"So, when are you gonna ask him?"
Ana's head shot up at Gabriel's question. She glared at her comrade as he approached, quickly closing the notebook in front of her.
"Ask what of whom?" she quipped. "And aren't you supposed to be working on reports?"
"Got 'em done early. 'We showed up. We kicked ass. We left'." He shrugged, grinning as he sat across the table from her in the mess hall.
"Jack isn't going to be happy with that."
"Jack can suck my dick. It'll be more action than that Boy Scout's had recently anyways."
"You do realize I can hear you, right?" Jack deadpanned, joining the two with a tray of his own. Ana rolled her eyes and shot Gabriel a dirty look.
Gabriel laughed. "Yeah, I realize. Go ahead; tell me that I'm wrong."
Jack ignored his friend's barb, focusing instead on Ana. "And speaking of action, Gabe's right. When are you going to ask him?"
"Ask whom what?" Ana repeated, irritation showing in her voice.
"Ask Reinhardt out, for fuck's sake," exclaimed Gabriel, lifting his hands in exasperation.
"Language," Jack commented off-handedly. Gabriel ignored him.
Ana stared at the two for a moment, her mouth open. "Excuse the both of you! I have absolutely no intention of asking Sergeant Wilhelm anything of the sort!" she finally shot, crossing her arms. "And can you please keep your voices down? We do not need such colorful rumors being spread."
"That's funny, she usually calls him Reinhardt. Must've hit a nerve," Gabriel mused, sharing a glance with Jack. His friend only chuckled and continued to eat his mashed potatoes.
"Besides," he continued, "if you're worried about rumors, I've got some bad news."
Ana narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"
"Me? I did nothing," Gabriel chuckled, raising his hands defensively. "But you two were quite the image on the mats this afternoon."
Ana didn't respond, the slightest blush brushing her cheeks.
"Then again, I can't blame them. I don't think anyone else had seen Reinhardt in any kind of training outside of his armor. He's a good looking dude. I've heard quite a few of the women, and even a few men on the base mention it. He seems to have his own fan club growing."
Ana restrained herself from asking exactly whom he had heard talking about Reinhardt; looking jealous in this situation simply wouldn't do.
"We needed training in our hand-to-hand combat, and Reinhardt was kind enough to assist as a more physically imposing opponent," she finally replied, taking a sip of tea.
Gabriel laughed. "Physically imposing? He wiped the floor with everybody. I'd hate to be stuck in a ring with that man, serum or no!"
Jack nodded in agreement as Gabriel took another long drink of what Ana sincerely hoped wasn't liquor. "In any case, you were the only one who managed to stay on your feet for any length of time. Just the two of you, grappling, sweaty, working-"
"Gabe!" Ana hissed, eyes darting towards the tables closest to them. Gabriel smiled smugly.
"I'm just repeating what everyone's been saying. And considering your just-barely-concealed flirting at brunch this morning, I figured it was only a matter of time."
Ana pinched the bridge of her nose, turning to her more sensible commander. "Jack, please tell me that Gabe is alone in his opinions."
Jack cleared his throat uncertainly. "Well, it is against policy to fraternize with any coworkers, so officially I would never condone anything along those lines…"
Gabriel scoffed, rolling his eyes. "But?"
"But… you two do have a certain amount of chemistry. I can't deny that," he finished, diving quickly into his meal once more.
Ana leaned back in her seat, defeated. "I can't believe this. Two commanders of Overwatch playing matchmaker like a couple of highschool children."
"Hey, we're just calling it as we see it," Reyes mumbled around a mouthful of steak.
Ana wrinkled her nose and tossed him a napkin. "Even if – and I'm not saying you're right – but even if I were… interested, I certainly wouldn't be the one to initiate anything. I would wait for him to make the first move."
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "And how well has that one worked so far?"
This time she knew her hesitation lasted slightly too long. Gabriel's smug smile only grew wider, prompting her to swear at him in Egyptian.
"Uh… Language, I think." Jack muttered, forehead wrinkled at the language he didn't understand. Both companions ignored him.
"If I wanted Reinhardt's attention, I assure you I would get it," Ana hissed. "But not by doing anything as crass as openly propositioning him. I would allow him to initiate while I simply dropped hints. Small flirting, casual invitations… the Little Things, if you will."
It was Jack who snorted this time. "Little Things? Ana, this is Reinhardt we're talking about. There's a reason he's kept away from anything remotely delicate. He doesn't notice the 'Little Things'. Hell, he doesn't notice half of the big things!"
Ana didn't bother replying, opting instead to sip her tea and glare at the men. Jack's expression softened, and he looked at her fondly.
"Look, Ana, you're a good friend and a damned good person-"
"Language." Both Ana and Gabriel mocked. Jack glared.
"- And you know that I'm just trying to help. Obviously I'm not trying to push you into anything here, but you have to admit that out of everyone here you're probably the closest to Reinhardt aside from Torbjorn. The chemistry between you two is very palpable, that's all."
Glancing up, Gabriel clapped his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Speak of the Swedish Devil… Hey, Torbjorn!"
The blond engineer paused in his trip past their table, turning to give the group an irritated expression. "Hmm? What do you want, Reyes?"
"Quick question for you. You've got, what, three, four kids, right?"
Torbjorn nodded with a grunt.
"Well, we're trying to help out a friend here- ouch!" he exclaimed, recoiling from under the table as Ana's boot made contact with his shin. "Christ, woman!"
"We were curious how she got your attention. You know, let you know she was interested," Jack finished, giving the other two a patronizing gaze. Gabriel pointed at Ana, who calmly sipped her tea.
Torbjorn snorted, turning towards them as his face lost a bit of the irritation. "Well, I'll be the first to admit, I'm not too keen on such things. There were a few times she tried to drop hints, but I absolutely missed them."
Ana frowned slightly. "Then how did she finally get your attention?"
Torbjorn's eyes sparkled slightly and a faint grin pulled at his lips. "Well, after quite a few failed attempts, she finally got tired of me not getting' it and told me she wanted to see my Molten Core. After that, I mostly figured it out."
Ana felt her face going far too red for comfort, a graceful hand slipping into place over her eyes. Jack choked on part of his meal causing him to spasm in his seat. Gabriel, meanwhile, had erupted into a fit of laughter and was in danger of falling out of his chair. Seemingly pleased at the chaos he had caused, Torbjorn continued on his way, whistling some tune or another as he went.
Gabriel was finally able to manage his laughter enough to speak.
"That's perfect! See, Ana? That's what it takes! Ask him if his armor is the only hard thing about him!"
"Gabe, please."
"No, wait! Ask him about the hammer!"
"Gabriel, I'm begging you! Stop!"
"Tell him you wanna see him put his HAMMER DOWN!"
"GABRIEL REYES!"