Eyes narrowed as Pilar poked her head around the corner, drawing her hood up and over her features, chewing on her lip in thought. Luckily for her, she was alone at moment; Junkrat and Roadhog had been asleep in their hideout when she had left, and Trueno had promised to stay behind, incase they woke up and realized she was gone. Still, it was dangerous for her to be on her own-though not nearly as infamous as those whose company she kept, there was still rumor of a dark-haired spaniard traveling with the arsonists throughout their robbery rampages. What a story that was, one that Pilar often thought fondly of more than she'd care to admit.
However, now that the hard part was done, it was time for the cloaked figure to rush back to their hideout before she heard the explosives that often went off when she was separated from her boys. Laden with gifts galore, she didn't want to accidentally crush or break them; life with the junkers had taught her that nice things didn't stay nice for very long, and those that did were something special. Hell, she'd even lost her mech arm ages ago, only to have it rebuilt out of salvaged omnic parts, and though it wasn't nearly as sleek as her old arm, she loved it more than the old.
Remaining as inconspicuous as she could, and innocent as well, Pilar walked with a careful, steady gait, cloak wrapped tightly around her petite frame as the wintery weather seemed to grow colder while the sun slowly fell beyond the horizon. With her hands laden with filled shopping bags, she almost felt like Santa, herself, and a pleased smile was plastered across her face, thinking of the surprised faces she'd come back to. Well, one face; Roadhog had yet to take his mask off for more than a few minutes, and then, it was only to feed himself. Still, she could usually somewhat read his body language, now that she had been with the Junkers for so long, but he was still a tough one to crack. Half the time, she couldn't tell if he was pissed off or bored.
Junkrat, on the other hand, she had no trouble reading; he wore his emotions on his sleeves, jumping from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye, but always saving his affection for whenever Pilar looked like she needed it-which was most of the time. Though she liked to think she knew him well enough, his gift had taken a good amount of thinking to make it just right.
Caught in the midst of dozens of people crowded in the streets, Pilar squeezed her way to the back of the congregation, breaking off from the main crowd and taking a right, down a secluded alley, to where their hideout lay. Checking behind her to make sure she wasn't followed, once the coast was clear, she took another, sharp right, into yet another alleyway, lined with large doors, each opening into an abandoned storage unit. It wasn't much; they couldn't exactly afford to find somewhere nice to stay, and with their faces-at the very least, Junkrat and Roadhog's-plastered over every wanted sign Pilar had passed...well, it didn't look like it was going to get any better.
Trotting down the alleyway, Pilar counted down to the fourth door on the left, quickly entering the passcode to unlock the door. Rocking on her heels, her head turned from the left to the right, her eyes scanning for any sign of someone approaching, anyone who might deem her activity suspicious. The last thing she needed was the police to be called on her when she was trying to do some Christmas shopping.
When the door beeped, Pilar flipped the switched to open the door, and it began to rise, enough so that she could slip under without hurting herself or breaking any of the gifts she had gotten while out. The moment she straightened out, she activated the switch to close the door again, watching and waiting for it to fully close before allowing herself to relax. The room, itself, was nothing spectacular; after all, it was a storage unit, not at all meant for human residence, even for a day or two. It was large, rectangular, with a small staircase to the far right, leading up to a platform that the made their beds. As far as she could tell, the junkers were still napping, and as she slid her bag from her shoulder onto the ground, unwrapping herself from her cloak-an overlarge jacket belonging to Junkrat-Trueno met her, metal hooves clacking against the cemented ground, his blue eyes glowing as he nudged his snout against her face.
"тнey ѕтιll ѕlυмвer," he said, tail flicking as Pilar's hand ran along his snout. "тнey нαve ɴo ιdeα тнαт yoυ leғт."
"Good," she replied with a smirk. "Then they won't expect any of this." Kicking off her shoes, her jacket falling into a heap on the ground beside them, Pilar fished within her shopping back a small trinket she had picked up, one that could easily cover the hole in his armor that he'd received during one of their first adventures with the junkers. It was nothing special; merely the insignia of Spain on a red and yellow field, but one that would make him happy, nonetheless.
"I got this for you, Trueno," she said, holding the plate before her as the omnic bull observed it. "I know the broken armor's been bothering you; we can weld this on when the guys wake up. But I wanted you to have it."
Trueno did not speak for a moment; his glowing eyes were fixed on the plate, and for a moment, Pilar wasn't sure if he'd like it or not. But then, as he raised his great head to meet her eyes, he raised a foreleg, as though to wrap it around her petite form, and Pilar laughed happily, wrapping her arms around his head.
