Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The lights are low in the apartment, news feed a background hum. The setting sun casts the open room in warm ochre tones. Jack adjusts the brightness on the tablet he’s reading. Feightly, he hears the lock slide open on the front door. He tips his head over the back of the couch to peer down the length of the hallway. Cooper gets up from his sun spot, stretches and the pads down the hall as Gabriel walks through the front door.

Jack watches him drop his PT bag and offer his arms up for Cooper to jump into. Some days the senior kitty will indulge that but today he just ducks and runs a figure eight in between Gabriel’s legs as he kicks his boots off.

Gabriel walks down the hallway, carefully trying to avoid tripping on the cat. The closer he gets to Jack’s spot on the couch the more dramatically he starts to pout. He walks behind it and drapes himself over the back.

Jack locks the tablet and sets it on the side table. “What love?” He says as he leans his head back.

“I let Jesse pick the music today,” Gabriel says, voice muffled by the couch.

Jack makes a face, “Yikes. Why would you do that?”

“I was trying to be fair.” Gabriel said, straightening up to move closer to Jack. He reaches over and cups the side of Jack’s face, who leans up to meet him for a quick kiss. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Cooper still tries to stick close to Gabriel as he turns to walk back to their room. Jack brought his attention back to the book he was reading on the tablet. He’s just getting back into the right focus when—

“Honey!” Gabriel shouts from the room. Jack sighs. “Can you bring me my PT bag!?”

Jack ignores him, tries to pretend he didn’t hear it for a few moments longer. Just enough to finish the page he was on when the tablet dings and a series of notifications pop up.

>sweetheart
>bby
>HONEYBUNSS PLEASE

Jack gets up from his spot and shuffles down the hallway to the foyer. When he makes it to the room with the bag Gabriel is down to his boxers and making faces at Cooper who is perched on the counter.

“Why are you following me?” He says, scratching behind the cats ears. “I didn’t even want you. I wanted a dog”

Jack drops the bag near the doorway and leans against the frame, crossing his arms.

“Don’t be mean to me. I had a bad day.”

Jack only gives him his best deadpan expression. Gabriel moves closer and puts his hands on Jack’s waist, “Thank you baby.” When he leans in a little further Jack drops his arms. They share a gentle kiss.

Gabriel leans back a fraction, “Come take a shower with me?”

Jack gives him one more quick peck, “Okay”

Chapter Text

Every noise in the apartment echoes. Gabriel pads down the hallway taking in the barren space where a dining room set should be. To the left of the open space sits a worn but comfortable couch they got from one of the admins at the new Zurich base before moving in.

Jack is occupying one half of that couch space, head back and eyes closed. Gabriel goes over and drops down next to him.

“It’s kinda sad that this is all of our stuff.”

Jack sits up and blinks. He rubs his eyes and shifts to sit closer to Gabriel, resting some of his weight against him.

“It’s our first place really.” He says with a yawn.

Gabriel’s lets the silence hang for a moment then, “We should go shopping.”

Jack puts his hand out and Gabriel laces their fingers together. “Let’s go,” Jack says, a small smile pulling at his lips.

After they’ve gotten ready, out of slouchy clothes and pajamas, they head downstairs into the crisp morning air. Gabriel adjusts his beanie while they wait for the car.

“Do you think anyone will recognize us?” He asks.

Jack looks up from his phone, “I don’t think so. Outside of uniform, we look normal..” His brows draw together as he looks at a random point, “at least I think we do?”

Gabriel chuckles, “the posters kinda conflate that shit.” Jack nods.

When the car arrives it’s a short ride to the shopping district. They leisurely browse the day mostly away. Picking up things here and there. Gabriel can’t really nail down a visual on what he wants their space to look like. He just wants it to be theirs.

The only helpful advice Jack can offer is ‘I want it to look like people live there’. Days in and out of abandoned complexes and government offices have been the backdrop of their entire relationship so far. Gabriel sympathizes.

He thinks they are just about done when they turn a corner and an animal shelter catches their attention. He feels Jack squeeze his hand once so he looks over. He’s getting a face. An ‘I know what your thinking and we’ve already talked about this’ face.

“We can just look?” Gabriel smiles, trying his best. They will have a dog if it kills him.

Jack gives a deep sigh, “Alright. Let’s go.”

Inside the shelter, they are greeted warmly and asked a few questions. One of the attendants explains the layout, what kind of program they are running to bolster adoptions and what they look for in people wanting to adopt. Gabriel drifts to the area where the dogs are kept. All of them seem very happy and look healthy. He gets engrossed in giving pats and ear scratches.

