Watchpoint Gibraltar, Iberian Peninsula, Europe
Adrian sat alone in the workshop on base at the dead of night tinkering with the wiring in his helmet, a light jazzy melody playing from a rusted radio on the edge of the table. It'd been about a week since he'd discussed his future with Winston, since then two things have largely occupied his time. As soon as Hana had returned from Korea, she'd seemed in higher spirits than usual if that was at all possible, apparently following his advice she'd requested an extension in Korea to visit her parents. It seemed the recent rumors of a New Overwatch have began to bring her parents around on the idea of their young daughter serving in a military outfit, hoping to make them proud the first thing she did when he her was to demand they get back to training. Something he was more than happy to oblige as his nightmares still haven't subsided or shown any signs of waning, hence his current late night foray, so any excuse to take his mind of the troubles was a welcomed reprieve in his books.
The second is what he was currently working on now, it didn't take him long after returning to find that his visors condition would only worsen if he didn't fix it. Luckily a quick conversation with Bridgette revealed that the visor would be easily replaceable, though Adrian would have to fix internals. No longer pumped with adrenaline he found that the H.U.D around the shattered panels had a tendency to glitch out, the severity growing with each passing day. So when he awoke in a cold sweat tonight he figured there was little else to do other than trying to put his gear back in working order
Carefully rearranging a thin wire across the panels within his helmet, he was almost finished when something clanged behind him causing him to jump and the wire to spark, sending a painful shock down his fingertips.
"God damned bylat ubl'udak," He swore as he shook his fingers before turning to look behind him, surprised to see the good doctor Ziegler standing there trying and failing to hide a laugh behind her hand.
"I'll take it those weren't compliments on my graceful steps?" She joked as she nudged a stray can out of the way with her foot, presumably what she bumped into when walked in here.
"It might help to think that they were, though if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here? This isn't the place I imagine you spend a lot of nights, unless you're meeting up for some late-night escapades." He jested as she walked over, practically falling into one of the empty seats by him.
"Long day in the clinic; our base keeps growing but the number of assistants I have does not. Despite how exhausted my body is, my brain feels like its running on overdrive, so I figured that taking a stroll through in the cool air would help to calm my overactive mind. When I saw the faint light coming from the workshop, I wondered who else was dealing with the late-night insomnia and so here I am."
"Sounds tough Doc, have you tried prying the big guy for any relief? At the least he should realize that a clinic is one of the most vital parts to running a military operation, if the doctors get overwhelmed well then the base's output is going to suffer."
She gave a tired nod, "I had planned to today but well things happened, though I already have Athena reminding me to talk to him tomorrow. In the meantime…" Ziegler trailed off as she looked around the room before settling on Adrian's helmet.
Adrian followed her eyes to his nearly finished helmet, "Curious?"
Sitting up in her chair, she nodded. Technology was a double-edged sword for her, she was fine with the science of it, writing the equations and integrating it into her medical research such as with the Caduceus Staff. When it came time to repair her staff or required any degree of hands-on work…well she felt completely out of her element. She knew that they were two vastly different fields of works though she couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of a brilliant bio-medical researcher struggling to fix her comparatively simple data-pad. Despite this she always found the practical work fascinating, especially with the unusual technology Adrian brought from his world. Speaking of unusual, she focused momentarily on the music filling the air, the somber tones of a heart wrenching saxophone drifting in the wind. Not the type of music she would expect of the hardened veteran in front of her only reinforcing the growing curiosity of the man that came to them only a few months ago. She'd ask him later if she remembered but for now her attention was on the memorable helmet in front of her.
"Well I was just about finishing up when you made your entrance." He said as he bolted a metal plate back in place before picking it up in his hands and passing it off to her.
She looked it over with a curious eye, "It's heavier than I thought."
"It is, though when attached to the rigid armor it lightens the load a bit. Don't think it's expected to run out into battle with nothing but your helmet and a pair of skivvies." He remarked, lightly laughing at the thought.
Angela giggled as she tapped the glass, "I have a question though, I assume that the helmet is built to be hands-free, so how do you make your faceplate transparent?"
"Well…you just kinda…" He awkwardly nodded his chin, "I've been doing it so long it just comes second nature. Why don't you put in on and try it for yourself?" Adrian offered.
She shot him a surprised glance, he'd been quite protective of his gear once he got it back, even when it's been damaged he never gave the entire suit to Bridgette instead preferring to do most repairs himself if he could. Even though it's a relatively minor action, to have him so easily offer his gear was a rather pleasant surprise.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah why not, besides we can say it's a test run to see if the systems are running right."
Adrian watched with mild amusement as she undid her hair to put on the helmet, the larger size of the helmet causing it to be an awkward fit over the petite doctors head. Holding onto the sides to keep it in place, she looked around the room swirling back and forth in her chair.
"It's very strange, I'm never used a virtual display before so seeing all the data presented in front of me is oddly surreal."
He nodded, "Yeah it takes a bit of getting used to, especially once you're in the field it's expected that you can access all relevant field data from your helmet's display."
