Chapter 13: Flashbulb Memories Like Surgical Lights
Gabriel pulled his hood off of his eyes, finding Val looming over him from behind the couch.
"Whose Martina?" Val asked again.
"No, one." Gabriel said reflexively, and quickly sat up. He glared at Widow, who stared back blankly with the wine bottle in her hand. "Did you just drink that whole bottle?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes. This is also my fourth one," she said. Gabriel groaned. "Perhaps I've had too much to drink." She stood up, handed him the bottle, and walked away. Gabriel set the bottle down on the end table next to him and pinched the bridge of his nose, not ready to have this conversation.
"When did you get in here, I thought you were helping Sombra? How are you six feet tall and able to sneak up on me like that?" Gabriel looked over his shoulder as Val walked around the couch and took Widow's spot.
"I was helping her, now she's gonna shower, and I took off my shoes 'cause she threw up on them." Val pointed at his purple socks, as he spoke, very casually. "Now, can I ask who Martina is? You seemed really jumpy when I asked." Val tilted his head.
"It's personal."
"More personal than what just happened right now? Gabriel, you don't have to tell me everything, but we're friends right? I just barely learned you're from LA and that's why you like the Lakers."
"It has to do with my family, I don't want to talk about it." Gabriel avoided his gaze, hoping he would drop the subject soon.
"Well, I won't make you," Val twisted his fingers as he spoke, looking down at the floor. "But, I've told you about my family, and I don't like to talk about them."
Gabriel sighed, knowing he was right. Not that it was anyone's business, but it was only fair. He wasn't doing anything wrong in the first place, right? It wasn't worth it to start a big fight over something that was completely fine.
"Okay. Let's go talk in my room."
Val absentmindedly paced around the small bedroom, waiting for the other to speak. Gabriel felt his mind grow foggy, as he started shaking his leg, trying to figure out what he was going to say. He considered just lying, but he also had Sombra in the house and she would rat him out in an instant. Gabriel took a deep breath and thought for a moment, before deciding Val was right, he didn't need to know everything.
"Martina, is—was sorry—was my wife. We aren't together anymore, I don't like to talk about it." Gabriel continued to shake his leg, waiting for a response.
Val nodded and walked in a circle before speaking. "I mean, I kind of figured it was something like that with you mentioning a son, I just wanted to be sure you didn't still have a wife or anything. I've accidentally been a homewrecker before, I'm not doing that hot mess again." He stopped to look over at Gabriel. "Why were you acting so weird about it? And you better not be lying to me because I will find out, you know who I'm friends with."
"I'm not. It just wasn't on good terms, for anyone." Gabriel swallowed. Val nodded along as he spoke. "I fucked up really bad, so I don't like talking about it."
"Oh," Val said quietly, moving closer to stand in front of Gabriel.
"I stopped talking to a lot of close friends that day. I know it was my fault too, so every time I think about it just brings up a lot of bad memories."
"Oh, Gabriel, I'm sorry, I didn't-" Val crouched down to be eye level with him. "I didn't know it would make you this upset." Gabriel looked back at him confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're tearing up."
Gabriel reached up and wiped his eyes, finding a tear starting to trail down his face.
"Ooh que la, this is why I didn't want to talk about this." Gabriel said, feeling his face heat up at the sight of himself crying. Before he could start his angry tirade, his arms were trapped against his chest, Val hugging him without warning.
"What the hell are you doing?" Gabriel asked, the other's chin resting on his shoulder.
"Hugging you, idiot. That's what you do when people are sad, right?" Val said, not letting go.
"What if I don't want you to hug me?"
"I won't believe you, because all I ever wanted was for my parents to hug me when I was crying, and they never did."
Gabriel leaned his head back to look the other in the eyes. "That's not normal. The fuck was wrong with your parents?" He wrestled his arms out, wrapping them around the other's waist.
"This ain't about me, take your stupid hug." Val said aggressively, then pushed the man's head back down onto his shoulder. Gabriel was going to fight it, but his cold face against the man's always warm body felt so comforting. He closed his eyes for a second, tightening his arms around the other, letting the warmth envelope him for the moment.
Now Gabriel did not plan to end up crying today for the first time in so long he couldn't recall clearly, that was for sure. He really didn't expect to find himself an hour later, undressed in his bed, Val asleep on his arm, immobilizing him. Now that might have been a bad move. He unconsciously played with the long hair trailing down Val's back as he stared at the ceiling, thinking about what his next step was going to be. A few more moments passed, until Val's eyes launched open as he took a sharp breath.
"You okay?" Gabriel asked, looking down with concern.
"Did I fall asleep?" Val sat up, looking around while rubbing his eyes.
