A/N: I'm so sorry about the wait! I thank you guys for being patient and kind. The past several months have been incredibly tiring and incredibly busy for me. I hope you enjoy the story despite all things. Please keep leaving me feedback: vote, comment (and share if you want to)—I appreciate every single one. Thank you always!

Not suitable for work or kids.

Also, I didn't proofread as well as I should have. I apologize for typos or errors in advance.

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"[Y/N]," Gabriel's voice sounded distant and somewhat distorted. "Stay with me, baby." Momentarily drawn out of the deep end, you felt his hands—strong and warm—cupping your cheeks as they kept your head upright in a gentle grip.

Seeing him was even harder. Black spots encroached upon your vision as you fought to stay awake. Despite the injuries, blood loss, and your overall state of faring terribly, only one thing seemed to rankle you.

"'Baby'?"You managed. "You broke up with me... jerk. You..." Speaking was taking exceptional effort, but you continued despite your breathlessness, "You don't get to call me 'baby'."

The Blackwatch Commander fell silent. It was true that he'd broken things off with you last month—he knew he'd made a mess of things. His excuse was that the job was too important, and his exact words, "Your career is just starting, and no one else has the capacity to become Blackwatch Commander. We can't do this anymore."

In reality, he'd been too damn afraid to come to terms with the fact his heart was absolutely, overwhelmingly yours. He'd fallen deep. He'd fallen hard. Becoming insecure, obsessed, and possessive in his desire for you, Gabriel Reyes grew irrationally jealous of his superior—your so-called-friend Jack Morrison—and began to blatantly defy top brass orders.

Forget those vices. He was so enamored, it grew unbearable to be apart from you. Even a mere day without you was suffocating.

You had conquered him, but he'd refused to admit it—not to anyone, not to himself. So he had resorted to doing what he knew best—distancing himself, like he did in the past whenever a relationship got too serious. He'd put an end to the relationship and wounded your heart in the process.

In hindsight, Gabriel thought it to be the worst mistake he could make. Over the past month, he'd grown remorseful and angry with himself—and the worst part was that it's taken a deadly experience for him to realize how much he wanted to be with you...

...it may be too late, now.

And the prospect of never seeing you again was tearing his heart in two.

A weak cough escaped your now pallid lips, causing panic to sweep him out of his inaction. Gabriel put his basic survival knowledge to use, assessing your body to find the source of bleeding. He pressed his hand firmly into a large gash at the side of your torso, effectively stemming the flow of blood.

The smarting pressure forced a whimper from you, but the sensation cut through the fog. And with your awareness restored briefly, you noticed the unexpected on the Blackwatch Commander's handsome face.

"Gabriel Reyes..." You voiced hoarsely. "Are you crying?"

"Yeah," He admitted gruffly. "Some stupid girl made me fall in love with her and got herself hurt bad." He blinked rapidly, clearing the tears from his eyes.

Gabriel's confession was a blanket of warmth that chased away the icy void surrounding you. "Did I hear you right?" You whispered, a ghost of a smile on your lips.

In the face of death, you wanted to tell Gabriel that you loved him, too... even if you had feigned indifference to the break up. You wanted to tell him that it had all been a façade, and that it had taken every ounce of your stubborn being to not call him. You wanted to tell him that you'd missed him in every waking moment.

But it was proving too difficult to utter the words, too difficult to stay awake.

"Don't you die on me, [Y/N]! Please! Stay with me!" Helpless, he watched your drooping eyelids and felt a gush of blood flow through his fingers. "Fuck!"

As the darkness finally enveloped you, the last you remembered was the lovely expletive Gabriel shouted.

--

On account of Angela Ziegler's intervention, you were saved from certain death. The young doctor administered her life-saving technology to you—one that she was currently still developing. Not that she had much choice—refusing to do as Gabriel had asked meant to lose all her research funding.

The Blackwatch Commander had demanded it, knowing full well that the biotic medicine was only a work-in-progress.

As a result of Angela Ziegler's scientific breakthrough, your body was recovering faster than normal—your fractured ribs were mended and the minor abrasions gone.

But the grievous wound at your side took time to heal—at a rate slower than Angela Ziegler liked. She decidedly stitched the wound closed, then covered it with sterile dressing—which would need to be replaced twice daily per her orders.

Though your convalescence was coming along, you still hadn't come to. In your coma, you were transferred to the medical wing of the Overwatch Headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland. The reasoning was so that Angela could keep a closer eye on you. But there was much more to it.

Neither Gabriel Reyes nor Jack Morrison wanted to be far from your presence. Not after the havoc Talon had wreaked at the Grand Mesa facility, your home base.

Days passed and you finally regained your consciousness. There were familiar voices engaged in heated conversation. Though neither one raised his voice, the tension that filled the room was tangible.

"Angela said it would be a daily process—changing those bandages, making sure she's got her pain under control. You don't have the time to look after her. Not with the responsibilities you have out in the field."

"Then, you take over, Jack. Let me do this, okay? I'm begging you as a friend. Please just give me the week. I'll make it up to you."

"You've already put a stop to your fling. Why are you so insistent on this?"

