Whatever mood had consumed Lucio the night before, it seemed to have run its course by the next day. He grabbed his morning coffee with his usual cheer, making small talk with the other early risers. Junkrat remained suspicious.
If Symmetra had set him off once before then it could easily happen again. He hadn't decided what he wanted to do about that. Hell, he didn't know if he ought to do anything at all, it was exactly the sort of problem he'd stir up by sticking his foot in his mouth. Social subtleties were... not his strong point.
In the outback, when two folk had beef with each other they settled it quick and sensible like with their fists... or a knife in the dark if they were being unsporting. Either way, tensions never stayed high for long. There was no point letting it fester when there was other shit to worry about... people problems just went away, all you had to do was draw a few lines in the sand and carry on... and if folk looked like they were going to tear each others throats out then they usually did, and, well, once one of them was dead that sort of fixed the issue.
Point was... point was Overwatch didn't handle things the same way, and neither Lucio or Symmetra seemed the type to resolve their differences in a brawl... and that meant that either it was never going to get better, or maybe... maybe there was another way to fix it that he couldn't wrap his head around.
It was exactly the sort of stupidly frustrating thing that gnawed away at him, got him antsy. He wanted to do something, but he didn't know what, so he just wasted his time thinking about it and then getting pissed off at his own lack of activity. After a day of wrestling with this he decided the only thing to do was put it on the back burner until inspiration struck. That was pretty much his standard approach to planning anyways.
Once Junkrat had come to that conclusion things were easier. When he met up with Lucio and Hana for games night none of them mentioned Symmetra or her visit, as far as Junkrat could tell they were all very determined to pretend none of it happened which suited him fine. Trouble was, something still felt off, like a prickle under his skin, and he had no clue if anything was different or if it was his imagination. There was only one detail he was certain had changed, and that was that for the first time in weeks the door was kept closed and not slightly ajar. Perhaps that was what kept him on edge...
When he finally turned in he slept fitfully, and when he woke there was some of knocking at his door. The sound was enough to instantly jar him awake. It took him a moment to relax, to remember where he was and remind himself not to reach for his frag launcher like his fingers itched to do.
He stretched, scrubbed at his crusty eyes and instead picked up his prosthetics, starting with the arm while keeping the door in his peripherals. There was a trap set out by it like he always did when he actually chose to sleep in his own room, not that anyone would be stupid enough not to check the ground at this point, it simply reassured him.
"Oi, what ya want?" he called as he finished slotting the arm on and started on the leg.
"I wish to converse with you, if that is permittable. You... did not visit the workshop yesterday and I could not find you this morning, so I decided to take matters into my own hands, so to speak... please, I would appreciate your input." Ah. Symmetra. There was no mistaking her voice.
Junkrat snickered. "Probably only time I'm gonna hear that, ay?"
She did not reply immediately. When she did her tone was stern. "This is important."
He snorted. Of course it would be. She'd never bothered to seek him out before. He had the sneaking suspicion that he knew what this was about, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with it when he still hadn't figured out what he wanted to do.
"How important? Like, important as in ya gonna die if ya don't get it out, or important as in it can wait until I get me some tucker?" he asked as he pulled his shorts on, not bothering with a shirt.
"I would prefer to talk as soon as possible, though it is not a matter of life or death," she admitted with reluctance.
"Then I'm gonna nip to the kitchen first, grab me a bite to eat," Junkrat said. "What's that thing you say? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day?"
"It is wise to maintain a balanced diet with meals at regular intervals, though I cannot say I have ever thought to rank them in terms of importance..."
Junkrat disarmed his traps and nudged the door open, finding her standing there with a ponderous expression, as if seriously contemplating the value of one meal over another. She frowned at the sight of him. He thought for a second she was displeased with him, but it wasn't like he was any more of a mess than he usually was, he thought she'd learned to ignore it despite how much disorder bothered her. The fact that he was wrong was mildly insulting. He flapped a hand at his hair before giving up on the idea entirely, instead squaring his shoulders as if daring her to find a problem. Wasn't his fault he didn't roll out of bed all spick and span. Shit, half his life he'd been lucky to get up without something immediately trying to kill him, could he be blamed for not wasting time sprucing up? Especially when she'd just gone and rudely woken him up in the first damn place.
"You are correct," she said after a seconds hesitation, looking away, "breakfast is important. If you have any intention of beginning to cultivate healthy eating habits I will not intervene."
"Uh... right, ta." He wasn't sure what had just happened, but it seemed to be as close to an apology as he was going to get. Junkrat scratched at the back of his neck, trying to order his words. He didn't exactly want to tell her to piss off until later but he couldn't think of a tactful way to avoid her now she'd gone to the trouble of hunting him down. "Ya got turret work to do or sumthin'?"
"There are always improvements to be made but I have other matters which concern me."
"Well... sure there's some fiddly stuff ta keep ya occupied, I'll meet ya in the workshop later, yeah?"
She stood still, studying him. After a brief moment she gave a sharp nod, apparently satisfied by whatever she had found and Junkrat felt a quiet twinge of guilt for the relief he felt. "I will expect you promptly."