"Yeah, you were only asleep for a few minutes."
"Oh shit. I'm so sorry." Val put his face in his hands. "Fuck, I never do that." Gabriel's concern only grew at Val's reaction.
"Are you ok? You looked like something woke you up."
"Yeah, I'm fine, that always happens, I don't sleep well," Val mumbled, turning away and resting his head in his hands, still trying to wake up.
With his back to Gabriel, the older man noticed the discolored scars scattered across Val's skin, varying in size. A very large faded one across his back was prominent, reminding Gabriel of one of his own. Gabriel had many scars, some from the military, some from his Overwatch days, and a thought occurred to him as he contemplated.
"You don't have to answer, but your scars, they're all from Talon, aren't they?" Gabriel gently traced the large faded scar diagonally across the other's back.
"Yeah, where else would I get them?" Val said, giving a small laugh, and looked over his shoulder at the older man, who only frowned as Val confirmed that this was pretty much the only life he had known. Gabriel had gone through a lot of different careers in his life, he had gone to school, been through the police, the military, Overwatch, Talon, but all of that was his choice. The thought of those amount of scars on someone so young, with really little choice in the matter, made his stomach turn. The kid was 19 when he joined, he didn't know what he was getting into.
"Fuck, I need caffeine," Val groaned into his hands abruptly cutting off Gabriel's train of thought.
"When's the last time you slept?" Gabriel asked. Val lifted his face from his hands, looking up in thought.
"Last night. I slept a couple hours. I woke up from a nightmare. I'll be fine, at least I didn't punch you right now. One time I pulled back a punch and hit my boyfriend in my sleep." Val gave a small laugh, making Gabriel's concern mix with confusion. Val turned to look at him, before turning away again. "Um, I didn't hurt him that time, he thought it was funny, but I felt really bad about it. Sorry, that story seemed a lot funnier in my head."
"It's alright, I get night terrors too. I just didn't know you had a boyfriend." Gabriel ran his hand softly down Val's spine, feeling the other's hair stand on end before he pulled away.
"I don't. Not anymore. I stopped spending the night with him, and we broke up a while after that. I stopped staying the night with anyone after that, actually, I leave right away." Val laid back on the bed, sighing, his constant eye bags now particularly prominent to Gabriel. "Everyone kind of assumes I'm just a whore. I don't date because of the contract work, but the other part is because of that incident. Maybe if I was normal, but I can't even sleep right. I don't want to subject anyone to that."
"Yeah, I know what that's like." Gabriel nodded, knowing exactly what kind of fear he felt. Being made into a weapon, only to have your body be able to betray you. It was a dangerous game to play with someone you loved. It was easier if you weren't worried about hurting the other person, whatever the reason. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you won't hurt me, if that's what you were scared of." Gabriel said.
"I thought we said no strings attached." Val said softly laughing, staring at the ceiling, his arms resting lazily above his head. "You're so melodramatic."
"That's why you can't hurt me. And I've taken a punch from you. I'll be fine." Gabriel smirked at the younger man, watching him struggle to keep his eyes open.
"Whatever, I can't sleep without my meds most of the time anyways." Val mumbled, his eyes barely open.
"It was just a few minutes, you needed the sleep. Don't feel bad if it happens again, that's all." Gabriel said, trying to keep talking so the exhausted man would fall asleep.
"Okay." Val softly sighed, his eyes closed.
Looking at the younger man's bright hair, fanned out across the black sheets underneath his lean tan body, as he slept with a content look on his face, Gabriel found his gaze held captive. Val looked like he was posing, and even with his skin not being pristine like most models, covered in scars, Gabriel could picture him on the cover of a magazine. Well, until Val jolted awake with a gasp.
"I'm going to smack you, why didn't you wake me up?" Val rubbed his eyes as he sat back up.
"You're doing that all on your own. Just go back to sleep, you can't even keep your eyes open." Gabriel shook his head, rolling his eyes.
Val stared at him, with his hand over his eye, and mouth hanging open. This needy twink wanted to fall asleep in his bed and then wouldn't even at least sleep through the night.
"Alright fine, but I still need my meds, I can't sleep without taking them first. I think I have some in my jeans, can you hand them to me?" Val took his jeans from Gabriel and shoved his hand into the pocket, pulling out a sectioned pill case. He opened one of the sections, dumping several pills out, Gabriel noting a large purple capsule.
"I thought you were taking something to sleep, you're taking melatonin too?" Gabriel asked as he watched Val swallow them dry.
"No. I take ambien to help sleep for missions, I just don't always need it to sleep," Val responded with a confused look.
