Tracer

'I failed, Winston. I couldn't save him.'

"…It's all over the news, Lena. It's not your fault. I know you tried your best. Was it that Talon sniper?"

'Yep. It was her.'

"She's incredible if she could beat you."

'She did…fair and square.'

"Hm."

'…I'm sorry.'

"No. No. You don't have to apologize. Are you okay?"

'Honestly? Not really. My accelerator needs some maintenance. She roughed me up a bit.'

"But you survived."

'Barely. And…I think…she let me, to be totally truthful.'

"Let you? I don't suspect so. Not her."

'Right? It sounds crazy, but…I don't know.'

"…You need to clear your head? Take a moment. Get a drink. I'll have a carrier pick you up tomorrow. Breathe a little bit, okay?"

'Okay. Okay. I can do that.'

"Visit your friend."

'…Maybe.'

"You should."

'…I really screwed up here, huh, Winston?'

"The blame is not completely on you, no. But the impact on the future will likely be detrimental to our cause. I'll need you for what I anticipate is coming."

'Besides Talon's daft insanity?'

"…Besides that, yes. I'd rather not say over this line, though. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Be careful with the chronal accelerator until then."

'Gotcha.'

"Chin up."

'I'll try…'

Tracer allowed the dead line to linger in her ear. The chaos from Mondatta's assassination was ongoing, even from a fair distance. The crowd that had gathered was devastated. The news anchors were earning their keep; the security staff members were counting the days of theirs. Mondatta promoted peace and prosperity between humans and machines. He was the face of such a line of thinking. He founded the Shambali and was the anchor for what Overwatch believed was the correct path for humanity.

And now he was gone.

It was perhaps Talon's greatest victory to date, and it was because Tracer had misjudged her time and space in the heat of battle. Widowmaker had completely outfought and outsmarted her. It was a crushing defeat. It was becoming more difficult to shoulder with every passing moment.

Lena loosened her goggles and let them rest around her neck, wiping at her eyes in frustration and trying not to scream with all the breath in her body. Winston was too kind to say it, but she knew this was more than just a little "detrimental" to precisely what she was fighting for. It was frustrating. It was embarrassing. The high Lena felt upon thwarting Talon from successfully capturing Doomfist's gauntlet was now completely negated. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so humiliated and full of regret.

Lena subconsciously stood in front of a familiar apartment building's door. She entered the foyer and buzzed up robotically. They were such practised motions by this point she could do it all with her eyes closed. They were blurred a bit anyway.

"Lena?"

'Heh. How'd you know it was me, Luv?'

There was a beat, and then the secondary doors clicked open.

"Come up right away."

In the back of her mind and deep in her heart, Tracer knew this was a mistake. As she took the elevator up to the fifth floor of an almost antique building found in the old part of King's Row, the familiar, smoky fumes of the place filling her nostrils, Lena was more than aware she shouldn't be seeing Emily. They had left their relationship ambiguous during their last chat. Who they were to one another remained elevated in limbo, alongside Tracer's existence without the device strapped to her small chest.

This most recent fight reminded Lena that she was still very much human, and she could die quite easily just as well. Widowmaker almost assuredly "let" her live. Why? Tracer didn't know, but the situation itself leant the time leaper's mind to a vein of thought and consideration she couldn't ignore any longer.

Before Lena could get around the corner of the hall leading to Emily's place, the girl was dashing down it, her hair like fire behind her pretty head. She embraced Tracer with just enough force, holding the girl's shaggy hair in a grip of iron.

'What happened? Are you alright?'

She could tell instantly based on Lena's singular comment downstairs. It made her heart wrench further.

'Sorta kinda?'

'So, not in the slightest.' Emily scolded, holding Lena's hips.

'Meh.' Lena shrugged, her eyes burning suddenly.

'Come with me. Let's get you a warm drink.'

'Okay…' Lena muttered, hating that she found Emily so attractive even with the thoughts swirling in her jumbled mind.

