"Why do you call me that, Hanzo?"
The moon had already made her appearance, shining brightly into the room as you slipped into your pajamas, the bathroom door set just slightly ajar behind you. The girl who met your gaze in the mirror didn't look wholly like you, her eyes were too despondent, her lips curved downward in an unfamiliar way. You were used to depression, to feeling lost, but this was new.
"What do you mean?" Hanzo asked, looking up as you pushed open the bathroom door, slinking out of the room.
"Hachi. It means bee, right? Why do you call me that?" You crawled onto the bed, kneeling beside him, but made no effort to look up into his eyes. Instead, you cast your gaze downward to your hands as you wrung your fingers in your lap.
"Does it bother you?" his tone was soft, his fingers gentle as he brushed back the bangs that fell into your face.
"No. I just… I don't think I understand," you said, leaning into the touch as you rolled your lips. "The nickname came out of nowhere and I don't understand how you came up with it."
"Hmm, well," he started, taking some time to think. "Because you remind me of one."
You looked up at him then, your brows furrowed, but he wasn't looking at you; his eyes looked past you, out toward the window where the moon winked in at the two of you, cheeky in her fullness. A wind blew past the window, sending leaves scurrying against the glass as they tried to follow it.
"I-"
"You are fragile, lost, tossed in a storm like a bee without her hive," he said suddenly. "That night, when you awoke from that nightmare, you were looking for Jesse, I could tell. He had been your rock through all of it, so it was no surprise. But the fear in your eyes when you looked up at me, I realised how far you'd actually been blown, how much those cruel winds had tossed you, how much you needed more than just a rock…" He frowned a bit, pursing his lips as he shook his head ever so slightly. He let out a small sigh and placed a gentle hand on your knee. "You do so much to see others happy, Hachi, like a bee with her pollen, every flower a new smile. You would do anything to protect your family, your friends, your hive. That is how you remind me of a bee."
You raced across the field, feet flying over the neatly cut grass, signalling danger to every guard you came across. You would not let them hurt this family, not even if your life depended on it. You should have expected something like this, the Knights were helping to fund Overwatch, if Talon had heard about it sooner, they definitely would have struck before any of this. Thankfully, you knew the family had prepared for this. A panic room tucked away in the cellar behind all the wine racks awaited them, if they could get there in time.
As soon as you reached the doorway, there was a tug on your arm that whirled you around, right up into Hanzo's chest. "You stay in there," he said, reaching up to cup your cheek. "I'll hold them off as long as I can."
You nodded, glancing out toward the empty field which led into the woods about fifty yards off. "They'll most likely come from there, the tree's will make them harder to hit. Hey," you pulled him back as he tried to peel himself away, reaching up to pull him into a kiss. "Stay safe. I want to be able to bring you back to Jesse in one piece."
He grinned, gently twining your fingers together as he shook his head. "They won't even see me coming. Now, get inside, make sure you get the Knights to safety, join them. I would hate to lose you, Hachi." He kissed you again before pulling away and hurrying back to the woods, already nocking an arrow into his bow.
"Miss Marsh, what is going on?" one of the guards asked. Shirley was her name, you remembered her from the last Christmas you were here. She was young, but you'd seen the guards spar before, and she was as tough as they came.
"Talon is on its way," you said, gesturing for them to follow you into the estate. "I don't know what they're here for, I wasn't briefed enough on it, but I would be damned if it doesn't have something to do with the Knights funding Overwatch. I need you all to search the estate, find the Knights, and get them down to the cellar. Make sure you search every room. If one of them gets hurt so help me Gods, I will personally flay each and every one of you," you warned, already heading for the stairs. You paused, hearing the tell-tale dull whirr of a drop ship approaching and glared at them. "Go!"
You hurried to the room you shared with Hanzo, fishing through your suitcase to find the com you'd tucked away into it. It took a few precious minutes to find it, but you thought it better to be prepared. Sticking it into your ear, you peeled out of the room, quickly going to search for any of the family. "Testing, testing, this is Prodigy. I repeat this is Prodigy, do you copy?" You hoped you hadn't hopped onto one of Talon's frequencies, and you let out a sigh of relief when Hanzo's voice responded. Of course he had a com on him.
"Prodigy, this is Longshot, I copy. Stay off the line as much as you can. They might tap into it," he said, though you could hear the slight smile in his voice. He was enjoying this too much, when was the last time he went on an op?
