First off, I just wanna add a disclaimer and say I don't own Overwatch, or the characters. I mean honestly, if I did then I'd make all the gay ships canon.
Also a massive thank you to people who liked my other story and left reviews! And no worries, I will be continuing that one as well as this one. This is just an idea that popped up and I wanted to see if it was something people would be interested in… any who! Enjoy!
Resting her elbows on the ship's railing and cradling her face in her gloved hands, she gazed out at the horizon, taking in the breathtaking view in front of her. The sun rise was a beautiful sight, so peaceful at this time in the morning. The sky was tinted with pink and yellow streams, which faded slightly into a light blue. The sort of sight that you couldn't quite capture a perfect picture of, but to see it in front of you was truly magnificent.
Looking down, she saw the dark waves lapping at the side of the steam-powered ship, crashing against the letters of the ship's name, 'The Bastion', which was docked at the harbour. The cold spray tickled her forearms, making her shiver slightly from the cool morning breeze; her blue dungarees and orange t-shirt doing nothing against the cold. Lena inhaled deeply, the sea air around her smelt crisp and salty.
Just how I like it.
Lena sighed dreamily. This was where she was most at ease, in the early morning before anybody else was awake, in awe of the beautiful scenery around her.
Nothing could ruin the moment for her.
Nothing except-
"THERE YOU ARE, LEO!"
Lena jumped a mile, completely snapped out of her thoughts as she whirled around to find the hulking figure of Capt. Reinhardt looming over her with a huge grin on his bearded face.
Compared to Lena -who was a little on the scrawny side-, he was bloody huge. His broad chest and shoulders about as long as the length of Lena's whole torso. He wore a loose, white shirt with the sleeves rolled and the hem tucked into dark grey trousers, along with a pair of black boots. Tattoos adorned his arms and neck.
She winced as he clapped her on the back, knocking the wind out of her and almost knocking her over. His hands alone were three sizes bigger than her face.
Christ, it's like he doesn't know his own bloody strength, I swear.
His booming laugh rang in her ears as he steadied her stance. She wouldn't be surprised if his laugh caused the water to aggressively ripple below.
With a hand still covering her whole back, he patted her lightly. "Sorry, lad! Couldn't resist!" His thick German accent apparent in his deep voice.
That was another thing… Lena had passed as a boy to join this ship in the first place. She was unsure at first if the crew would accept her as a young woman, even going so far as attempting to deepen her voice and cutting her own hair into a short, spiky style; the flyaway strands now sticking on end. She wore a binder underneath her shirt, which flattened her chest enough that it wasn't noticeable, and was thankful that she already had a small chest to start with. It did nothing to hide the brass metal of her chronal accelerator however, the blue light shone through the middle of the bolted down plate, which she wore over her orange t-shirt.
The thing was, she wanted the crew to see her for her skills, not her gender. She felt like she'd had enough sexist quips from her last crew members, which dissuaded her from showing her true identity.
What surprised her the most, was that these crew member actually believed that she was a boy. Honestly, you could tell a mile off that Lena was too pretty to be a bloke. They were also nicer than any crew she'd ever been with before, and she hoped that maybe one day, she'd show her true self.
But for now, her name was Leo. She'd decided that a name which was sort of similar to her own already would be the best bet. She was still getting used to it however, a few times she'd been oblivious to her new name being called.
Leaning back against the railing, Lena smiled up at the large man, her eyes wrinkling at the corners. She gave him a mock salute.
"Hiya, big guy. You're up early, ain't you?"
So used to being the only one awake during this hour, she was surprised that their Captain was awake.
A chuckle rumbled in his chest as he looked down at her. "Have you forgotten already? Today is the big day!"
Lena faltered.
Big day? What's happening today?
She wracked her brains, trying to remember anything to do with today as she noticed the rest of the crew filing out of their cabins; most of them grumbling about the ungodly hour. She noticed Torbjörn and Lúcio, the latter was already wide awake and singing at the top of his lungs, trying to lift the spirits of the rest of the men.
She smiled at her friend. He's probably annoying the shit out of 'em instead. He tries, bless him.
The ship's medic followed closely behind them.
Angela was an interesting addition to the crew members. The first woman she'd seen on a ship so far. It made Lena silently wish that she'd come clean, because maybe this lot were alright?
She dreaded when that time would come, all the different scenarios that ran through her thoughts were enough to keep her awake for hours at nig-
"Lad? You still with me?"
Lena blinked rapidly, realising it was her that he was still talking to. She looked up to see his expression had turned concerned.