"ι love ιт, pιlαr, тнαɴĸ yoυ." It was a simple thanks, but Pilar was happy to hear it. Trueno did not often get spoiled, and their constant running had worn down many of his mechanisms. They'd not had a chance to even patch up the hole in his armor, but by the evening's end, she would have the plate melded to his armor.
"-Oi! Where's Caterpillar?"
As if on cue, the junkers had awoken, and giving Trueno a quick smooch as she grabbed a hold of her shopping bag, she alighted the stairs to her right, jumping onto the platform, her socks creating a slippery surface on which she slid. Steadying herself after a moment, Junkrat and Roadhog were piled in a comfortable heap at the opposite end, amid dozens of blankets they had managed to snatch to make their stay in the storage until comfortable. Roadhog remained laying down, a pillow over his mask to block out what little light they had, but Junkrat slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes with one hand as she stretched out his back, yawning loudly and unattractively as Pilar heard his spine crack in several places.
Though he still rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he blindly reached for Roadhog, his mech hand lightly punching his arm, but before he could say a word to the other, Roadhog's arm came out of nowhere, knocking Junkrat aside in a heap of limbs and blankets. Covering her mouth as she giggled, Pilar saw this as a perfect opportunity, and she bolted down the platform, her smile wild, crazed almost, as she fast approached. When there was but a few feet left between she and the junkers, she abruptly stopped, allowing the slippery surface and her socks carry her the rest of the way, before dropping her back, diving into the heap between Junkrat and Roadhog.
"Merry Christmas, you two!" she exclaimed, poking Roadhog between the shoulders before throwing herself on the fallen Junkrat, who struggled, as it was, to regain himself from the punch. As though not expecting it, he yelped, and Pilar suddenly found herself being flipped back in the center of their pile of blankets, both men hovering over her, looking rather confused.
"Eh?" The confusion on Junkrat's face was enough to have Pilar giggling, and she sat back up, pushing him aside, though he'd not yet removed his hand from where it rested, beside her left hip.
"It's Christmas, you know. Where have you been?" she replied matter-of-factly, brushing her finger over the tip of his nose.
"Oh, I dunno," he replied, narrowing his eyes, though his lips twitched in a grin. "Been on the run fer awhile, ya kinda forget the time." He poked her cheek, drawing it back quickly when he realized how cold it was, and a moment later, blankets had been drawn over them both as he pushed her back down into their makeshift bed, long limbs wrapping awkwardly around her.
"What are you doing?!" she snorted, wriggling when his face buried into her neck. She wasn't complaining, but he still had caught her off guard with his unconventional affection.
"Yer icy, Caterpillar, can't have ya freezin' on us! Roadie wouldn't forgive ya if ya'd turn into an ice cube!"
Roadhog grunted, and Pilar, though her vision was blocked by blankets, felt him rising beside them, as though annoyed with their antics. However, he did not leave, rather pulling the covers off them both, and Junkrat cracked an eye open, pouting slightly as the coolness of the storage unit touched them both.
"Oi, ya want her t' freeze?!" he growled, and though it appeared Roadhog was about to smack him upside the head again, he thought better of it as Junkrat wrapped more tightly around Pilar, and she squirmed again, pressing her nose against his.
"I'm not going to freeze," she quipped, brows knitting together in mock frustration. "Now will you let me up? I've got something for you two."
"I dunno 'bout that," he replied, but after Pilar quickly smooched the tip of his nose, causing a rosy blush to erupt on his cheeks, he seemed to loosen his grip a small bit, enough for her to sit up and crawl away. She could hear him whining behind him, followed by an annoyed grunt when she heard a small whap of Roadhog's hand against his head.
"Hold on, you two," Pilar warned, glancing over her shoulder as she grabbed ahold of her shopping back, crawling quickly back to the nest between the junkers. Almost instantly, Junkrat had thrown himself over her lap, his hand absentmindedly twirling her hair between his fingers, as she fished for their gifts deep within her purchases. Roadhog remained seated beside her, still silent and stoic as ever, but he leaned slightly over her, trying to see what it was she had within the bag, but she was positioned in such a way to keep the contents hidden from view.
"How'd ya manage t' sneak all this stuff out?" Junkrat asked, fingers continuing to run through her hair. "It ain't like we're exactly allowed into a store without some odd looks, ya know."
"Please, Jamie, I got this legally," she replied, making a face as she met his smug grin. "The money used might not have been obtained legally, but that's beside the point. I wanted to do this right." Pausing, her hand wrapped around the first gift, and she tugged out, pulling forth a giant, plush pig, fitted with motorcycle goggles and saddlebags. It was soft, plush, and adorable, and as she held it up to Roadhog, he seemed to hesitate before taking it. For a few moments, he stared in silence, and Pilar was starting to fret he didn't like it, but soon enough, a deep chuckle emanated from his mask, and his hand fell on her head, ruffling her hair gently.
