean by position change?" Jack's voice was quiet, bordering on shaky as he gripped Gabriel's waist just a little too tightly.

"Jack, calm down, okay? I was going to tell you about everything that happened, just…" he gave a small grin, resting his forehead against Jack's. "It had been too long, and I missed you in more ways than just a teammate, asshole."

Jack frowned, but the tension Gabriel could feel in the other noticeably released. "I missed you too, Gabe, but if something big happens you need to let me know. Not just for Overwatch, but for me personally as your- your-" he cut himself off as he stumbled to finish the sentence, brows furrowing as he pulled away. The tension was back with a vengeance. Gabriel's heart sank, gently tugging at his chin to try and get him to look at him. Jack didn't budge, frown still marring his lips. "…We never actually put a label to this, did we?"

"No, but you and I both know that this," Gabriel gestured between them, "sure as hell isn't just us being really good friends. You know I care about you, Jackie, and I know you feel the same about me. Just because neither of us has said the word 'boyfriend' yet means nothing." he pressed a kiss to Jack's cheek, smiling when the blond turned his head back to face him. "You want me to call you my boyfriend, mi cariño? I'll do it. If it'll make you smile, I'll call you anything you want."

Jack laughed, leaning forward to rest his face against Gabriel's neck. The man hummed, wrapping his arms around Jack and gently stroking his back. "I'm sorry, Gabe, I know now isn't the time for me to be whining about something as trivial as us being officially an item." Jack chuckled softly, and Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"If it's even a little important to you, it's not trivial." he huffed, pressing a kiss to sweat-soaked blond locks. "And I'll have you know it's kinda important to me too. I don't want something as small as me not calling you my boyfriend to give you a loophole to trade me out for someone better. Maybe a younger, prettier version of the great Gabriel Reyes, this time with an even bigger dick."

Jack shoved at him, but the laugh that the teasing caused was music to Gabriel's ears. "With my luck, the other guy would be the same as you; huge dick, but most of it's just his personality." The shit-eating grin Jack gave made Gabriel snort, grinning right back at him.

"Well, I'll have to try and mediate how much of my dick is in my personality and how much of it ends up in your ass. I'll aim for a nice 30/70 ratio just for you."

"Aw, how sweet of you, Gabe. I'm touched, really."

The sarcasm dripping from both of their voices broke each of them, the two almost collapsed in laughter. Gabriel smiled, pecking Jack's forehead. "You wanna go shower up before we face certain doom?"

Jack laughed, redness returning to his face as he remembered their impromptu appointment with Ana. "I don't know if I can. I've been sink washing to keep my stitches from getting wet. Angela would have a field day if they reopened again." A frown crossed his features for a moment, but the smile resurfaced. "Thank you for offering, though."

Gabriel chuckled, giving a small grin. "I could wash you if you want. I used to have to help wash you up when you'd pass out after weekly injections way back in the day." he teased, grin growing when Jack's face reddened even more.

"Oh god, I remember that. Well, I remember waking up feeling like I had been hit by a truck, but very clean." The blond laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "You handled all that crap so much better than I did. I'm still surprised I made it through in the end."

"Not gonna lie, I was surprised too, but I was the one metaphorically holding your hair while you puked your guts out from all the shots. Kinda had a lot more first-hand exposure to you not taking it so well." Gabriel teased, earning an eye roll from Jack.

"I distinctly remember you puking a few times too."

"Not even gonna lie, a few of those were from when some of the other lab rats found a way to sneak some booze in." Gabriel grinned cheekily, snickering at Jack's taken aback look.

"You never told me that! I had honestly thought that you were suffering as bad as I was every now and then." Dear god, Jack's pout was too cute for words.

"Nope, just incredibly hungover and regretting my bad decisions. Good old SEP days. I still get a little sick when I smell cheap vodka."

"Oh my god, Gabriel. I hate you so much now." Jack laughed, shifting to lean on his good leg rather than the desk. "Getting off this lovely nostalgia trip, I think Ana's gonna come hunting us down if we don't hurry up. Plus, we're both still naked."

Gabriel shrugged, fighting down a chuckle. "You really think she'd risk walking in on us again? She knows that we haven't gotten to fool around in two months. Needs start building up, mi cariño, maybe enough for round two?" he wiggled his brows, jokingly pinching Jack's ass. The swat to his hand and the blushy glare Jack gave him was a thing of beauty, and Gabriel laughed again. "I'm just joking, Jackie."

