He was never one for official occasions. Hell, when he was the commander of Overwatch, he let Jack do the talking (on hindsight, not his best decision). But most of all, he hated suits with a burning passion. He hated wearing them, he hated the way they looked and he hated people in suits. If it wasn't his fiancée helping him, he would be fuming.
"I look like a fucking clown" He uttered in annoyance.
"Right. Because the hooded trench coat and skull mask are much better" Jesse McCree said from his corner of the room. Everyone started laughing at him.
"It was supposed to give me a grim aspect" said Reyes "Like death coming to take you"
"I'll admit, the whole 'death walks among you' thing was kind of hot, if a little over the top" Angela answered in her thick German accent.
"Over the top you say, Mrs. Angel Wings?" He asked with a slight chuckle. She frowned slightly
"That's Doctor Angel Wings to you, Mister Grimm Reaper" They all laughed a bit.
"Well, you look better in the suit, Boss" McCree retorted "Although, this is quite uncomfortable"
"The suit is uncomfortable? You try wearing my dress and my shoes! I'll be lucky to survive the night" Said Angela Ziegler. She wore a black dress to match the theme of the organization. Why were they throwing a gala? Wasn't this supposed to be off the books? She was glad they didn't invite the press and shrugged this thing off as a "decoration ceremony" when they asked. As far as the public was concerned, they were getting promotions for their good service with Overwatch and Gabriel was to lead a task force. But then again, as far as the public was concerned, Gabriel was the former Blackwatch commander who helped take down the known terrorist Reaper and the Switzerland HQ had blown up in a Talon strike, so what's another lie, huh?
"I can't wait to see Jaime and Mako in suits" Angela said "Imagine how much they hate those"
"Bet you 50 bucks Jaime blows something up before the party ends" Amelie said to the other woman in the room.
"I'm not gonna take a bet I'm sure to lose." Ziegler responded
"I may also have told him to stand up straight during the event" Reyes said, referring to Faux habit to slouch. "It's a ticking clock. Hell, I'll probably help him" Angela slapped him lightly in the chest.
"You behave, mister" She said to her Fiancée "No blowing up our new headquarters"
"Can I kill someone?" He asked humorously, earning a glare from her "I'm kidding!" he chuckled
Yeah, he was definitely not on his element today. For one thing, some of the people outside still didn't trust him. He was on speaking terms with Jack and no member of the team treated him badly, but it was a work in progress. Even the new kids didn't take too kindly to him. Tobjörn usually gave him a crooked look or too, Reinhardt spoke to him in a friendly manner but he could feel the twang of mistrust and Ana was only polite to him, but that was it. He understood them, though. He was the guy that burned the place to the ground, hunted them down like animals and took their best doctor to his unit. He'd be pissed too.
Reforming Blackwatch wasn't even his idea. Jack walked up to him and told him he wanted to because "Overwatch needs a black ops division" and all that crap. Truth was, Jack and Overwatch are too public for some stuff. They have a reputation to maintain. If Overwatch infiltrated a Talon safe house and burned it to the ground, the media would crucify them. Their job would be to do just that and make it look like an accident. Nothing they did could ever be traced to Overwatch. They had free reign to do as they saw fit, as long as they got the job done and left no trace of it. He was having a hard time figuring out why he felt so offended to be the Blackwatch commander the last time around.
"Let's just get this bloody thing over with, will ya?" Junkrat said from outside. "Can't believe I'm wearing this stupid thing"
Strange as it was, Junkrat was actually a head taller than Reyes when he wasn't slouching. He just didn't feel comfortable in that posture at all.
