A request from @vysticz for “young reader with dad prefall!gabe (well dad figure) dealing with drunk reader”.
Sorry this turned Angsty but you know I’m trash.
This may not have been the worst day of your life, but dammit it was up there. The missions were always run like a finely tuned machine. The only issue was that when disaster struck, it struck hard. Your team scrambled to pick up the pieces and in this madness you had lost a teammate. Lost a friend. While everyone was hit by this loss, it hit you the hardest. Like a truck. This person you could joke with, who always help lift the weight off your shoulders, was suddenly gone. The event ran through your mind over and over again. So did all the ways you could have done things differently. Ways you didn’t have to walk away without your friend. Great. Where were these fantastic ideas when this actually mattered? You needed to get rid of these thoughts. Get their face out of your mind.
You had bought a bottle a while ago. Contraband you snuck in for the two of you to drink together, courtesy of Blackwatch’s resident cowboy. Now the taste was even more bitter with the thoughts of your fallen friend. Didn’t stop you from drinking it though. Due to the strictness of Blackwatch it had been a while since you had a good drink, so now the alcohol worked faster and stronger through your system. Couldn’t complain. After all you needed it right now. However, that’s not what your commander Gabriel Reyes thought.
In hindsight, stumbling around the base wasn’t the best idea but you hardly had a very coherent thought process in your current state. And Reyes could see that all too well.
“What the hell are you doing?!” he demanded, grabbing your collar and snarling in your face. “You’re not just some kid, you’re a goddamn agent so grow up and act like one! We lose agents every day but we can’t afford to take a day off and grieve. We keep working to ensure no one else dies.”
You wanted to yell, lash out, punch him in the face. But you knew you’d be dead before your fist even connected. But you couldn’t just let him treat your friend like something expendable.
“They weren’t just an agent. Not to me. Sir,” you replied, narrowing your eyes at him, impressed at your own courage. At least the alcohol would provide something more than a hangover.
You were expecting to be chewed out. You weren’t expecting him to slowly release you and take a step back. Gabriel took a deep breath as he looked you up and down before resting a hand on your shoulder, his features softening.
“They were a friend, I get it. I know what it’s like to lose a friend. But self-destructing isn’t going to bring them back, idiot. They knew the risk and they knew what they were fighting for. You gonna take a dump all over that? You’re better than that agent, so keep fighting their fight. Keep their spark alive.” He removed his hand and stood up straight, firm expression returning. “Now go get some coffee and sober the hell up. I expect you at training at first light.”