She gave a harsh wince at the tough grip upon her wrist. Her nerves clenched alongside the harsh touch, forcing her fingers to curl in together. A smart woman would’ve pulled herself back when realizing to how far deep into a corner she’d pushed the unstable man in. While she no longer viewed Gabriel as a monster, so to say, she still couldn’t deny that he was a broken husk of what used to be. There had been so much happiness in him, even if he didn’t let it show. Fareeha had seen so much of it, having absolutely adored every living second.
There was no retaliation when he forcefully returned her the now aching hand. She flexed her fingers open a few times, but aside from that, she didn’t falter. The scowl she wore was faint, yet there was clear tiredness and dedication in her brown eyes. God, how many nights had she laid awake, pondering as her mind sailed in-between the deep, murky waters of sorrow, anger, desperation and relief. Fareeha knew, as much as she could see, how much pain Gabriel had gone through. Yet, at the same time, she probably didn’t even know the half of it.
“Good,” she stated firmly, yet her voice kept on a softer edge; she wasn’t speaking to an enemy here. No, he wasn’t her enemy. “Let them come. I will strike each and every one of them down until my last breath, for that is my duty.” She took one step closer, her hand brought up to her chest level, yet she hadn’t begun reaching for him. Yet.
She took a deep breath. “You do not need to stop them. I am no longer a child, Gabriel. I come here knowing the risks. I know the position this puts me in.” Another step forward, the distance closing. “I shouldn’t be here, but I am. And so are you.” Very slowly, her hand went to the bottom of his mask, should he allow it. Yet, she gave him the space to pull back.
Dead eyes trailed along her, soaking in her unspoken words
of resolve. Without meaning to his teeth cinched together and
a hiss pressed through his nostrils as his frustration manifested
in his own release. It took a while, mask turning to the side and
hands flexing while he struggled to keep on top of his explosive
anger. Though with another breath those empty sockets turned
back her way, seeming to take in her words once more.
While his frustration was still there, something about the way he
straightened and his shoulders relaxed towards her showed his
quiet acceptance. Of course an Amari can look at an organization
like Talon, a place that employed a creature like him, a place that
rewrote an innocent into a weapon, and say she would fight.
Foolish girl had listened to Reinhardt for too long... “ You have
no idea... ” A sentiment rumbling in his chest, tired and full
of foreboding.
When the hand came again, he flinched. A quick tuck of his head
back, and a grasp about her wrist yet again. Yet it was gentler
and seemed almost a movement of fear rather than anger, and
it was over faster than it had begun. His head returned to allow
her fingers to pull the mask from his face, and fingers loosened
to just barely touching her skin.
And there it was again, that marred skin with living wounds
with dead eyes that pierced into her own gaze. “ Don’t be
selfish enough to think you are the only one to suffer for our
little meetings, Fareeha. ” He warned darkly down his nose.
If she would not stop her summons for her own safety, perhaps
her nobility would do it for his own. Pharah did not fear the
Reaper, and he could not bring himself to prove she should.
For once he must be Gabriel, and speak with those walls removed
for the sake of another. “ You won’t find what you’re looking for
anymore. I’m not the man I once was, and I never will be again. ”
