"I don't like it." Torbjorn declared, folding his good arm over his prosthesis, jutting his chin upward definitely. Or perhaps to make eye contact, sometimes it was hard for Gabe to tell.

Gabe rolled his eyes, casting a sidelong glance at Jack. There was a certain tenseness to the other man's neck as he pursed his lips together. Jack returned the glance, as if looking to Gabe for instruction, but he could only offer Jack a shrug. Telling the others was Jack's idea in the first place, and it took no small amount of convincing to get Gabe to agree to it. He figured that Torbjorn, if no one else, wouldn't respond well to what was happening.

Luckily, Ana was there. She smacked the shorter man in the back of the head.

"Ow!" Torbjorn hopped away from her, shielding the back of his head, "What was that for?!"

"Don't be so unpleasant." Ana said sharply. Reinhardt cast an uncertain glance between the two of them, as if worrying if he should step between them, but didn't move from his hunched over spot on a crate. Not that he could stand in this tiny, off the beaten path storage room without bashing his head on the ceiling.

At least it was private.

"Oh, what? Like I'm just supposed to accept after we finally put the whole mess with the bots to bed, Jack goes ahead and swaps jobs with Gabriel, Gabriel becomes the leader of this new thing I ain't ever heard a peep of 'til now, and we got this-" Torbjorn gestured madly at the air on front of him, " girl poppin' into our base and making them go loony!" He jabbed a finger back at Gabe and Jack.

Gabe shrugged, lifting his hands up in the air, "And here I thought that meant we'd finally be operating on the same level."

"Gabe, please," Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Gabe redirected his shrug at Jack, without a hint of guilt.

"Need I remind you that I saw this girl too?" Ana cocked her eyebrow.

" You didn't get some ridiculous vision hogwash to go along with it." Torb said, pointing a finger at Ana, who could only frown. He took a deep breath, before turning to face Gabe and Jack, holding up his hands, trying to be placating. "Look, it's not that I don't believe the two of you. But you have to admit, this sounds crazy."

"As much as I would like to believe the two of you as well," Reinhardt started slowly, gesturing vaguely at the two soldiers, "I have to admit the whole story is, eh… what's the word…"

"Fanciful." Ana supplied.

" Ja , thank you my dear. Fanciful."

"Look, I know, that's fine." Jack said, taking a step forward, "We know it sounds crazy, it is crazy, but it's all we really have to go on."

"It could still be some sort of new tech." Gabe pointed out mildly, nodding at Torbjorn. "Have any of your friends from Ironclad R&D mentioned anything about mind-altering weaponry?"

"I don't know what's scarier, the possibility such a thing exists, or your time traveling girl." Torbjorn huffed, stroking his beard, "I haven't heard anything, and something like that likely wouldn't come from any of my old colleagues. Something like that would be useless on omnics, so I can't see it getting much in the way of funding in the past few years… if it existed, of course. I can't imagine omnics could build such a thing, lack of test subjects, would need to divert resources from producing combat units, plus, their ability to understand the intricacies of human emotion is questionable , at best."

"So, is that a no?" Gabe raised an eyebrow at the shorter man, who hesitated.

"... It's a 'probably not'," He said eventually, "but I'll ask around just to be sure. Last thing we want is some megalomaniac giving you- us, a hard time."

Gabe scoffed, "Thanks."

Jack elbowed him in the side, flashing a knowing grin, Gabe's scowl deepened.

"C'mon Gabe, you're the one who's concerned about it. Least you could do is sound like you appreciate it." He moved in closer to elbow him again, which Gabe allowed, briefly, before he shufled out of Jack's elbow range.

Gabe snorted, trying to suppress a smile as he straightened and folded his arms again. Briefly, he noticed Ana's hard scrutiny flickering between the two of them, but he ignored her.

"Yeah," Torbjorn said, a smug look taking over his face, "C'mon Gabe ."

"You'll get nothing and like it." Gabe deadpanned, the hint of warning in his voice as he narrowed his eyes at the shorter man. While some gentle ribbing from Jack always managed to bring a smile to his face, it wasn't something he welcomed from Torbjorn. Something the other man either never picked up on, or simply ignored, likely the latter.

