The wasteland, the desolated lands of the irradiated Australian Outback. What was there in this place that wasn't broken in some shape or form? To the extend of your humble knowledge, nothing. Not a scrawny piece of grass that was not irradiated, no living thing that wasn't sick, no mind gentle or even mild. No, the Outback was as harsh and unforgiving a place to live as the people were, rough and broken, the little society there was earned through spilled blood and stolen goods. Talking of people, in all that chaos of the daily madness that was Junkertown, there was you. A twenty something year old girl, meek rather tall in statue, you blamed the radiation for that.
And as mentioned previously, just as every other living thing here, you were a absolute wreck of a human being; a shadow of your former self, the one before the Omnium exploded. It was truly not a secret, nore somthing you could hide, but your condition was rather lacklustre for someone your young age, radiation dose terrible things to the body. Skin chapped and covered in scars, grime, oil, soot, and generally speaking dirt. Hell, you couldn't even see your hair colour under all the filth, only when you rubbed it between your fingers a hint of h/c was to be seen. The healthy, cheerful child you used to be had died together with all your memories of the time before this, and as far as you were concerned, could never return. You didn't mind it, nore gave it to much thought at all, your mind to busy surviving, fighting to keep going even if there as little ambitions you could follow. But even the promise of seeing another sunset, hear the laughter of another human, feel a breeze of mellow air strive over your skin; that was enough to place a content little smirk on your dry lips, even if that hurt a bit. And even then it was more of a sleepwalk then a life, more of a dream, a nightmare of a existance then a life you deamed worth while.
Today was a evening like every other one you knew, your makeshift looking shoes that barely clung to dear life carrying you over the gravel streets to the musky underground bar you usually wasted your night's at with senseless drinking to numb the pain, complaining to the bartender about how miserable this place was, and listening around for some new story from travlers. The path was as lively as ever, people hurrying around to their destinations, and ever single one of them looked about as sickly and frail as the next; it was a society of wandering corpses, each more criminal as the other. You were guilty yourself, having stolen and robbed more then your fair share, even if it was only to survive; to afford your rent and nourishment. And what could be so wrong with that? It was perfectly justified, or at least that's what you usually told yourself when you nimbly snatched some money from inattentive passing people. Your glassy eyes tierdly scanned over the pockets, searching for a potential victim to grab some extra money from, you were dastardly hungry and in need of something to eat.
And one of those evenings would be this one. Seeing as your usual occupation didn't bring in the money you needed this time, even if your throat was sore. As you climb the dark corridor off downward stairs that was plastered full with messy graffiti and tags, the bartender greets you with the usual apathetic grunt as he poured you the usual clear drink. „G'day, someone looks especially miserable on this fine evening." The man behind the counter murmurs through his dark beard with a low, scratchy voice, as if he had smoked two packs a day for the last year's. You returned a weak half smirk as you took a quick shot from the short glass infront of you, the liquor burning down your throat near painfully, a good reminder that your nerves still did their job. „Didn't your customers pay ya well enough again?" He adds with a sly undertone, making you shudder a bit. You didn't like to talk about your occupation, it made you sick, uncomfortable, and most of all deeply uneasy.
Prostitution wasn't rare around here by any means, it was a quick, easy way to get some good money for a decent looking girl like you were considered. People here needed affection, even if it was just fleet makebeliefe, a quip, a play, a lie; desperately. This land was so cruel, no one really knew what the warmth of actual intimate relationship, no one knew what a stable home was like, so even the temporary bliss of simple human warmth was a welcome market here. Most everyone had lost all family to this harsh land, and had no clue what the love of a human could be, and neither did you; even if you tried there was little endearment you could find with anyone. The years of cold and apathetic treatment had numbed your senses, had dulled your emotions, had banished all care for anything but yourself. You only knew how to fake warmth, to put on a sort of act of passion if it was called for; it was the closest thing you knew to love. But the bartender was right, your pay hadn't been exactly splendid today, and you were to worn out to look for another customer, so stealing seemed like a good option to get you through tonight without horrid hunger pains.
You throw him a sinister glare, before returning to the search of the biggest wallet around the bars proximity. The usual careless chatter overturned this place, heavy cigaret smoke hung inn the thick air, the scent of sweat and alcohol near unnoticed by your long dull sense of smell. Another attrocious band played some crooked tunes that barely passed as music, the clunky guitar strings to rusted to produce a melodic tune and the singer's throat to dry to sound anything near plesant, but kept the attention of most people from the drinks and gambling they hung over; as you took your time to scavenge out a good option to make a few bucks. The bartender of course knew what you were up to, but since you were a frequent customer who he knew never had taken a penny from him, he kept silent; only smirking into his beard as he cleaned a few glasses with a dry cloth.
„You know, if I was you, I'd just leave this place. Your still young, maybe try making it to the mainland, ya might have a descent life. Anything better then here." He casually mutters under his breath, not averting your attention from your concentrated search „I would, but not alone, I would need a substantial plan and some sort of company on that journey. Besides, I wouldn't have the means of transportation to do something that risky." You whisper with a husky tune, eyes prying over the individual people assembled down here in the dim flickering of neon lights.
In that moment you hear another pair of voices come down the echoy stairs, usually nothing that would make you flinch up like this, but there was something strange about these ones in particular. Maybe it was the squeaking noise echoing form the prosthetic leg rhythmically clanking against the stairs, or the peculiar high crackeling of the words spoke. The voices themself, or better, that one individual voice had such piercing ring to it you couldn't bare ignore it. Curious in nature, you peek over your shoulder to find the owner of that obnoxious tone of voice, and are starteld to find it's source.
A guy you hadn't seen a lot around here, but heard about with a devilish frequency, and that you only knew from the various warning posters scatterd across the streets. Someone you knew wasn't liked here, had a reputation so foul even the most scummy of criminals knew to stay away from, and someone you knew very well to be staid clear of at all cost; or simple, Junkrat. Most of the times you only heard tall tales from the „treasure" he had supposedly found, one of unaccountable worth, told by the various bountyhunters that attempted to get his head; but the stories varied so much you were unsure if there even was the smallest speck of truth in them.
Besides that, he wasn't one to be in Junkertown at all, mostly stayed in that far of workshop that was deemed completely disastrous even by Junker standards. What was not unusual though, was his bodyguard following him around at every opportunity, the huge man with the leather mask made of pure nightmare fuel, Roadhog. Also one of the people you would have stayed well away of at any given time. There was something intimidating, no, terrifying about both of them; especially the pig man and that monstrous metal hook with crude spikes driven through the sides gave you the creeps.
But for some crazy reason, there was something different tonight, and something that made your greedy little heart skip a beat. You could tell from the second they walked into this bar, they carried a lot off money, and it wasn't hard to tell as it was carelessly stuffed and crammed into their pockets, and for a skilled pair of fingers easy prey. Easiest steal of your life, you thought as your eyes lit up at the notice, making the bartender throw you a concerned look „I wouldn't try that if I were you, that might end poorly for ya. Maybe not needlessly irritate the madmen, ya know full well that will probably end poorly." He whispers to you over the countertop as your eyes are still glued to the green heaps of sweet paper money, you had never seen that much cash in one place before, and it itched in your fingers to grab it.
You didn't even bother to awnser the bartenders valid point, scheming a way to get your hands on that sweet, sweet payment, even if it came at a risk. These two in particular were known to be ruthless killers, especially the blond one had made a name for his violent nature, but you were to hungry and desperate to really think this through. They sat down at a table near the door, which would potentially allow for a quick escape, a hit and run to say so. But in your mind, a sneaky approach sounded a lot safer, and promised more success. You couldn't win a fight, you had no idea how to deal with one, so you didnt want to risk being caught; you are not to keen to find yourself on the receiving end of that decrepit looking grenade launcher.
And again, today felt different somehow. You were gripped by a sudden strong curiosity, not only your greed and hunger, but actual sincere curiosity. Normally you never found yourself drawn to people in that sense, but you caught yourself mindlessly gawking at the blond Junker. Something about that sharp face and slender, gruff looking guy caught your attention. With piqued intrest you kept eyeing him slyly over your shoulder, there was no way he could tell, apparently you caught up in his own chatter to take note of you, but that gave you the freedom you needed to stare at every detail of his broken appearance. He was so lean and wiery it almost seemed unnatural, but was oddly enough pretty capturing. Yeah, you definitely thought he was cute, which was a rare statement from you in particular; and that struck a dangerous cord with you. Since you knew yourself well enough to instantly tell, you were a easily influenced person. And if he gave you the hint of a chance, you would probably take that chance mindlessly.
Thus, you threw the bartender some money for the drink, and slid of the barstool elegantly. The man simply sighed at your reckless behaviour, he was one of those people who was at least somewhat concerned about your health, as you were one of the most agreeable customers in this whole damm town. „Good luck Sheila, ya will need it." He mutters as you quickly order your hair a bit and it on the usual innocent smirk „I don't need luck, I know what I'm doing. I'm a professional." You coo jokingly, before making your way over to the table. Their chatting is easily the loudest in the entire bar, even if the conversation itself is rather one sided, Rat talking, Hog listening or ignoring him whilst occasionaly drinking his beer.
Personally you never played much attention to either of them, if out of fear of their name or your own better judgement, you were well aware that Junkrat in particular was not someone you wanted to mess with. Mentally you recalled all the havoc he had caused around here, all the grand scale destruction of property (even on the queens behalf which no one had dared before.), senseless violence, and well; he had completely lost his mind and it was common knowledge around here. But damm, he had such a pretty face, it was almost a shame it inhabited such a monster.
The constant giggling for no reason, the twitching of his fingers, and the seemingly unnaturally twisted grin stretching up his lean face at and given situation; were enough to give even you a hint to hide your usual greed. You would have never dared approach him, not for a word of greeting, or even as a customer; even when you passed him by on the street you usually took a step aside. Oh and those eyes, those attentive ember eyes that seemingly never rested or blinked, scared you senseless. Even now, these quick eyes found youres the second you come to a halt next to their table, scanning over your ever inch probingly and so fleetly you couldn't follow their path. You were used to stares, to being gawked at, most with the disgusting longing from your customers; but this was different.
The way this guy looked over you was not a lusty stare, but a playfull hunting sense that resembeled more of a cat that was wating to catch a mouse, like he wanted to burn the skin of your bones, tear apart your heart and soul, break ever last viber of you. That idea alone made your skin crawl, the fear making you shudder, made goosebumps arise on your body without you even noticing. And yet, it was a thrilling rush. You were beginning to regret your foolhardy plan before you even really started or got to open your mouth, as the blond Junker was a lot faster then you, not even giving you the slither of a chance to open your dry mouth to form a sentence of coherence.
„Good morning darl, did ya loose something or what do ya want?" He hums with a unwittingly cheery tune, it was weird how childlike, how gleefully he could sound for the horrid things he had done; if you wouldn't know any better you would have guessed he was a descent person, but you knew a sick mind if you encounters it. And Junkrat was truly the prime example for crazy. You swallow down heavily, with that ignoring your fears in favour of your stomach demanding food „H-Hello, I was only going to ask-„ you begin to speak, but are abrupt cut of by Rats sharp laugh as he looks over your frame again „Wait, don't say anything, let me guess. Ya look like youre looking for customers, am I right or stupid?" He buzzes with a witty glint in his eyes, the malicious grin slanting up further at your speechlessness, making you flinch up a bit.
A bit startels by how quickly He had caught on with your plan was most concerning, but leaving now would ruine your plan and makes you go to bed hungry again. You really didnt ecxpect him to be clever, you presumed the several conclusions to the head, exposure to disgusting amounts of violence in the Scrapyard and closer exposure to explosives on a frequent level had melted his brain, but who knows; maybe there was more then you ecxpected „W-Well, I mean...I suppose so." You stammer with a bashful tune, eyes nervously darting around the room, you were not sure if this was still a good idea or not.