"Good, because I don't think I'd even be able to handle another round, to be honest. I feel like I got ran through a juicer and hit with a semi all at once."

"That good, huh?" Gabriel grinned, easily dodging the halfhearted smack from his lover. "Well, I hope it was as good for you as it was for me because I think reliving that is gonna be what heaven is for me if I can make the cut. Might have to actually try and be a good person from now on." Gabriel paused as he thought over his own words. Fuck, that'd be damn near impossible now. He shook the thought from his head, offering Jack a hand to help him steady himself as he pulled his pants and underwear up from around his ankles, Gabriel tucking himself back into his undone pants and zipping up. Once Jack was safely escorted back to his chair, Gabriel gathered the rest of the tossed clothing, watching Jack's eyes linger on the new emblem on his shoulder.

"Is that what Ana was talking about?" the blond asked softly, pushing himself up out of the chair. He remembered to grab his crutch this time, hobbling over to Gabriel's side just as he was snapping on the last pieces of his armor.

Gabriel frowned as he watched Jack, guilt biting at the mack of his mind at the fact that the man was still recovering from the attack. Jack was recovering from things any normal human couldn't, and at an incredibly quick pace, but it still broke Gabriel's heart to watch him struggle. "Yeah. Petras and Adawe weren't too happy with what I did in Dorado, but admitted that taking down five armed men by myself without getting a single injury was impressive. Not good for Overwatch's public image, but impressive, not to mention useful."

"Are you still in Overwatch? Or are they taking you again for something else?" Jack frowned, expression quickly shifting to surprise as he was lifted up into Gabriel's arms. "Hey! I can still walk myself, Gabe." he protested but was ultimately ignored as Gabriel headed for the door, still carrying the blond princess style.

"I'm not having you hobble your way to Ana's office when I've got two perfectly healthy arms to carry you there myself." Gabe huffed, pecking Jack's lips once more before stepping out of the door to the office and heading towards Ana's. "As far as being a part of Overwatch… kind of, and kind of not. It's hard to explain, Jack. We'll talk about details once we meet with Ana, alright? Just know that I'm not disappearing again anytime soon."

Jack's soft smile and sigh of relief made Gabriel's heart flutter, fighting the urge to steal another kiss. Instead, he knocked on the door to Ana's office, the door hissing open before he stepped inside. Ana sat at her desk, face still red as she watched them walk in. "Glad you two could make it," she said, and Gabriel chuckled at the hint of embarrassed sarcasm in her tone.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just talk about this crap." Gabriel huffed, gently setting Jack down to let him take a seat before dropping into a chair himself. A wave of uneasiness was threatening to overtake him, watching Ana lay out some papers for Jack to see.

"Well, with Blackwatch now being a separate, but still linked organization to Overwatch, I personally think we should still work together on regular missions. You and your men can take the lead if a situation gets too out of hand, or if something like what happened in Dorado happens again." Ana frowned when she saw Gabriel sink down in his chair, scowl blooming on his face. "Not that it will, Gabe."

"We get to be the scary big brother without as many rules. Less red tape and a lot fewer questions." he sighed, still running the thoughts over and over in his mind. He could do it, of course, but what would Jack think of him? Gabriel distinctly remembered the look on his face when Gabe told him about the five dead gang members.

"Wait, rewind just a little bit," Jack frowned, the papers in his hand as he read over them. "Why didn't I hear about any of this until now?"

"You got the same report I did, Jack. I know you're behind on paperwork, but I thought you would've jumped in joy at the one that had 'Captain Gabriel Reyes to Lead Blackwatch; New Addition to Overwatch Inner-Workings' as the title. Hell, they had Gabriel's name in bold text." Ana chuckled, a brow raised.

"I… haven't really been able to focus well. It must've slipped past me while I was working on what's been sitting around too long."

"He's been locked away in his office crying about you being gone for at least the past month and a half, sadiqi. I was proud of him for the first week or so, but he eventually burned himself out." Ana's smug grin was mirrored on Gabriel's face, and the man appreciated the fact that she had no shame in telling him.

Jack's face burned like a fire. "Ana! He doesn't need to hear that!"

