The next day was slow, ploddingly so by Junkrat's estimation, but at least his head felt clearer. Unfortunately that did nothing to quell his anxiety, quite the opposite since it gave him ample opportunity to contemplate his situation, which resulted in several arguments with himself as to what to do... inevitably they all ended the same.
His options were limited. He wasn't getting out by himself, he couldn't even sit up properly, so if escape was his aim he'd need Roadhog, but persuading him it was a good idea to ditch the medical ward seemed unlikely... because, well, it wasn't a good idea. He knew that. He knew he needed to stay here, to rest, to heal, but his instincts had other convictions.
Junkrat disliked being trapped. He disliked it intensely. While he could reasonably say that the doors were not locked and that the only reason anyone would complain about him leaving the room would be his own health, knowing that he could not simply stand up and walk out of his own volition was distressing. It prickled at him, warning him, whispering things in the back of his head that had no place here... His own helplessness was equally as unsettling. Roadhog's presence went some way to soothing that, but intermittently those same worries came slinking back as he struggled to find a way to occupy himself. That was the problem, really, the lack of anything to amuse himself with. Roadhog was there and so he should feel safe, but there was too much damn time to think...
Mercy was the first to offer a distraction that morning. While he had little interest in what she had to say – simply more polite questions, and a summary of his condition which only served to remind him that he wasn't getting up anytime soon – she also provided him with two devices. One, she claimed, so he could call her if he ever needed her regardless of where she was in the base. The other was to operate the bed. This would lever it up or down and allow him to effectively sit, albeit at an angle, without his own strength.
Junkrat's twitchy fingers were all too happy to make use of this. He wasted the better part of twenty minutes playing with the controls for the bed, and just about made himself nauseous before she came back to seize it on the ground that it was 'not a toy' and that he was 'probably going to hurt himself'. His complaints fell on deaf ears. Particularly Roadhog, who Junkrat suspected was unimpressed by his antics. What else they expected was beyond him. He'd never liked stillness. It felt wrong, it ran contrary to his very nature, he could hardly be expected to just lie there if any other option presented itself.
Thankfully it wasn't long before Lucio and Hana trooped in with armfuls of entertainment. They weren't the only ones to stop by either, as the day progressed a slow but steady stream of visitors arrived. That was baffling enough to Junkrat, but stranger still was the fact that some of them brought gifts. Stuff just for him, and which they assured him, despite his natural skepticism, he was not expected to pay back. Could have told them what a terrible business practice that was, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Got a whole load of loot and all he had to do for it was blow himself up. Downright ridiculous.
Tracer was the first to make an appearance, dragging her lady friend along with her. As usual the chipper brit was all but bouncing with enthusiasm, but a tap on the arm from Emily and she seemed to remember herself, sobering up and presenting her gift with an air of reverence. A pulse bomb. Junkrat's eyes gleamed at the prospect.
A stern glance from Mercy however and Tracer pulled it back, laughing, and swearing that of course she couldn't give it to him now, but it would be waiting in the workshop for him as soon as he was ready. That didn't sit as well with Junkrat but he supposed he wasn't in any kind of shape to tear it apart at the moment anyway. It was something to look forward to.
Reinhardt was naturally all joyous cries of relief, praises for his supposed bravery and promises of the best currywurst a man could dream of, none of which Junkrat was entirely sure how to respond to. Ana and Brigitte were more subdued by contrast, offering a new set of tools and a box of tea Ana would only describe as 'calming'. They bundled up their louder companion, guiding him out of the room.
Junkrat turned to Roadhog when he judged them to be gone. "Oi, what's currywurst?"
His partner could only shrug.
He didn't have long to ponder it since Symmetra arrived precisely on time. She scorned his reckless behavior but quietly, Junkrat suspected, she was just pleased to see him awake. It was always the small things you had to look out for with her. She didn't grin or laugh or cry, but Hog had never been like that either, some people had their own mannerisms. It was there in the way she stood a little closer than she normally did, in the particular attention she granted to his mindless chatter and how she bit back any complaints she had for the time being, setting them aside.
It was nice, for once, to be sought out simply for his company and not any ulterior motive he could detect. If she was there, it was because she thought it important. Symmetra would never have integrated it into her schedule if she didn't consider it as such. That was an odd sort of gift in itself.
One by one the others drifted by. The cowboy left him a bottle of whisky which was almost immediately confiscated. The big Russian lady gave him a proper winter coat, since whatever jacket he'd been wearing was presumably a smoldering mess if his own state was anything to go off - not that that bothered Junkrat much. Pharah told him he could have a round of her rockets, but warned him to 'behave for Angela', to which the doctor laughed quite sweetly.