"One thing I am not certain on," Reinhardt interjected, adjusting himself on the crate in a fruitless attempt to find comfort. "is when you see this girl, Lena, you said these memories from the future returned to the two of you. How much do you remember, exactly?"

Gabe shared a look with Jack. He seemed like he was hesitant. Gabe didn't need to guess why; even before they had gathered the other members of the team here, they had agreed that they should keep the finer details of their memories more or less between the two of them unless it was necessary to share details. As a tactician, Gabe knew the dangers of over informing one's team. Sometimes, it's best to keep your cards to your chest and limit the flow of information to a need-to-know basis, in order to better keep track of all moving parts. This was a situation where they really needed to keep track of all moving parts.

"It's… different for the both of us." Jack said, eventually, slowly breaking eye contact with Gabe. "We have some far-off ones that… will hopefully never be relevant. If something is very similar to something we've already experienced, then it's like an instant deja vu feeling. When Adawe offered to make me strike commander, I could see myself… well…"

Gabe's expression softened just a fraction, and he took a step back towards Jack, brushing his shoulder against the other man's. Jack paused briefly, eye flicking to his shoulder before continuing.

"I could see myself accepting the position without taking Gabe's feelings into account," He admitted, tone smoothing out slightly, "And then a few more. If I focus, I can recall a few new pieces of information, but they're pretty scattered, and there are probably more of them that I haven't quite dug out yet."

"Mine are mostly years off, from after I died." Gabe paused, realizing that probably sounded pretty bad. "And then came back."

The three other members of the team stared blankly at Gabriel. The silence was broken by the sound of Jack's hand slapping against his own face.

"Do you really have to say it like that?" Jack sighed, exasperated.

"I mean," Gabe scratched idly around his beanie, "It's true. How else would I say it?"

"It sounds awful , Gabe."

"That because you don't know much about it." Gabe shrugged. "It was actually pretty sweet deal. Countless tactical maneuvers, limbs were practically impossible to disable, didn't need to reload, and infiltration was basically guaranteed, which was awesome."

"Unbelievable…" Jack muttered, shaking his head.

"I need… a drink." Ana announced, lightly massaging her temples.

"Make it two, thanks." Torbjorn nodded along with a weary sigh.

"I am beginning to get the impression this future was not a very happy one." Reinhardt said, his expression was growing more concerned, and confused, by the second.

"No." Jack deadpanned, tension worming it's way back into his body. Gabe frowned.

In the few days it had been since they had talked and reconciled what was going on between them, one thing had made itself abundantly clear: The memories Jack had from after and during the fall of overwatch were a touchy subject for him. Gabe himself didn't quite understand, it was, after all, just a possible result of a path the two of them weren't following, if they could trust the memories to begin with. The Gabe and Jack they had seen in that future were wildly different people from who they were now, with another lifetime's worth of experiences to shape who they were. Jack wasn't privy to the inner thoughts of soldier: 76 any more than Gabe knew exactly what the Reaper was thinking, though he could guess. While Gabe could sympathize that the mental image of the other man at his gunpoint was disquieting, Jack seemed to have a greater sense of discomfort with the choices they made than anything.

Classic Jack Morrison form was always to avoid, so the subject of the Reaper, and by extension, soldier: 76 had quickly become an unspoken taboo, only referred to if absolutely necessary. One day, they'd have to talk about it more, but now wasn't that day. Their memories were so fresh and new, and in all likelihood, they would gain more, with greater context in time.

Gabe placed a steadying hand on Jack's shoulder and gave him a quick squeeze.

"Doesn't matter." He declared. "That's not gonna be us. We're making sure of it."

Jack blinked once and leaned into his touch. A soft smile slowly warmed its way onto his face.

" Oh my god. "

Four heads all turned to Ana, who was staring, eyes wide, flicking quickly between Gabe and Jack, her finger pointing upwards, hovering just for a moment, before falling quickly on the two men.