Gabriel laughed, fighting his wide grin down to a small smile as he reached over to take Jack's hand. "I'm touched, really. I would've come back sooner, but they wanted to do a full reevaluation of my health, mental health, combat skills, everything. Once I was cleared, I had to sign a shit ton of confidentiality papers. Basically, if Blackwatch gets into deep shit that I can't get it out of, the UN and Petras never even knew it existed, and I'll take the fall."

"That's absolute shit though, they're the ones making you take the position!" If Gabriel were honest with himself, the slight growl in Jack's tone was kind of hot.

"It was either that or I get stuck on desk duty until I go through 'anger management' training." Gabriel sneered, shaking his head. "I was angry when I killed those fuckers, sure, but it was only because they hurt you. That's a personal kind of thing. No amount of me being stuck listening to some conceited asshole drone on about 'how to channel my anger in a positive way' would've changed what I did, or what I'd do again if someone were stupid enough to try and hurt you." he huffed; Gabriel knew the excuse was paper thin, but he didn't give a damn.

Jack's frown burned into him, but he was grateful that the blond didn't comment. Ana sighed, pushing the hair out of her eyes. "Regardless, you're going to need to find people to join Blackwatch. I've taken the liberty to pull up a list of some of the applicants for Overwatch that were turned away due to, well… less than perfect history. People with minor offenses that kept them from being able to join Overwatch for fear of tarnishing the look of the organization. You can look through it and see if there's anyone you want for your team."

He accepted the offered folder, taking a second to flip through it. He hummed, scanning the basic information of each potential recruit. "I might follow up on a few of these. Thanks, Ana." he closed the folder, setting it aside for now.

"Not a problem, Gabe. Anything else we should discuss while all three of us are here?" She asked, looking over at Jack, who shrugged.

"Not that I can think of."

"Alright, if there's anything else, I'll page you both. I'm not risking going and getting you myself anymore." Her laugh made Jack's face redden just a bit, and Gabriel laughed with her.

"Ah, c'mon Ana, you know you liked seeing my ass. Don't deny it."

"I'm still fighting with whether or not I should try and gouge my eyes out, but I don't think that'll help with the nightmares I know I'm having tonight." Her deadpan tone ripped a snort from Gabriel, who rolled his eyes.

"Hope you enjoy reliving seeing the runner-up perfect ass bang the world's best ass." Gabriel laughed, barely dodging the pen she threw at his head, but Jack's smack to his arm was unavoidable. "Aw, mi cariño, aren't you on my side? I didn't say my ass was better than yours. There's no comparison."

"I'd prefer if you'd just stop talking about our asses in general!"

"Alright, both of you just…" Ana chuckled, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Out of my office. I'm getting flashbacks, and I want to have my break down alone if you don't mind." She joked, shaking her head with a laugh. "On a serious note, the team in the States are making progress. They've made contact with Deadlock and have them thinking that they're a legitimate buyer. We should be able to finish out the mission before the month is out."

Gabriel grinned, giving a nod. "Good to hear. Keep me updated on it." He noticed Jack's brow furrowing in confusion, and Gabe laughed. "Just because I got kicked out for a little doesn't mean they left me in the dark about what's been going on as far as missions. I know all about the sting operation, hell, I wanted to be here to be part of it. Just couldn't make it back in time to help out much."

Jack frowned but accepted the answer for its face value, and Gabriel was just the slightest bit relieved. He didn't want Jack to worry about it too much. He stood, stretching a bit before offering a hand to help Jack up. He looked confused, but accepted, letting out a grumble when he was swooped up into Gabriel's arms again.

"Alright, if that's all, I think I'm gonna go take a shower and get Jackie cleaned up." Gabriel grinned at the look of slight disgust that flew across Ana's face before an overdramatic groan came from her.

"You're telling me you two didn't bother cleaning yourselves up before coming here? Ugh, I'm gonna have to burn those seats now, Gabriel. Thanks a million." She rolled her eyes, fighting a grin as Gabriel laughed at the sarcasm in her tone.

"Have fun, Ana!" he called as they exited her office, the door hissing shut behind them as he stepped into the hall.

Jack chuckled as he raised a brow. "So that's why you wanted to carry me out. Make a quick escape so Ana doesn't kill one of us."