Emily's apartment was very much her. Neat, somewhat homey, yet with a touch of refinement that revealed a hidden level of intellect and appreciation for innovation and literature. It was a familiar apartment. The soft browns, blacks, and flashes of accentual colours – like red and orange – only amplified the sense of nostalgia. It was one of the few places Lena felt truly safe and secure. But she couldn't drag Emily into any of this. Talon was ruthless. As it was, Winston would need to keep an eye on the young woman. She was a weakness for one of Overwatch's most capable fighters.

'Okay. I'm guessing it's safe to assume you were involved with Mondatta's assassination?'

'I tried to stop it, yeah.' Lena sunk into Emily's couch as the other girl began making some coffee and tea. The cushions were flattened just a bit. They had made love on this couch more than a few times. The thought hurt in many ways.

'…I'm sorry, Lena. I…I do know how important he was to Overwatch's beliefs.'

'He pretty much was the figurehead for exactly what we're fighting for. This is a massive blow and I let it happen. Trust me, I'm upset, but I'm not goin' to have a pity party for longer than, say, maybe a half hour more?' Lena tried to laugh, but it was hard. She wanted to giggle this away, but that would be diverting her eyes from the truth.

'You're allowed to be upset, you know?'

'That's not how I roll, Luv. No surprise, right?'

Emily sighed, bringing over the hastily-made drinks and placing Lena's steaming coffee on the coaster she and her girlfriend had picked out together.

'Who did it?'

Lena hesitated. She had already put Emily in the line of fire by coming here, but considering it was immediately after the assassination, she prayed Talon wasn't keeping tabs on her yet. For all they knew, she was dead even. She needed to come to terms with the fight she had lost, but what she also needed to say afterward made it difficult to take advantage of Emily's kindness.

'Don't worry. I can handle it.' Emily grinned, sipping her tea gingerly and looking too beautiful.

'Her name's Widowmaker. That's her codename anyway. She's some kinda super advanced assassin. Blue skin and everything. Sorta daft, huh?'

'Blue skin?' Emily flinched back, and she wasn't one to be easily surprised.

'Yup. There isn't a crazy amount of detail on her, but something about her heartbeat being slowed and such.'

'You never were one for reading the fine print.'

'Hey!'

'But it would make sense. An assassin that isn't compromised by their own bodily functions? I can't imagine what procedures she had to go through to become like that.'

'Right…'

Emily cocked her head slightly, leaning in.

'What else?'

'She's a sniper, and she's also an amazing strategist and fighter. She totally beat me, Em. I mean, I can jump through time forward and back but she still managed to stop me. If I hadn't recalled at the last minute, the bullet that killed Mondatta would have done me in for good.'

Lena saw her girlfriend's eye twitch.

'She was that lethal?'

'It was so frustrating. She could've finished me off a couple of times, but…she didn't.'

'Why do you think that is?'

'Psh. Your guess is as good as mine, but…'

'But what?'

'When I had her, and I was screaming at her, asking her "why?", she gave me a really weird reaction.' Goosebumps pervaded Lena's body the more she thought about the look Widowmaker expressed in that bizarre moment. It was jarring and uncanny, barely making sense and mixing up the Overwatch agent's memories with every recount.

'Really?'

'Yeah. Like…she lost her mind for a second. She laughed at me, but her eyes were…um…just so full of pain, confusion, and…maybe fear? I can't really remember anymore. I might just be making this up. Ugh…'

'Mm.' Emily sipped her tea, her brow furrowing in contemplation. 'Again, it sort of makes sense. If she was experimented on or genetically altered, there are going to be side effects, right? She can't be sound in the head anymore.'

'Yeah?'

'Definitely. Or…maybe definitely. I don't know her, obviously. Do you have a picture?'

'A small one.' Lena brought out her phone, always impressed by the endurance Winston's custom-made protector exemplified by coming out of such a skirmish with no issues whatsoever. She tapped at one of her e-mails, bringing up the brief information she had been given before the museum's mission. Lena then tapped at the attachment, a partially blurred image of Widowmaker's severe face filling the screen.