"Ace! Wouldn't miss it." He gave her a mock salute and she finally turned away.
His grin felt more like a grimace and he let it fall. Putting his finger on what was bothering him most was hard, he was half convinced waking up unexpectedly had just put him in a bad mood but it was a slow build up of things he didn't like clustering together.
He didn't grab breakfast, if it could even be called breakfast at this point... he suspected it was closer to the afternoon, he'd never kept a regular sleeping pattern... It seemed more important to find Hog. Again, putting his finger on why was difficult, but he suspected it was because Hog was reliable. He never made things complicated, never stuck him in a situation like this. That was reassuring, and crikey, he needed to feel on level ground sometimes.
He found the big lug outside, staring out at the ocean. Roadhog's posture shifted at the distinctive clank of Junkrat's pegleg on the metal walkway and he inclined his head slightly to the side in way of greeting, not turning away from the view.
"Enjoyin' the sunshine, eh? Nice day for it... bit different from Oz... Crikey, summer there was a fucking nightmare, if it wasn't tryin' to bake us alive it'd be storms all week, acid rain, dust clouds... used to think that was just the time of year what wanted people dead... course, think the whole place just wanted people dead, took us leaving to twig that weren't the usual state of things in the big wide world... kinda dumb, ain't it? Seeing stuff so peaceful... gets ya thinkin' there has to be somethin' wrong, hiding beneath the surface..." He trailed off, coming to lean on the railing. His metal fingers began to tap. "Always expect it, but it doesn't happen an' maybe that's worse. I mean, I ain't complainin' or anythin' but dealing with that shit was what we were used to, and now it's just... other things... I don't get it mate... should be easier..."
"What's wrong?"
Junkrat brushed the question aside with a wave of his hand. "Nothin', just thinkin' is all... Anyways, what's so interestin' out there, huh? Spot any fishies? Plannin' on swimming? Can ya swim? Never seen it but I reckon you'd float pretty good, not like me, bettin' I'm more of a sinkin' stone type what with arm and leg..."
"You've seen me swim. We went to the beach once."
"Did we?" he asked, grin dimming as he searched his fuzzy memories for something that could match. Another blank. He shrugged, attempting to bring some of his usual cheer back into his voice as if it didn't matter. "Don't remember... Can't have been that great then I guess..."
"It was nice... we could go again some time..."
"Yeah?" Junkrat wasn't sure if that was a genuine suggestion or just something to make up for the gap in his memory, but he allowed himself to ponder the idea. "Suppose they gotta give us holiday time at some point... always figured we could go to a casino though, sounds like more fun... tempting hit too... I mean, if we still did that sort of thing..."
"Hmmmm."
He struggled for things to say, for words to fill the silence with. "...wrote up a few plans a couple of days ago. Burnt them, of course, was just bored... but eh, could always save it for retirement. Plenty of other stuff for now..." His fingers tapped quicker. "Been lookin' into fireworks more, think I've got the basics figured... once I get the right materials I'll give it a shot... could set 'em off next time we beat Talon into the ground, like, a celebration thing. Ain't like they have any other use, except maybe to blow off steam..."
"So long as it's not inside."
"Like everyone's always sayin'..." He gnawed absently at the fingernails of his spare hand. "So, uh... what's that book you been readin'? Is it good? Whatsit about?"
Roadhog turned away from the view to finally fix Junkrat with the glassy eyes of his mask. "What's bothering you?"
Junkrat huffed, throwing up his arms in exaddurated frustration. "Nothin', I told ya! Can't I just have a bloody conversation with me own bodyguard?"
He could tell Roadhog was not convinced. In the same way he'd figured out how to tell what the giant was thinking based on his posture or the particular way he chose his scant words or grunts, Roadhog knew how to pick apart his anxious ticks. How he did it was beyond Junkrat, but he had an uncanny ability to tell the difference between one of his more excitable or talkative moods and the sort of tangent he went on when something was bothering him. "What is it?"
He ran nervous fingers through his patchy hair, trying to find something to occupy them with."Shit, look... it's stilly."
"Rat..."
Finding Roadhog was turning out to be a worse idea than he'd thought. The entire plan was to avoid this, yet here the bloody pig insisted at picking at that scab. He snarled, but bit out the words anyway. "Alright, fine! Ya just... ya ever get mad cos people are just being stupid but ya know ya can't reason with them cos they'll just be stupid about it? Ya can't threaten 'em and ya can't knock their heads together and ya ain't good with words and ya know whatever ya say they just won't listen?"
"I can think of a few instances."
There was a hint of wry humour in Roadhogs voice which he purposly chose to ignore. "Well it's stupid!"
Quiet hung in the air while Junkrat fumed, clenching the rail like he could break it. Roadhog watched him pateintly while he scowled at the ocean.
"You need me to beat some sense into someone?"
"Nah mate," he said, forcing himself to relax a little despite the anger bubbling beneath the surface, "figure that ain't exactly gonna help. Just lookin' for a distraction..."
"You had lunch?"
"Don't think so."
"Go have lunch. Worry about the rest later."