Of course you didnt plan on getting what you wanted through acctual work, you just wanted to get close enough to get the money, and then slyly leave before he could suspect a thing. The thought of him touching you scared the everliving hell out of you, as if you were to sponaneously combust if you even dared to shake his hand, which was unusual in itself; as usually you were quite confident in your craft. Were you really going to be a flusterd, clumsy girl about this just because he was such a pretty guy with seemingly venomous eyes? No, get it together, you told yourself scoldingly, this was a unreasonable fear, he wouldn't dare hurt you here.
However you didnt get the chance to retreat or respond your comment, as a sudden firm grip of a metal hand ungracefully yanked you closer to him. You could merely let out a surprised breath and a twitch of the hand before freezing up at the close proximity. And before you know it are securely placed on his lap, his sharp chuckeling close to your neck, oh he knew this was a fright for you; and he seemed to be deeply amused by your starteld state. You don't even attempt to move a single muscle, eyes wide in shock glued to your own two feet to avoid all and any eye contakt „Alright then, your hired." Rat purrs skittishly, you can almost sense the warmth of his breath on your skin, while your heart heavily beat against your ribcage as if it was attempting to flee from its prison; the fear probably painted all over your pale face. This was more then unexpected, it was freaking you out quite a bit.
It's only Now you notice his sidekick starring at you from the other side of the table, the darkened glass of the mask covering all and every trace of emotion into a void, fulfilling the intention of the mask, striking fear into your gut like a dagger was piercing right through it. What had you just gotten yourself into so recklessly? These guys were more then capable of ending your existance If they even caught a glimpse of a hint what you were up to. If greed was going to be the death of you, this was not how you had pictured it.
You want to just jump up and leave, but are completely immobilized by your own shock, unable to even speak up a word of discomfort. Rat meanwhile seems to be thurroly enjoying your complete lack of words, the sour scent of fear accumulating like the cold sweat on your back; as he firmly locks his brassy grip around your waist „Ya know, I'm surprised ya had the guts ta come over here, normally sweet girls like ya know better then ta speak ta us." His mellow words have a undermined wickedness to them, one so obvious it makes you shiver, and your back arch away from his exposed torso. You are still lost for words, this wasn't the plan, but maybe a good opportunity to get the reason you were here and then think of a smooth escape.
But something tells you Rat knows exactly what you were up to, and the secure grip he had on you suggested he wasn't going to let you have what you were here for. So you are left with no other option then wait this out, see where it goes, and make a run for it if the chance opened up; with or without the much wanted cash. „W-Well, I don't see why, you seem like such approachable fellows." You snarl, trying your hardest to hide the bitter sarcasm that your words probably carry, judging by Rats amused chuckle „Oh don't say it like that, ya seemed like such a sweetheart, not like a feisty brat. But don't tink that attitude will get ya anywhere, I think both is pretty fun ta play with." The blond coos close to your ear, only further unnerving you. Chewing down on your lower lip, a nervous tick you had, you attempt to slither out of his grip; only resulting in it tightening into a near painful grasp, this was not going to be as easy as originally planned.
Without any other real option in sight you decide to ease up a bit your composure, there was no point in being so endlessly frozen up; even if up this went further, at The end of the day it ment nothing. You had done this a million times, gathering a customer here in the bar for a night of the closest thing you knew to endearment, getting your pay; and repeat the whole thing. It was a simple concept, and you have had so many thieves, murders, bountyhunters and other scum in your bed; why was this any different? Plus, you would lie if you said you didnt enjoy what you did at least a little bit, even if you as it was horrible on a moral scale, you also savoured the warmth of another body to much to ignore it. After all, you were only human, and the loneliness of the wasteland was only to be cured with the touch of skin; even if you didn't always like your customers at least it ment some closure. Maybe you even found the chance to grab a little extra money that way. You swallow your pride and gently nudge your frame back against his snugly, leaning your head against his collar „Alright then, just please be careful with me, or I'm charging you double." You hum with a sudden almost cocky confidence that startels you more then him.
„Oh? Why the sudden shift a gears, I thought for sure ya were scared a me?" Rat murmurs, clearly confused by your brash words, But seemingly welcoming them as he playfully squeezes your body closer; you can basically feel his ribcage in and exhale rhythmically. It's only Now that you are beginning to find comfort in the panic, the close touch soothing your breaths, even if you knew the person close to you was a threat to you. Rat didn't seam like some to be gentle or careful with anything, and even now the embrace felt more like a clinging, a harsh grip to chain you back; not the tender hands of What was deemed affection. Maybe that was what scared you so senselessly, the roughness of his touch, the ever present promise of nothing but pain wherever he went. The sharp, stinging scent of petrol and burned out flames that hung over him didn't really help, if anything, the only seared your on edge temper even further. It's only a night, you kept repeating in your head, and besides; it was your occupation. The only one you really could follow here, as you were neither a descent mechanic, scavenger, or even a good enough thief to live of it.
For the most part of the evening Rat kept rambling on and on about some plan, some grand scheme to pull a worldwide heist spree of some sort, but that flew over your head; you were to concerned with the cold stares that hung on you form across the room. It was obvious people didn't quite like these two Junkers in particular, and for you, someone already deemed pretty low in society; getting involved with them for even a heartbeat was A heavy blow to your well kept reputation. Hopefully it wouldn't scare of your standard customers, or you might as well just starve to death on the spot. Patience, you told yourself, resting your exhausted body against the stranger one as comfortably as it the belt of bombs strapped over his shoulders allowed snyway; but he was so profoundly warm, you couldn't help but to feel at ease.
And after a while, even the heavy grip of his prosthetic hand loosens on your waist, allowing you for some free movements. He even ends up subtly rocking your hips against his with playful strokes, and that with such a cheeky hand you knew it was more of a attempt to mock you then to turn you on, which in itself sent a smirk to your lips. What a odd guy, he seemed like everything was a game to him, And you just happened to be one of the playthings involved; not like he saw you as a human of flesh and blood.
But you were used to that, your profession had taught you all to well most people viewed you as more of a thing then a human. After all you had sold yourself away for quite a few times, so your own self worth had declined over the years. You had no idea what a actual relationship was in that particular sense, you only knew one thing, sex. And that was all you needed to know out here, not like there was ever going to be more then lust, anything of susbstential emotional value, you weren't even sure if you were capable of that; love. It seemed like a foreign concept, like a unrealistik fable creature people spoke of as a hoax to scare children.
But funny enough tonight you even found yourself taking a odd liking to Rats uncanny quirkiness, to the cracking of his voice, and even the odd pitch of his laugh. There we something so strange, deranged, and yet curious about this Junker, even if you were not above admitting that even to yourself. You couldn't let yourself get attached to any customer, that would only end in chaos, no; you needed to keep your fascination a secret. So you just silently pressed yourself against him snugly, ignoring the curious hands tracing along your sides with the usual clumsy touch, as if unsure how to grant you even the slightest comfort.
It was well in the night when there was any gesture for you to leave, the bartender basically had to throw you out in the early morning hours, you presumed it to be around two up or three in the morning. Rat didn't even give you a chance to rise to your shakey legs patiently, but rather pulling you up by the hips, not letting go of you for a second; as if afraid you'd run away if he did. And yes, that's what you would have wanted to do if the chance ever presented itself.
After all, you wanted the money, and maybe some food. You are led out of the bar, his hands still rested on your waist with a stern hand, in your head your still trying to stew up a plan to avoid this stubbornly. As you were far from over the deeply rooted fear of this person in particular, all the tales you have heard had naturally made you weary, and Rats general attitude towards you really don't help the rumoured words. There was no doubt in your mind that he would hurt you in some way if you dared to let him get even a inch closer, if you dared to show weakness, and you threated that deeply.
So in the middle of the empty street, most everyone had retreated into their ramshackle homes, you turn around to face the tall man with the remainder of courage you can muster. His ember eyes still bright in the dim light of the streetlights, starring down at you with a ecxited shimmer, and the usual freaky smirk „So, what's your name anyway? " Rat coos down to you, hands still tightly fixed to your sides, as if he could sense your scheme. Your name? Idiots, who the hell asks a hooker for their bloody name? Especially here that was not a thing to do, besides, you yourself didn't know your name.
Since years now you didnt have a name, most everyone here made up their own name, but you never felt the need to do so. „You see, I don't have a name." You murmurs shyly, eyes wandering to your feet coyly „Really? That's a shame ya don't know your name, but I would guess from your reaction, ya should be familiar with mine." Rat hums confidently, as if proud of his foul reputation and the fear it carried, like a kid that was known to be especially roudy and was proud of it; as his good hand loosening from your side to stroke through your grimey hair affectionately, which needlessly made you shudder. Was he actually trying to play the nice guy with you now? Screw that, you knew better then to fall for some psychos games, making you duck away from his hand.
„Well to bad, and yes, I know your name and all it's stories, Junkrat." You cough up sourly, spitting out his name so spitefully it made his grin vanish for a split second; before returning even wider then before „Oh my, ya seem ta have heard a lot a bad things then. And let me take a shot, the only reason ya even dared ta get in a arms length a me was because a this." He coos, holding up a bundle of money triumphantly over your head, making your eyes light up, before realizing what you had just confirmed in his mind; that you were easy to play. „N-No, I just thought you seemed...nice?"You attempt to talk yourself out of the unflattering light you had thrown yourself into, but Rat seems only further entertained with your red face.
„Ah don't stress it darl, no need ta lie about ya greed, I know how this works. Ya look like ya need the money, right? It's a simple business exchange, we both know how this goes, so let's not make this needlessly complicated. Ya are mine for a while, and ya get the money, do we have a deal or not?" He murmurs fleetly, with the constant smug ecxpression on his face unmoved by your stammering. You instantly tensed up again, and there you were acting all flusterd like a silly girl, you thought you would have learned there was no such thing as affection in this job; and now you looked like a naive fool that ecxpected chariy from a demom. How did this pretty blond face distract you so much?
„O-Of course, excuse me, I'm acting like idiot. I guess you just scared me a little, that's all, I guess you were a little smarter then I took you for. We can work out the details later." You excuse yourself timidly, only now daring to glance up at him with a weak smile on your frail lips as you allow your hands to wander to his scrawny hips. You were in perfect reach of that stupid money you hated to need so profoundly, now all you needed was him to let go of you for that one key split second, that was all you needed to run.
The toothy grin widens considerably as you do so, seemingly beginning to fall for your wide eyes and mild smile „That a girl, that's what I like he hear. Now, where to doll?" Rat coos with a almost creepy undertone, seemingly sure of his success, hands loosening from your hips once and for all to reach for the sides of your face. But before you even allow that, your nimble fingers have taken a good heap of money. Hah, fooled by the fool, you think to yourself as a self certain grin appears on your face as his vanishes at the realization.
Swift as usual you dash back out of arms reach and towards the next best narrow alleyway with quick feet, escape routs were something this town had more then enough from; the maze like ways were so intertwined and entangled, they would never have a slither of a chance to find you. You feel a tiny bit of pity for him, after all, you normally treated your customers with some form of respect. But you needed this money, and damm, the hunger was bitterly nagging at your guts by now; so there was no time for empathy. Even if you really did secretly take a liking to him, uour own well being was still above that spark of ernest affection.
Sure of a clean victory you are about to vanish in the shadows, but a sudden violent throb abruptly stops your escape in ist tracks, a large metal hook. You stare down at the contraption locked around your slender waist, accompanied with Rats amused laughter; fuck, you had completly forgotten about that monster of a bodyguards. The rattling of the heavy chain sounds like the bells of death themself as you are ungracefully forced back without a chance to flee, the stinging pain of the metal spikes and the rough ground you are being dragged along as your skin was torn open the the streets gravel.
The panic arising in your head was horrible, as every attempt to flee only worsened the pain, you felt like a fly being dragged back to the spiders, it felt like death was a unavoidable fate now. No one would even hear you scream,and even if, no one would save you; here only the strong were permitted to live. And tonight, you had failed so miserably, you silently cursed your own greed above all else. „Now, now, look who thought they were especially clever." Rats mocking voice buzzes as you still tried to struggle out of the hooks sharp edges without accidently implaing yourself.