'That's her?'

'Yup.'

'Bloody gorgeous, isn't she?'

'Can't deny that. Bet she'd be even more irresistible if she wasn't a cold-blooded murderer.'

'But I see what you mean.' Emily went on, squinting.

'Huh?'

'Her eyes. They seem vacant of emotion, but there's something definitely there. It's too deep for me to say anything else, but you weren't seeing things, I think.'

Lena stared at the picture. It was hard not to struggle with the conflicting emotions within. There were too many, and the girl didn't like to be frazzled so easily. She wasn't drawing the same information Emily was from the image. She was too influenced.

'I have to beat her next time.' Lena said to herself, and Emily placed her cup down with a harsh clack.

'You will. I know you will. You're an incredible woman, Lena. And I'm glad you're not thinking something foolish like it would've been better if the bullet hit you instead. You understand the flaw in that argument, right?'

'Y-yeah.' Tracer's face burned. Of course she considered that scenario, but it was too morbid and dark for her, personally.

'This Widowmaker lady would have killed Mondatta the moment you were out of the picture. If she's as good as you say she is, nobody else in this city would have stood a chance.'

Lena felt Emily's hand rest on her shoulder, the flight jacket making it difficult to feel the touch as much as she wanted to. There was a pause between the two young women, and every time Lena attempted to meet Emily's eyes, her stomach flipped and her mouth became dry. However, as always, Emily seemed to know exactly what her girlfriend was thinking, and it dug into Lena's already fragile state of being within that tear in time.

'Now, you're going to break up with me for sure this time, aren't you?' Emily's voice hardened, and her eyes were already becoming glassy despite the act she tried to present.

Lena's throat tightened, and she bit at her lips.

'I gotta, Em. I don't want to, but it's for the best…for both of us.'

'I know.' Emily sniffed, smiling painfully. It was so hard to look at, but Lena knew she had to. 'I know. I've had some time to think about it, and it's only fair to you…and to me.'

'…I love you, Em. I really do. If…after all this…I'll come say "hi" and, you know, maybe something might work out. But…don't "wait" for me, kay? I don't know what's going to happen in this war, but our enemy is much tougher this time around. I can't…be distracted. Today proved that.'

'Yes. It did. For you to be so shaken up, I know this is beyond both of us. You're a hero. I'm just a girl in King's Row that was lucky enough to tickle your fancy for a spell.'

Tracer's teeth hurt she was gritting them so.

'I want to leave on a good note, Em. I don't want us to fall apart because of resentment and such, you know?'

'I agree. I came to the same conclusion, honestly. I guess we're two peas in a pod, huh?'

'Absolutely…' Lena laughed, but she was almost crying.

'Look at us? Such a mess. Heheh…'

'Right? Complete wreckage.'

Lena and Emily touched one another's hand, their fingers interlocking and their eyes meeting in mutual, blurred understanding. They were both sniffing and wiping their eyes with their free arm, but they were also smiling, hopeful yet scared.

'Can I make a selfish request, then?' Emily's voice cracked, and it was adorable.

'Sure, Luv. Anything. Really.'

Red painted across Emily's freckled face, and she glanced downward shyly, a rare showing of vulnerability that always made the more aggressive Tracer wild.

'Can we…just one more time? As a final farewell for now? I-I understand if you're not up to it. This night's been crazy, but, well, I guess you're rubbing off on me or something, because – '

Lena couldn't kiss Emily fast enough. She held her girlfriend's angular face and felt their lips melding in a familiar embrace of affection. It was foolish, she knew, but it was the perfect outlet, and they both wanted/needed the connection. Lena was leaving an old life behind. She couldn't bind Emily to her with such an uncertain future. Emily was bright, attractive, and too good to leave in a state of limbo. Did Lena want a clean, understanding break, or a messy deconstruction of everything they had created until now?

