"She has such an amazing voice, don't you think?"

McCree looked up. Those were the first words he'd heard from Mei in a while, and he almost missed them over the sound of the roaring applause that filled Cabaret Luna. The star and namesake of the moonlit night club, the beautiful Luna herself, was currently in the middle of a bow after finishing another song. A more upbeat, jazzy tune that was a stark contrast to the ballads she'd been singing before. Her voice was powerful yet soothing at the same time. She sang long, drawn out melodies that were only enhanced by the building providing her with the perfect acoustics. If it weren't for the occasional glance towards Mei across from him at the table, he might've let his mind wander off and get lost in the magic of the music. He could tell Mei was feeling the same way, by the manner of how she bobbed her head in-tune with the beats of the songs and kept her eyes locked on Luna.

But now Mei was looking right at him, with one of her signature smiles. She was waiting for an answer.

McCree nodded and said in a low tone, "I see why this is a popular spot."

McCree was dressed in a pastel pink, button-up dress shirt that was covered by a light brown tuxedo jacket with matching trousers. A pair of grey-framed glasses sat on the tip of his nose while his hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. He had to resist the urge every so often to reach up and grab the trim of a hat that wasn't there.

He barely remembered the last time he'd worn a tux of all things. His memories drifted to the rare banquet he'd been invited to during his days in Blackwatch, in order to present a "good image" for members of the U.N. Reyes had practically dragged him out the day before to be fitted—

He decided to focus on Mei's attire to avoid his thoughts drifting to a place he wanted to forget.

Mei wore a light, lavender teacup dress with ruffled sleeves. A small, faux gold necklace with a heart-shaped charm rested around her neck. Once in a while, she would almost unconsciously start playing with it as she listened to the music, wrapping a part of the chain around her pointer finger.

Her hair was let down, its length being right above her shoulders. A crescent-moon shaped hair clip kept her bangs to the side. McCree only now realized how scarce it was to see her hair down. Over the months he'd known her at Watchpoint: Gibraltar, she always kept it tied up, sometimes a ponytail, other times a simple bun.

It made sense. Most of her time that wasn't spent on a mission was spent in a lab or outdoors. If Mei wasn't in her lab, she was at the Watchpoint's newly established greenhouse. If she wasn't at the greenhouse, she was on one of the roofs, checking up on the solar panels that powered the base. If she wasn't on a roof, then he usually found her in the lounge, passed out on the couch in an attempt to catch up on sleep. She was a practical person. Smart. Resourceful. It was something he'd always admired about her. Not to mention, it saved his life more times than he could count.

And yet, he couldn't help but enjoy the rarity of seeing her dressed up.

The applause finally died down. Luna gave a swift air-kiss motion towards the crowd before turning and walking backstage. The curtains closed behind her.

An intermission, announced one of the band members. With it, the club became filled with the low murmurings of chatter at each of the tables, along with the sounds of clinking glass as waiters returned to take finished meals and refill empty wine glasses. Plenty of friend groups and couples were out tonight, human and omnic alike. There was a serene atmosphere about the cabaret. Its dim lighting and the warm, dark shades of purples, pinks, and reds reminiscent of a twilight sky made it feel as if it were a dream. A dream that whisked people away from the struggles of daily life.

From what he'd heard, the Null Sector attack a few months ago, though stopped, hadn't done much good to the already tense human-omnic relations in Paris. Signs were present during the walk over to the place. He recalled the alleyways covered in graffiti and the sight of a human and omnic couple walking arm-in-arm across the street, trying to ignore the judgemental stares of bystanders.

McCree remembered the start of the show, his French was rusty, but he could understand a declaration from Luna.

"Ici, vous pouvez être vous même."

"Here, you can be yourself."

Perhaps that was why Cabaret Luna was such a well-known destination. It was a dream.

An escape.

"It's a shame that Lena couldn't come," said Mei, the intermission now permitting them both to speak at normal volume. "She and Emily would love this place."

McCree smiled, "Don't worry, City of Love ain't going anywhere. They'll get a chance to have their honeymoon getaway."

"I hope so," Mei gave a humorous grin. "That is, if either of them ever decide to propose."

