8

The Big Sleep

When you signed up to go to Antarctica with the other scientists at Overwatch, you never imagined you'd go into cryosleep. It was only going to be 9 days because rations weren't coming until then due to the large blizzard. Mei and you were the only ones who woke up….9 years later. Overwatch was disbanded a year after you all left. Meaning, the only people who knew you were all in Antarctica couldn't do anything to bring you all back. Mei and you were scientists. bona fide geniuses. You two engineered weapons and tools to get you to the coast of the continent where American scientists were pinging from on the radio.

Winston recalled the former Overwatch agents because of the looming Omnic rebellion and a new terrorist organization, Talon, gaining members at an alarming rate. For the two of you, it was like Overwatch never left. The others had weathered the storm of conflict in the world while you two slept it all away. Jack, Ana, and Gabriel were dead at one point, only to show up again later on. Gabriel was with Talon now. Blackwatch was the reason people lost faith in Overwatch. It wasn't all Gabriel's fault. Jack didn't help them much. The old members were keen to leave it all behind for good, but they were always heroes. They couldn't look away while the world suffered.

Everyone was more than surprised to see the two of you walk through the door of Watchpoint: Gibraltar. The rest of the team had come out the other end of the storm battered, beaten, and tired. Their appearances showed it too. Then, there was Mei and you. Just as young and bright-eyed as when you left. It was surreal to see Jack and Ana with grey hair and scars all across their faces. Fareeha was grown and a commander in her own right, now. There were new faces too. The only face you cared to see was a certain cowboy's.

You had meant to ask Jesse Mccree for his number at least before you all left, but you couldn't get the courage to actually do it. Now, you felt like you lost your opportunity to do so. You were long gone from Mccree's mind, surely. He was still fresh in your mind as it was frozen in time along with the rest of you for 9 long years. You discretely searched the room, but Mei was your best friend in life and knew you better than anyone. She giggled to herself seeing you crane your neck to see over all the heads. Mei poked you in the side.

"Just ask where he is! It's not weird!"

She whispered while still giggling a bit. You huffed stubbornly at her words. You felt your neck and face get hot just at the idea of Mccree. Mei waited until she was sure you weren't going to ask to ask for you.

"Hey! Where's Mccree? I need to know what time it is!"

Mei laughed at her own joke. It was her favorite joke to use on Mccree. He even used to fall for it occasionally. You wondered what he was like now. If he was still the same flirty, fun cowboy you knew 9 years ago, or if he had been weathered by the storm as well. You wondered if Mccree looked as cold in the eyes as Jack did now instead of the hopeful look all the former Overwatch agents used to have. Picking at your nails, you were too busy lost in thought to see Mccree walk in with his former Blackwatch co-worker, Genji.

"I heard someone needed the time, 9 years not enough for you?"

Mccree chuckled with a half smile on his face. Slowly, you moved your head to look over at him as not to seem too eager. You were startled to say the least. Mccree was no longer the pale, young, lanky cowboy you used to know. Now, he was a tanned, muscular, grizzled cowboy. He looked beautiful under the fluorescent lights in the base. The new Mccree was more like a Grecian god than a pretty boy, now. If you weren't head over heels for him before, how could you not be now? He was a matured man.

Mei laughed with Mccree pulling you out of your own thoughts.

"Better late than never!"

Mei teased. You couldn't help the small smile on your face. It felt the same as it was 9 years ago between the three of you. Mccree looked Mei and you up and down for a moment. He seemed to be confused.

"Y'all ain't changed a bit. You lookin' young as the mornin' dew. Must be somethin' in the water down in Antarctica."

The room was quiet following Mccree's statement. Mei went into the story of the two scientists that survived frozen in time. You were glad you had such a courageous friend. Imagining doing this alone, you felt sick. Mei could've easily done all of the things you two did back in Antarctica. Now, here she was talking to Mccree for you. You loved your best friend more than one can imagine.

"Wow, Mccree! Have you been working out? You have at least one muscle now, surely!"

There was soft laughing throughout the room. Everyone remembers the agents all remembered young Mccree. He truly had grown into a fine man. Toned, tanned, and tall. Mccree put his hand over his heart.

"Aw, shucks! Thank you kindly, Mei, but I reckon I have two muscles now!"

There was more laughing in the room. It felt like old times for the other agents. It's been a long time since most of them had a true laugh. Overwatch was dead, but the relationships formed in it would never die much like the heroes. Casual conversation between all of you continued on into the night. The other agents filled you two in on all that you missed out on. Mei and you gave Winston the drive of data collected over the 9 years. The three of you analyzed the data and discussed what to do with it. This meant that you didn't get to sit around and secretly stare at Mccree all night like expected. You were actually glad to be doing something productive again.

Mccree was also thankful that you weren't around much that night. Seeing the two of you again after 9 years was great and all, but Mei and you were the exact same as before. He wasn't. No one else was. Mccree and you were around the same age before going to Antarctica. Now, you were still the young, passionate scientist you always were, but Mccree was no longer the carefree, flirty cowboy you once knew. He had matured quite a lot over the past decade. No one could possibly stay the same for a decade, yet here Mei and you were defying those standards. Mccree felt old and dirty looking longingly at you now.