As Lena's hands pushed up and into Emily's loose sweater, feeling her modest breasts and peeling back the final layer of material that separated her dexterous fingers from the hardened tips of her girlfriend's body, she knew she wanted this. When she would experience such raw, unfiltered affection from another in the near future again was nothing but uncertain. Departing in this fashion was a perfect close to a chapter Tracer didn't know she wanted.

'Always straight for my chest, huh?' Emily breathed in a sensual whisper, her lips still grazing Lena's.

'Can't help it, Luv; they're too perfect to resist.'

'Yours aren't anything to hide either.' Emily knew how to unfasten Tracer's chronal accelerator, and although it always made the Overwatch agent a little nervous, her girlfriend was ever careful, placing the device not too far away, and handling it with the utmost of gentility. She pulled at Lena's leather jacket, shuffling it off, peeling down her yellow spandex with a scowl.

'This outfit is a pain.'

'Feels like another layer of skin, you know? Helps with the whole hero thing.'

'Right. Right.'

The girls helped one another strip down until only their underwear remained, and then Emily giggled, observing Lena's stringy pair.

'That's so not you.'

'Ugh. Tell me about it. But anything else rides up until there's no tomorrow, so what choice do I have?'

'Still, a thong? I mean, it's pretty sexy, trust me, but completely out of character, so everything's cancelled out.'

'It's all the same when we're naked, isn't it?' Tracer shouted, pouncing on Emily to hide her embarrassment. The girls were pressing atop one another a moment later, Lena kissing Emily desperately; regretfully. She moved her fingers within her girlfriend's panties, stroking her moist body and teasing the redhead's womanhood purposefully.

'H-hah…' Emily gasped in between navigating Lena's mouth. Her groans of submission always pushed Lena further, since Emily was normally so composed and even intimidating to most.

'Does that feel good?' Tracer giggled.

'You…tell me.' Emily countered, applying the same pleasure to Tracer, feeling her stomach and groin turn with delight at the touch. 'Oh. You cleaned up?'

'Had to, Luv. A-ah…Tight suit…and all…'

Both pairs of underwear fell to the floor soon thereafter, and Lena grinded her hips into Emily's, their bodies responding in an experienced, rhythmic motion. Lena persisted in playing with Emily's entrance, and the girl's hand tickled her lover's back, their breasts touching and merging.

'S-stop being so cruel…and put your beautiful fingers inside me already…!'

'Heheh! You asked for it.' Lena smiled, pressing her forehead against Emily's and steadying her heart for her favourite part. She wanted to experience the sensation of Emily's warmth and savor it one last time. She wanted to bring Emily with her in a recall and do this over and over and over.

Overwatch. Talon. Mondatta. Omnics. Fighting. Death. Widowmaker. They could all wait for one night. After this, Tracer would focus on her duties as an Overwatch agent. She would think about Emily, surely, but knowing they were no longer officially together would help ease the anxiety and worry. This way was the path they both agreed on. It wasn't the easiest route, but it was the one Lena and Emily would tackle together while apart.

Emily's voice screamed at the end of it all, and Lena extracted her hand, licking her fingers if only to see the pretty, naked girl below her blush uncontrollably. She held Lena tightly, their nude forms slightly sticky from sweat. Lena could still notice the miniature spasms coursing through Emily's lower abdomen, and she grinned, squeezing the other girl tightly. She was about to release her, but Emily held on, keeping her face hidden.

'I'll miss you.' She muttered quietly, a rare showing of true emotion from the fairly strong person.

'I'll miss you, too, Luv. Really.'

'…Thanks. For everything.'

'Stop. You're goin' to make me cry.'

'You're already crying.'

'So are you.'

'You can't prove it.'

'…Guess I can't.'

Lena sniffed, holding Emily and locking this memory away forever.

'Make me proud.'

'Will do.'

'…Goodbye, Lena.' A beat. 'Tracer.'

'Bye, Em.'