Summary: Torbjörn watches Satya and Jamison fall in love.
Note: Story is told from his POV, but in the form of third person. I've yet to attempt to write a Swedish accent. Now didn't seem like the time to find out how, not if I wanted to focus on the fic.
Dedicated to my top three favorite Symmrat writers: vargrimar, quietpastelcolours, and nezkah. This probably isn't as good as their stories, but a lot of inspiration comes from them.
I hope you all enjoy!
Torbjörn could tell that Satya Vashwani hadn't really thought much of Fawkes when they first met. It wasn't necessarily hate, or even indifference; just that her opinion of him wasn't the best.
He'd… well, admired more than liked at the time. His arm was rather impressive, and he'd been self-taught.
Jamison, for his part, hadn't thought much of her either, even confiding in the older Swede that she was probably "just like all suits". He hadn't needed to explain; Torbjörn had dealt with a few people like that in his life.
But then he saw her hard light and suddenly there was something interesting about her. The boy had obviously never seen the like before in his life until then. She seemed to be worth trying to talk to, after that. From what he saw, people seemed to need something interesting about them for the bomber to do that, like it made them stand out in his mind.
The young architech, for her part, didn't start warming up to him until after he'd watched her back on a mission. Apparently, seeing him look out for someone other than himself or Mako, made him more of a person than a madman.
The boy was at least a bit crazy, but weren't all of them, to have joined and rejoined this new incarnation of Overwatch?
From there, she seems to try more to really take part in conversations with him. He's not sure if she really realizes what she's doing, because sometimes, she seems a little surprised at herself. Honestly, the smith wonders if she ever really talked with someone at Vishkar the way she does with people here. It seems like she doesn't quite know what to do, and always seemed to be gauging people's reactions.
Maybe that was why she had a surprisingly easier time with the young junker; he didn't do much to hide how he felt about things, and more often than not was a very animated speaker (though part of him wished he would gesture less when holding explosives).
And maybe it was a result of growing up in the world the Outback had become, but one way or another, Jamison paid attention to things about her. And maybe that was the first sign; the fact that he managed to be just as bad about respecting personal space without touching her much, and probably tried harder to not be in her face so much.
Since they all need to share the workshop space, it's easy for Torbjörn to watch their relationship change and take shape, like when he watches his beloved Kirsten cook (before she smiles and reminds him that he has things to do to help), or even watching one of the two work on project.
According to Reinhardt, it was a bit like watching himself and Kirsten, and he will begrudgingly admit that he may be right.
He's more willing to admit to the similarities when he watches them evolve from work acquaintances, to friends. And then he starts noticing little things that hint that a relationship is forming. The awkward 'hellos', the stolen glances, the blushing and stupid smiling. Hands placed on top of the other's, spending time together without actually doing anything, one leaning against the other on the couch in the rec room, Mako having her back more and more the way he has Jamison's, Satya occasionally needing to wear a high collar…
When he brings this up to Kirsten during his calls home, it tends to lead to reminiscing of when they were dating, even if most of it was done over video chat, but they'd made it work. And when they met face to face, he'd make up for it anyway he could, because an amazing woman was interested in someone like him.
The look that must have been on his face then (and now, if he's honest), is undoubtedly the same one he sees on the young bomber's face. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve you, but I'm glad you think I'm worth it".
Lovely as it is to watch their affection grow, he enjoys their shared sputtering when he tells them that he better not ever come into the workshop to anything more than quick kissing or he'll put up a sign in there and tell anyone who asks about it exactly why. There's things he doesn't want to see, and he needs to practice putting fear into someone when his girls start dating.
Besides, it's not a good idea to distract someone with that sort of thing when working in a workshop.
Eventually, Jamison has all but moved into Satya's room, but he keeps a lot of his stuff in his old room. Torbjörn's seen inside there, and isn't too surprised by that. Vishkar would probably throw a fit about all of this, but to the pleasure of many, Satya's far less concerned about what they would think, and more about how to deal with them, at that point.
It's not perfect; anyone who claims to be in a relationship that has no problems or difficulties is incredibly delusional in his opinion. There's days when neither of them wants to be around anyone, even each other, and Jamison's apparently not allowed near the bed if he has any soot or dirt on him, and times when she forgets that the Outback is practically its own world with very different rules. But they learn to deal with the problems as they come, and if they need to complain to someone, he's a willing ear (according to Lena, that's what he got for setting the standard for all of them by being happily married with so many kids).
Torbjörn's happy for them and grateful for the couple as well. Those days where he feels almost feels tired of the fight, almost can't remember what he's doing this for, almost starts to wonder why he keeps going…
Well, all he needs to do is look at his family, his friends (and he may, very begrudgingly, sorta include those Omnics at this point, not that he'd let them know and let it go to their metal heads), and at the love people can have for each other, that reminds him of the things that are worthwhile.
Notes: Kirsten is my placeholder first name for Mrs. Lindholm. It comes from one of the original American Girl Dolls, a Swedish immigrant to America named Kirsten. I had two of her books, and my favorite was her Christmas one. Given we learned about Mrs. Lindholm in a Christmas comic, I thought it was fitting.
So, yeah, this was my first crack at writing a Symmrat fic. It's not specifically for Symmrat Week, but I remembered on Sunday it was coming, and felt like writing something for it. Then I later realized there were, like, themes for each day, I guess? I briefly wondered if I should still tag it as such, and decided to just do it.
For anyone wondering, Reinhardt gets away with teasing Torby because they're bros like that. He gets to tease, and the Swede gets to berate him for all the crap he puts his armor through. It works for them.
I figure a lot of the anti-Omnic members would become friends, of a sort, with Zenyatta and Bastion by dint of being allies and comrades. Really hard to keep hating someone when they keep watching your back. They just... sorta forget they're not human, in a way. They may not hang out with them necessarily, but they may give backhanded compliments and junk.
So, um, yeah. Please kudos, bookmark, and comment if you like it. And comment regardless, please. I need feedback if I'm going to improve.