"You had melatonin in your hand." Gabriel insisted.
"What are you talking about?" Val opened another section and poured the contents into his palm, holding them out closer to the other. Gabriel pointed at the bright purple capsule he noted earlier.
"That's melatonin, I take the same one. It's the only thing Moira will give out for sleep." Gabriel reached over to his nightstand, finding his prescription bottle full of melatonin for when he bothered to take it, and handed it to Val.
The younger set his pill case down, read the label clearly stating "MELATONIN", along with Gabriel's information, and opened it, pouring a few into his other hand. He did a comparison, before staring at the wall, the gears almost visibly turning in his head as he started to shake. Then he put back the tablets into the bottle and closed the top, looking at the label one more time, reading the side for the pill description.
"I'm a fucking idiot." Val lunged out of the bed, quickly gathering his clothes and starting to get dressed. "That fucking bitch. No wonder my fucking pill bottles have all the pill descriptions blacked out." He said to no one in particular.
"You mind telling me what's going on?" Gabriel asked as he watched this kid's energy levels skyrocket from zero to a hundred.
"You'll think I'm a liar, or an idiot."
"So nothing new." Val glared at him, and Gabriel shrugged. "It's Moira, try me."
"Well you just told me Moira has been giving me melatonin instead of fucking Xanax like she said she was, so I'm about to go bite her fucking head off!" Val said, his volume growing through his sentence.
"She said she was giving you Xanax and you believed her? That was your first mistake."
"No, I believed the pharmacy! She's switching my meds! Hold on." Val stomped out of the room, leaving Gabriel blinking at this sudden exit, before the now energetic young man came back into the room, holding a pill bottle. "Look, Alprazolam right there on the side, and the pill description is sharpied out. I've been taking it off and on since I was 13, I'm not an idiot, but she said the purple ones were a generic brand. I didn't have any reason not to believe her, she usually just tells me no!"
Gabriel looked at the bottle, opening it and peeking inside to find more melatonin. He looked up at Val, who was now furiously typing on his phone. These were very easy for him to switch himself, but this was quite the act to put on for the wrong person. Val put the phone to his ear, and Gabriel sighed.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm calling her."
"She's not picking up at this hour, definitely not for you."
"When I get ahold of her, she'll wish she would have." Val pinched the bridge of his nose, the phone ringing only a few times until it got sent to voicemail. This apparently did not deter him as he only called again. Gabriel found himself smirking, a little entertained by the frantic young man. "Are you laughing at me? You think this is funny?" Val said angrily while the phone rang.
"No, it's not, I'd be just as pissed." Gabriel shook his head, still a sarcastic smile on his face. "I was just wondering if this is how I look when I get dramatic about something."
"Are you calling me dramatic?" Val yelled, still dialing on his phone.
"No, that's not what I meant. I feel like I'm looking in a mirror right now. I know how Moira is, I would give her hell too if she did this shit to me. She still won't care." Gabriel said, Val looking back and forth as he dialed absentmindedly. "I've gotten into some spats with her when she wouldn't give me and the boys more than ibuprofen back at Overwatch, I know how she is."
"Yeah? Did she ever listen?"
"Once or twice. Sometimes during meetings we start getting into it. The only reason I tolerate her around is because she's an old friend. I owe her a lot, but I could tell you stories from back in the day when we would fight."
"Yeah? I didn't think you or Moira had any friends," Val laid back down on his stomach, setting the phone on the bed while he dialed.
"Yeah, she's always testing my patience, but she did save my life. I won't tell you that story, it's a long one. Not that anyone wants to hear my old war stories."
"Go ahead if you want, I'm not sleeping tonight anyways, I need a distraction." The older man looked down at Val. He thought for a second, watching him obsessively dial on his phone. Clearly nothing was stopping him from calling.
"Well, there was this one time…" Gabriel started, delving into an old story about him and Moira during their days in Blackwatch.
Val had passed out on top of his phone, listening to the older veteran's stories. When he woke up the next morning, Gabriel was already up and getting dressed for the day. Val checked the time, seeing 4:27 am on his phone screen.
"Who is up and getting ready at 4:30 in the morning?" Val said, looking over at Gabriel sleepily.
"I'm always up at this time. Why are you up?" Gabriel finished putting on his shirt, looking over at Val stretching in his bed.
"Not by choice, you psycho. I can't sleep, remember?" Val rubbed his eyes.
"You slept pretty good last night. You fell asleep in the middle of me talking and wouldn't get out of my bed. You know you like to cuddle in your sleep? I had to keep shoving you off so you'd stop groping my chest."