The second a shadow falls over your face however, you give up the desperate attempts to save yourself, surrendering helplessly as the frantic giggling guy leans down to your panting, quivering frame „And I thought we could a gotten along so nicely Sheila. Oh well, looks like ya were just a little pocket snatch after all." Rat hums with no trace of anger or even malicious intent, but the most sincere amusement. Did he really think of everything as a joke, as a game? Possible, now that you thought about it, quite possible. You are to weak to muster a word of defence or complaint, still struggeling to keep your consciousness. But that struggle prooves to be in vain, you can't keep your eyes open, the heavy eyelids shutting to the echoing sound of chuckling as you loose your grip on your senses in favour of a comfortless sleep like state.
When you do wake up again, it's because of the stinging sunlight painfully needling your sore eyes. With a unpleasant groan you sit up from your uncomfortable bed that was the ground, eyes still adjusting to the glimmering heat of the Outback.
Your head hammers with horrible throbs, so do your joints and the several smaller lacerations covering your body. It takes you a moment to recall last night's events, and you are at awe to how, and more importantly why, you're still alive at this point. With your head in great agony, you glance around with narrow eyes, finding yourself leanining against a sandy rock in the middle of nowhere, just a few dried out trees that are certainly dead; and a durable chain wrapped around your ankles and wrists. Great, had these heathens brought you out here to die? You think to yourself bitterly, but that is awnserd by a sudden harsh grip burrowing into your shoulders from behind „Morning little thief, ya look like ya didnt sleep to pleasantly last night." A familiar crackeling voice sings down from behind you.
Still tierd and completely unnerved by both the constant dull pain and brutal sunlight you only manage to cough up a „If you want to kill me, please spare me the speech." You growl irritated with Rats chipper tune as he leans down infront of you with a smug grin you had already learned last night, taking a seat infront of you with crossed legs, or better; leg „Don't worry about that, we need ya for something, alive that is." He murmurs, eyeing you attentively, as if unmoved by your pained ecxpression. Apparently he is clueless about personal space, judging by how close he looks over you, making you inch back „Great...I think I'd be better of dead then with you." You mutter dryly, getting a sour chuckle in return.
„Ya really played the sweet girl well, didn't take ya for being such a nousince. But if I'm honest, the bratty tone fits ya face." Rat wits playfully, eyes in a narrow slant, as if challenging you in some way. You simply turn up your chin vainly „Hah, funny that you are the one to tell me that, I'm astonished you even gave me the chance to run. Didn't take you for a gentleman." You huff with the remainder of strength and conievidence You had left in you, a little concerned that you were chained up, it rendered you even weaker then before.
With those words a near sinister, slim smirk slither over his ecxpression „Heh, I like that tone, really suits ya. But if ya had just done ya duty, we could have spared ya the trouble, but no; ya just needed ta be a sly little thief." Rat snarls, more amused then threatening, but you can the the edge in his words. Honestly, your still unclear to why you are still alive, from What you had heard about him; you should have been blown to a million shred scatterd across the sidewalk by now. But no, you were alive, and besides that dammed hook they hadn't played a finger on you. „If you knew how hungry I am you would understand." You defend yourself clumsily, only now noticing the painful acid protesting in your stomach again. A sudden odd complexion of something resembling pity sneaks to his ecxpression „Ya know, ya could a just said so. If that's why ya needed the money we could have worked something out ya silly wanker." Rat mutters almost seeming annoyed with your previous lack of explanation.
But that's not even what strikes you as odd, it's that he even gave a care that that's why you needed the cash; that he actually seemed a tiny bit concerned for you was more then bewildering. You didn't even think he could feel empathy, so that sudden change in atmosphere caught you of guard „Of course that's why I wanted that money for, it's not like I was going to buy a fucking plane with it. Idiot." You growl out of shere disbelieve, which he dosnt seem to take as offence but rather as a joke, judging by the grin returning to his sharp face „Hehe, my bad, I shoulda guessed." Rat hums whilst jumping to his feet again „Wait here, I'll be right back." He adds, very funny, as if you could move even if you tried; still chained up like a prisoner there was little you could do. After a moment of wait he actually dose return with some canned food, making your sore eyes light up, finally; food.
Your mouth instinctively waters up at the sweet smell of something edible, you hadn't and eaten in days again, and the promise alone made a you dizzy and twitchy. Rat seems to notice the desperation in your eyes, which simply stare at the food as if looking at it alone was a sacred act. „G-Give me that, please, I'm begging You." You manage to stammer with dry throat as he hunches down to loosen the restraints around your limbs „Of course, why do ya think I brought it." He notes with a proud tune, seemingly well aware of your silent gratitude. As soon as you find yourself free, you hastily snatch the can and gulp down its content greedily, convinced you had never tasted anything so good in your life. You don't even mind his amused looks, nore his warm hand carefully petting over your head „Damm, you really were starving, poor girl. Next time, just say something if ya need it." He coos melodically, knowing you were in his debt even more now. Normally you wouldn't have minded, but there was still some caution you had left about him.
After all, criminals don't change, and Rat in particular seemed like individual to be kept at some distance. But up to now he really hadn't done anything to indicate someone violent, maybe those rumours were just that, rumours and nothing more. Once done with the simple sustenance, you glance up at him with a meek smile „T-Thanks for that, I really needed that. But again, I have to ask, why are you being so horribly nice? From all the things I have heard, I didnt think you would bother to keep soomone like me alive." You murmur under your breath, still a little coy about your vulnerable situation. Rat just puts on a bratty smirk, slightly baring his honed teeth, you hadn't even noticed how grossly sharp they seemed „Like I said, we need ya for a little something, alive. Besides that, I've seen ya around for quite some time now, and ya seem like a nice enough person; so no need ta off ya pretty face." He announces brashly, hah, you knew it; there was some reason they needed you, he wouldn't have kept you alive out of charity alone.
What that was played outside your interest for now, as long as that something ment you would stay alive you didn't care what it was. „Anyway, Junkrat, I don't presume that's your real name but whatever; I was wondering what's up with that odd choice of name?" You inquire randomly in a attempt to build a conversation of some sort „Of course that's not me real name, but I don't like it, so I don't use it. But imma give ya a hint, it also starts with a J." He explains, reclaiming his seat infront of you, eyes still curiously scanning over you „Let me think, is it Jesse, James, Jonas, Jonathan, Johannes?" you list a few names that spring to mind, each one darling you a faint chuckle „No, wrong, ya aren't very good at guessing. But close, very close. How about it, do ya have any idea what ya name might be?" Rat asks with a hint of unexplained consciousness, as if your name alone might be something to be feared. Did he know your name by any off chance? That was impossible though, how would he, there was no way in hell that he could know it. And why would it be of any importance? „Like I said, no idea. Why do you ask?" You continue, now a bit weary about his continuous interest in your name „Nothing particular, I was just curious of ya had any idea of ya past. But apparently, you're clueless." He explains with a hint of satisfaction in his words, there was something up, but you couldn't tell what exactly that thing was.
With your disgusting hunger finally eased, both your spirits and mood lifts considerably, even enough to relax a bit. You were dead certain he wouldn't hurt you now, in fact, Rat seemed to be quite different then what you had previously given him credit for. Not only did you end up with a rather interesting conversation about your opinions regarding the inhabitants of Junkertown, but he prooved to be a lot of good fun to have around. His crude humour matched yours, and he had a masterfully way of explaining, normally exagurated and simple with weird gestures hand motions that made you silently smirk to yourself. How could anyone think he was a serious threat? Of course, he seemed a little dangerous, and definitely had a few issues; but nothing that could have given him the demonic reputation he carried. Whatever it was, you didn't see it, to you Rat ended up being a very welcome company. To that, he was plesant to look at, in comparison to all the scum that walked down the streets of Junkertown, he was actually a delight. He was just to damm sweet, and probably had no idea about it.
However your little conversation is abruptly interrupted by your own harsh cough, making you painfully aware of how dry your throat was, scratchy and dusty "Thirsty?"Rat inquires with a somewhat worried undertone, well, as much as his childish ignorance allowed. as he hands you the flask that was clicked to his belt, you gladly take the offer with a nod and chug down a few gulps, before spitting it out a split second later when the sharp scent burns your already sore throat even more. Fuck, that was some strong stuff, even worse than the moonshine at the bar you usually visited "is this petrol?" You ask, irritated with the persistent gross flavour clinging to your mouth now"Dunno, not like I could taste a bloody difference." He chirps before taking the flask from you again, not like you would have taken another drop of that stuff anyway.
Before get any more time to think about the suspicious beverage, a low grunt from behind you petrifies you enough to make you instinctively fall forward. Before your inner eye flash the images of that nightmarish man with the metal hook, and that mask; it made your blood run cold. Your ungraceful fall forward onto Rat, clinging your arms around his neck just to get as far away as possible from that spiked hook, before turning towards the noise with fear struck eyes. "Aw, ya scared her Hog, ya can't just sneak up on people like that." Rat complains more entertained with your fear then actually worried about your wellbeing "We won't eat ya, even if he looks like it. No need ta worry." he explains absently in a weak attempt to calm you down, but you are to observed into your fear to take his words o heart. Before you stands the big guy with that terrifying hook, as intimidating as last night. You only gulp at the thought what he would do to you now. And that make, that damned mask he wore is enough to get a top spot on your nightmare list and sends a cold sweat down your back at any given moment of the day.
Before you even get the chance to explain yourself or even jump up from your clumsy position the tall, masked figure grasps your arm and yanks you up into the air with a quick motion you had no idea his heavyset limbs were even capable of; leaving you to dangle in mid-air inches apart from the leathery mask. You only manage to let out a faint scream of agony as the weight of your body pulls on your arm and the pain in your limbs increases. Rat only shakes his head mildly, a scratchy chuckle emitting through his teeth as he also rises to his feet with a swift jump, dusting the sand of his cargo shorts. "Put er down Hog, we need her in one piece." In a casual, almost bored tone, as if completely unaware of the complete tortured state you were in. Again, as if this was a game. The monstrous guy grunts through his mask and lets you drop to the ground carelessly, like some sort of ragdoll, leaving you to grab your probably displaced joints, whimpering and cursing in pain as your face still contorts.
"Thief." The giant of a man dryly spits out, his word like it's a bitter grape, leaving you a bit offended; but you have come to accept your new label with no further complaints. You knew you weren't in a position to complain or make demands of any sort. "Aren't we worse than thieves?" Rat calls out to the masked Junker, who doesn't even look at him, instead he just stares at you, rendering over your wrecked physike carefully. But through the mask you had no way of telling if he was worried, amused, enraged; there was no trace of emotion, not even a subtle twitch ir hint "H-hi Hog?" You reach out a trembling hand in an attempt to greet him and maybe shake of his icy stares, but he turns his head away from you leaving into the opposite direction from you. Last you can understand is a "Its Roadhog to you, thief." Before he leaves behind another rock formation. You take a deep breath before turning back to Rat, still pale and shaking like a twig in autumn.
"He is a silent fella is he?" you slowly huff, rubbing your aching joints with dull cracks"Ah don't think about it. Don't let the old bugger get to ya, he can be a real "Boar" at times." Rat attempts to cheer you up, only making you snicker at the phrase bitterly, still lost in your own thoughts as you run your finger over the fresh bruises gently. What the hell was his problem? Why was that pigman so endlessly unreasonable with you? It was almost like he had a personal problem with you, even if you had only encountered him yesterday. Ok, you had seen him about in the streets several times, but after being banned by the queens demand, he had been awfully cold towards you. Even if you just passed him on the outlying streets, he seemed to stare at you right through those pitch black glass.