You nodded, even though he couldn't see it, and threw open one of the bedroom doors, finding the girls and their au pair sitting in the reading nook of one of the larger bedrooms.
The au pair, a young woman from Italy, whose name you had learned to be Genesia, stood, frowning. "Signorina Marsh, is there something wrong?" she asked, glancing between you and the door.
A quick look behind you revealed Shirley and another guard had followed you in. "There's no time to explain, you and the girls need to get to the cellar now. We've received word that the family is in danger."
Poppy, ever the dramatic girl, let out a startled cry and rushed to your side, clinging to your hand. "You are coming with us, right? If we're in danger, you're in danger."
Lyra stood as well, though she was much less dramatic about it. She brushed off her skirts and peered behind you as well, looking for someone. "Where's Mister Shimada?"
"He's out keeping the danger at bay, and, yes, of course I will, but I will have to meet you all down there," you lied, giving her hand a light squeeze. "Come on, now, we need to go now." You passed Poppy off to one of the guards and nodded to their au pair before you hurried off to the gun room. You'd be damned if you were going to sit around and let Hanzo do all the work protecting these people.
A wall of weapons stood before you and, for just a second, you worried Dominick would be upset if you touched the weapons he so lovingly tended to. Well, Dominick would have to deal with it, his house, his family were under attack and you were doing your job by protecting it.
Grabbing a rifle, a small pistol, and a nasty looking kukri, you made sure you were ready before booking it up to the water tank room on the third floor. The window offered the best view of the woods and gave you a nice height advantage. You opened the window just slightly and settled down on your stomach with the muzzle pointed out towards the woods. You couldn't see Hanzo, but you could see movement every now and then that was too jerky to be him.
"Alright you mother fuckers, you want to mess with the Knights, huh?" you murmured, zeroing your sights in on one of the figures as it stepped into view. "Well you've got another thing coming." The shot cracked through the crisp autumn air, startling the birds nearby, and the body dropped. Not a second later, your com crackled to life.
"Prodigy," Hanzo's voice was tinted with anger. He wasn't too happy you'd joined the fight. "I thought I told you to-"
"Save it, Longshot," you retorted, rolling your shoulder as you lined up another shot, dropping another Talon operative. "I'm helping. They're safe." By this point, you'd located him, sitting up high in one of the trees, and you smiled. "On your left," you warned, watching with a strange satisfaction as he turned and brought down one of his own. "That's two for me, one for you."
"Are you trying to make this into a game?" he asked, audibly incredulous.
"Maybe." You smirked, taking down another one. "That makes three."
"Well, if it's going to be like that… Mark it down at four to three," he said, and you could hear the smile in his tone. He was enjoying this, and maybe you were too. What did that say about your mental state? Could this count as a really fucked up date?
"Four to four!" you corrected, taking another shot.
You watched through your sights as Hanzo laughed and took off in another direction. "Five to-" The line filled with static, and your heart dropped. You knew that static, had listened to it on repeat from the audio recordings of your last op. His com had been destroyed. Panic filling your chest, you lamely called out for him still. "Longshot? Longshot this is Prodigy, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?"
The crackle of static was your only response and you cursed.
"Longshot, do you copy?"
When there was still no reply, you pushed yourself up from the ground, abandoning the rifle, and ran out of the room, down the hallway, taking the steps three at a time. You would not lose him, you couldn't lose him. Jesse couldn't lose him. Once your feet hit the field, you booked it to the woods, somehow avoiding the shots that were sent in your direction. This was stupid, this was dumber than dumb, you couldn't run out into live fire without your armour. But yet, you did, you did because he was in trouble, because you couldn't stand to lose anyone else on an op, not so soon after the first, not when you'd finally started figuring out your feelings.
The woods enveloped you like a blanket, shielding you from the view of the one or two Talon operatives still taking refuge there, and still you ran, hoping beyond hope that you would find him. You knew the general direction in which he'd gone, and you could only pray you didn't run into Talon on the way.
By the time you found him, it was almost too late. You'd nearly stumbled over him, and he groaned, looking up at you. Someone had tied him to the tree and mortally wounded him; his femoral artery had been slashed and he was bleeding out, fast.
"Hachi," he managed, his breath rapid and shallow. His skin was incredibly pale and you knew he had only minutes left if you didn't stop this bleeding.
