❝ damn ya, damn ya t'hell. how could ya jus' let him go?! he was ... gabriel was family! and ya jus'... ❞ // @salvoh
“ YOU THINK I DIDN’T TRY TO STOP HIM ?”
angered tone further enunciated by the SLAM of a fist to the wood table - it snaps . fist trembles at where it lands, a tremor that overtakes his body in WAVES--- jack regards mccree with a RAGE in his countenance, & for a genuine moment he HATES the man standing before him---
opposite elbow meets remaining portion of splintered table, a finger outstretched in jesse’s direction , still matching the quiver of the other ; but jack only seethes inwardly , pursing his lips & looking aside, hand falling with a half-hearted smack.
leaning back , the soldier drags a hand across his face , & the inhale that follows is wet , SHUDDERING---
“ i’ve known him since before you were BORN, mccree. ”
a fact most seem to FORGET - jack & gabriel fought side-by-side for YEARS ; reyes was not only jack’s PARTNER in combat , he was in all ways except literally an EXTENSION of him---the two had relied on each other during their years in the SEP , the omnic crisis , the fucking grand RISE & FALL of OVERWATCH---
& somewhere along the way , gabriel had SHUT him OUT--- to him , jack had become an ENEMY , & there was nothing the latter could do to MEND the BREAK except HOLD ON to what he’d HAD LEFT------
it BREAKS his HEART , a weight that clenches VICE-LIKE & drags LOW - it CHOKES HIM , body often wracked with WRETCHING in response to the heavy SOBS he hides behind closed doors ; it keeps him up at night , dreams turned tumultuous by the fucking MEMORIES , & the constant reminders that HE HADN’T DONE ENOUGH . it KILLS him , the soldier running himself RAGGED in the hunt for REAPER , in his goal of bringing the man HOME---
gabriel fucking HAUNTS him .
a shake of his head , & jack rises swiftly to his feet , kicking over his chair in a fit of frustration normally better kept SEALED--- at his sides fists CLENCH , one dripping BLOOD at where flecks of wood have embedded themselves - he’s too upset to notice .
it’s with VITRIOL in tone that he concludes , inflection heavy with THREAT :
“ don’t FUCKING speak to me about gabriel reyes. ”