Despite his desire though, he holds back. Dogs need lots of attention. Walks a few times a day and play time. The apartment they have doesn’t even have a designated area for dogs. Plus, whatever is happening with the command structure of Overwatch is still up in the air. How much free time they will have once announcements are made is unknown.

He reluctantly tears himself away to look for Jack. He never saw him in the same area with the dogs so he heads towards cats. When he enters the room he sees a few people milling about. A family with two small kids are playing with kittens. On the other side is a space with a sign on the wall labeled 'Senior Cats'.

He spots Jack’s broad form leaning a little over an elevated platform. A few cats pop up and head towards the front of the glass when Gabriel walks up. Jack is petting a tortoiseshell colored one.

“Are we getting a cat?”

“No,” Jack says, with some emphasis. At this the cat pushes in closer, lifting up slightly to place its paws on the edge of the glass separating them. It’s purring and every time Jack tries to move from giving pets it buts it’s head against his hand. Gabriel moves his hand in close and the cat pauses long enough to sniff before allowing pets from him too.

Jack steps back from the glass to slide his arm around Gabriel’s waist and lay his head on Gabriel’s shoulder.

“Cats don’t need walks,” Gabriel says.

“Gabe..”

“Look I understand the concerns honey but..” Gabriel stops petting the cat for a second to gesture at it. It leans further out of the container and brings a paw out to bat at Gabriel’s hand.

“See. It chose us.”

Jack straightens up, arm still around Gabriel’s waist. “He is really cute. His name is Cooper.”

Gabriel looks over and raises an eyebrow at his husband.

“I asked the girl up front. He’s been here a while. She said he’s nice but kinda shy.”

“And let me guess he came right up to you.”

Jack gave him a side eye full of guilt, “...yes”

“Well. I would love to take him if you want to.” Gabriel offered.

“It would be nice to come home to.” Jack said, “he does seem to like us a lot.”

They waited a beat and more people walked up to the platform.

“Alright. I’ll go get the attendant.” Jack finally said.

As Jack leaves the room, Gabriel goes back to petting Cooper, “So much for going out to eat.” He mumbles.

A few name-drops and an hour or so later, they are headed home. Gabriel’s finishing up a takeout order when the box Cooper is in shifts on Jack’s lap, drawing his attention.

“Doesn’t like car rides it seems.” He says.

Jack looks a little worried and adjusts his grip on the box to keep it more secure.

When they pull up their delivery is arriving at the same time. It’s a mad dash to juggle bags, a stressed kitty, and food but they manage.

Upstairs the apartment is quiet and dim. Jack takes the box and basic cat supplies into their room. Gabriel heads to the kitchen with everything else. He brings the takeout into their sparse living room and sets out containers on the coffee table.

A few minutes later Jack appears.

“How is he?”

Jack drops down on the couch after grabbing his container of food, “I think he’s going to be ok. I left the door cracked so when he’s ready to explore he can.

And they settle in like that. On opposite sides of the couch, legs tangled and in the lap of the other. Gabriel is in the middle of looking at living room furniture when Jack nudges him. He looks up to see Jack looking over the back of the couch.

“Where is he?” Gabriel whispers.

“Kitchen” Jack matches, watching the space intently. “He just jumped on the counter.”

Gabriel goes back to furniture shopping. He caved earlier when they got home and started looking at decor references to help. He’s checking out on the site when he hears Jack whisper, “heads up”

Cooper springs up onto the back of the couch and they both stare at him. The cat inches along the back and Jack extends his hand to let him sniff. When he’s done with that he turns around and heads back towards Gabriel’s side. He steps down on the armrest and Gabriel keeps still as to not scare him.

Jack’s smiling as he watches Cooper sniff at Gabriel’s beanie before butting his head along Gabriel’s face.

“Aww, who’s the favorite now,” Gabriel says, a smile breaking out. He turns to look at the cat as Jack brings his phone up to snap a picture.

“I’m putting this in the group chat,” Jack says as Cooper jumps down to investigate further.

“Ana says Fareeha wants to come over right now.”

“Come on,” Gabriel replies absentmindedly.

“We should let him settle some more. Also, have maybe some more sitting space.”

“Hmm I paid for express shipping”

“Sheesh. Our poor bank account” Jack laughs.

Chapter Text

The dining room area is a mess. Cooper sits perched on the counter in the kitchen, watching this whole ordeal unfold. There’s cardboard boxes and packing foam everywhere. Various piles of screws and wooden pegs sit around the mess of pressed wood.