"Though its far more comfortable than I thought it would be."
"One of the few things amenities the UNSC gave us was comfortable gear, which is a blessing considering we'd often be in these suits for weeks at a time."
"Is that why there's an odd odor to it?" She managed to work the depolarization of the helmet revealing her wide grin that turned to contagious laughter as she saw Adrian's stunned face. Removing the helmet, she handed it back to Adrian, still trying to stifle her laughter.
"Pay back for your either comments?" She offered with a wide smile.
"For all you know those could've been compliments, all Russian sounds cruel so there's a chance." He said as he began to laugh as well before wincing slightly, the cuts on his face had healed for the most part leaving a series of light scares running across his cheek.
"Is your wound still bothering you?"
"Not really, mostly only notice them if I yawn or in this case, laugh."
"Here let me check them real fast, I'm sure its nothing but one can never be to sure." She said as her demeanor became that of the stern doctor, her eyes steeling as she scooted closer in her chair. Placing her hands around his face she leaned in close to examine the scar tissue, lightly running one hand down the side of his face. Adrian tried to suppress the jolt of feeling it sent down his back as her fingers caressed his face with a softness he was unaccustomed too. As soon as it started it was over, leaving Adrian with an odd mixture of relief and wanting, stuffing those thoughts to the back of his mind he cleared his head before turning to face the doctor.
"Like I thought, nothing to worry about though I expect you'll still be feeling some light soreness for the next couple days."
"Much obliged Doc." Turning the helmet over in his hands, he stared at the reflection of himself eyeing the scars that lined his face. Back home Barbie used to say that scars were great for the sex appeal as long as they weren't on your face, well he'd never had a metric to base that off of until now. The next time he saw the foul-mouthed Aussie he'd make sure to let him know if his theory held true in reality.
He heard a yawn from coming from beside him as a chair slid across the concrete floor, "I think my body's calling it a day, Gute Nacht Adrian." She nodded her head, a warm smile on her lips as he left the workshop.
"Spokoynoy nochi." He waved to her retreating form, leaning back in the chair he felt a heaviness beginning to pull on his own eyelids. Twirling the helmet in his hands, he put it on to run a diagnostic check while trying to ignore the lingering smell of lavender and lilies that sent a familiar feeling down his back.
The droning sound of machinery filled his head as he came to consciousness, Adrian tried to shut his eyes tighter before relenting and slowly cracking his eyes open. It was then he realized he felt the cold metal resting against his cheek and a tightness in his neck, slowly adjusting to his surroundings he found that he'd fallen asleep at the workbench. For the first time in months he'd had a night completely unmolested with dreams of war or death, a blessing in its own right that seemed to be offset by the awful soreness in his muscles. Stretching his arms until he felt a satisfying pop in his shoulders, he pushed himself away from the table while swiping his gear from the bench. Checking his gear as he walked out, he almost bumped into someone on the way out, a brief apology almost reaching his lips before he saw who it was.
"Hmph, 'bout time you got off that lazy ass of yours." Torbjorn huffed as he looked Adrian over with a critical eye.
"Nothing better to do than watch me all morning old man? Don't you have a snow white to save with your six brothers or did they finally get sick of your shit?"
"Everyone else may be goin' soft on you, but I'm still waiting to fling ass back to that hellhole you crawled out of." Torbjorn growled.
"That makes two of us."
"One wrong move and I'll put your ass in its place."
"Sorry but you have to be about this tall to get on the ride to kick my ass." Adrian said as he waved his hand a few inches about Torbjorn's bright bald scalp, "Don't worry though champ, give it a couple years and you'll grow up real big and strong."
Torbjorn stared him down for a few seconds before turning away, ignoring Adrian's attempts at riling the dwarf up. Adrian scoffed as he went back to exiting to the workshop with his helmet tucked under his arm. Walking through the base he made a quick stop off to his room to toss the helmet onto his bed before heading to the cafeteria, the rumbling in his gut growing louder with every passing minute. Entering the room he spied a mostly open table only occupied by the one and only cowboy. Passing by the line-up of food, Adrian stacked himself a hearty plate of eggs, sausages, flapjacks, and an orange, the tantalizing smells practically making his mouth salivate at the thought. Sliding his tray across the table across from Jesse, he gave the cowboy a quick nod before settling down and digging in.
"Thinking you got enough there pal?" McCree grinned.
"I've found its best to never question a starving man."
"Fair enough, though I gotta apologize Mongolia. Awful breakfast chitchat but once the word came out that the place was crawling with hell knows what, the main force got pulled out." Jesse explained as he took a large bit of fluffy pancake.
Adrian waved him off, "No harm no foul." They continued to eat in amicable silence until Adrian looked up to spy the cowboy committing a cardinal sin of food…no that would imply that enough heathens enjoy it for it to be taken into consideration. This…he'd never seen such a travesty.
"McCree – did you just put hot sauce on your god damn flapjacks?"
Jesse shot him a blank look, "What?"