"Bet you it'll be Emily who pops the question," said McCree.

Mei laughed, "Give Lena a little credit!"

"Well then, how about we make this interesting?" asked McCree. He leaned forward in his seat. "I bet Emily. You bet Lena. Whoever wins…" He trailed off, trying to think of a suitable prize. Money wouldn't do. Mei wasn't the gambling type.

Mei snapped her fingers and excitedly finished, "The winner gets to pick the film for movie night for an entire month."

"It's a deal then."

He extended his hand out towards her. She took ahold of it and shook it firmly. The agreement was made. A duel was set.

At least until they both broke out in laughter.

"I'm sorry," Mei said in-between giggles. "We shouldn't be making bets on our friend's personal life. That's terrible."

McCree chuckled, "I won't tell. I just hope you're ready to sit through a month-long marathon of westerns."

"We'll see, Jesse," she replied, folding her arms. "We'll see."

He leaned back in his chair. It was nice to see Mei enjoying herself. Back on the Watchpoint, she wasn't a loner per se, if anything most residents of the Watchpoint couldn't get enough of her company. However, save for the mission debriefings where her scientific expertise was needed, McCree could always sense this feeling of hesitance with Mei when it came to large groups. She always lookedready to say what was on her mind, but for whatever reason, it seemed like a struggle for her to get it out. It was as if she was calculating the perfect opportunity to chime in to a conversation, only for her to get interrupted by a louder voice or the topic of the conversation suddenly shifted and her chance was lost.

Yet, in the instances where she was in smaller groups, or simply talking to a single person, he saw her go on and on for hours. These were the deep discussions she had with Winston and Angela in the lab, filled with scientific language he followed only about half of the time. They were the debates on things such as music groups and relationship advice that she had in the lounge with Lena and Lúcio. And they were the long, highly detailed rants about movies he had the pleasure of listening to on their bi-weekly movie nights. McCree almost felt a little lucky that he was one of the few people to know about her secret passion for movie trivia and history.

"So, Miss Zhou," McCree started up a conversation once more, "when's the last time you got to enjoy a lovely establishment like this?"

"Oh gosh, it's been a while," Mei hummed for a moment, tapping her fingers on the table as she pondered over it. She then answered, "Probably a few years after I graduated from my studies. I was maybe about…twenty-seven? Yes! I was starting a job at Lucheng Interstellar. They were still working on the space station at that point, and they wanted a group of scientists to help them develop a cryogenic system for—Well, that's not important."

She paused, adjusting her glasses for a brief second before continuing.

"Anyway, there was this girl I met there. Li-Min. She worked in a different section, but we all shared the same break room, so we ate together a lot. One night she invited me out to this fancy bar that was on one of the floors in the Lijiang Tower." Mei then let out an embarrassed laugh, "I might have ended up having a little too much to drink, and she had to walk me back to my apartment."

"Well I'll be damned," said McCree with a smirk. "I didn't think Mei-Ling Zhou was a party animal."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, cowboy," Mei replied in a playfully dramatic tone. She didn't hold it for very long, as it fell apart into another round of snickers. She said, "I'm kidding. That was one of the only nights I've ever gotten that drunk. After that, I learned to watch my limit better."

"Sounds like it was still a fun night, huh?"

Mei nodded, "It was! We went out a few more times after that. But well, she got reassigned to an overseas project and I was just getting scouted by Overwatch around that time. We decided to break things off." She let out a sigh, "I looked her up on the PachiFriends app after Lúcio helped me set up an account. It looks like she's doing well. She's married, adopted a bunch of dogs and cats…"

Mei trailed off again. She rested her chin in her palm and slowly turned away from McCree, "She looked so much older, though. I barely recognized her. I thought I was looking at her mother's page for a few minutes, because Li-Min is only a year older than me. There was no way she aged that much since I last saw her. And it uh…it hit me again. How long it's really been since I last saw her."

It was difficult to remember sometimes that Mei was actually three years older than him. Her time in cryostasis had left her frozen in time. Quite literally. McCree couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. To go to sleep one day, wake up, and find that everything and everyone you knew has changed. He wasn't sure what to say to her. So he said the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm sorry."