"Fuck, Han, okay, stay still, please," you breathed, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead, and slicing through the rope with your kukri. Your hands were shaking, from fear, from the panic, from the thought of losing him. You couldn't let him die, you wouldn't. "Lie back, lie back," you urged, already beginning to tear a large strip from your jacket. Tears had begun to pool in your eyes but you fought them back, elevating his leg so you could tie a tourniquet above the wound. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, you stay with me, okay?" you begged, wiping at your eyes, and pressing a hand against his clammy cheek. "You're not allowed to die on me. Can you stand? We need to get you back to the estate."
He grunted a bit, and laid there for a second, slipping a hand into yours. "Hachi…"
You shook your head, helping him to his feet. "Save your strength, don't speak." You slung his arm over your shoulder, trying to hold up most of his weight. It was slow going, and about halfway there, you realised you were not going to be able to make it back to the estate, not like this. You stumbled and cursed, making sure to let him fall into you, and you into a tree. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." You swallowed the panic rising in your chest. It wasn't going to do either of you any good.
Looking around, you spotted the out building, which had been transformed into the guard's barracks when the Knights had bought the estate, and was much closer than the estate. 'He's not going to make it without a transfusion… the guards should have all sorts of emergency medical supplies in there.' Steeling yourself, you stood back up and half dragged him into the barracks.
The warm air greeted you happily, but you didn't stop to enjoy it. Instead, you gently laid him down next to one of the beds and quickly moved to barricade the door with whatever you could; a chair cunningly propped up under the handle, the metal table lifted onto its side and leaned against the door so it's weight held it shut, a chest dragged from halfway across the room to sit in front of the chair and keep it from moving. It was all hard work, but you were determined not to let anyone in.
"Fuck, okay, alright," you muttered to yourself, hurrying to the storage closet and searching through the med kits. By some miracle of the gods, you found what you were looking for and you nearly cried in joy. When you came rushing back over, Hanzo had passed out, and you cursed again, for a moment thinking you'd lost him, but his pulse was there, weak, so, so incredibly weak, but there. "Don't worry, don't worry love," you murmured, ripping open the kit and hastily putting together the administration set. This was exactly why Angela had tapped you for some field med classes, and thank the gods you'd been paying attention. A few tears dripped down your cheeks and you wiped them away, having no time for mourning. "Don't worry, I won't let you die."
"Gabriel, it's been over an hour. I don't think she's here," Sombra sighed, appearing next to him, leaning back against the tree. "Pollito and I have searched the house, inside and out, she's nowhere to be found."
"No, I saw her. I know she's here," he growled, flexing his hand a bit as he turned to stalk towards the outbuilding. Too many years, he'd spent too many years searching for her after Aderyn's lab had been shut down, after she'd disappeared. He'd heard rumours, whispers of sightings of the infamous Morrigan Morgan, but none ever led him straight to her. Now, there was a ripple through the ranks, whispers coming from the Organic Omnic ties. Twice now had he heard she'd been spotted, changed, but spotted. And, oh, how she would have had to change to be working with Overwatch.
"Why are you so hung up on her? She's ghosted you for years, camarada, maybe she doesn't want to be found by you," she suggested, inspecting her nails as she followed along.
They both froze as their coms crackled to life. "Testing, testing, this is Prodigy, can anyone hear me? I repeat, this is Prodigy, Houston, please respond."
Sombra grinned. "Well, I stand corrected, she is here. She doesn't sound too good, though." Clearing her throat, she tapped at the holographic keypad that appeared before her. "Prodigy, this is Houston. We're on our way, what is your location?"
Through the com, her voice sounded exactly like Winston's. Gabriel frowned. "When did you-"
She simply shook her head and held up a finger to her lips as they listened.
"Thank the gods! Houston, we're in the outbuilding. Longshot is down, I might be right there with him in a bit. Please, come as fast as you can, we both need immediate medical attention. I've barricaded the front door, but I think there might be a back entrance," her voice was strained, as if it was a struggle to maintain consciousness. Good, it would make the extraction that much easier.
"Are you going to even bother with the back entrance?" Sombra asked, shooting him a knowing look as he picked up the pace.