Even Mei tiptoed in, delivering a homemade card and mumbling some sort of apology before she hastily retreated, and the Monkey had an apology too, though it seemed more longwinded and stumbling. Junkrat eventually cut him off and told him he'd just be happy with no more mandatory briefings for a week or two. The Monkey seemed to want to say more, but he sighed, and left it at that. He even thought he caught a glimpse of Soldier through the window, but he was gone before he had a chance to pin him with his gaze.
Junkrat would be lying if he said he didn't still feel tired. There was a certain bone-weariness to his body that was unfamiliar, even if it wasn't as bad as it had been the day before, and on occasion it got the better of him. Enough so that at one point Roadhog growled at everyone to get out and he took a begrudging nap.
As soon as he was conscious and nattering away again though, Lucio and Hana came back. They chatted about gossip around the base, little bits of this and that, keeping his mind from wandering to things he didn't want to contemplate. They even dragged in a monitor as promised and played some movies. Junkrat found those harder to focus on than games, since they weren't interactive and you were just kind of expected to stare in one spot, but even if he had trouble following the plot at times he still got a kick out of the action scenes and any dumb jokes.
Lucio left a set of headphones and some music in case it got too quiet, and they both swore to visit again. He knew they meant it.
Even if he was stuck for now... even if there was a restlessness he couldn't quite ease and he'd never truly be comfortable while he couldn't stand by himself, well... Junkrat supposed it wasn't all bad. He'd heal, and in the meantime... there were other things to enjoy. He didn't remember ever feeling anything other than fear in such a situation before... made a nice change, to feel wanted too, to know that for whatever reason people thought him worth the trouble of visiting.
Not because they spied weakness, not because they thought they could wring anything out of him, not because they had to, but because... they cared? That was the only answer he was able to puzzle out of it all. Right loony... not that he minded. Left him with the biggest, stupidest grin of his life, to the point where Roadhog actually asked what it was about.
Junkrat just snickered. "'s funny, ain't it? Folk used to say I'd never amount to anythin', and I always thought, ya know, after we hit the big time, robbed the bleedin' crown jewels an' all that other shit, that I showed 'em, right? Got everythin' a bloke could want... could take anythin' we wanted, could travel the world, an' it was ace... But I reckon... reckon this ain't half bad either, better even... Never thought I'd stay somewhere so long... never thought I'd want to, ya get what I'm sayin'?"
Roadhog snorted. "Delirious."
"Might be mate!" he said cheerily. "No idea what the doc said I'm on today, can't remember... an' I got no right feelin' like this while I'm lazin' about. Reckon this ain't the worst place to wake up though, all considered... they're a good sort... an' you're here too, which isn't nothin'."
"Hmmmm."
"Guess... guess I'm just feelin' a bit funny right now is all..."
"This," Roadhog rumbled, and there seemed to be a gentle warning in his tone, "might not last."
Junkrat paused. Of all people he would know. Roadhog never said a lot about his past, but Junkrat remembered hearing snippets over the years, enough that he understood a little, even if he'd never piece together the whole picture. His giddy mood dampened slightly, and he forced himself to weigh those words, to take them at their worth. His fingers tapped in an offbeat rhythm. Could be that there was some truth to it... but despite it all he still couldn't stop a vague smile creeping its way back across his face. "Eh... maybe. But we're both still here for now, so no harm in enjoyin' it, right? That's the proper way of things. Stuff's alright, yeah?"
"Hmmmmm." It wasn't a disagreement as far as Junkrat could tell.
He nodded, satisfied. "Exactly. And I'll be up again in no time, I'm fine," he said, "just... don't let me think too hard about it cos ya know how I get..."
Roadhog's grunt confirmed it.
That was all he needed really. At the end of the day, Junkrat supposed that regardless of his own distaste for it, a brief spell in the medical ward wasn't too steep a price to pay... mission had been a bloody wreck, but he hadn't lost anything important. He'd take the rest in his stride.
((Shoutout to Barbarossa for leaving the sweetest review, and to the other couple of people who dropped a line too. You honestly don't know how much it cheers me up to know people actually enjoy reading this.
Anyway, this was just something short and quick so you know Junkrat's doing alright. It's by no means an end, but it's not a bad place to take a pause.
I was going to tell you that it might be a longer wait until the next chapter since my break is over, so it's back to uni and I actually have to *shudders* do work... I somehow ended up writing half of it last night however, but, then again, now I've been hit by a spiralling sense of self doubt and I'm thinking I may have to re-write it so... I don't know... we'll see. In any case, chapters might be a little further apart in future.))