"Sorry, you're just so cold all the time." Val stretched again as he sat up. "Besides, I know you liked it," he said, winking and sticking his tongue out while he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Get out of my room," Gabriel glared at him.
"Alright, I'm going." Val rolled his eyes, getting up and leaving the room.
Gabriel went through his morning routine, having his usual black coffee before going to the gym, showering, and changing for the day. He came back and entered the kitchen, seeing Widowmaker now awake in the dining area, Val missing from his usual spot next to her. Searching for what to have for his now regular breakfast, he found a covered plate left on the counter for him. He picked it up, taking it to the dining area, sitting next to Widow, and starting to eat.
"You plan on eating that?" Gabriel asked.
"Maybe," she answered while staring at her still full plate.
In the midst of him eating, Gabriel's phone started to ring, the screen reading Moira making him groan. He answered.
"What?" he said gruffly.
"Hello to you too," Moira said dryly.
"You don't call my cell unless you're up to something. What do you want?" Gabriel set down his utensil while he waited for this conversation to be over.
"I need you in my office," she answered. Gabriel pulled his cell away from his face, checking his memory was correct, and yes it was. The time was 7:21 am. He put the phone back up to his ear.
"Right now?"
"Preferably," she said, which in Moira speak meant yes, you don't have an option. He clenched his jaw, wondering what nefarious scheme she was up to.
"Your office isn't supposed to be open for another 30 minutes. Can I at least finish eating?"
"With haste, Reyes. You've dropped quite the dilemma into my hands this morning." She hung up without waiting for a response.
Gabriel went back to his plate, shoveling food into his mouth, contemplating what she could be talking about since she didn't give him the opportunity to ask. After he finished, he leaned back and looked over at Widow's plate, seeing she still hadn't touched it.
"If you're not planning on eating that just give it to me." Gabriel said, rolling his eyes at the stubborn woman's picky palate. She slid the plate over, walked away, and he helped himself.
Gabriel made it over to Moira's office too quickly for his taste and knocked on her door aggressively. She opened the door with a frown and gestured for him to follow. Cold light bled through the window looking into the medical bay. On one of the beds nearest the window Val sat shuddering. His legs hanging off the side, arms crossed, a bright purple gauze on one elbow, eyes red and puffy, he looked like he wasn't having a good time.
"What the hell did you do to the kid?" Gabriel asked. Moira simply reached over and closed the blinds.
"Ignore him. He's upset he had to submit to a drug test." Gabriel frowned at her, not satisfied with her answer. "You're all subject to one at any time, he's fine," she said with her hands behind her back now, not budging.
"What do you want?" Gabriel said impatiently, already fed up with the drama going on.
"Did you tell him he was taking melatonin instead of his medication?"
"Yes, because he was."
Moira clicked her long nails together as she stared back at Gabriel for a few seconds.
"Alright. That is all you may leave." Moira said, waving him away, as she started to go through the files on her desk. Gabriel raised his hands in confusion.
"What the hell is going on? You could've asked me that over the phone."
"None of your business, frankly. I just needed to ask you a question."
"You made me come all the way over here, you made it my business. Talk." Gabriel stepped closer to her.
"None of this would have happened if you weren't telling my patients I was switching their medications," she snapped. "Now I have this man banging on my office door at 7 in the morning asking for controlled substances, thanks to you. You've done enough." She went back to sorting through her files.
"I didn't tell him that, he came to that conclusion all on his own. So this means you aren't switching his medications, right?" Gabriel crossed his arms, looking down at the leaned over doctor. Moira only glanced up for a moment before averting her gaze. Gabriel had a sinking feeling in his stomach as she avoided eye contact. "Moira, are you switching his fucking meds?" Gabriel raised his voice.
"I don't believe you have any right to ask me that Gabriel. Besides, can you prove that he didn't switch them himself?" Moira stood up straight, holding a clipboard, still refusing to look at him.
"The pharmacy can! They track who's filling the scripts!" She side eyed him from her clipboard as he spoke. "Moira, your ass is in the ocean if Akande finds out you're in the pharmacy again. Someone almost died last time!"
"That was a fluke, now we have safety precautions. What does it matter to you? You'd be happy to see me gone." She held her clipboard against her stomach, glaring at him.
"I would, but you're making people on base suffer for your own sick amusement. I'm not waiting for someone to die to tell you to quit with the mad doctor bit." Gabriel grinded his teeth, glaring back at her. She raised an eyebrow at him before answering.
"That sounds like something the old Gabriel would say." Now he felt his blood pressure start to rise, his face getting hot as he broke eye contact for a second.