"You two finally did it, didn't you?" She said breathlessly. Gabe glanced at Jack, who returned the look for an instant before returning to Ana, " Ya khabar abyad, you did ."

"They what?" Torbjorn reared back, fixing Ana with a strange look.

"They're together!" Ana exclaimed, a wicked grin taking over her face.

Reinhardt and Torbjorn's heads snapped back to stare at Jack and Gabe, mouths parted just slightly. Reinhardt leaned forward eagerly in his seat, while Torbjorn just seemed completely dumbfounded.

Gabe offered nothing but a shrug and a smile. Jack seemed frozen in place.

"That's not really what we're here to discuss-" Jack had started to say, but Reinhardt lunged forward, and pulled both men into a fierce death grip, one in each arm, knocking the air from Gabe's lungs.

"My Friends!" He bellowed, a hearty laugh rumbling throughout the tiny room, and Gabe felt the ground leave his feet ad he was lifted up in the air. For far from the first time this week, he wished he could escape this moment just like the reaper could."I'm so- Ooof."

Gabe's body jostled in time with a loud thump and the German death grip was as brief as it was bone crushing as he was released and dropped back to the ground.

Reinhardt stood just barely above him, rubbing the back of his head, glaring up at the low ceiling. But it was short lived, as his eye flicked down to flick excitedly between Gabriel and Jack, unsure of who to focus on.

"Heh. Forgot about the ceiling." He he quickly admitted, before his grin returned tenfold, "but this is fantastisch! You must tell us when this came to be!"

"Wait, wait, wait" Torbjorn stomped his foot on the ground, waggling a finger up in the air "Hold on wait just a second… You mean, after all these years, you choose to hook up after getting harassed by some time traveling pixie woman?"

Ana slid in front of Torbjorn, ignoring the man, pulling Gabe into a quick but much more welcome hug. Before moving over to give a much longer one to Jack, who still looked completely blindsided.

"Oh I'm so proud of you two." Ana sighed letting Jack go, "After all these years- I'm just glad you're finally together, we should celebrate!"

"Wait, no…" Jack stammered. Gabe gave Jack and amused look. It was rare that he got to see the man totally out of sorts, and of all the moments he could remember, this was the only one that struck him as distinctly positive. He nudged Jack's arm good-naturedly, eyebrow raised expectantly, and Jack's expression cleared, finding his footing.

If he was supposed to be strike commander, then he would need to be able to take charge of a situation. He gave Jack a snort nod, which Jack quickly reciprocated.

"Okay, look, everyone calm down," Jack announced, holding his hands up in front of their small crowd. "Yes, Gabe and I are together. We don't need to make a big deal about it."

"Ohhhh yes we do." Ana said, and reinhardt nodded enthusiastically. Torbjorn's expression was that of a man watching a train derail.

"Fine, alright, you can make a big private deal about it later, when we're not in a broom closet talking about time travelers."

"Interesting choice of location, by the way." Ana quipped.

Jack blinked, and then his face morphed into a deep scowl.

"You know, she has a point," Gabe said with a small smirk and glance Jack's way.

"Christ." Jack sighed heavily pinching the bridge of his nose. "It was the only place out of the way enough that we wouldn't get interrupted. Adawe and Petras are probably hunting me down as we speak."

"I'm with Jack." Torbjorn announced, rocking forward, suddenly into the center of their little group, "No need to make a big fuss out of nothing. Got more pressin' matters and all.

Reinhardt chuckled deeply, a devious expression cast over his face. "You just don't want Ana to realize she-"

"Shh!" Torbjorn scrambled forward trying in vain to silence reinhardt, but Ana let out a quick bark of laughter.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten." She said, "It's well before the fifth, Torby." She leaned down to Torbjorn's eye level, her eyes sparkling like a predator with it's prey in hand, and punched his cheek viciously, "and I expect my payment by the end of the week."

Jack buried his face in his hands. Gabe couldn't say he was particularly surprised. He'd figured there had to have been a pool going on the two of them for a while now, but he didn't think anyone would be so lacking in good sense to bet against Ana.

