The former police officer had never been happier that he'd decided to bring all weapons within reaching distance with him. In such close quarters and with so many civilians using an assault rifle was a bad idea. He would stick to his pistol, maybe pull out his shotgun if he got in to tight quarters with an infected. As if to prove his point a shuffler lunged at him and he blew its head off with his shotgun. The recoil pushed him back a little since he hadn't had time to brace for impact properly and he found himself face to face with another shuffler. He ducked underneath its reaching arms and dodged behind it to shoot it in the head also.
He was just starting to feel better about the situation when his ears picked out a voice in the crowd that had his head snapping around for the owner. No. It couldn't be... His eyes scanned the masses quickly, sidestepping another infected and using the handle of his shotgun to bash its head. His desperately seeking eyes finally landed on the source of the voice and what he saw turned his blood cold. You know, it's true what they say. In panicked moments, time really does seem to go at half speed.
Chest constricting in fear, Lukas booked it to the other corner of the room at the man who had a gun pointed at his baby brother. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he growled out, quickly knocking the gun out of his hands and grabbing the man by the throat to throw him up against the wall. He held him there for a moment, fingers tightening on his windpipe as he levelled the guy with a glare. "If you... ever... touch a fuckin' hair on my brother's head... i will end you. Understand? Infected will be the least of your worries. Now get the fuck out of here and try shootin' somethin' that's already dead."
He threw the guy in the opposite direction and let out a breath, turning to look at his brother. He looked a little thinner, older... but it was him. It was weird to think that after searching for him so long that he was actually standing right in front of him. "Gabe..." he choked out, before he hugged him close. He buried his face in his little brother's shoulder and folded his arms impossibly closer. He realized belatedly he was probably squeezing the air out of Gabe's lungs, but fuck... he didn't care. Just holding him again meant more than anything that had happened in such a long time.
Some shufflers had started creeping on them while they were having their touching moment (there was a battle going on after all) and Lukas hadn't missed that. Letting his brother go, he pulled him lightly behind him and pulled his pistol from its holster again, quickly dispatching the two slower infected with two well placed head shots.
Letting out a breath, he turned back to his brother. He smiled, really fucking smiled, for the first time in a really long time. "I can't believe it's you. I mean I can... I never gave up on you. I know how strong you are and just... God, I been searchin' for you for so long now." His speech was coming out just as jumbled as it was running through his brain and he laughed a little at himself, shaking his head and grabbing his brother again. It was probably the worst time to be sitting there hugging it out, but as far as Lukas was concerned... the infected could wait their damn turn.
It occurred to Lukas that Gabriel probably had no idea about the rest of their family and the smile faded off his face as he looked at the floor. Where did he even start? He'd had time to come to terms with it now but this would be fresh for Gabe. "I got so much to tell you Gabe. I just... now's not the time though." He reloaded his pistol and looked over at his little brother, "You stick with me alright? I'll keep you safe. I see you've got a gun. Hope you remember what I taught you..."