A/N: Angela and Jesse are bros. Everyone is gay. I don't know how it happened, it just did.
Angela was frustrated. She had been in her lab for ten hours straight trying to understand the consistent results from the many Western blots she had repeated. It couldn't have been a fluke, given how she got the same results every time. Was the literature wrong? Did she make a mistake when she designed the experiment? Were her samples contaminated? Was this one of those seemingly insignificant mistakes that would turn out to cause a paradigm shift in medicine? The last possibility was highly improbable, but Angela could hope.
She had already discussed her findings with Winston and MeiLing, but they didn't have much advice to offer. And then MeiLing had the gall to ask Angela about her climatology data. Angela helped MeiLing solve her problem, and she watched jealously as MeiLing left the lab with Aleksandra for a night out.
Angela's desk was scattered with scientific articles that she had printed out. People like MeiLing preferred reading from the massive monitor of her computer, and it saved on paper, but Angela liked having physical copies. To the untrained eye, it would look like Angela was messy, but Angela knew exactly where everything was, and it was faster for her to find the paper she needed by letting her hand pick the right article through muscle memory.
That was where Jesse found Angela. "Hey there, Angela." He laughed as Angela stiffened at the way he deliberately mispronounced her name to exasperate her.
"The "g" in Angela is hard one! Damn Americans can't give German-speakers any respect. And don't get me started on the "A" sound…"
"Now there, doc. I came to tell you that you need a break. You never leave this lab, and half of the team don't know who you are."
"Jesse, I'm not here to socialize, I'm here to help end the Second Omnic Crisis. And do my research while I'm at it."
"Fine. Then let's make this about me instead of you. I got me a date with the scrumptious older Shimada brother, and we're heading to a gay bar. You should come with. When was the last time you got laid?"
Angela ignored Jesse's question. She never gave herself time to pursue romantic relationships, but her body had needs too. Sometimes she would go to a bar and pick up someone warm and passionate for the night, and never see them again. Then again, it had been a while since she found comfort, and Angela's frustration at her lack of progress in her work demanded a distraction.
"Dating a co-worker is a bad idea, Jesse. It's not professional. Plus, if it doesn't work out, it could strain relationships, make our team less cohesive in battle…"
"You're too uptight, little missy", laughed Jesse. "That's it. You're definitely coming with us. Doctor's orders", he said with a wink.
"I don't see a "MD" or "PhD" on your business card", grumbled Angela as Jesse pulled her to her feet.
As Angela, Jesse, and Hanzo walked to the gay bar, Jesse sheepishly rubbed the back of his head at the way Hanzo glared at him for making him wait so long. Angela didn't put on that much make-up, but it wasn't something she did that often, so she had been incredibly slow.
If Jesse's a dog, Hanzo's a wolf, Canis lupus, thought Angela.
It was as if Hanzo could tell what Angela was thinking when he dropped his scowl to address Angela directly.
"You look lovely", said Hanzo politely.
Angela believed him.
Ever since she had started her regular injections of nanobots, she hadn't aged a day, and there wasn't a wrinkle on her face. Her smoky eye shadow made the blue of her eyes pop out, and her lip-gloss made her look positively kissable. She didn't care to change her hair style, leaving it in a ponytail. She chose one of the few dresses she had, which she owned precisely for the hunt she was going on tonight. It was a black, thin-strapped dress with a skirt that showed off ample amounts of strong, toned leg emphasized by high heels.
"Thank you", replied Angela. "You look strapping yourself. I can't see why you'd choose this cowboy…"
"I ain't no cowboy", interrupted Jesse. "Gunslinger. Bounty hunter. Badass motherfucker. Jesse McCree is many things, but a cowboy he ain't."
"He interests me", said Hanzo with a face so serious, Angela forgot he said something positive, and she felt bad for teasing Jesse. "Maybe we should have brought my brother. He seems to have taken a liking to you, Angela."
"Ya hear that, Angela? You have a secret admirer!" Jesse made kissing noises at Angela.
"Well if Genji wants to impress me, he should learn how to pronounce my name correctly first", said a nonchalant Angela.
"Well if you don't want an English pronunciation of your name, why do you call yourself Mercy?" retorted Jesse.
"Mercy is much faster to say than Barmherzigkeit. Plus, my parents gave me my name, and I will honour their decision by saying it the way they intended."
The bar was large, and crowded. There were many people for Angela to choose from, so she decided to take her time. She went up to the bar alone, and ordered a glass of red wine. She took a sip and surveyed her options.
Angela had a type, but it wasn't a hard type to find. Regardless of sex or gender, she liked seeing hard muscle, with a body so low in fat percentage that the muscle would be outlined clearly. While her partner slept after intercourse, she would slip from bed and start dressing, while naming each and every muscle she could see. There were many such bodies in her line of work, but she wouldn't let herself be attracted to anybody she knew. As she had said to Jesse earlier, it was a bad idea. It wasn't a warning that came from personal experience though. She had never tried it.
At the end of the bar, Angela spied a body that was exactly her type. The woman she was staring at was tall and wearing a simple, blue dress that was sleeveless and had a light skirt that ended at the calf. Angela's eyes roamed hungrily over the woman's arms, her lean waist, and the way her broad shoulders strained against the fabric of her dress. The woman's back was facing Angela, so she couldn't tell if she had a good face, but Angela figured that if she had enough alcohol, it wouldn't matter.
Angela downed the rest of her wine, and asked for another glass.
"And one more thing" she said to the bartender. "Give the lovely lady over there another round of whatever she's drinking. On me, of course."