Behind him, Jack hears a frustrated ‘humph’. He ignores it again because he’s not about to be reminded of their accomplishments in life for the third time today and how that relates to furniture building. Besides his side table is coming along nicely. He’s looking forward to having that to hold over Gabriel while he helps him get his piece finished.

There’s a shuffling sound and then a sigh. Jack fights the smirk that’s pulling at his features. Just as he gets it under control Gabriel speaks up, “Jackie, I don’t think this is right.”

“Hm?” Jack looks over his shoulder at the other side table Gabriel was working on. It does look a little off. “I think that piece you have at the top is supposed to be the bottom.” He says.

“Well, I drilled holes in it now. I don’t think I can change it.”

Jack pauses, “You drilled holes in it? How did you do that when we don’t have a drill?”

Gabriel crosses his arms, “I just used a screwdriver.”

“Baby, I’m pretty sure all the holes are already drilled. You’re just supposed to use the little wooden pegs”

Gabriel studies the table a little more before, “How is this possible.”

Jack laughs, “Well you can’t be good at everything.”

“Lies,” Gabriel mumbles. He sets his instructions on the counter next to Cooper before walking over to Jack’s corner.

“Help me finish up mine and I’ll see if we can do anything about the other one,” Jack says to him.

Gabriel picks up the instructions to try and make sense of where Jack is at in his build. He turns a few pages, eyeing the table and the diagram. “Honey, aren’t there drawers on that side?”

Jack looks at the table, then at the pile of extra wood to the side. “Let me see those?” He asks as Gabriel hands the instructions over.

“And you were going to make fun of me, huh?”

Jack tries his best innocent tone,“I’d never do that to you, dear.”

“Yeah okay,” Gabriel says, eyes narrowed.

As Gabriel turns to start cleaning up the mess of cardboard, Jack looks over his table. He can’t even decipher where he went wrong.

“Do you want coffee?” Gabriel asks as he shoves cardboard into the trash can.

Jack gives him a thumbs up. He tosses the instructions to the side and lays down on the newly cleaned floor. “Maybe we can ask Torb?”

“No.” Gabriel says quickly, “Not after the bed incident.”

Jack laughs. “Okay fair.”

He hears the coffee machine kick on and Gabriel walks around the counter towards him. When he sits down on the floor he’s already on his phone, “I’m going to go back and get those ones that are already built.”

“Probably a good idea,” Jack says letting his eyes close.

Gabriel shifts and lays down next to Jack, head resting on his shoulder. “I can’t believe we fucked up simple tables.”

“Well I don’t know what your excuse is but I was distracted.”

“Oh yeah," Gabriel rolls his eyes. "By what?”

“This really cute guy.”

Gabriel laughs, “Sure hope you’re married to this guy”

Jack hums, turns to face Gabriel and cups the side of his face, “He has gorgeous brown eyes and the best smile,”

“Ugh stop,” Gabriel tries but his tone betrays him as Jack kisses his jawline.

Chapter Text

“We should go throw snowballs at stuff.”

Gabriel turns to look at Fareeha typing away on her phone. She lifts a single eyebrow, swipes away a message and then looks up at him, “What?” She asks.

Gabriel motions to the door that leads to the balcony, “Let’s go chuck snowballs at things. Think of it like aim training.” He looks back at her, “Let’s do something rather than sit here till dinner.”

“We could go somewhere cool?” Fareeha says.

“It’s too cold to be out that long,” Gabriel replies, “Plus I’d have to change out of my comfy clothes and I’m not down for that at all on a Sunday.”

“But you wanna throw snow at things?” She asks.

Gabriel nods once, “Yes.” he hops up from his spot on the couch and heads to the foyer for his boots, gloves, and coat. He pulls the heavy coat on and zips it but doesn’t bother lacing the boots properly for this adventure. Fareeha has hers on and is at the door when he comes back down the hall.

As they step out, Gabriel lays down some rules, “Okay I said let’s throw them at objects, like signs or lamp posts. No people, not on or near them.” Fareeha crosses her arms while she listens. “And we have to stay out of sight. I’m famous after all. I don’t need another lawsuit.”

She rolls her eyes but smiles as she turns to the railing. A nice layer of snow has gathered there. She leans over and looks down, “Not many people out.”

“Good,” Gabriel says, “Alright, I’m going for that street light.”

He packs the snow from the railing tight, takes aim and throws. The snowball lands in a satisfying puff right on the top of the street light. “Boom." He says, throwing his hands up, "Beat that Amari.”

Fareeha grabs her own ball of snow, packs it and scans the area. “I’m going for the top of that light down there.” The street light in question is another 50 feet away from the one Gabriel hit.