"You see through me every time, mi cariño." Gabriel laughed with him, heading in the direction of his room. "You still want to go clean up, right? Offer still stands as far as me helping you take an old man bath."

Jack rolled his eyes, flicking Gabriel's shoulder. "You're older than I am. I'm just trying to keep my stitches dry. If either of us is an old man, it'd be you."

"Eh, I don't know. I think I'm starting to see some gray mixing in with all that blond, Jackie. Next thing you know, you're gonna be yelling at all the new recruits about how it was back in your day." Gabriel grinned at Jack's laugh, taking on a horrendous attempt at sounding like an old man, "Back in my day, we had to walk to the training room uphill both ways, in the freezing snow and rain! Show some respect, you little whippersnappers!"

"Oh god, stop it!" Jack held his sides, tears pooling in the corner of his eyes from how hard he was laughing. "If I ever say 'back in my day' when we're both old farts, please do me a favor and shut me up."

"I'll make sure of it, don't worry." Gabriel chuckled, sneaking a quick peck on Jack's cheek, "So, guessing that means we're still gonna be together once we're both old and gray with hair coming out of our ears?"

Jack smiled softly, laying his head on Gabriel's shoulder. "We better be." he murmured, and the soft tone made Gabriel's heart all but ache with affection.

"We will be. I don't plan on ever not being the thorn in your side, mi amado." Gabriel chuckled, letting himself and Jack into the room, setting Jack down on the bed as he crossed the room to the door to the bathroom. "I'll get the water warming up. You sure you don't wanna try and just shower with me? If you don't get your stitches super soaked for too long, they should be fine. Hell, when I had stitches in these I still showered like normal, and they turned out fine." he pointed to the scars that trailed along his face, watching Jack give a shrug.

"I don't know. I mean, Angela said that it'd be fine if they got a little wet as long as they were dried off completely afterward, but I don't want to risk messing something up again." The frown that crossed Jack's lips tugged at Gabriel's heart, slipping into the bathroom to turn on the water and get it warming up.

He headed back to Jack's side, sitting down next to him and looping an arm around his waist. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Jackie, but it's up to you." He smiled when Jack leaned into him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "How long until you can get them removed, anyway?"

"Eh, only a week or two. Would've had them out sooner, but they kept getting reopened when my dumb ass took things too far with keeping up with my training." Gabriel frowned at that, rubbing Jack's shoulder gently.

"You've gotta give yourself time to heal, Jack. You're almost there, you can't fall back and tack on more time to having to heal just because you're impatient." His words were soft, nuzzling his face into Jack's hair.

"I guess I'll just take the shower with you." The blond eventually decided, giving Gabriel a small smile. "First shower with my boyfriend." He emphasized the last word, and it made Gabriel laugh.

"Damn right. Might as well mark it on the calendar; first incredibly domestic shower together." he joked, grinning as Jack laughed.

"Yeah, I guess that fits it pretty well." Jack pushed himself up, pulling his shirt over his head. "You gonna hop into the shower with your clothes on, or what?" he joked, tossing the crumpled shirt at Gabriel.

He caught it and laughed, rolling his eyes as he undid his armor. "Anything to get me naked, Jack." he poked fun at him, removing his jacket and shirt with his pants and shoes rapidly following. He dropped down, helping Jack with taking off his shoes, taking care to be gentle on his right leg. When Jack started to protest, Gabriel cut him off. "Just let me take care of you, okay? I didn't get to be here to help when you were first starting to recover, at least indulge me in letting me help you now." He pinched at the blond's thigh, helping steady him as he pulled off his slacks and boxers.

Jack chewed on his lip, giving a soft smile. "I don't deserve you, you know that?" he spoke softly, looping his arms around Gabriel when the man stood.

"Nah, you deserve even more. I just gotta try and make myself better so I can be more." Gabriel smiled, pressing a long and slow kiss on Jack's lips. "I'm the one who doesn't deserve your love, but you give it to me anyway." he murmured as they parted, bumping their foreheads together.

Jack sighed, smile still lingering on his lips. "Let's just go shower up, okay?"

Gabriel smiled, picking Jack up again before heading to the bathroom. "Sounds good to me, mi cariño."

He really didn't deserve Jack, but god, was he grateful that he was the one Jack had chosen to love.