The bartender nodded and tapped the woman on the shoulder as he handed her another beer. He gestured in Angela's direction. Angela watched eagerly as the woman turned around, only to feel her mouth go dry instantly.
"Mein Gott", mumbled Angela, whose hand flew up to cover the top part of her face. "That's Fareeha", she groaned.
Before Angela could decide what to do, Fareeha had pushed her way through the crowd to stand at Angela's feet.
"So, um. The bartender said this was from you", she said, holding her beer in the air. "Thank you."
"I'm sorry", said Angela. "I didn't know it was you. I've never seen you without your suit, and…" wow, finished the impulsive part of Angela's brain. "…and I thought you were someone else."
"Oh", said Fareeha, who looked at her feet.
"I like your dress", said Angela, and she wasn't lying. It had a conservative cut that didn't show enough of what she wanted to see, but it still framed Fareeha's body nicely. In particular, Fareeha's breasts were larger than she had expected… Angela cleared her throat and moved her eyes back to Fareeha's face. Thankfully the younger woman was still looking at her feet and hadn't noticed what Angela had been staring at.
"Thank you Angela. Your dress is nice too. It's kind of refreshing to see you without a lab coat on."
"But I never wear a lab coat outside of the lab."
Fareeha laughed. It was higher pitched than Angela would have expected from a woman of Fareeha's musculature, and although Angela preferred deeper voices, it wasn't an unpleasant sound.
"You never leave the lab. It's something that hasn't changed since I was a kid."
Angela's eyes went wide, and her head started throbbing.
That's right, Angela thought. Fareeha's a co-worker. And I've known her since she was a child. Without wanting to, Angela saw Fareeha's twelve-year-old face in place of her real one. It had the same hair and hair ornaments, but the eyes were larger and rounder, the cheeks full of baby fat. Angela's feelings of lust were trampled to the ground.
"So, why are you here?" asked Fareeha. "Aleks and Mei said it would be fun to let loose once in a while, but I haven't been having much fun. Bars aren't my style. It's too crowded and people keep touching me."
"I'm sorry to hear that", said Angela who lightly touched her fingertips to Fareeha's forearm. She immediately pulled back, face turning red, and feeling mightily ashamed for doing exactly what Fareeha had just complained about. "Jesse and Hanzo brought me", she managed to squeak.
"Are you alright, Angela?" asked Fareeha, a concerned look over her face. "You're flushed. Have you had too much to drink?"
"No, no, I can handle my alcohol quite well", she said, hastily bringing said liquid back to her lips to take a satisfying gulp.
"Are you sick then?" she asked, placing a large hand over Angela's forehead. Angela felt her face grow even hotter.
"No, I don't get sick…" Angela whispered, but the bar was too loud for Fareeha to hear her.
"Does it hurt? Hold on." Fareeha reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a bag of gummy bears. "Do you want some? I always carry them on me."
Angela couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh! Do you prefer chocolate? I do too, but it's inconvenient if it melts."
Before Angela could respond, a large, attractive woman wearing a vest and dress pants leaned in and said, "Excuse me. Did it hurt?"
Angela rolled her eyes at the pick-up line she had heard more times than she had cared to.
"What?" said Fareeha.
Angela was surprised when the woman basically shoved Angela out of the way to stand in Fareeha's personal space. Angela had thought the attention was hers.
"When you fell from heaven. Did it hurt?"
"Is heaven a city?" Fareeha took in the woman's uncertain face. "Oh, if you mean the sky, I actually did fall from the heavens. But it didn't hurt because Angela saved me", she said, smiling at Angela. Angela felt her heart flutter.
The woman glared at Angela. "Are you together?" she asked Fareeha.
"Oh, no, we're co-workers."
"Then how about we ditch her, and find somewhere where we could talk where it's more quiet." The woman wrapped her hand around Fareeha's left biceps and gave it a little squeeze. The look of discomfort on Fareeha's face spurred Angela into action.
"Oh, she really doesn't have the time", said Angela who grasped Fareeha's hand and pulled. "We have an early start tomorrow, so we can't be out too late."
Angela signalled to the bartender that she was ready to pay. While Fareeha's attention was directed at the cash register, Angela looked over her shoulder to see the woman's icy stare. She poked her tongue out at her, glad that she looked much younger than she actually was, and paid the bills for both her and Fareeha.
Angela found it easier to breathe when she pulled Fareeha out of the bar and she savoured the crisp night air.
"I think you're mistaken", said Fareeha.
"What do you mean?"
"We don't have an early start tomorrow. Did you know that formation training is scheduled for the afternoon?"
"Is that how you thank me for helping you shake off that annoying woman?"
"Oh. You lied. You shouldn't do that. Um. But thank you, she was making me uncomfortable."
"You're welcome", said Angela with a squeeze of her hand. It then dawned on her that Fareeha's palm was still nestled in hers. "Does this make you uncomfortable?" she asked, holding up their hands.
"Not at all. I feel safe when I'm around you." Angela felt heat creep up her neck until Fareeha continued. "You did save my life, after all."
Angela sighed and let go of Fareeha's hand, all too aware that she wasn't going to get rid of her sexual tension that night. She desperately tried to think of a way to distract herself from the way Fareeha's calf muscles flexed and stretched with each step back to the base, and the way she carried herself with such confidence.
Thankfully, Fareeha seemed to know exactly what to say.
"Do you still want a gummy bear?"
A/N: Yes, I threw shade at the way Genji pronounces Angela's name in his voice line when Mercy gets damaged.