Mei immediately turned back to him, eyes gone wide, "Oh—No, no. Don't apologize. It's fine. I'm fine. It's just—an adjustment. That's all." She straightened herself back in her seat, her hands slid off the table and moved to her lap, "I'm sorry. I feel like I'm doing all the talking. What about you?"

"What about me?" McCree said, confused.

Mei smiled, "When was the last time you went to a fancy place with someone?"

"Oh that," he said. McCree forced out a chuckle to ease the tension, "Nothing recent. Over the last couple of years you could say I've been traveling a lot."

"Oh, right," Mei let out her own nervous laugh, "I suppose a bounty on your head would make dating a bit tricky."

"Yes, they tend to do that." McCree said as he reached for his glass of water that a waiter had poured for them upon their arrival. He took a sip.

All he thought about as he felt the frigid liquid touch his lips was how much he needed a real drink right about now. A cigar too would be nice. But McCree swore to Winston he would be focused tonight. A promise was a promise.

McCree continued, "Anyway, to answer your question, probably the last time I got all dressed up for a night on the town was back in the old days."

"The old days?"

"Blackwatch." He said with a nod. "Had a fairly decent amount of night outs during those years. Nothing really to note relationship-wise, though. Usually it never lasted longer than a year. But some of them…"

Still holding the glass, he started to almost unconsciously swirl the little cup, causing the water in it to spin into a miniature whirlpool. He carried on, "Some of them were nice."

The nice ones were a blur in McCree's memories of those days. They were almost like a fever dream, blinding lights swirled together with bubbling alcohol, the sounds of both laughter and screams echoing alongside. They moved fast, too fast for him to reach out and stop them from leaving.

"Well," Mei said, grabbing her own glass of water and holding it up towards him, "to those married to their work?"

McCree grinned, moving his glass to lightly tap against hers, "Cheers."

The lights of the cabaret suddenly dimmed. The murmurs and chatter of the cabaret quieted down. The curtains on the stage slowly drew themselves back open. A spotlight flicked on, shining once again upon Luna as she walked back out to the sound of applause. Both McCree and Mei turned to look. Her band has returned as well, however there was a new addition. A large white piano with golden trims now stood in the background of the stage, a pianist sat on a stool with their hands raised above the keys, ready to begin.

Luna began to speak once more. McCree listened closely, picking up what pieces he understood. Something about a "classic song" and how she had noticed the staggering number of lovers out tonight were the important bits. Luna released a laugh before signaling to her band. A slow, soft tune began. Luna took ahold of the microphone and started her song.

"Des yeux qui font baisser les miens, un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche…"

In the corner of his eye, McCree spotted people slowly rising from their seats. Many of them walked to the spacious floors on both sides of the stage, hand-in-hand, before gently coming together in a slow dance as the song went on.

"…Il me dit des mots d'amour, des mots de tous le jours, et ça me fait quelque chose…"

He looked away and took another sip of his water. However, through the blurry reflection of the cup's interior, he noticed Mei again. Upon lowering the cup, McCree got a better view. She had turned her position in the chair facing away from him. Her eyes were glued on the dancers a few feet away, she was watching them almost wistfully. Her head swayed with the song, the music luring her in once more.

McCree took another glance around the room. His eyes shifted towards a clock before they made their way back to Mei.

"Hey," he said.

She broke out of the music's sweet lull and looked to him.

"You want to dance?" McCree asked.

Mei hesitated. She gave him a worried glance as she asked, "Should we? I mean—Do you think the others—"

"We've got a bit before it's showtime," he said reassuringly. "Why not have a little fun while we're here?"

The concern faded, Mei's face lit up and she beamed, "I guess one dance won't hurt, right?"

"That's the spirit." McCree slowly rose from his seat and offered his hand to her, "Shall we?"

Mei giggled before gently placing her hand into his and standing up, "Let's."

The song went on as they made their way across to the now crowded dance floor.

"C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie…!"

The two managed to find a spot in-between the other dancing couples. They took the position, Mei placing one hand on his shoulder while the other waited in the air for him. McCree took her free hand with his right, flesh hand. His left cybernetic hand made its way to find a comfortable spot on her upper back. As they began to sway along to the rhythm of the song, Mei had to let out a few more giggles before she settled into the slow waltz.