"I..." Gabriel sighed. "It's more than a fling. I love her, Jack. And if she doesn't love me, that's alright. I only want to see her through her recovery."

Silence ensued, the atmosphere grew thick with unease. You resisted the urge to open your eyes, apprehension gnawing at you from within. This was a situation you had no desire to meddle in—an argument between a superior and a subordinate; even if you were technically the one causing the strain between them.

Jack finally relented. "Fine. Two weeks tops." He said curtly, then exited the room—his footfalls quick to fade.

Your heart was already racing when you were left alone with Gabriel. You recalled his confession during the incident, and you'd just heard it again.

He loved you.

You felt Gabriel's presence at your side and realized that he was seated on the mattress. Reaching for your hand, he twined his fingers with yours—the warmth of his skin radiating into you and sent a frisson through your entire body. He felt the faint shudder in you and noticed you awake—looking at him.

"Hi," Your voice cracked and your throat was raw with thirst. "Can I have some water?"

He stood abruptly, his eyes widening—his expression telling as Gabriel was caught between relief and shock.

"Here," Gently, he lifted the rim of the glass nearby to your lips, allowing you sips of the cool water. You took the glass from him.

"Thanks." You'd never seen him so attentive. Then again, you'd never needed to be nursed back to health before.

"Should I get the doctor?" He asked, his voice almost quivering. He still looked quite surprised, almost like a deer in headlights.

Shaking your head in refusal, you set the glass down at the side table and sat up. Or at least attempted to.

A sharp sensation in your right side paralyzed you. You inhaled sharply and held your breath as you eased yourself back down. "Ah... what the hell happened?"

"Take it easy," Gabriel beckoned, supporting you as you reclined into the mattress. "A terrorist group known as Talon attacked your base. You were hurt. Gravely. I... thought you wouldn't make it."

Then, he grew quiet as his thoughts raced; he wasn't certain if you remembered the events leading up to your coma, specifically his abrupt confession. And he wasn't sure how to broach the subject again.

As if you could see straight through him, you confronted Gabriel. "I heard everything... but I can't let you do it, Gabe. We- "

"Do what?" He interrupted, sitting down on the mattress beside you. Gone was the uncertainty in his expression—replaced instead by the ferocity you were all too familiar with, the very quality that made him attractive. "Love you?"

Silenced by his candor, you let him unearth his feelings.

"Too late, [Y/N]," Gabe was almost trembling with emotion. His eyes darkening, as if recalling the moment when death loomed over you. "I fell in love with you long before Talon attacked. And I love you so much it frightens me."

Realizing that your heart was beating to a painfully fast rhythm, you forced your breaths to slow and clutched your chest. Your damned body was betraying your mind—its reaction told it all, that you were just as desperate for him as he was for you.

"Gabe..." You reined in the giddiness, trying to maintain reason in the aftermath of his confession. "I don't think it's that simple. There's so many factors that we have to consider. Our jobs, our- "

"That's just it, [Y/N]," Gabriel was impassioned, his burning gaze dangerously affecting your ability to think. "What I feel for you trumps everything. I don't give a damn about anything else. Nothing else matters. You're it."

"I'm 'it'?" You furrowed your brow, not resisting him when he took your hands in his.

"You're the girl I want to settle down with. For good."

You shot him an 'are-you-crazy' look and played the devil's advocate. "That's not possible with your current position. You're top brass. You can't... 'settle down'. And I can't live my life constantly worrying about you while you're away on missions, risking your life. It's just... not possible."

He paused, long enough to make you wonder what he was thinking behind the brooding expression. Gabriel didn't seem discouraged by your pessimism, though. If anything, he grew even more determined to dispel your doubts.

"I ...hunger for you. And it's fucking insatiable." His words squeezed your heart almost painfully. "I can't live without you, [Y/N]." He inhaled, slow and deep, as if drawing courage from the air.

Then, he reached behind him and presented a velvet box to you. "I'm putting in my notice, and I want you to marry me," he said as he opened the container and revealed a white-gold ring—studded with a brilliantly jaw-dropping diamond.

Above all, his sincerity struck a chord with you, and his gesture moved you to tears. It was without warning, so unexpected... just like things have been with Gabriel. You couldn't help but be amazed by the lengths he was going to be with you, and you realized you couldn't deny yourself any longer.

"Yes," You whispered, your body moving on its own accord—you embraced him, pressing yourself flush against his battle-hardened body, and clung to him like your life depended on it. "God, yes-- Gabe. I love you."

Gabriel reflected your joy, holding you like priceless treasure as he planted a lasting kiss on your forehead. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear those three words from you."

--

That night, after you were medically cleared, Gabriel took you to his private suite—where you'd be living until Dr. Angela Ziegler discharged you from her care.

"Here, let's get your bandages changed first," He brought in a tray of medical supplies after he'd shown you to his bedroom.

You shifted your attention from the room's interior to him, then looked down at your hospital gown. You lifted the article by its hem and noticed some shadowing of blood in the layers of gauze wrapped around your torso.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to take that gown off?" He suggested, then moved past you, into the bathroom where he set the tray down on a counter top. After you heard the faucet turning and the water coming on, you couldn't help but expect something perverse was going to happen.

