The knock echoed through the quiet house. Gabriel's pulse was steady, but his fingers twitched at his sides. He wasn't nervous, not exactly. But something sat heavy in his chest, he was about to see Beckett. Alive. Breathing. Moving. And probably ready to bite his head off. Maybe....

As the door opened, Jonas didn't waste time breaking the silence, "Becks! Your alpha here was ready to break down the door!" 

Gabriel flinched, yanked from his thoughts with an absolutely scandalized expression as the twin snickered. Footsteps and then, there he was. 

Beckett stood in the doorway, eyes sharp but tired, a bruise shadowing his jaw, bandages peeking out from beneath his shirt. He looked like hell. Gabriel had never been so relieved to see someone in his entire life. 

Beckett's gaze flicked between them, first eyeing Jonas before landing on Gabriel. His expression tightened, "What the fuck are you doing here?" 

Exhaling a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Gabriel just chuckled, "Good to see you too." 

The omega didn't respond, he just took a step back so the other two could enter the house more easily. The place was simple; small, clean, impersonal. A temporary space, Beckett's scent barely clung to the walls. Stepping inside, Gabriel had to stuff his hands in his jacket pockets to keep himself from reaching for a hug. He wanted to look at Beckett, to check for any injuries he wasn't seeing, but the smaller male would absolutely hate that...so he didn't. 

Jonas, of course, had no such restraint, "You look like shit," he said cheerfully, flopping onto the couch. 

Beckett scowled, "You drugged me."

"You were being stupid." 

A low growl rumbled in Beckett's throat; however, he didn't argue. Instead, he took notice to how Gabriel was just standing there watching them. He could tell the alpha wanted answers, the look he gave Gabriel was unreadable. Then -- 

"Why are you here?" 

Gabriel scoffed, "Because I get back in town and your club is burnt down and you've disappeared?" 

This didn't seem to impress Beckett as he crossed his arms, "And?" 

Ah yes, there it was. Gabriel's tail swayed as he pushed down the growing impatience, "And? And I had to find you." 

Beckett's eyes narrowed, he was trying to read Gabriel; what his intentions were. Meanwhile, Jonas had leaned back on the couch, enjoying every second of this, because he knew. He knew exactly what Gabriel had admitted outside, but he wasn't about to spill that information, not yet at least. Why ruin the fun. 

When Beckett finally exhaled, he leaned against a nearby counter, "Well, you found me, now what?" he had a sneaking suspition that he already knew the answer to this question, but he wanted to hear it from the alpha. 

"Now, we talk," Gabriel started, he cast a glance over at Jonas but saw he wasn't going to get any backup from the other omega, that was fine, "about what comes next." 

The room was quiet. Beckett's gaze also passed over his brother, clocking the smug smirk on his face. That little shit knew something and was looking far to comfortable with the current situation. 

"Weren't you on a food run?" the accusation knocked that smirk right off the twin's face, "Where's my food?" Beckett followed up flatly.

Jonas blinked, "What?" 

"The food you left to go get," Beckett wasn't about to let his brother get away with any shinanegans, "you're empty-handed." 

The hesitation Jonas displayed spoke volumes, he'd forgotten. Or rather, he'd been distracted by something far more interesting. 

"In my defense, I wanted to check out The Den and got jumped by this loser," Jonas, ever the master bullshitter, gave an easy shrug, "Your alpha was on the verge of a nervous breakdown over you." 

Gabriel was flabbergasted, Jonas had thrown him under the bus so easily. There was a part of him that kind of respected the deflection but at the same time, the alpha couldn't help but cast a wary glance towards Beckett. To which, it came as no surprise when the prickly twin avoided eye contact, in fact he seemed to be ignoring Gabriel's entire existance at that moment. 

"First of all, I don't have an alpha; and second, you forgot the food, now go fix it." 

Recognizing this as not being a suggestion, Jonas sighed. He could read the room, besides he could probe Gabriel for details after. It wasn't hard to tease info out of the alpha so he saw no harm in giving the two some alone time, "Fine, fine. Bossy as ever." 

Rolling off the couch, Jonas started for the door, "You two play nice now, I want the deposit back on this place." 

"Go!" 

Jonas just snickered the rest of the way out, closing the door behind him. And just like that, the air in the room shifted. 

The silence stretched for an uncomfortably long time. 

Gabriel exhaled, fine, he would go first, "Are you gonna tell me how bad it really is, or are we gonna pretend you didn't almost die?"

Lips pressing into a thin line, Beckett didn't respond. Not right away at least. The way he held his arms across his chest was subtly defensive. He avoided eye contact while keeping his expression almost too neutral. Gabriel had taken a seat at the small kitchen table, watching Beckett carefully, not pushing, not demanding answers. Just waiting. 

And Beckett, he didn't know what to do with that. He had expected Gabriel to be his usual overbearing, pain-in-the-ass self, demanding details, insisting on knowing every bruise, every burn, every second of what happened. But he didn't, and that was somehow worse. 

"You're not going to ask?" 

Gabriel shook his head, "No." 

Beckett just huffed, finally looking at the other, "Why not?" 

The alpha didn't look away, "Because, it's up to you what you want to tell me," Gabriel tilted his head, "I want to know, but if you don't want to talk about it that's okay." It honestly ripped him up inside. He hoped, prayed, that Beckett would tell him something, anything. 

Perhaps his desires were more apparent on his face than he realized. Beckett had swallowed, something about what Gabriel said hit a little deeper than he wanted. Looking away, staring intensely at the faint scuff marks on the table; he drummed his fingers lightly against the smooth surface. Allowing the cool surface to ground him. His ribs still ached, his lungs still felt like they had been scraped raw, but the worst of it had passed. 

He could talk about it now, didn't mean he wanted to. But Gabriel was here, "I was inside when it happened." 

Gabriel didn't move. Didn't speak. Just listened. 

Sitting at the table, Beckett curled his fingers slightly against the table, "It was late. The club was empty. I was going over inventory when I heard something, could have been glass breaking, I don't know." His jaw tightened slightly. 

Gabriel's tail flicked, but he still didn't speak, so Beckett continued. 

"Then the power cut out, they busted through the doors." he muttered, "I tried to fight, but there were too many. They weren't just there to wreck the place, they wanted to hurt me," perhaps this was the worst part, "and they did." 

Gabriel's fingers twitched against his arm, but still, he said nothing. 

Beckett exhaled through his nose, "They beat the shit out of me, trashed the place, stole whatever they could carry and then doused it in gasoline." 

At that, Gabriel went rigid. 

"They didn't even check if I was still breathing when they chucked the lighter," Beckett just huffed a quiet laugh, shaking his head, "I don't remember much after that. I was barely concious. Just smoke and heat and the sound of sirens." His fingers tapped against the table, "Next thing I knew, I was in the hospital and Jonas was there." 

Beckett sighed, leaning back, "That's it. That's what happened." 

Gabriel finally moved. His hands curled into fists against his arms, tension rolling off him in slow, measured waves. Inhaling slowly, he tried to steady himself. He wanted to rage, to hunt down every bastard responsible and make them pay. But that wasn't what Beckett needed right now. So instead, he nodded.

The two sat in silence once more. It wasn't a strained silence, more of a moment of silence. Reserved, understanding and that was enough.