Its a brutally hot day, and the suns unforgiving rays kept burning down you, it was exhausting only sitting in the crippled shadow of a long dead tree. Your gaze wandered across the dead land, the sun reflecting in the moisture of the water in the air. What a blessing these two Jokers are busy right now, you just didn't want to move or speak for that matter. It took hours for the temperature to reach a sensible degree at which your limp body responded to your commands. You had spent most of the day there, just attending to your wounds as silently as possible, avoiding both the Junkers with keen precision. Even if you didn't mind Rat too much, you didn't want to risk coming across his brutal briúte of a sidekick again; you fear his unpredictable nature. But now sitting around was beginning to be a strain in itself, and bored as you were you decided to look for the dirt rodent for some good company.
As you force yourself to rise to your feet with a groan, its not hard to spot the blond Junker leaned against a sandy, orange rock fiddling with some contraption that looks like a makeshift landmine, apparently highly concentrated with his work. A cheeky smirk crosses your lips, as you mentally decided it might be funny to give him a scare or something of that nature. He is to busy to take note of you smugly creeping up behind the rock, peered over it with weary eyes, only to find he had no hint of a idea what he was in for. A playful hunting instinct grabbed your instincts, fingers twitching and itching the way the usual did when you were about to steal something from a unsuspecting victim; this felt very similar. You were unsure why exactly you thought that this would be a good joke or idea but in that moment, it seemed like a crucial step for humanity.
You skillfully climb onto the rock, eyes curiously peering down, now finding yourself oddly fascinated with the way his quick fingers assembled another contraption. So much so that you end up completely forget your little plan. It's even soothing to watch him work, something about the scent of iron, petrol and the warm gusts of earthy air brushing through you hair; the mild clicking of metal every once in a while. So you end up sitting on your rock, eyeing Rats quick work routine with a childlike fascination, completely forgetting what you were actually going to do. You just couldn't bring yourself to interrupt him. Thus, you waste a good half an hour just gawking in absolute silence, only when a familiar crackling voice chirps a charmed "Ya can come down from up there doll, ya gonna get a heat stroke if ya don't." Well damn, apparently he was aware of your prying eyes. A sense of flusteredness rises to your face in form of a mild red tint, fuck, that was embarrassing. Caught staring at someone was never a pleasant experience; and one that so rarely happened to you it messed with your composure.
But you do as your ordered, sliding down the rock to take a seat in the shade next to Rat, hiding your warm cheeks behind your arms which you lean on your angled legs "S-Sorry for that...Dont know what got into my. I really don't know why im acting so strangely." You murmurs bashfully, still a bit confused by your own odd mannerisms. He glances up from his work with a cognizant smirk "Is that so? Id say the suns getting ta ya, judging from how red ya little face is." He hunches down a bit to reach face height with you, resulting in you flinching up in surprise "T-That must be it...The s-sun." you huff out, irritated with your own jittery behaviour, get it together, you were well over being flustered by garabadge like this. But only even swiftly glancing into those fiery eyes looming over yours right now makes you grow even more nervous. Enough, you had to get away from this guy before you did something regrettable.
So you decided to spare yourself any further embarrassment and hastily scurried away from rat, hopping to your feet without a second word of explanation "A-Alright then, thanks for the talk but i need to go..." You excuse yourself ungainly before turning on your heels with a sharp spin, which stirred up a cloud of dust under your feet, as you march your way back to your tree to spend the night in solitude; and far away from this damn pretty face. however your plan didn't get all to far as a familiar metal arm grabbed your shoulder firmly, forcing you to halt your premature departure "Where do ya think you're going mate?" Rat wits with a clever tone, making you shiver at the touch, responding with a dry "To sleep, under-" You paused as he looked at you with a raised eyebrow, finishing the sentence with a short delay " under my tree." He held back a laugh, letting go of your shoulder "tree-mendous plan, really great, but how bout you stay with us at the fire.; ya know, like a civilized human" You silently cursed at yourself for the dull answer, but he just managed to ruin your composure so effortlessly, and seemingly unaware. Gosh he must think of you like some inept kid.
Thus you simply follow him, timidly taking a seat a little further of the fire to avoid any sort of interaction with that monster of a masked killer. You awkwardly shifted around in your seat, another rough rock, as you nervously looked at the floor at your feet which was dimly lit by the flames of the bonfire in flickering intervals. You didn't dare to glare up, you wanted to stay clear all over contact with both of them, all the while you felt them relentlessly staring you down from both sides. You thought of a joke to lighten the mood, or maybe some sort of conversation starter, but your usually bubbly mind was horrendously blank for that matter; not even a bad fire pun came over your lips. To your endless relieve the silence was broken soon enough as Junkrat handed you a flask, the same one from a while ago. You coyly take it with your meek fingers; unsure if you wanted to risk the gross taste again"Have some, you look thirsty." Rat encourages you again.
"Is there still petrol in there?" You inquire just to double check "No, No, I cleaned it out." he coos "It's a lot better now, trust me a bit." You suspiciously gave him another look before drinking a carefully sip, prepared to spit it out in a seconds notice. To your pleasant surprise however he didn't lie, instead of petrol it was a lot sweeter concoction. So, sweet in fact it made you cough a bit as it slid down your barren throat. It was a refreshing taste nonetheless so you took a few more sips before handing it back with a appreciative smile "Thanks for that, but what the hell is that stuff anyway?" He takes a few chugs as well, a content smirk occupying his face again "Boba tea" He explained "Sweated." You giggled at the obvious statement "I noticed that all right, that stuff is like what? 80 percent sugar?" you keep on chatting for awhile, just nonsensical smalltalk, but it was better than the silent staring contest; even if you felt Roadhogs stares sticking on you unrelentingly.
As the flames slowly died out and the last sparks drifted into the darkness of the night sky the first yawn escaped your mouth. Your eyes seemed to close every now and then and you felt yourself nodding into sleep "Hey!" You were awoken by an annoying voice once again"You tired?" rat jesters, nudging you in the elbow. A childish frown replaced your peaceful expression "No shit." He grinned and rubbed the back of his head "Sorry mate, just wanted to ask you if you might wanna have a blanket or such, it might be cold." You shake your head apathetically, even if you thinks its kinda cute he bothered to ask, before you turn away from him to rest your head on the rock "Good night Rat." You excuse yourself without another thought, too drained to pay closer attention "G'night Sheila" Is the last you hear before your eyes shut closed and you drift into sleep for good; just the placid sound of cracking embers and crickets singing their evening lullaby disturbing the serene silence.
A strong, rather hot gust of sandy, dry air swept by your dry skinned face, itching and irritating it needlessly. Your tired eyes creaked open faintly at the intense sun rays beaming in your face again, great, second time you were woken up by the sun. You growl annoyed at the unpleasant wakeup call which only seems to exist for your despair. And since your certainly no morning person, you turn around and shut your eyes tightly again. The soothing, constant buzzing of the engine kept you sound asleep for some more time until the cart hit a slightly bigger rock shacking you awake roughly, smacking your head against the metal shell in the process.
You cursed silently as you rubbed your aching head spitefully, stupid road: or if you could even call this off road trail a road "Oh, your awake." The unpleasant voice of Junkrat greeted you in the usually chipper way. "Morning." You mumbled as you adjust your position to your usual hunched over sitting position. As you stretched your tired limbs and lean back again your eyes wander across your current position. You're on a rather large motorcycle, presumably a weirdly modified Harley, you sitting in the sidecar with Rat, and Roadhog steering the monstrous of a machine; fitting, oddly fitting "How many people did you have to slaughter to get this thing?" You ask timidly. There is a short silence "Not sure, stopped counting. "
You stay silent for a while, you try to remember what had got you to this point in time. How did you even get into the damn sidecar, you sure as hell didn't remember climbing into it... As you look around you see nothing but the desolate wasteland you now known as your home. It's weird to see the vast landscapes made from nothing but red, hot gravel and sand, your so used to your little junk town that's seemed miles and miles away by now. Fair enough it wasn't the most appealing to look at but come to think of it neither were you, nor anyone really.
You looked down at yourself, dressed in ragged, dirty cloth and your unwashed filthy skin, covered in bruises. And now that you gave it some attention in such a long time you noticed how generally weak you looked, pale and rather scrawny. You felt a shiver run down your spine at the sight of yourself in the motorbikes back mirror. It has been ages since you had last seen yourself. In a slight moment of disbelieve you ran your rough hand over your cheek, was that really you staring back in the mirror? That half dead looking girl with the strawy, short hair and dull eyes? Rat seemed to have noticed your slight internal crisis "You ok there mate? ya look like ya just saw a ghost." You nodded absently before leaning back in your seat. You felt so sick after this, the entire ride felt long and empty, you knew you were in a poor condition but you didn't guess it would be that bad.
When the cart finally halted with a loud screech you had already fallen asleep again, the screeching brakes waking you now, it was already close to dawn. It took a moment for you to discern your current position again. It was strangely comfortable and snug for some reason... Your head is resting on Rat's shoulder with your arms narrowly hugging him from the side. Eyes wide open, face probably burning in all shades of red, silently praying he didn't notice. You are stunned by your own clinginess in this moment and you timidly peak up at his sleeping face. It feels surprisingly mellow, and soothing to hug someone, to feel and hear their beating heart and bizzarly melodic breath. Its foreign to you, having any sort of physical contact to any living thing that wasn't related to you occupation, and the texture of skin seems like an unknown subject. When you had your customers over, it was usually a short, loveless process; normally leaving you cold and empty after. Only the regret was what you normally had after those nights, the sour aftertaste of what you had done, and the realization that at the end of it you were still all alone in this world.
But having the time to actually just having someone to hold onto was so different. It sincerely felt like there was something to keep, something of value, not just a quick job. Rat has the same rough, dirty skin as you, full of freckles and moles, of bruises and scars; dry and chapped even if you knew you were both only in your twenties. The only real difference is the smell of gunpowder and fire, of smoke that seems to follow him around like a ghost; all with a hint of week old roadkill plastered onto the soft concrete melting in the sunlights gaze.
You carefully remove your head from his shoulder and pull your arms away being watchful not to wake him up. Only then you notice Roadhogs blank stare fixed on you from a few feet away, sending a cold shiver up your spine. You gulp and hurry to get out of the cart with a hasty jump "What are you looking at now?" You try to defend yourself sheepishly before looking around to assume your current position. You find yourself standing next to a seemingly abended gas station, smashed in windows and the faint smell of gasoline. "What are we doing here?" You ask the masked male who grunts in response before he answers with a short "Sleep." You see the orange sun drowning at the horizon, you didn't realize how late it already way, must have slept quite some time.
You slowly creep towards the entrance of the buildings ruins, carefully poking your head inside to see if you really where alone out here. You slightly jump as a little mouse races across the floor directly at you, stopping in front of you with wide, coal coloured eyes. You kneel down to the little fellow and hold out your hand only to have it jump on your flat palm. It looks at you with huge, googly black eyes, its abnormally large body resting on your hand "You're a brave little cobber, aren't you?" You pat its head with your finger and it presses its skull against your touch. You decide to keep it around for now, placing it in your pocket for now "I will name you later." You hush before you are called from outside.
You hurriedly hop to your feet and make your way to the cart again where Hog hands you a rather heavy box and orders you to get it inside. Your steps ache carrying the darn thing, your wobbly knees and twiggy spine protesting at the task, aching with throbbing pressure. As you let down the box with a heavy sigh you sink to the ground next to it to catch your lost breath back into your lungs. Meanwhile Hog is busy lighting a few sticks ablaze to create a little bonfire outside. You sigh deeply before deciding to make your way back outside, in hopes of some food and drinks, you feel like your starving. Just as you sit down on the dusty ground Junkrat wakes up with a loud yawn as he stretches his limbs extensively. He spots you sitting on the ground and grins with the usual cheekiness, but the hint of knowingness is different, and your not sure if you like it all to much. Before he fleetly moves out of the cart, his peg leg making a creaking sound as he lands on the floor, making you quickly look away to avoid awkward eye contact and pretend to be occupied with a rock that sits next to you on the floor.