"Wipe that look off your face," Gabriel scolded you when he came out of the bath. He took your hand and led you back inside before undoing the ties to your gown. "I'm not going to do anything to you until you're healed. Completely."

Disappointed by his restraint, you mumbled, "Who said I wanted you to do anything to me?"

Then, you felt a whisper of his lips on the nape of your neck. His kiss was satin soft, and though you'd normally find the sensation ticklish—especially with his facial hair brushing against your skin, you found his act intensely erotic.

The hospital gown fell to the cold tiles beneath your feet, and the sullied bandages soon followed.

Gabriel took a small step, eyeing the stitched wound in your side the entire time. He traced a finger at the periphery of the closure, and looked up at you before commanding, "Inside the shower. I need to rinse this first."

You parted your lips to argue but thought better, besides... you wouldn't mind seeing him bare, too. Unless he planned on bathing you fully-clothed.

The cold air on your naked form was motivation enough, and you stepped into the inviting shower—allowing a cloud of soothing steam to envelop you. And your silent wish granted, Gabriel stripped down to nothing and joined you.

Strangely, there was little to no pain as he continued with his ministrations. He positioned you so that you were facing away from the shower head, allowing the water to trickle down the closed wound and cleanse its surrounding skin.

Gabriel kept his word—he didn't touch you with inappropriate intent. But seeing you in nothing was undoubtedly affecting him because his engorgement was blatant and hard to ignore. You saw his erected shaft in your peripheral vision—hard and achingly red as it jutted skyward, flush against the hard ridges of his abdomen.

The water droplets slid the expanse of Gabriel's body, producing an even more enticing effect in him. You felt a heavy, soaked feeling settle in your belly, in your womanhood. You clenched your toes, trying to control your desire for him. You felt sparks of arousal buzz along every inch of your skin—and with each persisting second, your mind became cloudier.

"You're covered in goosebumps," He remarked as he worked some liquid soap in his hands into foaming suds. "Are you okay, baby?"

Turning to face your fiancé fully, you pressed your lips to his in a tender, fire-lighting kiss. The little distance between you was gone, and you pulled your lips from his. "I need you inside me, Gabe."

His silence was lingering, compelling you to take his hand and plant its palm against your breast. You watched the conflicted look on his face dissolve the moment he felt the softness of your flesh in his hand.

"Please." You whispered, your skin burning with fever.

Your soft plea a seduction to Gabriel, he growled before returning your kiss in full. He cupped your breast, running his thumb over the straining bud. A breathless moan left your lips in response, and it was the breaking point for him.

He lifted you easily, trapping your body between the wall and his own. His lips traced a path down the curve of your chin and lingered on your neck, where he rained biting kisses along your sensitized skin.

As Gabriel kept his lips' assault on your neck, he pressed the head of his erection against your wet core and steadily pushed. He didn't give ground, guiding his length, inch by inch, inside you until the head of his cock hit the mouth of your womb.

You bit your lip to stifle your scream, your nails carving reddened marks into his shoulders as you threw your head back and adjusted to the incredible, full sensation in your lower belly.

Gabriel stilled, spreading you wide around him—feeling you writhe around him with every breath you took, slowly coiling and uncoiling as if you were trying to milk him straight to your core. "Oh, you're so tight... I love being inside you." Gabe moaned into your neck.

You groaned softly when he forced the last bit of his member into you, then gasped when you realized he wasn't planning on staying still very long. He moved, grunting as he slid out of your resisting channel, then slid back in—his entire length sheathed inside you.

The motion continued again and again. Gabriel fucked you until your mind blanked, until your juices covered the length of his cock and dripped down the soft sac encasing testes. His fingers trailed down to your clit, and you came instantly. The sublime feeling washed over you, coursing through your thickened blood, rendering you mindless as the pleasure consumed you.

You clenched down around him hard in your orgasmic throes, and Gabriel held you tightly against him. He gritted his teeth, his own mounting pleasure driving him to the brink of sanity.

Gabriel only lasted another buck before he ground himself hard against you, inside you. You moaned into his ear, swearing you could feel his thick, hot cum filling you to the brim. Sagging against each other, you both panted, lost in your pleasure—and you stayed that way until you recovered your full consciousness.

Drawing his softening erection out of you, Gabriel set you on your unsteady feet and held you by your waist. Then, he kissed you—his kiss hard and fervent, desperate and demanding. It left you reeling and breathless when he pulled away.

"I will never let you go," He promised, his face solemn as he gazed into your eyes. "I love you."

Your cheeks were burning under his intense stare, and you felt your heartbeat gallop to a quickening rhythm. "You better not," You braved a response. "I love you, I've missed you... and you're sorely mistaken if you think we're done fucking already."

Surprise flitted across his face for a passing moment, quickly replaced when he smiled a lopsided smile—a wicked smirk, one that made you hot for him. all over again. "After I'm done with you, you'll be the sore one."

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A/N: I apologize if this seemed lacking in the smut department; I wanted to wrap this three shot up and hopefully shed a little light on the background story for Bloodrush. Thanks for reading! The next story to the series is a surprise.