"Eh? Oh, course, lo- er… you big lug!" She laughed nervously, almost calling him 'love'. She was sure that wouldn't go down well while posing as a bloke.
Whew, close one.
She was thankful for how oblivious Reinhardt was, her cover up going completely over his head.
"HAHAR! I am surprised you would forget! We're making a move from the dock today, back to Ilios, remember?"
Of course, how could she forget that? Ilios was her favourite harbour, after her home town of course. The white sandy beaches were beautiful, and the food was to die for.
She smiled. Still not as good as fish n' chips from home.
"We'll be moving out in a while, you might want to make your checks below." He told her, jerking his thumb in the direction of the hold.
Lena nodded, pushing off of the railing with a sigh.
Making her way over to the double doors on the main decking, she threw a quick wave back over her shoulder.
"Cheers, Capt!"
As soon as she'd got below deck, she breathed a sigh of relief. As much as she loved being on the main deck, it was a relief to be alone and away from prying eyes. Down here in her holding area, she didn't have to worry about how she looked or acted.
The lighting of the hold was quite dim, the light streaming through a large, circular peep-hole window near her desk, which was cluttered with papers and blueprint drawings. The rest of her hold included a small bunk which was bolted to the wall with chains, as well as her personal belongings; her old pilot jacket hung from her desk chair, and a large collection of books took up the shelf on the far wall.
It was often that Lena could be found at her desk, drawing away the ideas in her head- which she had a load of. Her latest included a reinforced wing design for the ship.
Imagine a flying steam-powered ship!
She grinned widely at that thought, a bubbly feeling rising in her chest. She always had loved flying.
Being the engineer of the ship had her down here more than with the rest of the crew, usually. As The Bastion was an old, steam powered ship, she had to maintain it more than any previous ships she'd been on.
Grabbing her checklist and snapping her bright orange goggles on tightly, she began her regular maintenance; checking the clock dials which told her the oil and steam levels, making sure there was enough fuel stocked for the journey, unscrewing the bolts of the brass machinery to oil the chains inside and making sure to tighten any nuts and bolts that could have become loose.
Sometimes, all she had to do was give the machine a hard thwack with her spanner for the clock dials to turn green. Some engineers underestimated how a good punch would do the trick.
After re-tightening the bolts at the front of the machine, she took a step back to admire her handy work; wiping her hands in her overalls, she was pleased with the gentle hum and the whirring of the green faced clocks.
Looks like we're ready for take off!
Skipping over to the tannoy system, which was built into the wall by her desk and plonking herself down on her rickety wooden chair, she gave the all clear to Reinhardt before slumping back in her chair.
With nothing else to do for the time being, Lena leaned back, tilting her head back to stare up at the ceiling; hearing the heavy footfalls of the crew members above her as they prepared to leave.
She idly twiddled her thumbs, starting to become bored. Her knees bounced with unused energy.
Soon they'd be arriving at Ilios' port, give or take a few hours. Lena could hardly wait, itching to walk along the harbour and take it all in. She could already feel the cool, white sand between her to-
A knock at the door startled her, she yelped, almost falling backwards off her chair as she scrambled up quickly.
Gotta get used to that.
Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she made her way over to the door. Grabbing the handle, she opened it a small fraction, enough to see that it was Angela on the other side.
"Oh! Hiya, love!" She grinned as soon as she noticed it was Angela, pulling the door more widely open to greet her. "What brings you down to my humble abode?"
Lena didn't much care about hiding who she was with Angela, in fact, she was sure that the medic already knew. Although she knew the woman wouldn't say anything, she'd still keep up the pretense.
The medic was one of the sweetest women she'd ever met; always concerned about her wellbeing and needs and keeping her company when she was below deck. She was like a mum to the whole crew, often she would bring food down, complaining that Lena missed meals and was too skinny.
Angela laughed softly, reaching forward to ruffle her hair fondly.
Her laugh was something else. The best kind of medicine. It made Lena smile widely.
"Unfortunately, it's strictly business- our captain sent me to fetch you, there's a team meeting in his quarters".
"Meeting? What for?"
Angela beckoned her out. "We'll find out when we get there. Come!"
Closing the door behind her, she followed Angela up to the main decking, breathing in the fresh air and happy to be out of her stuffy room.
"How are you holding up?" Angela asked, glancing over her shoulder as they made their way to the captain's cabin.
Lena thought about it a second, before shrugging it off. "Oh y'know me, same old. Glad to be makin' a move though! I'm excited about Ilios," She swung her arms as she walked. "What about you, love?"
The medic smiled. "Just saving lives. You know, the usual."