"What's so wrong with syrup that you'd resort to that utter obliteration of your tastebuds. Unless…don't tell me that maple syrup doesn't exist here." A look of horror drawing across his eyes.
The cowboy chuckled, "It lives on just fine, but you've never seen hot sauce on a pancake before? It's just carbs in a patty so I figure might as well make it savory."
"But that's the thing, it's not just carbs, it's a damn flapjack man. It's meant to be sweet, what if I put that same hot sauce in an empty pastry."
He pondered it for a second before shrugging, "Might be tasty."
"Jesus christ you're a lost cause."
The sound of another tray of food hitting the table brought their attention to the cyborg ninja taking a seat next to Adrian with a far more modest plate, "Konnichiwa, it seems I have decided to settle at an interesting time. What is the topic of discussion?"
McCree spoke first to give himself some early justification, "I'm just trying to eat my pancakes amigo, instead I'm bein' verbally assaulted this fella over here."
"Nah you don't get to consider yourself innocent in this crime against humanity." Adrian argued back, "Alright, hypothetical here Shimada. You get yourself some pancakes for breakfast right, what do you put on them?"
The Japanese man didn't waste a second before answering, "Usually nothing though I feel that is not the answer you seek. On occasion I use syrup, though I have to ask if this is related to Jesse's acquired taste for certain foods."
Adrian slammed his palm down on the able, "Hah! Look at this Shimada, the man is putting hot sauce on his god damn pancakes, who the hell does that?"
McCree looked like he'd already tuned out the conversation as he went back to eating his breakfast while Genji stared silently at the plate decked with the cowboy's unusual palette.
Eventually the cyborg spoke, "Japan has what many cuisines that outsiders would consider odd, though nothing I've seen quite lives up the concoction our friend has made."
Adrian started cackling as McCree sighed, "Why do I even bother."
"Ah lighten up. Tell you what, lets double-down on the shooting range later, I lose and drinks are me, but if you lose then you have to double that massive fucking bill you left me last time." Adrian offered, still a bit miffed at the tab the cowboy had managed to rack up despite his light-weight tolerance.
Jesse grinned, "Now you're speaking my language."
"An interesting proposal, I am no longer one for drinks or gambling, but I would be remiss if I said that I didn't wish to test my skills against yours." The cyborg spoke.
"None of the vices of life?"
Genji shook his head, "In a past life I would have relished such rewards but looking back I realize the life I wasted in its opulence. Displays of prowess however still hold great interest to me."
The cowboy spoke up, "Well it wouldn't feel right to play for something you can't enjoy, besides not to knock your ranged skills but I think Adrian and I would have the advantage. So how about we keep it clean, simple, and easy; we arm wrestle for bragging rights."
Such a simple thing that reminded him a lot of how UNSC marines would pass the time, "All right you're on."
"A wager like that I feel I must accept to preserve my honor." Genji also agreed.
They began their brief tournament doing best two out of three, Adrian watched in amusement as Shimada and McCree dueled it out in front of him, each giving it their all. Seemingly equally matched until Shimada's armed started to bend, it didn't take long until the back of his metal armed slammed against the table. Though his defeat wouldn't last long before he quickly quashed McCree in the second game. The final game Adrian wasn't sure would ever end until by an ounce god's grace Genji managed to beat the cowboy.
When it was his turn to face the ninja, he'd felt confident, during his service he'd arm wrestled so many times he felt he'd built a solid repertoire for winning. Placing his arm on the table he noticed that a small crowd had gathered around them, evidently coming to see who would claim the ultimate title of Overwatch arm wrestling champion of table number three. Genji's grip was tight but Adrian's push was just a touch stronger, pushing Shimada's arm to the table and securing his first victory.
The second game had felt just as long as the first, though it seemed the cyborg had a pattern in place for winning the second game as Adrian felt a harsh pounding as the back of his hand hit the metal table. When they prepped for the final game, Adrian had surprised even himself as he slammed the ninja's hand down not long after they started. Though he knew that while Shimada had given it his all, he'd also played an entire round prior but, in the end, it was all in good fun. Or so he said but that wouldn't stop him from basking in the newfound glory, though that enjoyment wouldn't last long as thundering footsteps that could only belong to one man reached their table.
"Ah a game of strength! Come spaceman, let us put our mettle to the test and see which one proves victorious." Reinhardt said as he brought his elbow down on the cafeteria table with an echoing blow.
Adrian stared at the man's biceps that looked like god damn oak trees had been melded onto the human body, the thought that they could snap a person in two like a twig never escaping his mind. "Nah fuck that, I forfeit."
A/N: A shorter chapter but also one so soon after the last update I feel it balances out right? Anyway I tried my hand at a far more light-hearted chapter as I wanted to further show the growing relationship between Adrian and those of Overwatch. Let me know your thoughts but mroe improtantly I hope you all had a great Halloween!
Guest: If you're asking whether the title is in reference to a pixies song then the answer would be yes, most chapter titles are original but solid dozen are song titles or inspired by song titles. Gather a list of the ones you think are song titles if you're looking to pass the time.