Saving Light

Chapter Two: Coming To Terms

~ o ~

I'm here

Where endless meets the end

Do you see me?

I'm hidden here again

Your whispers found its way

Calling me to stay

~ o ~

"Genji, are you alright? You look as if you're uncomfortable," asked Mercy.

The ninja squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from the cup he was holding.

"I was positive that two spoons of sugar would be enough but this coffee is very strong," he replied.

The doctor couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"That's what happens when you order a fresh cup here," she said.
"It is a very nice place, in a different way than the hotels I've stayed at in Hanamura," he said.

He placed the cup down before looking at her, his eyes locking onto hers. She stopped laughing, but unlike before where she would shy away, she instead returned the gaze.

"Switzerland really is an amazing place, and you say this is but one city?" he asked.
"It is the largest city despite the population being relatively low...another place that's very popular is Saas-Fee village," she replied.
"What is there to see?" he continued.
"It's one of the most popular places to go skiing and snowboarding, not to mention all of the resorts that have been built up there," she replied.

Genji nodded slowly as he looked out of the large glass window in front of them.

"Night is approaching, you said you wanted to show me something?" he asked.
"Yes...the view at night at on the roof is beautiful," she replied.

He got to his feet before picking up both of their bags.

"I will take these up to our rooms then," he said.

Mercy nodded as he walked off towards the rooms. She let out a heavy breath before looking down at her PDA. She had felt it vibrate numerous times during the course of the day, but she ignored it in order to dedicate the time to Genji. She sighed deeply; the work would never end for her. Being one of the leading minds in medical knowledge really did have its downsides.

"I'm going to have to work twice as hard once he goes back to Nepal...but I'm not going to worry about this now because this time is all about him,"

With a great sense of relief, she opened a conversation between her and the research team she was a part of and began to type.

Something has come up.

Continue as planned as I will be taking a few days to sort out important matters.

I will return as soon as I can.

Dr. Ziegler.

After hitting the send button, she let out a breath she felt she's needed to for the entire day. She then pressed a button on the PDA, which prompted a virtual face to appear on the screen.

"Yes Dr. Ziegler?" asked Athena.
"Hello Athena, could I ask you to forward any calls that come in to my mailbox?" I said.
"Of course Dr. Ziegler. I will ensure that you are not disturbed."

She then held the power button for several seconds and once it turned off, she placed it back in the pocket of her coat.

"Angela?"

I immediately turned around to see that Genji had returned, with a pastry in his hand.

"I know we haven't eaten dinner yet, but these looked a little too delicious to overlook," he said.

Upon closer inspection, it was a brownie. I couldn't identify what kind of brownie, but considering this hotel was well known for their delicious food, I gratefully accepted it from him before taking a bite. He joined me, taking a bite of what appeared to be a Spitzbuben. I gasped softly, realizing that it was a double chocolate brownie. I know that I didn't tell him that I liked Swiss chocolate, so he either took a really good guess or he somehow figured it out.

"Is this...some kind of cookie?" he asked.

I nodded.

"It's called a Spitzbuben, it's cookie with jam, not too different from a danish or jam-centered donut," I replied.

He smiled and took another bite of it.

"It is delicious," he said.

I finished the brownie before looked back outside to see the sun was almost gone. I turned back to see that he had some jam on his face that he didn't seem to notice. I laughed softly, causing him to look at me questioningly.

"What's so funny?" he asked.
"You have a little jam on your cheek," I said.

He looked rather flustered and immediately raised a hand to wipe it off but I froze him in his tracks by leaning towards him.

"W-W-What are you doing?" he stuttered.

Seeing the golden opportunity to toy with him, I gently pecked his cheek and removed the jam with my tongue. Just as I hoped, the ninja's face turned beet red as he tried to focus his eyes on anything else but me. He tried to speak, but only tied his tongue more as he looked nervously around to see if anyone was looking.

"I'm going to take a shower...meet me on the roof in twenty minutes?" I asked.
"S-S-Sure," he replied.

~ o ~

"Smooth move...you've fought in wars, assassinated terrorists and redirected a supernatural force unleashed by your own brother but all you could say in that situation was sure?"

She took her leave but I noticed that something fell out of her pocket. Evidently, she didn't see or feel it. I curiously picked it up to see that it was a PDA. After ensuring she went to the suites and was out of sight, I powered it on.

"Hello Dr.- Genji?"

I smiled and nodded.

"It's nice to hear from you again Athena," I replied.

I was amazed that the AI was able to recall who I was, especially after having not been an active agent of Overwatch in years. Then again, Winston had a brilliant mind and I didn't put anything past him once he decides on doing something.

"Did Dr. Ziegler give you her PDA for personal use?"

I thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yes, she said she wanted to show me some of the work she's been doing," I replied.

I felt a little guilty for lying to the AI, but I was genuinely curious as to what she was up to in my long absence.

"Accessing files,"

The screen lit up with a great amount of medical research. I smiled to myself; it was just like Angela to take on all of this on her own. Even though she had a team of scientists who were also brilliant, she still chose to take the bulk of it all.

"She's been as busy as ever I see...but why isn't she working on all of this? It looks very important," I said.
"She has chosen to take a short of absence, something she has not done in over a decade," replied Athena.

My eyes widened.

"Did my arrival interrupt her work?" I asked.
"You should not worry about her work Genji; she is not a person who will make a decision to do something without accounting for the consequences. She has clearly chosen to spend her time with you instead of inside of a lab, which she has done tirelessly since the day I was born," replied Athena.

The guilt that I began to feel was alleviated after those words as I nodded gratefully.