It sounded like she was playing it off, but Angela took much pride in her work; most people actually thought of her as a miracle worker.
As soon as they'd got through the door, Reinhardt greeted them both with a wave before sitting around the big oval table; covered in maps and papers, along with small wooden ship figures scattered here and there.
Lena took in her surroundings. A large window sat at the back of the room, the morning light streaming through brightly. It was a rather spacious room with some interesting decor; the walls mostly covered in maps or animal skins, trophies of Reinhardt's adventures. On the shelves she saw telescopes, scales and glass jars, some filled with gold coins while others contained odd items such as animal teeth and pickled shark fins. Above the table, she could see nets and harpoons that hung from the ceiling.
A booming clap echoed throughout the room as Reinhardt brought his hands together, effectively drawing everyone's attention to him; the room going silent.
"Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here." He strolled his way around the table slowly, hands held behind his back.
He moved to the side of the table, taking one of the wooden ship figures between his large fingertips and holding it up to the light before moving it across the map. A frown graced his hard facial features.
Must be serious, Lena thought. He isn't often this serious.
"There have been reports surrounding Ilios, worrying ones." He pulled an old calendar out from under the rest of the papers on the table. Lena looked down and could see that the next few weeks were marked with thick red circles. "Any of you ever seen a mermaid?"
The room was filled full of quiet mumbling as a few of the men murmured to themselves and eachother.
Mermaids? Seems a bit surreal, doesn't it?
Lena's eyes widened. She'd been told the stories, everyone had. They were the sort of scary stories that were told at night, around a campfire. The legends of mermaids weren't pretty ones, they were as deadly as they were beautiful.
She remembered Winston, her old scientist friend telling her about the sea witches, and how they could walk on land. It was frightening to think that they could easily walk among us.
You wouldn't know, until it's too late.
The captain cleared his throat, everyone's attention switching back to him. "No? I thought not. If any of you had, you would be dead."
Reinhardt jabbed his fingers on the current month's page. His eyes went dark. "I am sure you've all heard the stories surrounding them, so I will not repeat. A word of caution, it's their mating season. Be on your guard at all times, I would hate to lose any of you to them." He spat the last word.
Before dismissing the crew, he briefly went over the directions to their destination. Though the atmosphere had turned quite grim a few moments ago, the men had bounced back surprisingly, rather quickly. They would take the shortest route, which would take around a few hours without any detours.
Torbjörn had told them that the weather was set to be clear, which was a relief. It was uncanny, the man with the black eye patch and white scraggly beard was rarely ever wrong about the weather. It was more of a surprise when he was wrong, to be honest.
He'd been here much longer than Lena had, even shown her the ropes when it came to maintaining the ship; being a good engineer himself.
With nothing else to keep herself occupied, Lena made her way back to her hold. She wasn't needed much on the top deck, there were enough men to man the ship without her. Sometimes she liked to hang around Lúcio, he'd taught her a few of the songs he knew since she'd arrived. Every time they were together now, he'd make her sing with him. Or have a jamming session, as he liked to call it.
Not that she had minded not being needed above, however, she preferred to be drawing or reading down below.
Picking up one of her many books without looking at the covers, she collapsed back down on her bed; swinging her legs up to cross over each other as she flipped to the beginning and began to read.
She figured out which book she'd picked up as soon as she read the first sentence.
Ah, Mechanical & Material Engineering.
Hours had passed; the chatter of the crew above deck had quietened down as the men dispersed.
She'd become so engrossed in her book, that she hadn't realised that her eyes had started to strain while trying to read in the quickly darkening room.
Blinking rapidly and looking out the window, she was surprised to see that the sun was already setting; the sky mixed with deep oranges and pinks as the last dregs of sunlight slipped beneath the sea.
Folding over the corner of the page and placing the book on her pillow, she got up gingerly; her muscles ached from being in the same position for too long. She stretched, raising her arms above her head until she heard a few clicks from her aching shoulders.
Once satisfied, she walked over to her desk and sat down next to the window, peering out at the starry sky.
Clear as expected. Old Torb was right again.
Lena loved the night sky, just as much as the morning sky. Glancing at the few diagrams of the solar system on her desk, she traced her fingers across each planet. She had planned on buying a telescope with her next pay, declining when Reinhardt had offered her his own brass telescope.
No, she wanted to earn it herself. It was more special to her that way, and she was quite proud of that.
Lena yawned, her eyes drooping slightly. Reading had really taken it out of her, it seemed.
Resting her cheek against the window, she felt her consciousness ebbing away as sleep beckoned to her; her eyes drifting out of focus before finally shutting as she slipped into oblivion.