"Et dès que je l'aperçois—Alors je sens en moi, mon cœur qui bat…"

Even with the light pink color spreading across her cheeks, Mei looked right into his eyes, not breaking eye contact once. It gave McCree an up-close chance to truly admire her smile. There was something so hopeful about it. So genuine. It gave him a feeling of warmth, comfort, every time he saw it from her.

"Quand il me prend dans ses bras, Il me parle tout bas…Je vois la vie en rose…"

Mei was the type of person who wasn't shy with handing out a smile to anyone who needed one. McCree lost track of how many times, over the past few months, that they would be sitting near each other on one of Overwatch's shuttle ships, on their way to a particularly risky mission. The atmosphere of the ship would be heavy. Each passenger would be dragged down to silence with a thousand possibilities of what might go wrong running across their minds. However, each time he would take a glance over to Mei, strapped into a seat, she would look back to him with her smile. Sometimes the smile would be all, other times she would attempt to lighten the mood with a silly joke or random science fact.

"Hey McCree, do you know what time it is?" she once asked him.

"Well I'd say it's about…" He started before a smile of his own tugged at his lips. "Now I see what you're doin' there."

Mei's entire presence felt like Cabaret Luna. A pleasant, sweet energy that allowed anyone, for a brief period, to forget about their worries, their troubles. As the two of them moved along in a continuous circular waltz, he almost felt like he was being guided into a hazy dream. A dream that the two of them shared. One where they could run away from it all. From the past. From the world. They would simply co-exist in a simple, easy life, where all they'd need is the comfort of the other.

How nice.

How wonderful.

How he wished it could ever happen.

But it couldn't. He knew that.

A bounty on his head. As Mei had said before, it made things difficult. No. Difficult wasn't the right word. It made things impossible.

McCree knew he could never live in the world the dream offered. Too many zeroes on a wanted poster. Too many eyes scouring the world searching for him. Too many boiling vendettas ready to burst the minute they saw him.

There would never be a home that stayed forever. The apartment in Santa Fe that his parents had rushed him out of in the evacuation. The farm in Arizona where he was left with an uncle that only spoke a few words to him. The Deadlock base on Route 66, where he and Ashe thought they were on top of the world. The Swiss Base, where Gabriel Reyes and Overwatch promised him redemption. Every home he'd ever had, he left. Watchpoint: Gibraltar, no matter how long he stayed, no matter all of the smiling faces that greeted every morning, would be behind him one day. It was only natural. That's how it always went.

As they danced on, McCree took one dip in Luna's singing to release Mei's upper back. He stretched out the arm that held her hand, raising up his own hand so that she could perform a small twirl. He felt the distance between them.

He knew there would come the last day he would ever see Mei's smile. The reason for his departure, he would leave up to fate, but he knew it would come.

It had to happen eventually. It would be for the best.

Right?

Mei finished her twirl and swept back into his arms. Their waltz continued.

"Ici, vous pouvez être vous même."

Be himself. McCree could. But there was a problem with that well-meaning sentiment. He wasn't always fond of himself. At least, parts of himself.

The parts that were attached after the Omnic Crisis stole everything from him. The parts that rode along the abandoned highways of Route 66 with Deadlock, stealing, breaking, and hurting people who didn't always deserve it. The parts that trusted Reyes enough to allow him to do as he pleased until that fateful night in Rialto. The parts that didn't speak up more when Moira O'Deorain graciously accepted the invitation Reyes gave her into Blackwatch. The parts that weren't smart enough to realize how deeply Talon had dug its way into the cracks of Blackwatch and Overwatch until it was too late. The parts that left them all too soon. The parts that clung to people for comfort but still piled on brick after brick of the walls that kept those he loved from ever truly seeing him.

These were the parts coated in the stench of death.

Those parts could hurt Mei. He knew that. He didn't want that. Mei-Ling Zhou smiled too much for someone who witnessed the Crisis at age ten. She laughed too much for a sole survivor. She was far too kind and forgiving to the organization that left her to die. The brightness and joy that radiated off of her was cracked. And he would never forgive himself if he ended up being the final nail that shattered her.