Back in the day, Mccree always found you to be the most interesting person in Overwatch. Sure, you weren't a field agent in on all of the action, but you were just as passionate and focused on helping people as the field agents were if not more so. He always flirted with you more than anyone else. You never noticed that he was more cheeky with you than the others. Honestly, you always figured he only flirted with you and others just to tease everyone. It had never occurred to you that Jesse Mccree would like you in the same way you did him.

Mccree would be lying if he said he waited for Mei and you to come back. He did for awhile, but it became a lost cause after Overwatch fell. He had left the organization before it started to get extremely bad. Everyone knew the end was coming, yet no one knew it would be as soon as it was. He thought about you all the time, but there were other people in his love life over the last decade. Many women came and went from his house, a few men did as well. Nothing got too serious, though. He had always wanted to know what it was like to be with you in the way he was with all those other people. In his mind, it was always something incredibly special as opposed to the one and done relationships he was used to now. Never did Mccree imagine he'd get another chance at loving you. However, after seeing you again after a decade, he had seemingly lost all of his confidence and charm. Mccree looked at himself and felt insecure. Never had he felt this way about his appearance in his life. He hated the feeling.

Mccree avoided you for weeks after you arrived. You thought you were just paranoid for a while, but then it became obvious to not only you but to Mei too. Mei did a lot of comforting over the weeks to come. You knew in the back of your mind that Mccree had forgotten about you two. After 9 years, who wouldn't? This didn't make it hurt any less. For you, this was all still fresh unlike how it was for him. Mccree had started to work out with Jack and Hanzo more. Those two men were brutal when it came to working out. Mccree hoped that if he worked out as hard as them that maybe he would stop feeling terrible about his appearance.

Every morning now, Mccree would stare at himself in the mirror and see all the little things about himself he hated. He scrutinized over every little bump, scratch, and wrinkle he had. How did he look so old while being relatively young? Time really was a bitch. Whenever the agents weren't out saving the world in secret, Mccree was working out. The cowboy worked himself thin over the months. Every day he did an intense workout for different parts of his body. Mccree even went as far as asking Angela to use her biotic medical treatment to help his facial imperfections and make him look less aged and rugged. Everyone thought his behavior lately was odd. Mccree had never been this obsessive over his appearance. The cowboy was known for his undeniable charm and confidence, but it had been a couple years since most of them saw him.

Even after Mei had tried her hardest to get Mccree to tell her why he was avoiding the two of you, Mccree didn't cave once. It hurt Mei to see you mopey and uninterested in the things you loved. Mei had threatened Mccree a bit for your sake. Normally, Mccree would laugh and tease her about it and move on, but Mccree snapped at her telling her to mind her business. Weeks upon weeks of working himself to the bone and not sleeping had taken its toll.

Months after Mccree started dodging even being in the same room as you, he slipped up. Mccree stared into the mirror in the communal shower room in defeat. Mccree had done everything he could for one fourth of the year to look as young and vibrant as he once did. Seeing Mei and you extraordinarily youthful, Mccree had to live up to the standards the two of you held him in. After missing out on his chance to take you on a date years ago, Mccree couldn't take any chances of missing this second chance. However, he couldn't help but think that he made everything worse this way. The man grimaced at the new, deep purple bags under his eyes. He pinched and pulled at the wrinkled and discolored skin on his face. Mccree's eyes wandered down his torso seeing all the scars he had gotten over the years. The worst part of himself in his eyes was his robotic arm. Angry looking scars jutted out where the flesh of his bicep met the cold metal prosthetic.

The arm that had his Deadlock tattoo was replaced with steel. Most gangs took their symbol seriously. Mccree was no longer apart of the gang, so the tattoo had to be removed. It wasn't a pleasant memory of being ambushed and held down while his former running mates hacked away at his arm. Technically, he didn't have to lose half of his arm, but it was fit punishment for his departure of the gang for a government job. Mccree was secretly happy he didn't have the tattoo any longer. It carried too much weight with it anyway. However, the metal wasn't the preferable alternative. He didn't find himself ugly because of any of the imperfections he dotted over. Mccree just felt old and incredibly tired. Before the two of you came back from Antarctica, Mccree didn't have enough time to think over how much he had actually changed in the time period Mei and you were gone. Now, it was all he could think about! God, did you look phenomenal as ever….Mccree looked more rough than his Blackwatch days. Back then making stupid mistakes was still an option for him because Overwatch protected him from extreme consequence.