Somehow that was not the right thing to say. Something about the dismissive way he spoke prickled at Junkrat, sparked his temper. He pushed away from the railing, straightening up to his full height so he could glare right into Roadhog's mask. It was stupid, oh so fuckin' stupid, but it felt like a betrayal and he'd already wound himself so tight it was easy to let go. A small part of his brain was shrieking at him to shut the hell up but Junkrat was beyond caring. "Oh I see how it is, ya had enough of me ruining your peace and quiet, eh? Look, I ain't askin' for a solution here, just thought me best mate might be willin' to keep me company till I get me thoughts in order, but apparently you'd rather sit in the sun like a bleedin' tourist! Fuck!"
"That's not-"
"Might as well just tell me to piss off, it'd be quicker. Why ya even still around if ya can't stand me? Ain't like we're rolling in the dosh recently."
"Don't be an idiot-"
He grit his teeth. Fuck this, fuck Roadhog, fuck everyone, ya couldn't trust them for anything. "I'm not bein' an idiot! I just-"
Roadhog gripped his shoulder with one massive hand and Junkrat immediatly tensed. His eyes went wide and wild. Too much adrenaline, he should know by now that Roadhog would never hurt him, no more than he deserved anyways. Why on earth was he in this state? Why hadn't he noticed? When had irritation turned into an all out torrent of fury and panic? He knew his head had never been screwed on quite right and that sometimes he reacted funny, but this? It was pure ridiculos.
Roadhog's voice was slow and rumbling as always. "Stop."
He latched onto that single word, breathing in carefully, slowing his heart until his pulse wasn't racing in his ears. If he concentrated on that then he could pull himself back together, piece by piece. Slowly but surely things began to make sense again. Finally he laughed, well aware of how high pitched and shakey it sounded. "Guess I... still got a bit of a short fuse, sorry to blow up on ya like that."
Roadhog gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and let him go. He didn't look angry, or at least, Junkrat didn't think he did... sometimes it was difficult to tell. Roadhog's anger wasn't blindingly hot like his own, it was cold and sharp and cruel at times... thankfully it was a rare occasion. As far as Junkrat knew Roadhog's usual emotions ranged from ponderous to grumpy, and that was a reassuring spectrum compared to his own.
Junkrat shuffled on the spot. "Right... didn't mean nothin' by it, just a bit out of sorts, don't know what to do with meself."
"You'll work it out, you always do."
"Thanks mate..." It wasn't much, but it helped a little. He hesitated, then smiled sheepishly. "Promise not to be so much of a crazy bastard... least for now..."
Roadhog's grunt suggested he doubted that promise would last long, but he accepted it none the less.
"I'll get out of ya hair then, no sense wastin' time, tick tock an' all that..." he said, once it was clear Roadhog wasn't going to add any more. He began to traipse off, but caught a deep sigh behind him.
"Junkrat?"
He glanced over his shoulder at the hulking figure of Hog. "Yeah?"
"Make sure you have lunch."
His grin crept up a little wider, only half forced, and he finger-gunned back. "Got ya, mate, me memories not that bad."
True to his word, he scavenged the kitchen shortly after. What he really needed though, he decided, was for something to explode. A little wanton destruction was good for the soul. He wanted things to feel right again, and nothing had ever done that better. Besides, all his best plans had sprung into being while he was working on what he loved, so it stood to reason that this was as good a time as any to get back to the fun things in life.
He snagged some suplies from his room and in no time was down in the training range, rigging up one of his more experimental designs. He chewed on his lip, humming to himself as he fiddled with the wiring, as deep in concentration as he could ever be.
Junkrat almost missed the click of heels on the ground, but instinct kicked in and he found himself looking up without really knowing why, gaze flicking about for the source of his distraction.
Symmetra walked with purpose. Each stride was set in hard rhythm, no pause, no wasted movement. She decended upon him so fast he barely had time to draw himself back into the present moment and put two and two together.
His grin was more manic than friendly as he haistily shoved his work aside and scrambled to his feet... or, well, foot. "G'day."
She looked him up and down, as if assessing him in one quick sweep of her eyes. "I thought I made it clear I had matters I urgently wished to discuss with you," she said, arms folded across her chest.
"Eh," Junkrat began, scratching at his neck awkwardly, "may have got meself distracted."
"So I see." The pause was deliberate, he was certain of it, long enough to let him stew in his own mistake. When she spoke again it was softer, with the weight of what he could only call disappointment. "I told you it was important."
"Ya know," he said cheerily, tapping at the side of his head, "memories... eh... not what it ought to be... slipped me mind is all, no harm intended."
"Hmmm." He couldn't tell if she believed him. Symmetra was one of the harder people to read, if only because she was so careful in every move or expression she made. He thought he was getting the hang of it but at times like these he was reminded how hard it could be when she wanted it that way. "Well, I suppose you can spare a moment now?"
He could see no way to dodge this, no way to run. Resigning himself to the inevitable Junkrat nodded. "Sure. Fire away."
((Long time no update, sorry about that, I've been having trouble keeping on top of things recently...))