"G'day, slept well?" You pretend you didn't hear him get up and turn your head towards him with a blank face "oh, you're awake, I slept pretty shitty. Damm motor kept buzzing to loud, you?" He kneels down next to you with a cocky grin "Really? From what I noticed you slept pretty comfortably." He knows, is the only thing that crosses your mind in that moment, your jaw slightly dropping in disbelief and awkwardness. You decided to play it as cool as possible though, he probably already thinks your a stupid unexperienced girl that gets perplexed with every innuendo or simple touch.
You gulp down silently and answer a short "pffft, not like you would know." You turn your head aside to avoid further embarrassment and cross your arms awkwardly as he takes a seat next to you on the ground with a relaxed sigh. He chuckles confidently and shakes his head and hums a sweet "Do ya reckon im that bloody dumb mate?" before smugly placing a arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to his side. You look at him with a deeply annoyed glare, if looks could have killed, this one would be distilled venom "You damm fuck wit; don't you get I don't wanna talk about it?" you hiss, immediately shutting out the grin on his mouth.
He looks at you slightly dumbfounded for a moment and you can't help to feel bad for lashing out at him. You only wanted to prove your not a brat, not be a jerk doing so "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that." You turn away silently, feeling a bit of salty guilty sting in your head. After a moment of painful silence, you hear him snicker to himself quietly "Its all good mate, I'm used to rejections. Besides, ya have all reason to be on edge, I guess that's a side effect of ya job." You quickly turn back to him a bit hurried and look at him with big eyes "No really I am sorry, I didn't want to be an ass, just...im not all that used to dealing with this kind of communication. Normally it's done with a greeting, night, and payment...Not actual, you know, talking." You explain, looking down flustered with your own lack of social competence. the wasteland had taught you to be heartless and a loner, not a social butterfly; and your occupation had made sure of that, driving you to the edge of a already lawless society. People usually didnt communicate with you if it wasn't to indicate interest in services of any sort.
Before long you feel his arm rest on your shoulder again, very carefully this time, as if testing your patience; his head leaning against you in the same way you did a few moments before. You thought about shoving Rat aside, but couldn't bring yourself to do it, it would have been unfair and against your interest. As agan you had to admit to yourself, he was a exception "It's too right, I am not to skilful at those either." You are unsure how to react further and so you stay perfectly still for a moment, just listening to the chirping of crickets and his rhythmic breathing hustle in your ear. His smoke smeared hair tickles the skin on your neck softly and leaves little black soot lines behind. You look around wearily soon meeting eyes, or goggles, with Hog again who is still standing in the door frame; just staring blankly. Looking at his massive figure makes you tremble with fear, you know he is still suspicious of you, he doesn't exactly try to hide it either. Your not sure what exactly his weariness is aimed at, but time would tell, you a'had time; as long as he just didn't hurt you you didn't mind the gawking. The fire is still going steadily, giving a dim soft glow of light and warmth. The change in temperature as the sun finally dies out behind the horizon summons a orlay of Goosebumps on your skin.
A few hours pass in perfect silence as the flames dance their solemn cheers as they vanish into the night. Junkrat is still resting on your shoulder, seemingly asleep by now. You yourself feel unspeakably tired as the ember reflects in your eyes, your empty stomach now rumbling louder and more frequently. You almost jump a bit as you feel a strong tap on your shoulder as you turn around to see Roadhog holding out a can of soup to you. You look at him for a moment, a bit unsure if its meant for you or Rat until he grunts a muffled "Take it, you look like you need it." He seems a bit annoyed with you for some peculiar reason, so you take it nimbly and thank him as he leaves out of sight again, somewhere into the darkness of the night. You quickly devour the cans content with a hasty couple of gulps, it hurt your dry throat to eat any kind of food in these quantities, but it felt so great having something in your stomach. And about his strange behaviour, you theorise it's because of Rat. Maybe he thinks you might be a threat to him, who knows. When you were done you felt another wave of powerlessness overcome you as you finally drifted into sleep; this time deliberately restin your heavy head on Rats shoulder.
Your deep slumber is short lived this night as it is disturbed by unpleasant noises not all too far away. As your eyes creak open annoyed and disinterested you spot a light, a fire, or another Lightsource not all too far in the distance. You stared at it for a while, pondering if it was worth while giving it a peak, and after a good ten minutes your curiosity got the better of you. You carefully moved Rat aside, making sure not to wake him or Hog up, then you swiftly rose to your feet and slowly but steadily sneak towards the light. You threw another glance over your shoulder, they looked so peaceful and perfectly normal from a bit further away, well, mostly normal. The fire was still going low as you started to get a clearer vision from your destination. You soon heard voices, chipper and loud, singing, laughing and chatting. There were a lot of people, more than you had seen in a while, you couldn't make out details but you could see them clearly. As you got closer you crouched a bit, making sure to not be spotted before you could get a better view of the crowded humans. As you hid behind a convenient rock you peered at them warily.
You had expected they to all Junkers, in dirty rags and with filthy faces, but as you got a good view of the uniforms they all sported your blood run cold. You double checked to see if your eyes were not playing tricks on you, but after rubbing them furiously and checking at least twice more; they appeared to be from the military, the real, official military from overseas. You were absolutely terrified as you recalled the horror stories you had heard about these guys, the way they were sent to clear the outback from all dangers, from all Junkers that were deemed to much of a threat to be exact. The stories of them wiping out the small settlements one after one, turning in criminals and butchering the rest until the sand turned red. Even if you knew that was exaggerated, it still haunted you. As you sat behind the rock cursing your curiosity you could hear them chatting over each other's voices.
"What a waste of time, we have been looking for weeks now and we didn't find them anywhere. It's not like they are gonna be hiding in one of those little settlement, no, they might be criminals but they are sure as hell not dumb. if I had a wild guess, i'd say their hiding in the wide plains."
"I wouldn't be too sure, all the heists they pulled on our weapon factories where as uncalculated as to hit and run, causing a bit of chaos and casualties on the way. They are not the smartest. besides, were talking about junkers here, not criminal masterminds."
"Well that's your opinion, but either way I am not leaving without that price money, my wife would divorce me." You listen carefully, and you have the weirdest suspicion you might know who they are looking for.
You decide to sneak away as soon as possible again, to warn the two before they get a unpleasant surprise in the morning. If these guys did find your little hideout, it wouldn't be pretty, the hightech weapons that soldiers carried looked like they were vastly superior to anything you knew.But as you crawl away from your rock hurriedly, the mouse that you still carried in your pocket lets out a faint squeak, which is apparently enough to send all of them looking at you dumbfounded. You take the moment of confusion to blankly stare at them, resulting in a short round of silent starring, before you can react to pick up your legs and run for it; but you are soon caught by the way faster soldiers as one of them grabs your arm and yanks you back violently. You hear them laughing not all too far back as you are dragged along with ease, even though you struggle as good as you can. The young women that caught you swiftly cuffs you and places you against a rock with a gentle shove.
The group of soldiers are all still looking at you like you are some kind of cattle in a show, whispering to each other amused "Look what we got here, a little spy, and such a dirty one as well." You bite your lip and back up against the rock, staring at each of them for a moment. There are so many of them, all in prim and proper uniform, each one looking healthy and well organized. "Can you even understand us, do you speak English?" One of them soon adds, sending all of them into a collective cackle "Nah, poor thing looks like it never saw civilised humans in its miserable life." The soldier points a gun in your vague direction "How about I put them out of their misery?" He chirps playfully, taking aim at you with his gun; making you flinch back in sheer terror.
But before you get to defend yourself one of the soldiers interrupts the train of thought, grabbing the gun from the soldier "Why would you even suggest that Jesse, we don't even know if they can talk. They might hold valuable information to our task. So learn some self control, speak before you shoot, remember?" You can hear your racing heartbeat hammer as cold sweat runs out your pores. You decide to talk as it seems the only thing keeping them from not blowing your brain all over this here rock, what a cowardly way to go. With shaky, uncertain voice you manage to stumble a short: "I-I do speak English," they stare at you like sheep for a moment so you feel the urge to add a hurried "you dipshit." They all silence that instant as you realise your unfitting choice of language, making you hold your mouth shut with your hands.
You are about to apologise as one of them breaks out into laughter again "Ahaha, you called the captain a dipshit, oh my you are absolutely insane." The others join in for a moment, all except for the alleged captain, who still stares at you unamused by your choice of words. With a short motion of his hand he silences all his soldiers instantaneously as he leans down towards you, his cold blue eyes in a slim crest as he eyes you meticulously. He has short white hair, and a couple of prominent scars in his clean face. It is true you have never seen someone as clean, and still he seems terrifying. "So, you have the guts to call me names kid? huh, brave." his surprisingly calm voice asks. You stay silent, still uncertain if you could trust them, but one glance at the guy with the gun and that concern seems meaningless. if they had wanted you dead, you would have been dead.
"I didn't mean to, s-sir." You announce with clear voice "So you can speak properly, why didn't you say so immediately." He gets back a few feet, not lifting his gaze from you "Get that poor thing cleaned up Angela, before we question her anymore. And feed that poor thing, she looks like skin and bones." He leaves with a few others, leaving you alone with two women, one small and blond, and the other one that caught you, tall and intimidating with flat, black hair and a odd tattoo surrounding her dark eyes..The blond one kneels next to you and hurriedly glances at you, observing you carefully "Look at this Phara, such a poor condition, and so dirty." She has a sweet voice with a strong accent that seems awkwardly familiar "Yeah, yeah, whatever; let's just get her to the nursery and fix up what we can so I don't need to see that misery anymore." Her cold voice seems so rejecting with every word.
Angela nods as Phara picks your weak body of the floor with surprising ease and carries you to a large white tent. You decide not to make a fuss for now so you could make a getaway at an optimal moment. Even if you find their choice of words rather rude, like you were some animal. As you are placed on a sterile looking table, surrounded by intense lights and weird looking tools. Phara leaves as quickly as she came, seemingly in a hurry, leaving you alone with Angela "If that filth tries anything stupid, call me." She says before she leaves through the tents entrance. You look after here for a moment, wondering why she is so suspicious of you. "So, what was your name again?" Angela's voice calls you back to reality, shining the bright light into your face.
You take a moment to make up a name in your mind, anything would do, as you remember the mouse in your pocket. Brilliant...Even if it had a different connotation to you, it reminded you of someone with a very similar choice of name. Come to think of it, you were unsure if you would ever see Rat ever again, the idea alone pained your frail heart a bit "My name is Mouse. Just mouse." She looks at you startled "Mouse you say? Are you sure that's a real name dear?" You nod profoundly "Yes ma'am, that's what I am called anyway. If it's my real name? No idea." You blatantly lie with a confidence so fake it almost seems real to yourself "Ok then, Mouse, I will have to check you for illnesses, and other anomalies so please hold still. I promise this won't hurt to much." You grin a bit "You might find a few doc." You are not sure why you think that was funny as she looks even more worried than before.
She is about to start the examine when she takes another second to stare at you, shaking her head "No, I can't do any proper diagnosis with you looking, and smelling like you do right now. Come along you are getting a shower." You look at her with big eyes "You mean with water?" She nods and chuckles "And a lot of soap." You follow her like a lost puppy, curiously gazing at all the other soldiers standing around. They all look so different from another, and you can hear so many stranger new accents. You are absolutely fascinated with this place, and intimidated at the same time. As Angela leads you into a slightly secluded, large tent. The inside is filled with small cabins, showers as she explains to you, handing you some soap and a towel. "Now, now, don't be scared, it's just some water dear." She says as she helps you out of your sticky clothe "Easy for you to say doc." She smiles sweetly as she shoves you into a cabin "Be quick about it, we have a lot to do this night."
You turn on the knob for warm cold water, just standing under the shower head with your dry mouth wide open. You can almost feel the layers of dirt washing of you as the water rushes down your body in streams. You can't recall ever seeing so much water, clean, fresh water. It's almost like a dream, too good to be true. "Don't forget the soap, you really need it." You look at the small, pink block with the strong, sweet rose scent "What do I do with it, is it tasty?" You ask, only hearing her laugh in response "No silly, wash yourself with it." You pick up the block, which almost instantly glides out of your hands as you pick it up. It's really smooth clear, leaving little bubbles wherever it traces over your rough skin. You soon see what Angela meant, as the more you stand under the water the more you see your skin appear from under the layers of dirt you had gathered over the years. Even your hair is now in proper strands, not in chunks, and it feels rather nice to smell like the soap.