"Never thought Overwatch endin' would make me feel this tired. Never thought I'd look this tired. Or old. 'm only 37! Damn near lookin' as old as Morrison! The man looks young for his advanced years….damn near gettin' grey hairs. Awh hell….(y/n)...(y/n) lookin' darlin' as ever. Didn't even notice me when the two of 'rn came in. Well, Jesse boy, time to admit it….ya ain't the hotshot ya used to be. Ya old now. Ya more disheveled and battle tested now. Ya more….lord, ya more mature. Can't keep runnin' yerself ragged like this because yer fixin' to be lookin' like how Reyes is now. Time to admit (y/n) is more outta yer league than ever. (y/n)...damn I wish I woulda asked you out on that date. Ya gonna have all types of people knockin' on yer doorstep in no time. No one done knocked on my door for years. Look at me. I've been layin' with the dogs for too long. Now, I'll never know what your lips taste like on mine."

Mccree berated himself. He has a somber smile on his face. You couldn't let him go too deep down the rabbit hole of self-deprecation. You knew it all too well, and to you, Jesse Mccree was more perfect than ever.

"I'm guessing they probably taste like snow and frostbite after all these years being a popsicle."

You piped up from the doorway. Hey, you did knock for a good while. Mccree's body visibly tensed at your voice. He slowly turned his head to confirm that you were actually there and not just his mind playing a sick trick on him. Once he was looking blankly at you, you finally noticed that Mccree was only covered from the waist down. His jeans weren't done up yet either showing his blue moon boxer briefs. You tried your hardest not to look at his chest or anywhere but his face. It was extremely hard as Mccree really had gotten toned, tanned, and tall. Also hairy. Not only on top of his head but on his jaw, chest, and a trail of hair from his stomach into his pants. Mccree still stood there blankly staring at you.

"I knocked for a couple minutes! I'm not a creep; I swear! Just needed to shower! Sorry for eavesdropping on such a personal struggle…"

You stammered out. After a minute, Mccree couldn't help the small smile forming on his face. He always thought it was cute when you'd get flustered on his behalf. However, now, his secret was out. He was more ashamed now than before. You had to walk in on him at a low point to find it out. That just made Mccree feel sick in the pit of his stomach. You probably didn't even like this new old and tired Mccree. He didn't.

"For the record….I think you're like wine."

Mccree raised his eyebrow curiously. A hint of the smile was still on his lips.

"How do you reckon that, darlin' ?"

"You just keep getting finer with age. When I last saw you, you were a cute, pale, lanky cowboy. Now, you're a radiant, grizzled, muscled cowman. You look like you jumped out of a Grecian painting of the gods. Excuse me for saying this but….I like all your rough edges. Always have. You're real. Don't try so hard for me. I already liked you a lot before nine years passed and all the hardcore workouts you're doing. You are still more beautiful than anything else I've seen, Mccree."

You felt that maybe the statement was undercut by the fact that you hadn't seen much in life because of the cryosleep, however, Mccree didn't care. That statement became the single most valuable thing to him. He knew that continuing to push on in life without his family and friends at Overwatch was worth it. It was a tiring and unappreciated life after Overwatch fell, but Mccree could feel the warmth of the old days rush back to him. Or was that just his face? It was hard to say.

"Awh, darlin' I reckon yer makin' me blush all over. I shoulda never let you go back then..."

Mccree spoke somberly again. You finally closed the gap between the two of you. After hearing all the things Mccree said about himself, you wanted to hug the sad away, but you held back. Now, you couldn't take it anymore.

"Well, then, don't let go of me now. You can't change the past, Mccree. I'm here now."

Mccree wrapped his arms firmly around you. He wasn't going to let you go anytime soon.

"Call me Jesse. Only cheap dates, coworkers, and Deadlock members call me Mccree….hope yer not plannin' anything tonight because I reckon I'd like to take you on an official date, (y/n)."

Mccree's lips pulled up at the corners only slightly. You could see his notorious smirk starting to form there.

"I'd like that a lot….Jesse."

You sheepishly accepted his request. Mccree kissed the top of your head softly while mumbling about how much he missed you and Mei. You let Mccree mutter nonsense into your hair while occasionally getting a kiss from him for a couple minutes. After awhile, you finally pulled away from each other, and you turned to leave. Opening the door to the shower room, you looked back at Mccree one more time.

"Hey….Jesse? You don't happen to have the time do you?"

"Well, my watch here says-wait a minute….you little devil you! Tryna trick me already!"

"I don't think I tried since I succeeded."

"C'mere you!"

Mccree yelled while taking off in a jog towards you. You took your queue and ran down the halls of the old base away from him. Ducking and weaving from his attempts to catch you. The two of you were actually having fun again. With each other. This is everything the two of you wanted out of life. Good times with the one you loved. The game of chase became the date Mccree asked you on. After Mccree finally caught you, the two of you settled in for a movie and dessert at the base.

The rest of his clothes and your towel were left behind in the shower room. Neither of you bothered to go and get your things after the chase was over. You had always wanted Mccree to chase after you shirtless. You also wanted Mccree to watch a movie with you shirtless. Cryodreams really do come true.

A lot had happened that Mei and yourself couldn't ever imagine comprehending. Mccree didn't want you to have to comprehend his problems as you had enough on your plate as it was, but you were hell bent on being there for him every time he started to look too long at a scar or grey hair. You told him how amazing he was inside and out. He did the same for you.

Cryodreams really do come true.