He got in her face, sneering, "Get your head out of your ass, you're sabotaging the fucking agents. You really want a guy with two hours of sleep with a gun in his hand? To be flying the planes? Don't piss me off." He turned away, breathing heavily as he tried to calm down.
"You don't know him like I do. I know what's best for him, trust me. He doesn't need a medication like that." Gabriel turned back around to glare at her.
"I know you. You're a control freak, you could've just said no."
Moira sighed, and put down her clipboard on the desk.
"I am already on thin ice constantly, so allow me to illustrate this as best as I can. You were with him last night, right? So perhaps you saw him call me. I woke up this morning to 49 missed calls. Then, once I call him back and he knows I'm awake, he comes to my office, starts banging on my door, and screams at me about giving him Xanax. That is what we in the industry call drug seeking behavior. He is also on an experimental super soldier serum, which isn't permanent as it were, but it lasts months. I couldn't get it out of his system at this exact moment even if I wanted to." She clicked her nails together, touching her forehead before she continued. "Now, imagine you tell a man that can snap your neck with the flick of his wrist, 'no' to his next fix. Perhaps you can see why I might be hesitant to give him a controlled substance."
Gabriel squinted at her for a second, thinking. The order of events was right, but she wouldn't be alive and walking if it was him she did this to. She had quite a way to twist events, but it didn't work on him.
He tilted his head as he spoke. "Irritability and mania are also symptoms of sleep deprivation, you senile bitch. I used to be a cop, I've arrested actual drug addicts."
"You should have seen him this morning. He was going ballistic, he almost knocked my door off the tracks with how hard he was knocking." Moira gestured at the door and crossed her arms. Gabriel chose to ignore her and peered through the blinds into the med bay, looking at Val still sitting on his bed, staring sadly at the floor.
"Yeah, he looks real ballistic to me. The kid doesn't even drink. You're acting like a psycho right now, fucking with his medication and expecting him to be happy about it. You want to play with fire, fine, I don't care. A certain loud mouth hacker might." Gabriel looked out of the corner of his eye at the scientist now glaring at him.
"Are you threatening me, Reyes?"
"No, you idiot," he hissed, letting go of the blinds. "He has a big mouth, and his best friend is known blackmailer Sombra. Even if I don't say anything, someone else might. As an old friend, I'm warning you this once, leave his meds alone." Gabriel growled. The doctor only squinted back at him. "God, I feel like I work at a fucking daycare!" He rolled his eyes and stormed out angrily, not caring anymore if she wanted to listen or not.
After she entered the bright empty med bay with the sound of the automatic door, Val looked up quickly to find Moira approaching. She stood in front of him, setting her clipboard on the bed, and crossing her arms.
"What am I going to do with you?" She tilted her head to the side while looking down at the younger man. She placed her hand under his chin and lifted it, making him pull back and blink. "Just looking at your eyes. I'm not trying to hurt you, you are some of my finest work after all."
"Why do you always say that?" She tilted his face side to side as she inspected his irises. "It's 'cause they're so pretty, huh?" he asked.
"It's because you are obedient, unlike the rest of my ungrateful experiments." With her other hand, she brushed his hair back, and out of his face gently. Val frowned, and tried to pull his face away. She gripped his cheeks firmly. "They are beautiful, but no creation of mine has been quite as lovely in temperament as you, I hope you know that."
He avoided her stare. "Mmm, right."
"Since you usually listen to me, I will forgive you for acting out this once. You still have to take the melatonin, this is not up for debate at the moment."
"Yes ma'am."
"And do not ever bang on my door like that again, you understand me?"
"Yes ma'am." Val grunted and squirmed. "Can you let go of my face now?" He said through squished cheeks. She sighed, letting go and running a hand through his hair. She stepped back to let him off of the bed, crossed her arms, and looked into his tired eyes, searching.
"Your eye bags get darker every time I see you. I suppose I will look into something to help you sleep." She picked up her clipboard off the bed, and turned to walk away.
"Okay. Thank you." Val said, raising his voice as she walked away.
"Yes, yes, you would be nothing without me," she sighed sarcastically. "If only the rest of these ingrates shared the same sentiment." She waved him off, not bothering to look at him as she exited to her office.
Val awkwardly rubbed his arm where the gauze was wrapped, his chest hurting. It itched and tugged on his arm hair, and he quickly ripped it off, taking a few hairs with it. He left the med bay, mind cloudy, and wandered his way back to the house, going straight to his room to lay down, suddenly feeling very exhausted. Staring at the ceiling, Val felt like his mind was somewhere else, and ignored the racing in his chest in favor of closing his heavy eyelids, wanting to be passed out over the aching in his body and heart.
Author's note: my cat onion says
Hjuyu;8
km
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