As you dry yourself with the towel and wrap it around you it feels like you're a new human, it's good to be able to see your own hair again. And as you step outside Angela's jaw drops a bit. "Oh my god, you look sicker than I thought. Look at you, so many bruises, and cuts and and and..." she grabs you and pulls you along out of the tent back to the nursing room where she orders you to sit on the table again. She scavenges through several drawers and folders, picking up tools, bottles of medicinal contents and a bunch of band aids. "Now, we start with the obvious wounds and then we carry on, this is gonna be a long night dear." You sigh as your tired eyes wander along all the stuff she placed next to you "Must we doc?" She nods absently as she carefully smears some cream on your open knees and elbows, it burns faintly but not half as much as it did getting the wounds in the first place.
After she is done wrapping you up, she orders you to open your mouth "Have you ever, in your life brushed your teeth?" "Why would I brush them?" You ask, making her sigh deeply "Its ok, don't worry that's what I am here for." After a few more hours on end she makes you swallow X amounts of medicine and pills, one more horrible tasting than the other when she finally announces a satisfied "So, that is it for tonight, we will now get you some food and then of to bed you go, there is a lot of talking you have to do tomorrow." You nod, caught in your own thoughts, you wonder how Rat is doing, not that your worried you just find yourself missing him a bit, just a little insignificant bit.
She hands you back your clothe, washed and stitched up before leading you to yet another tent, inside there was a bed, unfortunately for you, it was behind bars. You pause for a moment, a real bed, today appears to be a lucky one for you. Well, besides being locked up and all "I'm sorry that you must sleep like that, but Jack doesn't trust you running around freely yet." You don't really pay attention for a moment, to overjoyed with a real bed, one with blanket, mattress, cousin; so much better than that wooden contraption back at home "Who now?". "Jack Morrison, our superior." You look at her confused "The old one?" She nods, giggling at the brash remark "Precisely...The old one." Without further questions, you slip into the bed as Angela turns the key on you "Sleep well dear, I think we're going to get along well." You don't answer anymore as your face is buried in the well smelling pillow, already half asleep. As you turn around to face the ceiling you suddenly remember why you are here and why you want to leave. You feel a sombre pain as you realise they are probably not going to wait on you, you already miss them a bit...Or one of them at least. It's obvious, you think to yourself, he will not miss me. From the million things in the outback, Eat will probably forget your existence as abruptly as you had encountered him. With these thoughts you drift into sleep, feeling lonelier than ever in your life.
The next morning you are thrown out of bed by Angela "Wake up sleepy, I got you coffee and some bread." Her sweet voice rings in your ears. You quickly eat the bread with an impressive appetite, before looking at the coffee skeptical, it was nothing like you had ever seen the likes of before "This water looks dirty." Angela smiles softly "It's coffee not water, just try it." You drink a sip, the warm liquid tasting bitter yet weirdly appealing, so you chug it down hastily "No hurries dear, no one is going to take it from you." You shyly look at her with round eyes "Sorry, force of habit."
After the little breakfast, she guides you to one of the larger complexes in this place. Inside you are greeted by Jack, sitting at his desk hunched over paperwork "Ah good morning, you look a lot better, as I see Angela patched you up quite nicely." She smirks proudly "I did what I could." Before leaving you and Morrison alone. "Please, take a seat... What was your name again?" You take a seat in front of him "It was mouse sir." He looks thoughtful "Mouse you say? That's a interesting choice of name...Anyway, I have a reason I called you here. Myself and these troops are here on a mission to clear the current outback of all the dangerous criminals who have been destroying and robbing buildings and factories around the area." He hands you two very familiar looking wanted posters "These two criminals in particular, have been on our radar for a long time now but they seem to be a step ahead of us." You look at the two sketches, and you get a bit depressed knowing that they are out there, without you. Your eyes get caught on Junkrat's face, as it is rather close to the real one, well maybe plus some more dirt and the crazy grin. But it's enough to send a sharp ache through your gut, stirring some nostalgia.
"Do you recognize these two men?" He asks, calling you out of your thoughts ungracefully "Not personally, but I have heard a lot about them." You lie with a stern face, you were confident with your acting skills, after all; you used them in your occupation quite a lot. He raises an eyebrow suspiciously, he seems to have noticed he previous emotion these pictures alone had traced on your face "I don't mean to be rude but you're not convincing me, if you do know their whereabouts I advise you not to lie about it." You place the sketch of Roadhog on the desk, sneakily keeping the other on your lap, it just feels good having it with you "I have no idea sir, honestly, never had any personal contact with them.." You lean back in your seat, feeling smug about your little lie, what is he going to do about it. There was no proof against your words, and he knew it damn well.
Jack sighs, clearly annoyed with your stubborn lack of words "I don't want to alarm you, but we do have eyewitnesses of you interacting with them just a few days back as inhabitant have seen you talking with them." You feel the colour draining from your face, so much to a perfect lie...And talking? hah, more like kidnapping. "Sure I don't know anything your talking about." You try to communicate smoothly, but the shakiness in your words is not completely gone. Suddenly he grabs you by the collar pulling you over the table "Listen here, we tried being peaceful with you here, but if you are not going to tell me where you have last seen them this instant I will not hesitate to shove you into prisons so deep you will never see the light of day again, understood?" You look at him with sudden fearful eyes as your mind goes a bit wild for a moment, racing between telling the truth and saving your own ass or helping out the people who brought you in this mess.
But your mind settles on a much better way out, a bit of both "Well, alright, you caught me red handed sir. For a matter of fact, yes I had a unpleasant interaction with them, but I have not seen them in days. They just left me in the desert to die and drove off." He looks at you with furious eyes, not convinced by your story "And you want me to believe that?" You nod "Yeah, pretty much.I have nothing more to tell you." He lets go of your collar dismissively as you rapidly breath for sweet air, clutching your aching neck; he hd a stern grip that's for sure "I'm sorry I overreacted. You may go now." You get up quietly as he leans his head on his hands, starring onto the papers on his desk as if deeply lost in thoughts "Good day, sir." You mumble as you step outside.
After this incident things seem to settle down a bit more as the slight awkwardness between you and the rest of the camp calms to a rather friendly companionship. Thanks to Angela, or Doctor Ziegler, you get introduced to a few of the recruits, some friendlier than others. The guy that pointed the gun at you earlier is still annoyance, a cowboy looking annoyance though which makes his cocky nature seem acceptable. The captain still keeps out of your way, he is probably still mad at you for lying to him, getting back that trust might be painful to do. Same with Phara, she seems so suspicious of your every move near Angela, almost like she is some watchdog looming over you; ready to bite your head of if you step out of line.
In a weeks' time, the camp has to move its position, which goes a lot faster than you expected it to happen. The entire camp just travels per airship, and to you surprise they decide to take you along for now, you don't even need to sleep in the weird cell anymore; now having a tent of your own. And after the camp had assumed its new position in a mountain plateau far of the proximity of your home. The only thing you found truly bugging you was the thought of never seeing Rat again, you were surprised at how much you ended up thinking of him throughout your stay here. It's odd, you think, but within those short few days you had actually grown attached to the junker more than you had ever gotten before; and he wasn't even a customer. The only hope to see him again was if they found him, and that was something you didn't want to occur under any circumstances; you were not that selfish. You still carried around that Wanted poster in your pocket with the little mouse from a while ago. It seemed to kind of liked your pocket, and you liked his company so you fed the little fellow whenever you could. And after a while you even found yourself feeling a lot healthier, the bruises healed and the cuts turned to scars. It was the first time in years you felt content in your own skin. Jack also started talking to you again, probably because of Angela requesting it.
It was a rather cold night on the plateau, the stars and the moon clear in the sky lighting the surrounding in a dim light. You couldn't sleep again, there was something bugging you, some sort of restlessness that made you roll around in your bed sleepless. After several hours of tossing around under your blanket you decided a small walk might help clear your thoughts. You looked around outside to make sure no one would follow you as you crept outside the rows of tents towards a narrow pathway leading into the wide stretched canyon below. You followed the rocky path until you reached ground level, it's completely dark down here, you can barely see your own to hands in front of your face. Your eyes scanned the amazing skyline filled with the shiniest stars you had seen in a while, without any disturbing light near you could swear that you could see the milky way. You strolled through the massive walls of sandstone keeping your gaze fixed on the stunning night sky when all of a sudden you felt the sharp end of what you presumed to be a knife pressed against your neck.
"Stop right there mate, hand over all weapons, valuables and don't ya dare scream or you are gonna kick the bucket." A familiar voice hissed in your ear, sending a wide smirk over your lips, completely disregarding the threatening greeting "J-Jamie? It's me Mouse, I mean the one that mugged you a while ago. You have to remember me, right? You know, the one that you kidnapped." There is a short pause before he removes the knife from your neck, seemingly started "Wait, wait, wait, turn around and let me see your face." You abruptly spin around and can't help but to grin excitedly to see him again. He takes a moment to recognize you, as his visual confusion fades "I can't believe it, you look so, different." You look down at yourself, you do in fact look a lot different now that you think about it. "Yeah, a lot happened." you murmur "And how do you know my name anyway?" Rat inquires suspiciously, hands still running alongside your arms as if in disbelieve you actually were there.
You reach into your pocket and hand him the wanted poster which he takes a small look at and replies it with a smug grin "Oh yeah, I forgot about these. They just never get me face right, damn shame actually. Where did you get this from, and more importantly, where the bloody hell where you?" You rub your neck awkwardly, glancing to the top of the canyons edge "Like I said, long story." Before you get to chat any longer you hear someone call your name from the top of the mountain, together with a few lights flickering up. He follows your eyes and worried expression "Who is that?" You look at him a bit panicked "I will tell you later, just, go hide or something. It would be really, really bad if they find you or Roadhog for that matter."
He raises an eyebrow challengingly, arms crossing over his chest "How about... No." You roll your eyes and hurriedly glance back to the plateau where you can see more lights being turned on "Ok, ok, listen here, these guys are soldiers and they are looking for you, and I am pretty sure they want you dead or locked up; so do you and me a favour and fuck of you bloody idiot." You a surprised at the harshness in your voice and so is he, but takes the immature insults with a light humour "I am not leaving you behind again, come on, we can just go together." You look at him annoyed "Oh very funny, as if you didn't just leave me for dead a few weeks ago?" A weirdly offended look creeps to his face, mimicking yours now "I sure as fuck did not decide to leave you behind, I was more than willing to look for you but Hog didn't let me for some reason. To be perfectly honest with ya dimwit, I actually missed ya. And now that I say it out loud, it sounds even dumber than in me head." You feel a stone drop from your heart as he says that, a heavy, dirty stone of worries.
"You didn't just forget about me?" He shakes his head vigorously "Do you ever listen to me? because im tellin ya, I aint repeatin that sappy garbage ever again." You look at him the same dumbfounded way you did a moment ago, a strange glee sparking in your insides "Believe it or not, I think I missed your stupid grin as well." You chirp jubilantly, hands holding onto his shoulders, making him chuckle meekly "Well, isn't that just great. Two idiots, one thought." You can't help but to cackle a bit as well. "And here I was worrying myself sick that I would never see you again." You both stop laughing immediately as you hear voices quickly approaching "You know what, same place, same time, tomorrow night." Rat hastily announces "Deal." You chirp before he leaves into the night, you turning into the other direction to catch Angela and a few others looking for you.