Never.

"Jesse?"

Mei's voice broke through. It brought him back to the dream. The lulling music filled his years once more, and his eyes became focused on her. The sincerity in her grin gently began to hush his spiraling thoughts. They were at a whisper now, easier to tune out.

"Yes, darlin'?" McCree replied with a cobbled-together calm expression.

Mei suddenly leaned into him. She turned her head to the side and rested it against his chest. The gesture nearly made him flinch, but McCree eased into it, simply letting her stay where she was.

"Thank you," Mei said softly, shutting her eyes. "I needed this."

Her touch was soothing. It was as if the gentle dream tiptoed onto him from her fingertips. His thoughts, his fears, they were pushed back. Muted. For only a moment with her touch. The future, the past, it didn't matter in that time. All that mattered to him was keeping her close. Keeping her with him.

"C'est toi pour moi, moi pour toi dans la vie, Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie…"

McCree let go of her hand. Mei wasn't surprised by this, naturally moving her hand to his shoulder. He felt her grip on him get ever so tighter. He carefully placed his now-free hand onto her back, drawing her in closer. Less of a waltz now, more of a swaying embrace. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Anytime," McCree whispered.

For just this one, wonderful moment, he could be the parts of himself he liked. The parts she liked. McCree could let himself rest in a dream.

"Et dès que je t'aperçois…Alors je sens dans moi, mon cœur qui bat…!"

But all dreams must end. And theirs ended with the sounds of applause as Luna finished her song, as well as a ringing in both of their ears.

"McCree. Mei. Status."

There was reality. Kicking down the doors. Awakening them from the hazy slumber.

Mei quickly moved herself off of McCree. She looked at him. He gave her a nod. She nodded back. Then she began to walk back to their table. Her left hand moved up to run through her hair. The gesture was merely a cover for her pressing a finger to a comm earpiece hidden behind her locks. McCree discretely made his way towards one of the dining room exits. He leaned against a wall, pulling out a decoy cell phone from the pocket of his pants. With a swift movement, he pressed his own earpiece with a finger behind the cellphone he now held up to his ear.

"McCree reporting. We're in position."

Mei's voice came across the comm channel, "Mei, checking in."

"Good to hear," said the voice of Winston. "This associate of Maximilien should be arriving soon. Genji spotted his car approaching."

"Roger that," said Mei. "Our table's right in the middle. Whatever side he comes in, we'll see him."

"How about the audio recording device?"

"Already at his reserved table. Stuck it under there after I 'accidentally' bumped into a waiter and a cup fell under," said McCree.

"Good. Remember, he may be pretty low in Talon's command, but he'll probably still be guarded. Stay alert." Winston cleared his throat and continued, "If you can avoid a fight breaking out in the cabaret…"

McCree replied, "We'll try. Of course, Lady Luck hasn't been on our side when we try to do things quietly."

Winston sighed, "Just…try to at least get him outside, okay? Mercy, Lúcio, and Reinhardt are in position there. Over."

McCree pretended to press a button on the phone before sliding it back into his pocket. He pushed himself off the wall and made his way back into the dining area. Luna was already starting her next song. He had to avoid crashing into the other dancers on the floor, clearly ready to go on for another few hours. After his careful navigation against the perimeters of the room, McCree returned to their table.

"Looks like it's back to work," McCree said as he sat back down.

Mei nodded, "Looks like. Still. I'm glad I got to spend some time alone with you. It was…nice."

"Yeah."

They both took one last glance towards Luna, shining brightly on the stage. She and her voice felt farther away, like a retreating sunset.

"This was nice," said McCree.

Author's Notes:

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you enjoyed this little fic I cooked up. I appreciate any feedback I can get, so leave a comment if you get the chance!

The song featured in this fic is "La Vie en Rose" by Edith Piaf. It's such a nice tune and soothing song. I listened to it a lot while writing this.

Credit to Overwatch players Gwadel and Karahe for translating the in-game voice lines for Luna on the Overwatch Forums! (I can't link the exact thread year because is annoying like that, so check out the AO3 version if you want the exact link.)