2

Mei had long been used to ice and snow. But here she was in heat and sand. Her skin was almost white with paleness. And while the sunlight felt nice for a few hours, sweating like this eventually became murder on her body. She had tried new clothes. Mostly dresses she had. But she was nervous to wear a dress in Junker territory. The men weren't all ravenous, but without proper authorities around these days, anything was possible.

She walked for a few days. She didn't set up a vehicle before hand. Something Mei long regretted by now. Mei had only a playlist on her phone and music to entertain her with a weapon or two on hand. Mei tried keeping her head up, keeping up a search for potential rides or eventual signal on her phone so she could request being retrieved and sent to Victoria. But all she had was music and a gun and her own two feet. Granted she had only been walking for a day now. Her feet didn't hurt yet, but they would once she sat down. She knew it and that was a given.

Then she saw a car pulling a camper. Maybe some hope, but she would have to go in carefully. With a small inhale she walked closer to it. Here went nothing.

The vehicle was small. And covered in metal scrap. The closer she got the more present it was. Army green with yellow designs painted on it. She saw that color a million times before across junkertown but never painted in such bright yellow smiley faces.

Her heart dropped.

Yellow. Smiley. Faces.

Fuck.

Mei turned and tried to walk away. The sun beating down on her hurt almost. And the vehicle was only approaching more and more.

We're going to the same place, it won't go anywhere else...shit shit shit…

Mei stopped in her tracks defeatedly as she looked at her feet in shame. She hung her head low and sighed.

"Alright Jamie. You win this round." she whispered.

She turned off her music. Turning on her heel she stood in front of the truck with malice in her eyes.

Then the truck stopped with a defiant squeak. Junkrat sitting in the driver's seat waving as Mei shot him a glare before slowly approaching the empty passenger side. She sat down without a word.

"Mei," he greeted.

"Jamison," she replied.

He cleared his throat. "I saw you weren't far and figured you would like a ri-"

"I-I know...I'm glad you did…" she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thanks for that…"

He started the car, and a silence hung in the air for a while into the drive. Jamie being himself, broke that silence into a million shattered pieces.

He inhaled briefly before he dropped a heavy bomb on his ex wife like some kind of grenade.

"Iknowyou'reprobablystillmadatmebutIjustwantedtosaythatI'msorry!"

Mei had to do a double take as she sat straight up and processed just what the hell Jamie was on about now.

"Jamison...I appreciate that and all but…" her voice trailed off.

"I still loved you after you left me...and I never stopped looking for her you know?!" Junkrat was panicking.

"Jamie...she's dead Jamison. Ellie won't...she would've come back…" Mei shook her head looking at her lap. She should never have gotten in that stupid truck.

"What about that Emile Sheila? Captured her and brainwashed her! Maybe Ellie just needs to be woken back up and saved! What if they have her?" he asked.

Mei rubbed her eyes. Why did he do this to her?

"Junkrat, you're hurting me…"

Junkrat felt his heart sink.

"I...I'm…"

He focused back on the road.

Junkrat had in fact been looking under every rock and corner for Ellie Joelle Fawkes. Any attack of Talon Junkrat would investigate but he never made it on time to see the attack itself. With no way of predicting it he missed every chance he had to find the girl he raised. He was sure Talon had her. But Mei had theorized after two years of searching, that she either didn't want to be found or died by then. So to put it behind Mei, she left it all behind. And filed for divorce six months after giving up her search.

"...sorry...I'm really sorry…"

Mei looked out the window. More dessert.

"It was all my fault." Junkrat admitted.

"Some of it is. But I'm not innocent either. I shouldn't have let her go for another year or two I mean we could've…" her voice trailed.

What am I saying…?

"The thing is I think all we would have found was a body and I wanna leave it at that…"

Junkrat paused.

"I thought the world was worth fighting for…and not even our marriage was...but our kid?"

Mei turned his way and looked ravenously mad. "I loved our daughter! I loved you too! If you hadn't taken her on that fucking mission it would have stayed that way!"

"She was fifteen! I thought she could handle it!" he barked. "Not a day goes by when I haven't stopped searching for her...not a day goes by and I don't want you back!"

"I miss you both every day but mourning what I lost isn't healthy alright?! Is that what you wanna hear?!" Mei shrieked.

And now she was crying.

Great work Jamison. That'll win her back…

Junkrat drove quietly. Mei trying to fix herself. Another screaming match Jamie managed to win. But that win wasn't worth it.

She misses you though…

Jamie parked outside of the watch point and locked the car. Mei grabbed the handle and tried to leave but when she saw she couldn't she just sat there and kept crying.

Each tear is like a razor on my skin when it's only on her face and not mine…

Junkrat reached into the glove compartment pulling out a few napkins from fast food places he had been to and wiped Mei's cheeks.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered.

Instinctively Mei put her head on his shoulder and continued to whale into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her. And in a sick sort of way he missed this. He just wished the tears were happy from reuniting and not...like this.

Then the tears came from his eyes too as he began to quietly sob into her back.

"I'm so so sorry…"