"People, can we focus, please ?"

"Now you know how I felt the past five years." Gabe deadpanned.

"Sorry Jack" Ana stood up straight, casting one last smug glance in Torbjorn's direction. Torbjorn huffed and crossed his arms tight to his chest.

Jack glanced around the room, letting the silence built but for a few moments before continuing. Reinhard sat back down, tired of hunching over from the low ceiling.

"I just want all of us on the same page here." He explained, "As far as any of you know, and as far as me and Gabe know, we don't know a thing about this woman. If any of us spot her, we tell the others as soon as we can privately do so. Gabe and I thought it was best that we leave the higher ups out of this, for the time being. Besides, any of us start talking about this without solid evidence, and we get labeled as PTSD stricken veterans immediately."

The other members of the strike team murmured their agreement.

"You know," Torbjorn scratched at his beard, thinking, "I've already got people talking to me about altering the security of this place. With the god AIs contained, security cameras don't present a security risk to our infrastructure anymore. They'll probably be installed soon."

"That would be sufficient proof of this girl being real, don't you think?" Reinhardt spoke up and gestured to Gabe with a open hand, "plus, proof that this isn't the result of some sort of trick, or a uh, machine."

"Not if they're smart about it." Gabe shook his head, "Video footage can be doctored. And if they're able to project what I've seen into our minds, then I think conjuring a fake girl on a computer screen would be child's play."

"Now you're starting to sound like this is some conspiracy." Jack said.

Gabe quirked his head to the side, shooting Jack an odd look.

"I'm sorry- you don't think this could be conspiracy? Mr. Fake-my-death-to-investigate-a-conspiracy? Jack, come the fuck on."

Jack's shoulder's slumped. "Alright, Fair."

The rest of the members of the strike team exchanged odd looks.

"You two are going to tell us the full story of your memories one day." Ana grumbled, running a hand through her hair, "Over drinks. I have a feeling I'll definitely need them."

"So what are we gonna do then?" Torbjorn asked, "If this time traveling girl thing is true, I doubt we'll be able to keep it under wraps. You said her appearances seemed random, right? She could pop into the cafeteria during lunchtime and half of everyone in the building would see her."

"Right now, we're just trying to see if there is a pattern to when or where she pops up. With any luck, Gabe or I will get some new memories that could help us out. I saw the blueprints for what looked like a prototype for that thing on her chest, what's supposed to keep her tethered to time, but It's not like I can replicate it."

"Could we contact the person who built it?" Ana asked.

"No, the… person who built the device was…" Jack shot a pained look at Gabe, and he returned to with a raised eyebrow. He'd have to ask Jack about it later. "It's just not feasible."

"Will she be… alright?" Reinhardt asked, his voice steeped with caution.

"I wish I could tell you, Rein." Jack's expression turned downcast. "She can survive like this for a while, though I have no idea how long. The technology that was used to help her is decades away from where we are now. Even if we could get a team of scientists together to help her, I doubt they would be able to do much with our current technology. Besides, resources are going to be stretched thin enough already with the rebuilding process. For all we know, she could have already had this problem fixed in her time. They did it once before."

Gabe caught Jack's hands balling into fists at his side with the corner of his eye. Jack always managed to take things like this as if it was some personal failure of his. Barely knew the girl, and he looked like he was ready to put his first through a wall out of frustration for her sake.

Gabe tapped a finger on Jack's hands and he felt it relax just a bit, before it quickly grabbed on to Gabe's hand with a quick squeeze.

"So, we wait." Gabe took a step forward. "See where the chips fall, and then figure out what to do from there."

The three other members of the strike team nodded in affirmation.

"Then let's get out of this goddamn closet."

"Here here." Reinhardt mumbled, as the other members of the strike team graciously parted to allow the lumbering giant his way out first, whereupon he immediately straightened out and stretched.

"I still want to know the full story behind you two," Ana's eye narrowed dangerously "How exactly did it come about?"

"We'll tell you later." Jack waved her off "Adawe actually is probably looking for me."