"Don't test my patience, Sombra," he warned. As soon as they came up to the doors, he let out a breath and let himself slip into the mist. He never really liked doing it, it was cold and disorientating, but, over the years, it had become something he'd relied on. He slipped under the door, reforming himself just beyond the barricade, and his heart stopped at the sight that beheld him.
There she was, the woman he'd spent nearly ten years trying to find, the woman who'd seen him through so many ups and downs, the woman whose smile always lit up his days, the woman he had loved so dearly for so long, the woman he'd vowed to spend his life with. There she sat on the bunk, blood slowly pumping from her through a tube into another man, an unconscious man whose hand she was currently clinging to. There she sat, with a look of murder in her eyes and a kukri in one hand, held out menacingly towards him.
"Come any closer and I'll kill you," she warned, her breathing shallow. "I should have known it wasn't really Winston on the com. I won't tell you where the family is, you'll have to kill me to get to them."
He watched her, amused at how dangerous she still looked, even while experiencing hypovolemic shock. Her honey-brown eyes were wild with a rage he didn't remember, and after a few seconds it clicked. He did remember it. That was the same look of rage she held whenever someone threatened her family, the mutants, him. That was the same rage she'd held when she went off to hunt down the list of agents she'd been given, when she went off to protect her family. This was her directing that rage at him, because now he was the threat, and this man, the people in the estate, they were her family now.
A sour chuckle rose in his chest and he cocked his head. "It's good to see you too, Morrigan."
Her eyes widened for a second before she doubled down on the rage, her hand shaking. "That's not my name. I am not Morrigan."
He ignored the statement, his eyes catching onto the flash of silver that hung around her neck. "You kept it. The ring I gave you," he said softly. Something about that stung. She'd kept her engagement ring, but still went and found herself another family, had gone and forgotten about him, had found a replacement for him.
She snarled. "I kept this ring because it was the only tie to my past I had. If it was you who gave it to me, I'm sorry I kept it. I should have thrown it into a river long ago."
"Don't talk like that, corazon," he sighed, shaking his head. "Put down the kukri. We both know you're not going to be able to hurt me with that."
She watched him, and paused. He could see the gears turning behind those pretty eyes of hers, could see every twitch, every staggered breath, and then, finally, could see the thought finalise. It took her too long, her body was beginning to shut down from the blood loss. If he didn't put an end to this soon, she was going to end up killing herself trying to save this man's life.
"What do you want from me?" she asked, dropping her hand, the kukri still clenched tightly in her fist. The rage in her eyes was slowly dying, and he could see how tired she was getting.
"I'm taking you home, cariña. Whether you put up a fight or not. I would rather you didn't, it would make both of our lives easier."
She looked down at the man, rubbing her thumb against his wrist, and sighed. "If I go… will you promise not to hurt anyone?"
That was new. He knew Morrigan had always had a soft spot for family, but he'd never seen her offer up her own life in place of anyone else's. No matter how much she loved someone, her own life was something she had always treasured. What had happened to her?
"You mean him," he said, folding his arms over his chest and looking down at the man. Now that he actually took his time to look at his face, he recognised him. Hanzo Shimada. Well, at least she wasn't replacing him with a saint.
"Him and the Knights," she corrected, glaring at him, but the look didn't last. "Just… let me finish up here?"
"Fine. But make it quick," he conceded. No one could say he was entirely heartless. Even before she disappeared he'd let her get away with too much because of those damned puppy dog eyes she would always give him.
He watched her closely as she finished up the transfusion, pressing the gauze into the puncture wound first on the Shimada's arm, and then her own. He frowned as she leaned down, brushing her fingers against his cheek, whispering something he couldn't hear, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. It was blatantly disrespectful, but he didn't think she'd realised, not in her state of delirium. Finally, she stood, wobbly as a newborn fawn, and somehow managed to make her way over to him, kukri abandoned on the bunk.
"Okay," she breathed, looking up into his mask, her eyes glazed, but determined. "Remember your promise."
He didn't have the heart to tell her he never truly promised anything, didn't have time as soon after she'd said this, she collapsed into him, the shock finally winning out. "Idiota," he murmured, scooping her up into his arms. He took the com out of her ear and set it down on the bunk next to the kukri, and carried her out of the building.
Sombra was waiting outside, smirking. "Didn't know you had such a soft side, Gabriel," she said, chuckling before she tilted her head, talking into her com. "Pollito, pull the ship around, we're done here."