It feels sort of like a crime, hopping on an Overwatch computer in the dead of night. Of course Junkrat has every right to be using the computers, because even though the likes of McCree and Torbjorn like to forget it, he's a part of Overwatch now too. He can talk to Athena whenever he likes, for whatever reason he wants.
Junkrat isn't trying to be sneaky because he's doing something bad. He just doesn't want to get found out.
He slides into a seat and powers up the computer. The Athena program starts up, ready to bend to his command.
"How d'you say…" Junkrat squinted at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand, trying to read what he had scrawled earlier at dinner. "Wishin' you prosperity in Chinese?"
Athena replied in an even tone. "Spoken Chinese has five dialects. Which would you like?"
Junkrat stares. With a quiet whimper, he looks at the piece of paper crumpled in his hand again. He was focused on writing down the phrase Mei mentioned to him that he didn't think to check which specific language she spoke. His gut instinct is that she speaks Mandarin, but that's before he knew there were four other dialects to choose from. What if Junkrat learns the wrong one? That would ruin the whole thing!
When Junkrat looks up, he tilts his head and grins the same way he would to Roadhog if he were asking for a favor. As if that will somehow make Athena more likely to answer his questions.
"The kind...Mei...speaks?"
"Mandarin," Athena answers.
Junkrat leans back in his chair, snaps his finger and points at the screen. "Yeah, that's roight. Mandarin. Got it. So how d'you say it in Mandarin?"
Athena answers him. Junkrat blinks. "Uh, say it again?" It does, and Junkrat leans forward. "Can you put the-the words up?" A series of Chinese characters appear on the screen. "No, no, no, the words, like-" In a flourish of motion, the characters are replaced by letters. There is nothing on the computer but the phrase 'Gong xi fa cai.'
"Gong xi fa cai," Athena says.
"Gung shee fuh kay," Junkrat responds.
"Gong xi fa cai."
"Gahng shi fah ka!"
"Gong xi fa cai."
"Gong...Goong sheeee…"
"Gong xi fa cai."
"Oi, I wasn't done! Gong sheeee...fuck."
"Gong xi fa cai."
"Arghhhhhh…"
This continues for a while, until the words feel more comfortable in Junkrat's mouth. Not perfect, but comfortable. He makes plans to come back, when everyone else is asleep or out of base, so he could take another crack at it. For this to really be a surprise, Junkrat only has one chance to say it. He doesn't want to mess it up. As he falls asleep that night, he mutters to himself so his tongue won't forget what to do when the time comes.
Several days pass. Boxes of red and gold lantern decorations arrive at Gibraltar. Mei and Winston singlehandedly set about decorating the base while everyone else keeps up with their regular duties. Everyone is too busy to notice Junkrat spending more time at the computer, or to hear him whispering to himself in a language he doesn't truly speak.
On the day of the Lunar New Year, Roadhog delivers him a present from Mei; a set of red and gold fireworks. Junkrat deems them too beautiful to detonate-at least for a while-and decides to drape them over his shoulders instead.
"How do I look, Roadie?" he asks before flashing him a cheesy grin with two thumbs up. Roadhog says nothing, which Junkrat takes to be a good thing.
Junkrat fancies himself pretty prepared for this party. After all, he's been rehearsing his Chinese with Athena for at least a week. There's no way he can mess it up now.
That's until he sees Mei herself.
Gone is her thick winter parka. Today, she's resplendent in a gold and red pantsuit at that cinches at her waist and flares around her ankles. She abandoned her thick glasses for thinner frames that hang further down her small nose. Her hair is parted differently, and her customary tight bun is replaced with large loops fastened together by a pretty hair pin. Even Snowball is all gussied up in a gold ribbon.
Junkrat is stunned silent, too overwhelmed by all the details to focus on a particular one. Roadhog helpfully taps his chin to remind Junkrat to pick up his jaw before Mei notices.
"Jamie! I'm glad you could make it," Mei says. "I like what you did with the fireworks."
The moment had finally arrived, and Junkrat can't muster a single word. Mei is about to walk away and greet someone else, and he finally finds his voice.
"Gong xi fa cai!" he blurts.
Mei turns to him, beaming. "Gong xi fa cai!" she responds. "That was great! I didn't know you knew any Mandarin."
Junkrat can't hide his grin. "Just a phrase or two," he says. "Gonna be fluent someday. Can't be too hard to teach m'self. Just a little trial and error."