“You trying to one-up me?”

“Not trying to. Going to.” She puts her whole strength into the throw and Gabriel watches as the snowball sails through the air landing perfectly on top of the light in a puff. “Boom.” She says, turning to face Gabriel with a smug expression.

“Holy shit,” Gabriel mumbles, “I mean I want to be a little mad right now but I could honestly shed a tear in pride.”

They take turns challenging each other to hit the next outrageous goal. The targets end up being street signs and tree branches at various weird angles and distances. Gabriel misses a few more than Fareeha, which the only excuse he can offer her is ‘That’s why I use shotguns’. They make good use of the wrap around balcony to get better aim at more obscure targets. At one corner, Gabriel spots a fire hydrant that's barely in view and decides it's next.

“Next target acquired.” He says as he grabs a handful of snow from the dwindling pile.

It’s only once the snowball is headed towards it that he notices a person walking their dog right in that area. Gabriel watches in horror as the snowball arcs down and misses the hydrant, landing a few feet away from the dog. The person walking turns sharply and spots them on the balcony, their dog jumps and starts barking.

“Oh shit!” Gabriel drops down to hide, Fareeha following suit. “Sorry!” He shouts.

Gabriel can hear the man shouting up at them. Fareeha is laughing as she crouches and bolts for the door. He waits a few moments until the shouting from the ground stops.

Carefully, he stands up and heads to the door leading inside. Through the glass, Fareeha stands nearby, phone already in hand. When he tries to turn the handle it doesn’t budge. He looks at it and then up to Fareeha.

“Hey, real funny kid.”

She looks up at him, then the knob, then back up and shrugs.

Gabriel laughs, “Okay clearly I’ve been a pretty bad influence. But seriously, open the door.”

Cooper makes an appearance at the commotion, weaving around Fareeha’s legs. She bends down to give him the affection he’s asking for.

Gabriel crosses his arms, cold suddenly making itself known. “Coop get the door. I know you can do it.”

Cooper ignores him, continues his weaving around Fareeha for pets. Gabriel scowls at him.

“Alright Fareeha, the line is drawn. I’m the cool uncle that lets you do fun shit okay. This,” he points to the door for emphasis, “is shit we do to Jack.”

She laughs on the other side and turns to head towards the living room. Gabriel’s jaw drops, “I can’t believe this betrayal!” He points to her from the glass, “I’m getting inside!”

He carefully but quickly heads around the to the other side of the apartment, silently thankful for choosing a place with a wrap around balcony.

Walking past the windows to the living room, where he sees Fareeha on her phone watching vids, he tries the second set of doors that lead into his bedroom. They are locked as well and Gabriel curses. Jack is asleep on the bed in nothing but pajama pants.

He taps lightly on the glass, trying not to wake Jack up too abruptly. He keeps tapping until Jack shifts, makes a face and stretches. Gabriel is briefly thankful he didn’t bolt up and panic. He lightly taps again, drawing Jack’s attention. When their eyes meet Jack jumps up and opens the door.

“What are you—“

Gabriel rushes in and hugs him. Jack tenses but bares it.

“God, your fucking cold. What the hell?”

“Fareeha locked me out.”

He can feel Jack reach around him to shut the door, “That doesn’t sound like something she would do, Gabe."

Gabriel scoffs, “Well she did.”

Comfortable silence hangs for a second, “Did you do something to deserve it?” Jack asks.

“What? No!” Gabriel untangles himself from Jack at that.

Jack puts his hands up, “Alright I’m just checking.”

As Jack moves away to grab a shirt Gabriel sheds his coat and gloves. The boots are about to go when Jack’s phone starts buzzing.

“It’s the office,” he says looking up at Gabriel.

“Fareeha and I did some aim training today,” Gabriel shrugs, “From the balcony. With snowballs.” adding on nonchalantly.

Jack doesn’t break eye contact for a moment before sighing. He answers the phone as Gabriel walks out of the room.

Heading down the hallway to the living room, Gabriel stops in Fareeha’s line of sight. Cooper is sitting halfway in her lap, napping.

“I just want to say, I’m not going to tell your mom about this because I’m cool,” he says pointing to himself, “but next time all bets are off.”

Fareeha looks up and hums before returning to her vid.

Jack walks past him and drops down on the couch, “Yes, sure thing. Thank you, you as well.” He says finishing up his conversation. When the call is finished Jack looks between them, “You couldn’t have at least woken me up to get in on this? I just got chewed out for a thing I didn’t even do.”

Gabriel laughs as he takes the spot next to Jack, “Sorry honey.”