"Where were you Mouse, we thought you ran away?" Angela looks a bit teary and worried as she says that "Sorry, I just needed to clear my head a bit, I didn't want to worry you. nothing like a midnight walk am I right?" You buzz with a content voice, still overjoyed that you found Jamie again, or better; that he found you. She smiles softly, oh if she only knew, that smile would vanish into thin air "If that's all, just don't do that again without leaving me a note or something." You nod as you all walk back to the tents, still grinning from one ear to the other. You glance over your shoulder again and look at the direction Jamie vanished in a moment ago. You feel a weird fuzziness as you lay back in bad again, he didn't forget you; that was all you could think of as you still clutched your hands around the wanted poster in your pocket.
The next day you are the first to be awake, already chugging your coffee before anyone else even thinks about leaving the comfort of their tents. And as you see you have a few free moments you decide to scavenge through some of the supplies laying around, just for general amusement and to kill some time before the evening sets in. When the sun began to dive down behind the horizon, you snuck outside the rows of tents being careful not to be spotted by anyone this time. As you hopped down the pathway to the bottom of the canyon you felt a weird weightlessness in your head, and that permanent grin on your face didn't help, you couldn't wait to see Rat again for some reason. It's been a while, and frankly, you would have fibbed if you said you didn't miss him.
You soon reached the same rock you had met last night, sitting in front of it patiently as you resumed the content of your bag. Some cans of food, water, and a chunk of soap, you didn't know why you had the urge to give them soap but you thought it humorous. And of course, a bunch of band aids and medicinal bottles, the same one Angela had given you when you first arrived; you had stolen them when she was out this morning. You smirked to yourself when a sudden motor oil smeared hand covered your eyes from behind "Guess who?" a raspy voice whispers from behind you "I don't know, whoever might be dumb enough to out here all alone in the middle of the night? Maybe a little rodent got lost on it's way home?" You tease skittishly, getting the usual high pitched chuckle in return "I could be asking you the same thing mate." You look around to spot him on the other side of the red rock, placing your hands on it to lean over to exchange a smug smirk "I was only going to pick up a friend, but I just can't find him anywhere." You jester with a fake sweet voice.
It's good to see his messy face again, the attentive, cat like eyes and that razor sharp grin. But something appears to be missing today "Jamie, what happened to your prosthetics?" He looks at the stump of his right arm awkwardly, as if he had already forgotten about it "Oh that, well I appear to have broken them... again." You sigh as you look around nervously to make sure no one else is around "You know what, crazy idea, I could get you new ones if we both get to the machine shack in the camp. But if they spot us we are both done for." He listens closely to your plan, a smile spreading across his face "That might be dangerous, I'm in." You are not surprised by the blatant recklessness, but it's concerning "And if anything goes wrong we can always resolve to blowing the whole place to scraps." You nod agreeingly "You know what, good idea, let's just try it. What's the worst that could happen? "
"Good to know we agree on that, now, would you help me walk up the mountain?" He asks, absently pointing at his missing leg "You broke both of them?" He shrugs and holds out his arms awaiting, a complacent grin plastered to his face "You gonna help me or not?" You sigh, surrendering to his demand as you pick him up with astonishing ease, as you find he is rather light for his tall grown statue. Jamie immediately wraps his arm around your neck and his leg around your torso like a little kid, nestling against you so tightly it squeezes some air from your lungs "Now, onwards." You begin walking up the path and in the hidden in the shadow of the night you carry him to the shack unnoticed. His head is lazily resting on your shoulder, and you honestly don't mind the strong body contact, in fact you find yourself pleasantly enjoying the warmth of skin against yours. The general comfort of another body against yours in such a innocent sense is a distant memory, but a fond one for that, a treasured dream so fleet you barely recall it.
You place him on a table in the shack and turn on a few very dim lights after locking the door behind you. "Now, let's see what I can do." You look around for a moment, spotting a few viable looking Omnics with robust looking limbs tossed in a corner. As you begin to take a few of them apart and rearranging them to the parts you find to be fitting you ask "How did you break them anyway?" He looks around absently, taking a particular interest in the shut of omnic units, lifelessly laying in the corner "Believe it or not but we tried pulling a small heist on a local bank, and I might or might not have miscalculated the gunpowder in one of the mines." You snicker a bit "And I believe that's not the first time this happened?" He nods embraced and tries to defend himself with a short "But don't believe I don't know what I'm doing, I'm a professional. Happens all the time though, but this one blew me arm clean of."
"Sure, you are." You agree sarcastically as you screw together some hydraulics in a viable looking arm. After taking a few measurements and adapting some connection wires, you give your work a self satisfied inspection "So, that might actually do, let me see your arm for a moment. Or what's left of it for that matter." You demand, making Jamie reluctantly holds out his arm, revealing the bandage wrapped around the stump, as you take it of carefully you only now see that it has some open cuts and burns prominently stretched along the sides "Oh my, we might have to treat that before I can attach this, wait here for a bit; and don't break anything. I will be right back" He smiles and salutes you playfully "I'll be on my best behaviour." You leave through the door, shooting him a last suspicious glare, before you hurry to get to the medical supply tent where you pick up bandages and disinfectant.
As you are about to leave you are caught by Angela at the door "Mouse, what are you doing here so late, and why on earth do you need all that for?" She points at the supplies in your arm "Well, funny story Doctor Ziegler, but I accidently hurt myself in the shack today, just wanted to stitch it up quickly." She furrows a eyebrow "And you need to liters of disinfectant, burn cream and a whole roll of bandage for that?" You nod frantically, the red rising to your face; what a stupid tale "Bad cut, really nasty, I would love to stay and let you have a professional look at it; but I really gotta go. Bye..." You nimbly sneak past her and she lets you without further questions, you know she is suspicious of you though. But Angela trusts you quite a bit, she always had since the first day; and you knew that full well.
As you finally lock the shack behind you again you take a deep breath "And, any luck?" Rat asks disinterested, seeing the stress in your face with mere entertainment then serious pertain "Yes, all here, close one though; the doctor almost caught me of guard." He curiously eyes the medical supplies "What the heck is all that, is that water?" You pick up the disinfectant "Nope, it's to clear the open wound so it doesn't infect. And the cream is to treat the burn" He looks at you seemingly amused, still shaking the disinfectant "you already sound like Hog, always worried about the most stupid crap." You look at him slightly offended as you apply the disinfectant and the cream "Very funny, he doesn't talk at all, how do you two even get along on a daily basis; you're so different."
Jamie looks out of the window whilst you do your work whilst explaining "Well, we manage I guess, he isn't too fond of me anyway. He tends to get unintentionally violent when I talk too much, or just mentions the way I am just worthless roadkill when i don't listen to him. Honestly though, I don't' care, he keeps me save and I pay him well, so that's a mutual agreement to not throw me of a cliff." You wrap the bandage around the arm carefully and look at your surprisingly clean work "I will never understand your weird friendship, but anyway, I'm done so let's get those prosthetics I place and get you far away from this camp." When you are done locking the arm and leg in place, connecting the finer wires and impuls detectors to his body, he immediately starts playing around with them; picking things up and walking a few rounds around the shack, generally testing their functionality "Im surprised, ya seem ta have some idea what you're doing. Thanks mate, I owe ya one." You smile satisfied with your work, playfully bowing "Anytime." You feel a warm glee inside your stomach as you see how thankful he is "Your still gonna carry me down though?" You nod agreeing "Sure, why not."
As you look outside as you see the sun already rising over the mountain again "Oh shit, I think you might need to stay here for the day, there is no way I'm getting you down the mountain in broad daylight. I don't have a strong enough deathwish for that." He pears out of the window as well "And what now?" You look around the shack, you know he can't stay here, the dwarf guy is gonna be here any moment. "You know what, I will quickly get you to my place, and no one goes there without my permission so that should work just fine as a hiding spot for today." You open the shack and peak outside the half open door to see if anyone is around, but they appear to all be asleep "ok, we have a clear cost, let's go." He looks at you without a word, just holding out his arms again. You sigh as you walk over to pick him up again "You're a nuisance, I hope you know that." He wraps around you again and answers a victorious "I know, you're not the first one to tell me that."
You hurriedly sneak to your tent and close it behind you hastily "Ok, good so far." You remember the food in your bag "Hungry?" He looks at you with a smirk "always." You both sit on the bed as you hand him some bread and tea "It's not Boba but I guess it will do, its sweetened anyway." As you both take some food and chat a bit you remember the soap that is still stuck in your pocket, and a small glance at him is enough to tell he might be in desperate need of it "Jamie, you know I just had a really fun idea for what you could be doing while we wait for the evening." He takes another sip from the tea "and what might that be?" You smile evilly as you hold up the block of soap "What is that for?" He asks curiously, eyeing the little block like some alien creature "I didn't know either a few days back, but allegedly its soap, and its used to wash yourself. Really fun stuff."
He takes the soap and plays around with it for a moment, scaling its surface and smelling it; he almost tried to bite it, but left it at that "And why the cockatoo would I be doing that?" You shrug "I dunno, just a thing most people apparently do, wanna try it?"He pauses, but shrugs of the weariness as quickly as it appears "Sure, why not, if you think it's helpful for anything." You get up and look around again to check for unwanted company "Ok, we are still good to go, come on." A few moments later you find yourself back in the large tent with the small cabins along the side "Do you want to shower or take a bath?" He looks at you dumbfounded "What exactly is the difference?" You open two of the cabins "In a shower the water comes from above like rain, in a bath you can actually sit in a tub of water, neat eh?" He looks at the tub curiously "Is there even enough water to fill this entire thing?" You nod "Yep, weird isn't it."
He still stared at the empty tub, as if trying to figure out how it worked "And you are still sure this is a good idea?" You nodes reassuringly and looked over his shoulder "Are you scared of some water Junkrat?" He looks up at you with a slightly distressed face, chewing down on his lower lip nervously "No, of course not, I'm not some wuss." He defenses himself brattily, turning up his chin vainly; oh but that insecurity shimmer through all to nicely. "Well then, be a man and get in the tub." you tease as you turn on the water. It's nice to know there is some funerability to this careless guy, some weak spots for you to make out and exploit for your own sick amusement. Who knows, maybe you even could find a good opportunity to mess with him a little.
He looks fascinated at the quantities of water flowing into the tub, you just think it's really cute for some reason. There is just something oddly endearing in the doudt flickering in his eyes, fingers nervously clenching to the edge of the tub as if afraid he might fall into it and drown; silly boy. Once done you turn of the water and glance over to Jamie with a cheeky smirk "And now get in the water already, it want be nice and warm forever." He takes another look at the now bubble coated tub "Don't push me, i'm doing it already." He reluctantly removes the clunky prosthetics from his limbs before he takes another jumpy look at the water and then back at you " You gonna join me?" He asks with a sudden hit of kitishness, making you shake your head mildly "How about no" you cheekily chuckle "And are you really leaving your pants on to take a bath?" you inquire, and he nods "Needs a wash anyway." Jamie excuses himself churlish as he holds out his arms again with a counterfeit innocent smile "You at least gonna help me?" You gladly lift him up a bit to place him in the warm water as he almost completely vanishes behind the mountain of bubbles.
As you are about to pull away from the side of the bath you feel a surprisingly strong tug on your arm, causing you to lose your balance and fall head first into the tub only to hear Rats hysterical laugh follow "Are you really gonna take a bath with your clothe on?" He teases you further as your head pokes up from over the bubbles "They needed a wash anyway." You can't help to laugh along as you comfortably adjust your position on top of him leaning your head on his collar "This is not half bad to be honest" he announces "I underestimated the bath." You peek up at him with big eyes and a witty smirk "Can I wash our hair?" You ask abscently, dumbfounding the blond a little "Sure, go ahead" You sit up on your knees and take some soap before patiently cleaning the smoke and ember from his head " Did you light yourself on fire or what happened?" You ask jokingly "Almost" he replies "several times " You grin a bit "Crazy rat boy."
