A New Start

Gabe was tired of the hospital.

He had been here while waiting to hear about Dani. He had been here to cheer Dani up while the news of her brother's 'death' hung over them like a looming cloud. He had been here for her discharge as well. Once again, Gabriel Vega was at the hospital due to his boyfriend having to break up a fight with the now asshole-for-a-reason Broen and his former-perfect-hero-now-abuser father. Angelo had apparently tried to break it up and suffered some minor rib damage from the scuffle but Broen had gotten it significantly worse.

Gabe would have what most call a 'bleeding heart', but he felt like he should reach out to the beaten man. Angelo thought him as a good friend (for some reason), and his lashing out at Dani was inappropriate but had to be said at some point. Although bundled up in a sweatshirt, a jacket, and a scarf, he had felt a cold feeling in his stomach as he reached up towards the closed door that lead into Broen's room.

He gave three gentle knocks on the door before entering. There would be no Angelo with him; the blond had been sent along to talk to his father about everything. But Gabe had gotten the gist of the story before he had left. Hopefully, things could be a little nicer than their past interactions.

"Broen, are you awake?"

Oh, well, what to say now?

Gabe moved quietly into the room and shut the door with a gentle click. Although he was awake, he was still probably groggy as hell and even more sore. Taking a look at the bedridden man, he couldn't help but flinch at the damage. Mayor Crawford had definitely done quite the number on Broen. He wasn't quite used to seeing that much of a physical beatdown up close. Diego had certainly taken a few, but nothing quite as brutal as this.

"Came to see you. See how you're doing? Angelo texted me about everything when he got cleared. You need me to get you anything?" He moved closer to the bed, pulling one of the chairs in the room closer and took a seat near Broen. He kept a respectable distance from the man, but wanted to be close enough to converse easily.

Well, this budding new friendship is getting off to a wonderful start. Gabe let out a sigh, leaning back into the chair. "I'm not going to give you pity, Broen. I've heard enough about you to know that you don't want it. You can huff and pout or yell until the sun goes down, but I'm trying to be nice. You're important to Angelo and Angelo is important to me, and despite our past disagreements, I would still like to be your friend."

Looking towards the wall, Gabe let out another sigh. "I'm sorry that your dad is a disgusting piece of shit, though. The only thing I pity after hearing about what happened is the fact that you didn't get to beat his bitch ass into the concrete like he deserved."

He kept his gaze on the wall, not looking to Broen. Thinking of abusive parents made him think of Diego, and the many nights the boy would come over sobbing and covered in cuts and bruises. It was sick that a parent, any parent, thought it was okay to lay their hands on their children like that.

Gabe could only feel his stomach drop at the mention of how long. Nine years of the abuse, of the unreasonable hatred from a father to his son. Why was their so much animosity between parent and child in Halcyon? Between Diego, Broen, and god knows how many others, it seemed that superpowers and shitty parents went hand in hand. But at the mention of the Pirate's Feast, Gabe couldn't help but chuckle.

"That's fair. Good food is one of life's few good pleasures. I'm sure you'll be recovered by then. Worst case scenario, I'll bring you plenty of food. Or break you out. Whatever works easier at the time." Gabe hummed, leaning forward in his seat. He placed his arms in his lap, and just sort of stared at Broen for a long moment. "Broen, tell me something. Anything, honestly. I only know you through glimpses at the community center and the less than pleasant bits regarding your family history. And I'm frankly sick of hearing about crazy drama nonsense for a while. So, anything nice. Favorite color, favorite food... Ooh, yeah, let's go with food. What food do you want to try from the Pirate's Feast more than any other dish?"

"Food is delicious. And I'm surprised to hear that you cook, Broen. That's pretty cool. I kind of know how to cook, but my diet's limited so it's not as amazing as your skills in the kitchen, I imagine." Gabe chuckled, giving the bedridden man a small grin. This was nice. Much nicer than he expected. Broen was opening up and Gabe was slowly making a new friend. A much more positive outcome from such a nightmare of a start.

Then Broen brought up Angelo and Gabe's relationship.

His cheeks felt hot as he glanced towards the wall. Their relationship was still new, and the thought about it left Gabe quite flustered. But hearing that Angelo once had a thing for Broen was kind of funny, and he couldn't help but chuckle at it. "That's funny. Look at the mighty hero, falling head over heels for the villain. One day he can hopefully redeem them from their wicked ways with the power of love. But I wouldn't know about the 'better deal', Broen. I'm not as assertive as you. I second guess myself a lot and have plenty of personal baggage."

Gabe sighed. "And before you say it, I know you do too. I'd rather not delve into that nightmare. But, I appreciate the compliment? If it was a compliment."