"Speak for yourselves, mes amies. It has been a while since I felt this beautiful. I miss my ballerina days. Je me sens si belle!" Amelie said from her corner, fixing the 'frilly shit in her dress' as McCree puts it. "You look quite handsome, Jamie, you should try to stand up straight more often"
"Not for all the bombs in the world, dearie. I feel like I have the biggest stick in my bum" Was his answer "Maybe if I could be a friggin fog like Ol' Grumpy Gabe here" He said, pointing to Reyes
"You don't get to call him that. Only I get to call him that" Mercy chastised him
"I'm surprised anyone gets away with calling him 'Gabe,'" Said McCree
"That's Commander Grumpy Gabe to all of you" Gabriel answered, humorously
"Hush now, Grumpy Gabe" She said, patting his cheek lightly. Great. Not the first day in the unit and people were undermining his authority.
"Everyone ready?" He asked to his team.
"Just a minute!" They heard Mako saying from his room. About thirty seconds later, he walked into the room wearing a very fancy suit. In fact, fancier than Reyes and McCree.
"It's not often I get to wear this" he said, in his classic gruff voice.
"You like wearin' suits?" McCree said, voicing their questions
"Makes me feel like James Bond, you know?" He said
They all just shrugged and left the room for the festivities. Of course, there was a big speech by Morrison and a toast to "the new unit and their goals" and what have you. He spoke about Gabriel's service in Overwatch, his ability as a leader, his skills as a soldier… Great thing he left the whole "blown the headquarters to the ground, caused an international incident and helped an international terrorist organization under brainwashing" part out. Why was he getting a unit again?
He asked himself that question repeatedly in the past five days. How could anyone trust him? How could anyone let him anywhere near Overwatch ever again? Maybe Jack was out of his mind. Hell, if he were on their end, he'd have a gun to his own head 24/7. He could imagine himself giving the order. 'I want him watched and I want a gun pointed at him the entire time and he goes nowhere unsupervised'. Why did Jack forgive him? Why did Angela forgive him? Why did she go with him? He let out an involuntary sigh in frustration.
"What's wrong, Liebste?" Angela asked him quietly. He smiled to her and remembered to count his blessings
"Everything is great. Too great" He answered, trying to voice his concern the best he could.
"And now, to the man of the hour. Ladies and Gentleman, the founder of Overwatch, my friend and colleague, Commander Gabriel Reyes," Jack said. How could he not sound forced saying that? He shot this man in the back twice. Two years ago, he would have done everything in his power to murder him.
He walked to the stand to give his speech, looking at the people there. Ana was looking at him with a motherly smile. He broke her riffle in two and punched her in the face. He could hear Reinhardt in the back saying something along the lines of "MY GLORIOUS BATTLE COMPANION!". He shot his legs. That new kid, D'va was cheering. He trashed three or four of her MEKAs. Lena was beaming with joy. He tried to kill her.
These were the people he once called family. He tried to destroy them.
"Good evening" He said, visibly out of his natural "I tried to prepare a speech for this, but as most of you know, I really suck at talking" they laughed, specially Jack
"Instead, I'll just say this: I'll do everything in my power to make sure innocent people can live at peace. It's the reason I founded Overwatch and it's what I'll keep doing." He was getting his point across. It didn't matter who trusted him or not. All that mattered was the mission. And there was a mission to follow.
"Blackwatch!" He said, calling his soldiers. McCree, Angela, Amelie, Jamison, Mako and a few other soldiers stood at attention.
"Do you swear to uphold my words?" He asked them
"Sir, yes sir!" they answered, fiercely believing it
"Do you swear to do every in your power to prevent the harm of innocents?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Do you swear to eliminate every threat to peaceful citizens you encounter by any means necessary?"
"Sir, yes sir" Angela's voice faltered in that one.
"At ease, soldiers" He finally said. Everybody clapped and cheered for his speech. Morrison shook his hand and patted his back. He returned to the side of his fiancée.