"Thanks."
A bright smile spread across her face as her hand reached up to meet his, patting the back of it, before pulling out a giant bar of chocolate, resting it on his lap. "That's yours too, just don't eat it all in one sitting; I don't know when I'll be able to get another one!" He seemed pleased by the gifts, and once again ruffled her hair, before leaning back against the wall behind them, holding up the plush pig, squeezing it in his giant hands.
"As for you," she said, turning her gaze to Junkrat, who gazed up at her like a lovestruck teenager. "Your gift isn't exactly as soft and squishy, but it was difficult to find." Truth be told, it had taken awhile to figure out what exactly to get him, but passing a hardware store had given her the best idea. "I know you like tinkering and building, and well, your stuff is getting old and beaten, so…" From the bag, she pulled out a pouch filled with tools of all sorts, and tools he used on a daily basis, either to fix up his leg and arm, or to perform maintenance on Pilar's, the one he had made himself. But as each day passed, she noticed that it was getting harder to use. He's sat up, rolling onto his side as she laid the pouch on her lap, and though he propped himself up with one arm, he was still able to open it, inspecting the tools within, his lips curving into a happy, half-crazed smile.
"Ya shouldn't 'ave, Caterpillar. An' here we didn't get ya shit!"
"Don't worry about it," she replied, waving a hand as she grabbed the final gift from the bag-a bottle of milk tea. She knew how much Junkrat loved it, and as much as they'd been running as of late, they'd not been able to get any. But one shop had enough of it to last a lifetime, and she was seriously considering let him know that...but maybe another time. It was Christmas! They could go a day without robbery.
He took the milk tea happily, before his arms wrapped around her waist, his face burying into his stomach. Giggling like a child, his feet kicked, and after a moment, he sprung back up, knocking her back onto the heap of blankets. Roadhog merely sighed, rising to his feet, shuffling away with the plush pig tucked underneath his arm. Pilar could hear the crinkling of the chocolate wrapper as he descended the platform, and she knew it was hopeless to ask him not to eat it all in one go, but as Junkrat's face was suddenly obscuring her vision, she reached up, pinching his chin between her thumb and forefinger, giving it a bit of a shake.
"I'll make it up t' ya," he promised, smooshing the tip of his nose against hers. Shuffling himself beside her, his limbs had once again wrapped around her protectively, and Pilar was laughing again while his fingers drummed against her skin in a steady rhythm, as they always did. This time, however, she had buried her face against his neck, her cold nose causing him to yelp in surprise while she chuckled slyly, her cold hands began to press against his back, causing him to squirm unhappily.
"Why ya gotta be like this, Caterpillar, it's Christmas!" he whined as his back arched away from her freezing hands, and she only clung to him harder, hearing him groan unhappily.
"It's a part of the of the joy of the season," she laughed. "If you're going to get the gifts, you're going to get the full experience." He grumbled, still hissing with each cold touch of her hands on his skin, but regardless, he continued to mumble, and Pilar thought she heard him say something along the lines of mistletoe. A wicked grin spread across her lips, and suddenly, she managed to break free of his grip, placing her hands on his face, and plastered small, quick kisses all over it. He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden affection, and the rosiness which had been on his cheeks before blossomed across his face and ears, even spreading to his shoulders.
"Hell, Pilar, what are ya tryin' t' do?"
"Nothing," she replied, adopting an innocent expression, before burying her face, once again, into his neck, glowing her eyes tightly. It hadn't been the most Christmassy Christmas Pilar had ever had, nor did she ever expect to have one where she would be hiding in a storage until with world-class criminals. But hey, she had fun, and truth be told, the four of them in a storage unit was a lot more peaceful than her extended family in her mother's home.
"Listen," she continued, her face still buried in his neck. "You two don't look like you get Christmas often enough, eh? I just wanted to give you some sort of Christmas, even if it's small."
She felt his chest shake as he giggled, and his grip tightened as he suddenly rolled over on his back, bringing Pilar with. Propping herself up, her eyes fixed on his, watching as his lips curved into a pleased smirk, and he poked her forehead, causing her to swat his hand away. Still, she couldn't help but to smile in return, a dull blush blazing on her face at their precarious position.
"Oi, I'd say ya did good, Caterpillar," Junkrat affirmed with a nod, jostling Pilar on top of him, a sly chuckle escaping his lips. "Ya did good."