As the soap washes away the stubbornly sticky patches of dirt you finally get a good glimpse of his face covered with moles and freckles, your surprised how intense they are displayed now that the dirt is gone "What are you looking at?" He huffs at your curious gaze " Nothing, I just think the Ferkels are cute." You run your fingers through his now somewhat clean, light blond hair and along his neck before pulling your hand away; noticing your own touchyness. "S-Sorry, I just not used to see you like that, without all the soot I mean. It's really odd." You feel the sudden touch of his hand explore over your back, coming to a hold at your hips as he glances up at you with a toothy grin "Don't worry yourself, I would probably be curious as well." His grin widens "How bad is it anyway? I haven't seen myself in ages. If I were to guess, I look like the reanimated corpse from hellraiser."
You reply the smile, shakin your head meekly "Bad? I actually kinda like it" He makes a disinterested hand gesture "You don't have to sugar coat it dear, I am well aware most people think I am repulsing, freaky, hell; gross." He looks up to you with a unchanged chipper expression, a long strand of strawy hair hanging in his face. You lean forward a bit and carefully brush back the hair out of his face "Someone seems awfully proud of that bad reputation. No wonder those rumors get worse every day." You note, this would answer a few questions; he actually wants to be seen as a monster. If you had a guess, probably to keep those bounty hunters scared of, or even to distract potential enemies; not a bad strategy. Rat grins a bit leaning away from you "Well thank ya mate, I work on it. Anyway, why don't ya go ahead and proof it then, that ya dont think im repulsive I mean." You look a bit dumbfounded for a moment "How am I supposed to do that?" He closes his eyes and places his hand behind his head; casually leaning back against the bathtubs wall "Dunno, I have decided to leave the petty details up to you."
You think about it for a moment, what exactly was he planning now? You knew Jamie wasn't to dumb, so there had to be some sort of scheme he was following. You give it a minute, resting your frame on his snugly; such a warm touch for such a scummy criminal. And before long, a curious thought strives your mind. Maybe this would be a fun little opportunity to mess with him, nothing to pushy, just a quick something to show a mild hint of affection. Maybe you could even make a game out of this, might be good fun. You went through your mind, trying to recall any sort of moderate intimacy that wouldn't be to inappropriate for now; games where to be played in levels after all. So a slow burn seemed fitting. Which turned out to be quite a task, seeing that all you knew was a rough kiss, a hurried blowjob, and maybe a short fuck if the money was if right. But what could be so wrong with a kiss, right? You timidly shuffle around on your position, pushing yourself upwards to face him more naturally. You couldn't help but just stop and stare for a moment, he really was atrociously gorgeous, enough to make even your dull heart skip a hurried beat. The sharp features, wild freckles, and that devilish grin; it all worked so well for him..
"Alright, I got it now. I need you to open your mouth for a moment, and keep your eyes shut." Rat does so without questioning your outlandish request whatsoever, making you silently smirk, was he just naive or did he plan this all along? Whatever it was, you were to curious to stop now. You force yourself to keep your eyes open for this, as a sort of control mechanism, you wanted to see if it would startle him; or if this actually was a planned through event. Your questions answers itself as the split second your lips press against his with so ardently it you end up surprising yourself, his eyes shoot open widely, almost flinching away from your touch; but eventually remaining unmoved. He had no idea you would do that, and that was oddly satisfying to catch him of guard like that. You instinctively let your tongue slides across his chapped lips as if asking for entrance, and to your relief, he lets is smugly slither into his warm mouth. He takes a moment to return the unexpected kiss, but as soon as you push yourself against him tighter, he turns your clumsy approach of a kiss a lot rougher.
You feel a sudden warmth in your tight chest as you pull him closer to you, arms locked around his neck to not lose that precious bit of control you had found in that unattentive moment. He tastes like a weird mixture of scorched sugar, and the feeling of his sticky tongue rubbing against yours is ecstatic to say the least, savouring the hearty touch. It was by far not your first kiss, but it felt a lot better than the ones you had let yourself get to before. Normally the kisses you knew were dry and heartless, just a hurried gesture of routine before being pushed to your knees. But weirdly enough, this was quite enjoyable, the warm, balmy breaths and near silent muttering from Jamie were just enough to make your insides feel warmer inside. You would have loved to know what he must be thinking right now, if this was a victorious turn in your mind game, or just proof you were a touchy, desperate brat to play with?
It was something you couldn't explain, but the idea that he just saw you as a mere thing you could buy made you a little nauseous. This wasn't what you were normally like, and it freaked you out, where the hell was that unfeeling shell of a heart you had carried around for so many years? Why did it skip so rapidly now, why now? You can't help but to shut your eyes out of pure enjoyment as you avidly push your tongue against his. And for the first time in...well,ever, you felt a irritatingly strong need for something different then your usual procedure. You couldn't grasp the idea of why exactly, but that was of little interest anyway, you wanted more; so much more. It itch in your fingertips as your mind kept screaming, demanding, ordering for nothing but that little bit more; and that now. If there was any way to keep this beautiful feeling for just a single heartbeat more, you wanted it. But as soon as your prompt fingers even begin to stroke down to his hips, Rat acutely flinches back from the kiss, making you instantly stop what you were about to do.
You need a moment to catch yourself again, shivering vigorously as you zone back into reality and realize what you had just done so recklessly. A little disgusted with yourself and those old habits you retreat your hands to yourself hurriedly, crossing your arms to avoid further stupid mistakes. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to...I mean, I..." You attempt something resembling a apology, but your own panting breath and incoherent mumbling don't really let that happen.To ashamed to look up at him, but you knew his breath was about as heavy and sticky as your own, so your eyes are fixed to your own hands; those sneaky, stupid hands that had a mind of their own sometimes. To your genuine surprise though, Jamie doesn't seem the slightest bit mad or even disgusted with you, simply chuckling at your pathetic excuse of a explanation before pulling you closer again. Not for the longed for kiss, but the embrace alone was a sweet remedy for your aching soul.
"Is that enough proof?" You manage to murmur as you rest your lightheaded skull on his shoulder, a deep thankfulness for his forgiving nature, well; it was carelessness but you didn't care for the difference as long as it meant he didn't push you away like countless times before. "More than enough." Rat chirps with a surprisingly pleasant voice, his arms still firmly holding around your waist "So, how much do ya want for that?" He adds with a joking tune, making you chuckle just a little bit; thank goodness he could at least laugh about your issues. "If you even dare to give me a single cent, I will leave." You mutter with a jittery tune, still a little sick; what were you thinking? That he would just let you do whatever you wanted? Hah, that was silly for even your standards, but for that short moment, it felt so right; so perfectly right and natural.
Or maybe that was just your habit talking? You didn't want to give it anymore thought, it hurt to much to think about your apparently destructive tendencies. No wonder you never had a chance at getting even remotely close to anyone emotionally if you kept doing this. "Um, Jamie, thanks for...you know, the kiss, it was pretty good." You mutter with a husky voice, glancing up at him timidly, like a child that was afraid of getting in trouble for breaking something. He gives you a bewildered look before returning to the usual grin "Very funny, I had nothing to do with that, that was all your fault. Let's just forget it for now, it seems ta stress ya out. Cmon, lets get outta here before someone finds us." He suggests, his good hand still holding onto your waist securely as you climb out of the tub, legs still quaking mildly.
Jamie doesn't move for a moment, just looking down at his reflection in the water with a confused look while you hurry to dry yourself with a random towel "Are you not going to get out?" He smiles up at you with cheeky expression "Are you not going to help me out after you kissed me without asking?" You lean down to him so he can cling around your neck before you slowly pull him out of the now cold water, place him on the ground and hand him a towel "Come on, you liked it." You comment before ruffling the towel through his hair "That's not what i'm saying, id be a bloody idiot and a liar if I said I didn't enjoy it; but that's not what's bugging me. I guess it's just, I don't think it's good for ya if ya keep that up." You sigh before leaning back down infront of him to reattach the prosthetics "What's that supposed to mean now?" You mutter curiously "I'll explain it in time." Rat whispers absently as you proceed to dry his scared back "That's a lot of wounds for one back to carry, how on earth did you get all these?" You carefully question, not to annoy him, but notice his unfamiliar silence as you bring up the topic so you decide to shut up for now.
"All done, now your as good as new." You smile brightly and pick him back up, your arms tightly around him "Ta." He mumbles his face buried at your shoulder, the mellow gusts of rhythmic breath so close to your ears feels curiously tranquil "For what now?" He wraps his limbs around you again with surprising strength "Everything." You smile to yourself as you nimbly carry him back to your tent without being spotted by anyone, it seems like this is a day made for trespassing. You take a heavy breath of relieve as you close the tents door behind you for good "And now we only need to wait a few hours before the night decides to grant us cover, then we are bringing you back." It's at that moment you notice how tired you are, the last nights lack of sleep begins to catch up with you. And as you look over your shoulder at Rat you see he is already curled up on your bed, still tightly holding on to you. With a relieved smile on your lips you join him, allowing him to cuddle up to you without another word spoken. It's so unfamiliar to have him so silent, was he thinking about something? Is all you manage to think of before sleep overtakes your worries like a comfortable blanket.
Your sleep schedule is not long lived though as you hear a timid voice call your name from outside the tent. You carefully free yourself from Jamie's tight embrace befor stumbling to the entrance sleep drunken and sand in your eyes. It's already night time, which is good news considering you can finally bring Rat to a safer place, any place but here. "I didn't mean to wake you Mouse, but I have something I really need to talk to you about." You rub your tired eyes before letting out a hearty yawn, it's Dr.Ziegler who greets you "Its ok Angela, I wanted to do something anyway, so what is it?" She smiles sweetly "Can I come inside?" You swiftly shut he tents door behind with a sudden shock of energy, so she doesn't get a chance to glimpse inside "I'd rather not, didn't clean it up in a while, a complete mess in there, I'd rather not show you. We can walk a few steps instead?" She nods kindly and hooks her arm into yours.
"We shall, now listen carefully since I have a big request to make to you my dear." You are surprised how serious she is, normally your conversations are a lot more careless and casual, like a good friend you had known for years. You have grown to like her quite a bit, her caring and loving nature, they had a certain charm. Plus, she was a gorgeous women with a bright mind, how could you not like her? "I had a long, intense discussion with Jack regarding your future. Our mission has failed us so far as you might know, and we are desperately needed elsewhere, the world identity as clean as we would want it to be." She looks to the ground, a pronounced sadness stirring in her face "Anyway, to get back to you I asked him to recruit you to our Program. We desperately need any help we can get. It would mean you could lead a better life then here, with us, as a family." Your eyes dull out at the mention of "family", the one thing that had been stripped from you when you had most needed it.
The word itself evoked disgust in you, like bitter bile rising to your mouth; you hated the idea of family almost as much as the idea of love. Both things that had been nothing but disappointment and pain in your life. What was family if it left you to die? If it did nothing more then to leave you hanging in a world you didn't understand, as a child, and even now; you cringed at the word of family. But not now, you needed to keep a straight face, you couldn't let her see your hatred, your revulsion. "Thats a generous offer Angela, really, I will consider it." She smiles as she squeezes your arm tighter "That's enough for now, we can help you out of this place and you help us make the world a better one. Also, if i'm honest, I would love to have you in the team, we always welcome newcomers." You look in the direction of your tent, a deep sigh escapes your lips again, but they wouldn't welcome you if you knew your lies; and that stung deeper than the promise of a new start "Is there something wrong Mouse?" She ask with a sudden worried expression as she takes note of your frail expression, still fighting that distaste to her words. Family, you didn't ever want to have one again, not even in a metaphorical sense.
"Not really, I just need a night to think about it." She looks to the gravel floor "I understand, this is your home after all." You smile to yourself as you remember Rat still in the tent, if she knew she would probably not think that way. And home? The wasteland was more of a prison then a home, but alright, it was the only thing close to home you knew. As you are about to leave she holds your sleeve timidly "Mouse, can you come here for a moment?" You turn back to her and she looks at you with her large blue eyes. She carefully grabs your collar and gets on her tiptoes before giving you a peck on the cheek, making you almost twitch back "Sleep well dear." You feel nothing in this kiss, no warmth, no glee, just a stone cold emptiness you know so familiar. "Sleep well doc." You whisper, what a odd feeling of nothing this was, how did this stir up nothing in you?