"Me too." Gabe sighed pulling his beaning down as far as it could go, "Setting up the logistics for Blackwatch and garnering a set of agents for me is gonna be such a fucking time sink."

"We should all get together later today, once you're free." Ana suggested, "So you can give us the full story."

"It's really not that interesting," Jack said weakly, palming at the back of his neck.

"I think it's a wonderful idea!" Reinhardt's voice echoed back into the closet. "There's that little bar in the downtown, the Volkshaus, me and Torbjorn have gone there before! There were some private areas, too."

"The bartender did say that heroes drink free…" Torbjorn said with a devious grin on his face, "The two of you might even be able to work up a little buzz without breaking the bank."

"It's settled then!" Ana clasped her hands together. "Will the two of you be free from Adawe by nine?"

Gabe scoffed. "Adawe couldn't pay me to do paperwork after six, let alone nine."

"We made it clear that the little stunt she pulled with the position of strike commander wasn't appreciated, she owes us big time." Jack said. "We'll meet you there."

Torbjorn and Ana followed Reinhardt out the door, and just as Gabe was about the follow suit, he was pulled back by a tug on his hand, and wrapped in Jack's embrace.

"Just had to get the last word in, didn't you?" Jack said, but there was no bite to his words, and amusement twinkled in his eyes.

"Hey, I let you lead the party." Gabe said with a shrug. "Gonna have to learn to deal with grown ass adults acting like teenagers sooner or later. Can't pan them off to me anymore."

"Hmm, thanks for that," Jack leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Gabe's lips. "Not sure if I'm gonna be able to get used to being the one ordering everyone around."

"Did it well enough the first time around." Gabe grunted, "Though this time you'll have the benefit of having the best teacher ever. Plus, you've got a nice, scary yelling voice."

Jack scoffed, leaning forward again and pressing his forehead against Gabe's. They stood there for a long moment, simply enjoying each other's presence, a feeling of warmth, contentment , filled Gabe's chest. The memories of that other future still felt fresh in his mind, from the fallout of when Jack had accepted the offer of strike commander without talking to him, and how he spent hours, sulking alone, waiting and wishing for Jack to come in so they could have a conversation that never came.

He decided he liked his future a lot more than that of the other Gabriel's.

"Hey." Jack said after some time. Gabe hummed in response, letting his eyes slip close.

"There's been something that's been bothering me, basically ever since the start of this."

"A memory?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah, kinda… for some reason, I seem to associate it with you, though I can't figure out why."

"What?"

"Does the name… McCree mean anything to you?"

Gabe frowned deeply. Images of cowboy hats, old black and white spaghetti westerns, and spurs flicked into his mind and took to it like a match to a candle, illuminating the repressed horrors. The word 'Howdy' echoed in his head like a mantra.

"What?" Jack asked, cautiously.

Despite himself, Gabe couldn't help but groan, shaking his head.

"Goddamn headache is what it means."

Notes:What Ana said basically means oh my god, but in the context of someone receiving good news. At least, that's what the website said. Don't hesitate to tell me if I fucked that up and I'll change it right away.

And so this story comes to its somewhat open conclusion. Truth be told, if I had more time to write, I probably would have extended this shit out a lot, I really love the AU. So, open ending is unfortunately the best I could do due to the time constraints of the big bang. C'est la Vie. That being said, I don't think I've quite got this AU out of my system, so maybe I'll write more? I think there's a lot of room for more stories to come from this, from how Jack and Gabe handle their not-quite second chance at overwatch, to their relationship, to whatever the heck's going on to poor Lena. But, that's something for another day.

Lastly, some thank-yous. Thank you to everyone who read this fic, especially those of you who left a kudo, comment, or bookmark. Thank You to Apologija for encouraging me while I wrote this, as well as graciously beta'd the pile of trash I originally presented her with. Than you to Pastelgayloser for encouraging me throughout the big bang, and providing their lovely art to accompany my story. And lastly, a big thanks to the staff of the big bang, and all the other participants, without the big bang, I doubt this fic would have ever been written to completion