"Thank you Athena, you can power this device off and please do not let Angela know I was looking at this," I asked.
"As you wish,"

I placed the PDA into my pocket before making my way upstairs to take a shower of my own, but not before sneaking into her room and placing the device where it once was. By the time I entered the room, she was already in the shower. Thankfully, she couldn't see me because the mirror was not facing the door. My mind immediately began to drift...especially because of the steam erupting from the room.

"She's in there...in all her-"

Feeling my face reach an even hotter temperature, I swiftly made myself scarce before I got too carried away.

Twenty Minutes Later

Mercy regretted not bringing something warmer; the night air made the cold winter feel even more frigid. She had opted to not wear a winter coat, relying instead on her snow white sweater to keep her warm along with a deep orange scarf. Her thick black pants also seemed to do very little to alleviate the cold. She sat down on the floor, due to the benches being taken by other couples. She looked at each of them, blushing profusely upon realizing that not a single pair present wasn't a couple. Her thoughts then drifted back to the ninja who still hadn't arrived yet and for some reason, she just realized how bold her previous move was.

"This must've been how he felt before..."

She shook her flustered senses back into focus before looking back towards the city. She did however begin to shiver rapidly. The thought of going back downstairs to retrieve a blanket soon started to seem like a necessity. That was, until she felt thick cloth encircle her. She looked to her right to see that Genji had brought a large, navy blue blanket that was long enough for both of them as he took a seat next to her. He turned to her and smiled.

"I thought you would be cold up here," he said.

Her eyes immediately examined him from head to toe. He too opted out of wearing a coat and was now wearing a black sweater along with a dark grey set of pants. He was seemingly unfazed by the cold, no doubt due to much less of his body being receptive to it. He then handed her a mug, which contained hot chocolate that was steaming. She smiled before scooting closer to him and taking a large gulp of it. She then offered it to him. She didn't give him a chance to take it from her, instead raising it to his mouth. Catching on quickly, Genji took a large gulp himself. Though he was blushing, he didn't shy away like he did before. She then placed it down beside them before wrapping more of the blanket around herself.

"You're right...it really is a beautiful view," he said in awe.
"There is none like it in the world," she replied.

They sat there for a while, talking and laughing about things they did while they were apart. Unlike the one at the cafe, this conversation was much more comfortable as they were so into it, it was as if no one else was around. By the time they finished, they were the only two left on the rooftop. Upon realizing this, they both blushed profusely and looked away from each other. Genji however noticed that she was still shivering. Feeling bold, he silently made his way behind her before wrapping his arms around her. She flinched for a brief moment at his touch but soon, allowed him to pull her into his lap and wrap the blanket around them both.

He placed his chin on top of her head and let out a relaxed breath. He then nearly flinched himself when he felt Mercy's hands intertwine with his. Now fully sure that everything he was doing was alright, he gently squeezed her hands as they continued to gaze towards the city.

"...This was something I've needed for a long time," she whispered.

There was a short pause until Genji spoke up.

"...I must be honest with you Angela, though everything you've shown me has been amazing thus far...I didn't travel all the way here to see just the sights," he explained.

She blushed, feeling her heart skip a beat as she leaned her head away from him but still sat comfortably in his embrace.

"I spent a great deal of time thinking about my life...what's happened over the years and where I want to be in the future and no version of it doesn't involve...you,"

She smiled, now allowing the new warmth in her heart to fill her body.

"...It will probably come as no surprise to you...I've tried to tell myself that I must live by following my heart but it took me a while to realize where it truly was...and it is with you," he continued.

Her eyes widened as she felt him shift forward ever so slightly.

"I...care for you, so deeply that I would travel any distance necessary to see your beautiful smile...and to protect you from any danger the world could conceive," he said.

He placed his head on her shoulder, the heat from his face helping to keep hers warm as well.

"...I do not know if you feel the same way about me, but I cannot live another day without telling you how much you mean to me," he finished.

Genji was fully ready for her to tell him many things. That her work was too important for anything to work, that she had someone else she was seeing and that she was only caught up in the moment...or even that she just simply can't bring herself to see him as anything more than a lifelong friend. However, he heard her let out a heavy breath and before he could ask her if she was alright, she turned her head towards his and caught his lips in a deep kiss. He was astonished; he didn't see this happening in all of the time he spent downstairs preparing himself for the moment no matter how the situation played out. Now feeling a warm wave of happiness and pleasure running through him, the ninja closed his eyes and returned the kiss, pulling her body back into his to feel as much of her warmth as he could get. She responded by closing her eyes fully and giving into the nervous desires she's fought throughout the entire day.

After several yearlong seconds, they broke apart as Mercy placed a hand on Genji's cheek.

"You mean a lot to me too, and to answer your question...I most certainly do feel the same way about you," she said.

For once, the ninja was taken aback. In no way did he expect to hear the words that the doctor just said but he quickly gathered himself before nodding.

"...You do not know how happy you've made me...Angela Ziegler," he said.

Much to her surprise, Genji was shedding tears...but not those of sadness. Seeing his face caused her to shed tears of her own as the overwhelming feeling of joy washed over her too. She leaned her head into his neck and made herself comfortable.

"Likewise...Genji Shimada,"

They sat there in a comfortable silence, relishing in each others warmth until Mercy spoke up.

"...Would it be alright if I cancel my room...and we share yours?" she asked.

Genji hesitated for a moment, but nodded with a beet red face.

"...Sure...see you downstairs in a few minutes?" he stuttered.

Mercy responded by kissing his forehead and nodding.

"Give me a few minutes to freshen up and carry my things over," she said.

He reluctantly released her from his embrace, allowing her to go downstairs. He looked up at the sky and smiled to himself before exhaling a proud sigh.

"You were right master...following my heart is truly the way I can find happiness, and now...I truly believe I have found it,"