They wound up spending almost a week in Tokyo, moving between fittings with Hanzo and Takenouchi, and visiting all of the "touristy" venues with Lena. Finally, when the suits were ready, they loaded back into the Orca for the short hop to London.
"So, we'll probably spend a day debating this with Parliament, and then we're back. You got all the requests?"
Jack laughed off-screen and Gabe flashed a grin. "Yes, Ms Coffey. We've been keeping them up, too. And we've add a few new recruits to your roster, in case anyone wanted to get in touch with them."
"Good. What's that sound?"
Gabe swung the camera around to show Jack, seated on the floor, with a lap full of small, squirming-
"Oh my god, when did we get kittens?" she squealed in delight.
"Momma was giving birth as you left, actually," Jack answered, carefully balancing a bottle and kitten as he tried to feed a second at the same time.
Angelica cooed at the sight. "But the momma cat is okay, right?"
"Oh, yeah, she's fine. But she's not producing enough milk for her whole litter, so we help."
"That's good. Send me pictures of the babies."
She rose as her phone chimed, signaling incoming messages. Gabe was sending her a stream of pictures of the kittens and Jack, with a few appearances of a lanky calico. She grinned at the pics as she entered the cockpit.
"Hey, Lena. Check this out."
Lena glanced at the phone, squealing in delight when she saw the kittens.
"Oh, they are so precious! And the commanders are helping? That's adorable. Remind me to tease them about it."
Angelica laughed and returned to her seat, offering her phone to Hanzo. His face softened a bit as he studied the kittens, then handed her the phone back.
—
Gabe finished taking pictures with a final selfie of him cuddling with a tiny black kitten and grinned. He decided to send her an email of the info he'd found, just to get her opinion. He left Jack with the kittens, shooting one last fond grin as Jack lay back, kittens shakily crawling all over him.
He sauntered toward the kitchen, biting back a grin when Lúcio and Hana leapt apart when the door opened.
"Keep it to the lower-traffic areas, and you wouldn't have this problem," he informed them, grabbing a soda out of the fridge.
He shook his head at Lúcio's muttered "Yessir," and continued toward his room. On the one hand, he was glad that the new group was finding love, or at least a fling. On the other, he knew firsthand how distracting having someone you cared about on the front line could be. He scrubbed a hand over his face, thinking.
Genji and Zenyatta worked well together, and he hadn't noticed any issues with them working together in the training room. Gérard and Amélie seemed to be hitting their stride as a team, so no major problems there. Jesse and Hanzo were still dancing around their mutual attraction. He snorted. Bet they think no one's noticed yet. Wonder what that pool's up to? He grinned, but decided to let them have some space for now. If it started getting in the way, he'd lock them in a closet to talk it out. Lena and Emily weren't having any issues he could see, nor were Angela and Fareeha. Hana and Lúcio somewhat surprised him, and he wanted to object, but the hypocrisy of protesting a seven year age gap, considering his and Angelica's more than twenty, made him hold his tongue. The fact that Hana seemed to be the one in the driver's seat there helped soothe his ire.
He shook his head, remembering Gérard's barb about his adopted kids. Well, fine. Someone had to look after this collection of oddballs, why not him and Jack?
He sent Angelica the links he'd found, pointing out the article titled "Relationship Bill of Rights".
We'll do our best, but we have a history of doing stupid shit. Take care of yourself with the politicians.
-Gabe
PS: any idea what the pool is for Hanzo and Jesse hooking up?
He didn't expect a response anytime soon, so he changed and headed out to the gym. He'd either beat a heavy bag or spar with whoever was up for it.
—
Later, as he was toweling off, he heard his phone beep, signaling an incoming email. He picked it up, delighted to see a response from Angelica.
First, thanks for this. I've been skimming, but there are a few places I think we all need to sit and talk about.
Second, the Jesse/Hanzo pool is about $550. Apparently, the one concerning us is $800, but no one's claimed it yet. Genji, Jesse, and Hanzo know, because the Noodles have no filters, but they haven't told anyone.
—
Angelica dropped onto the seat with a sigh.
"Did that go well? I think it went well. Please say it went well?"
Hanzo huffed a small laugh, flipping through the documents she had signed. "It went well. The UK has given us permission to occupy the base and use any lingering resources that may have been left behind. We may also operate within their borders in pursuit of Talon. Should it come to anything outside their borders, however, there is nothing Parliament can do."
She groaned. "I'm going to have to do this with every country, aren't I?"
He patted her leg lightly as the Orca took off. "Most likely, unless we can stop something sufficiently dramatic. But don't worry. I'm sure Commander Morrison won't make you do this at the expense of your career."
—
"What do you mean, 'you're letting me go'? I'm the best handler you have!"
Her, apparently now former, boss studied her across the desk. "Yes, you are very talented in your work. However, you are living in a deactivated Overwatch base, illegally, might I add. You are encouraging impressionable children to spend time with hardened criminals. Furthermore, you have been very publicly fronting Overwatch, violating the Petras Act. You represent this organization with every meeting you arrange, and you have been reflecting poorly on Shooting Star of late." He nodded once, firmly, as if everything was settled.
Angelica gaped at him, stunned. Then she stood up, shoulders squaring. "Fine. You're right, Richard, I have been staying in an Overwatch base. But I'm not 'encouraging' anything. The kids like Jesse, and Jamison, and Mako. They adore Reaper. But, fine. I'll turn in my phone, and only come back to pick up my check. Don't call me when the kids want to meet Overwatch, though. None of them will come."
She marched out, head high, and climbed into the waiting car. She sighed heavily and let her head drop against the seat back as Jack asked, "Rough meeting?"
She rolled her head to look at him. "Just got fired. Apparently, all of you are a liability waiting to happen."
"You know, if you ask, there are a number of terrifying people who would be happy to march in there and get it back for you," Jack mused as he drove to the Orca.
She snorted. "Richard Anderson has all the spine of a jellyfish. Yeah, you could get it back. Hell, if I'd yelled at him enough, I could have gotten it back. But he'll come crawling back in about a week once he sees how popular all of you are."
She sighed as they approached the transport. "I hate job hunting."
Jack rested a hand on her shoulder as he drove into the open cargo bay. "You know you have a nice, shiny new job available with us."
She slid over so she was tucked under his arm. "Yeah, I know. Let me feel sorry for myself for a bit?"
He chuckled as he kissed the top of her head. "I'll get more ice cream. Want Gabe to order pizza?"
She considered it as they headed to their seats. "Nah. I'm thinking those steak and potato nachos. Those were good." She fastened herself in and groaned. "I really don't want to talk to anymore politicians, Jack. They're assholes."
"Preachin' to the choir on that one, kid." He studied her face, then patted her thigh gently. "Tell you what. I promise not to make this as big as it was, and you smile for the cameras."
She kicked at him, but smiled. "Fine. I'll let some of the more reasonable people in Shooting Star know, because I don't want to let these kids down, and I'll be your boss. On paper, at least."
He grinned. "Don't want the responsibility?"
"Don't have the experience. You and Gabe do, so you run it. I want Gérard to help, though. I don't think he's much of a field agent."
Jack closed his eyes. "He was, but more a support agent. Watch our backs, keep us out of trouble. But he was always better at the talking parts than I was." He stretched, then studied her. "Gabe's going to want to get you a new wardrobe. I don't think you could pull off the body armor look."