"That was a great speech" she said to him
"It sure was, boss." McCree said, passing him a glass of bourbon. "But the oath thing was a bit over the top"
That elicited a laugh from the group. Jesse and Reyes were sharing a bottle of a nice bourbon McCree had stored for this occasion while Amelie and Angela drank champagne. While Jamie would not trade his beer for any fancy drink those fuckers could concoct, Mako was trying a Vodka Martini. Shaken, not stirred. After a while, they could see Morrison coming over to talk to the new unit.
"Hope you saved some of that mash for me, Jess" Morrison said, picking up a chair.
"Plenty of Ol' bourbon to go around, jefe. It's the champagne you should worry 'bout" Jesse responded, pointing to the laughing women and the half empty bottle of Perignon they had.
"If she starts speaking German and singing, cut her off" Reyes warned Amelie before turning to Jack "Hey, Jackie boy"
"Hey, Grumpy Gabe" Gabriel dropped his head in annoyance
"This woman's gonna be the death of me" He said to his friend
"It's not like you mind, though. Or like the death of you means much" Jack responded, "You're getting better at giving speeches. That was a good one"
"You must be rubbing off on me. I've never enjoyed those things" He said to Jack, while McCree occupied himself talking to the former Junkers.
"Me neither. All pointless if you ask me" Jack responded. "Just thought we could use a little celebration"
Reyes stopped for a while. What celebration? Was this a 'prodigal son' returning thing? He hoped not. He still decided to question his motives. He took a large sip of his drink.
"Be honest" Reyes said to him "You don't trust me, do you?"
"Of course not. I don't trust anyone" Jack responded to him "Maybe Ana, but that's about it"
"Then, why the hell am I getting a division?" Gabriel fumed. "Hell, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't allow myself to walk the HQ without armed guards watching me. I've given this exact same order for other people for less"
"Yeah, I remember that." Jack laughed. "You made me and Amari watch Winston because of what the other monkeys did at the lunar base"
"See?" He said, drinking again
"You do realize you just answered your own question, right?" Morrison said, taking Reyes off-guard. "You're always thinking like you're at war. You're always looking for the exploitable weakness on both sides. As much as I hate to admit it, you were right! The UN didn't want a commander, they wanted a poster boy. And a poster boy works for Overwatch, but Blackwatch needs a ruthless war soldier"
Reyes breathed, exasperated. He wasn't sure how to feel. Flattered? Amazed? Guilty? All of the above? All he knew was that he was getting his unit back. HIS unit.
"Besides" Jack said "You'd never hurt Angela. And she's part of the unit"
"You think you know me so well, golden boy" Gabriel chuckled slightly. There was still one thing left unsaid.
"I'm sorry" He said, for the first time, looking Morrison in the eyes. Jack touched his shoulders
"Me too. And let's leave it at that, Grumpy Gabe" He said with a smile. Reyes was grateful to leave all the hate behind. It was only causing trouble for everyone. The party went on for a while, Gabriel was having a drink with Reinhardt, Tobjörn and Morrison when…
"Tanz mit mir, herr Schnitter!" They could hear a woman screaming in the back. "Amelie, bring mir mehr Champagner"
Ziegler was currently dancing to a Rammstein song she bribed the DJ to put, while Amelie was trying (and failing miserably) to recreate her ballet routines, both of them clearly having had too much champagne.
"I could translate that, but I think it's safe to say it's time to get Dr. Ziegler home." Reinhardt said to Gabriel from their spot in the bar.
BOOOM! The sound came from the restroom.
"Holly dully! It took a few minutes longer than expected! I'm sure we can tweak it up, eh mate?" Junkrat said to Roadhog, while they both approached the bar, next to the three men.
"First thing in the morning" Roadhog answered
McCree was walking to them, visibly intoxicated
"You *hic* you owe mah mule an ah-pohlogee"
Morrison pated Reyes in the back "Aren't you proud of your brand new soldiers?" He laughed and proceeded to escort his lady to her quarters.
Author'snote: I'll make a few more chapters and they're all gonna be named after rock and metal songs. And yes, a McCree one named Cowboys from Hell is in my plans