Pic by FerrumPenna on Deviant Art. I do not own Blizzard or Overwatch even though I sorely wish I do.
A/N: So, here's the final chapter. Once again, Happy Valentine's Day, from the Overwatch family.
I made the mistake of watching Perfect Blue as I was writing this. Never again.
Enjoy!
Another hour later, 76 had finally finished doing whatever he needed to do in the kitchen, and frankly, he's exhausted. He didn't let it show, even when a sleepy MEKA pilot walked in, holding a bag of Doritos in her hands.
"Huh? What are you doing here, dad?" She mumbled, startling the old soldier. He composed himself, letting out a small cough while getting rid of the apron. "...Me and Lena made breakfast. I just finished cleaning up." He confessed as D. Va, aka Hana Song, mutely nodded before the realization hit her.
"What?!" Her eyes widened at the thought. "You made breakfast?!" Soldier winced at her voice.
"Yes, now quiet down." His unconscious, fatherly instincts started to kick in. "It's still too early." Hana however, doesn't seem to be listening.
"What did you make?"
"Breakfast muffins. It's not much—"
"Aw, aren't you such a sweet dad?" The girl teased him as Soldier grimaced.
"I'm not your father, kid."
"Yeah, and Angela isn't mom now isn't she?"
He was glad he's wearing the mask, as it prevented her from seeing the blush spreading across his face like a fever. It's true that sometimes he felt like a sort of father figure amongst the young recruits, but even so, it's embarrassing when they view him as such alongside the medic as the mother figure. While he did think of Overwatch as his family, a real one would be nice too. Not once did he think to retire from the battlefield, but occasionally, the thought of the farm he once lived in felt like a home he'd love to settle in, and imagined what would it be like if he returned home, after a hard day's work, to his partner and a child of their own, maybe a dog or a cat or both, listening to an ancient radio or working on the fields, waking up next to Angela—
He snapped his eyes shut and shook his head. He really has to stop thinking about their medic. "Since you're here," He started, making Hana tilt her head to the side. "Help me put these on a table." The little gremlin grumbled, having to do work so early in the morning but Soldier shushed her. He really is the 'dad' of Overwatch.
Having Mercy as the 'mom' isn't a bad idea.
They made multiple trips to and from the kitchen, and since then, the rest of the crew slowly trudged into the cafeteria. The veterans walked in first, a nod and some greetings exchanged here and there as they noticed the pile of still-warm breakfast, wafting a pleasant odor. "Oh? I didn't think you still got it, Jack." The Egyptian sniper privately said as Soldier 76 glared at her for using his name.
Thankfully, no one heard her. "Guten morgen, my friends!" Bellowed Reinhardt, already donning the armor but without the hammer. Beside him, Jesse walked with Hanzo, the bowman clutching onto the cowboy's hat, teasing his bedhead. They nodded at 76 before seating themselves with their respective breakfast, which he whipped up some bacon and eggs at the side. "You've been at this all night?" Jesse's southern drawl reached his ears as he passed them a plate.
"Kind of. I helped out Lena earlier." As soon as he said that, a blue light flashed by and Lena appeared, still so energetic even after two hours of sleep. "Good morning, loves!" Her infectiously cheerful voice made him smile behind the mask.
"Morning, little lady."
"Good morning, Miss Oxton."
"Morning, did you sleep well?" He asked, just in case. Lena rolled her eyes. "Yes, dad." But she patted his shoulder, sending him a cheerful grin. "Thank you for helping me out. You were pretty cool, 76." She then grabbed a plate of the warm pastry before zipping outside of the mess hall. "Winston! You gotta try this!" Was the last thing they heard before she came back, this time with the gorilla scientist.
"Valentine's day muffins." Ana is already at her second helping of the pastry. "Not a bad idea, Lena." She said, making the brunette giggle in delight.
"Dad's actually the one who suggested that."
"Really now?" The sniper then turned to the old soldier, her face twisting into a sarcastic smirk. "He seems to be a great baker, don't you think so?"
He groaned as everyone had a good laugh. Sure, next time he won't volunteer to do the cooking. Hell, he'd let Junkrat cook (as long as Roadhog is there) or even Bastion (he knows he'll regret it). Soldier 76 made his friends coffee as he sat down next to Ana and Reinhardt, grunting at the amount of praise he and the brunette were getting.
Breakfast slowly trickled by, as more people started coming in. The low hum of conversation filled the hall, as well as the clattering of plates and cutlery. He would catch himself staring at the doorway, hoping to see Angela. The older woman beside him caught him staring, and chuckled deeply. "If you're so excited, go see her now." She said as he scowled at her.
"What makes you think I'm waiting for her?"
"Jack," He scoffed at the name. "After all of that, you think there'd be any other woman besides her? Anyways, you owe her an apology." An overdue apology among the thousands.
But maybe she's right. Their last mission didn't go so well. In addition to Fareeha's broken arm and Jamison needing to replace his leg, the simple escort mission turned deadly at the appearance of Talon and one his most hated enemies, the Reaper. They did managed to secure the payload, but not after paying the price.
"Payload's secured!" He shouted to the comm, his pulse rifle whittling away as he reloaded clip by clip. "Tracer, do you copy?" The comm crackled to life as he heard the familiar British accent.
"I'm on it, 76!"
"Rendezvous to the drop ship, now!" He ordered, hearing the collective affirmations from the team. Roadhog heaved the other Junker onto his back, who lay limp and motionless from a torn off prosthetic. "Drop ship incoming in sixty seconds." Athena forewarned. They managed to keep Reaper at bay, but Widowmaker is still out there. She shot Pharah down from the opposite end of their area just as they were heading back.
"I'm hit!" The younger Amari cried out, muffled gasps of pain and groans sounded in the background, followed by a crash. From the corner of his visor he saw Mercy move from her position, her eyes in frantic stupor.
"Fareeha, I'm coming to you!" Said the angel, her wings ready to deploy when Soldier roughly slammed his shoulder onto the blonde, knocking her down and keeping her in cover.
She hissed, either because of him or the pain, he didn't have the time to think nor to apologize. "Ana, you're closer to her position. Think you can help Pharah out?" He ordered through the comm, one arm keeping the struggling Mercy in place as well as the other one ready to shoot down any escaping Talon agents in line of his sight.
"Of course, I'm already heading over, ibnat."
"76!"
He looked down to see a fist shot through that punched his jaw, which only seemed to make him flinch. Not that it hurt, but it was quite the surprise to Soldier. "What do you think you're doing?" Her venomous words weren't enough for him to simply let go of her. Instead, this only served to hang onto her more tightly.
"Quiet." He said through gritted teeth. "Trust Ana. Pharah will be up in no time." When she didn't say anything, he sighed. His other hand went to pat her hair, gently stroking through her blonde locks in a soothing manner as he massaged the sore part of her back. He could hear her trying to restrain whatever anger she felt, the helplessness that she can't get away from. "I'm sorry. I can't let you out there on your own. You should know that, Angela." The last few words were uttered so quietly that he didn't notice his labored breathing. He unconsciously pulled her closer, cursing himself for getting so close to her, for speaking her name. He had no right. He absolutely had no right.
But he can't help it.
"Lucio! Junkrat! You have to try these, Dad and Lena made it!" Hana's excited voice distracted him from his thoughts, as he watched the young girl hand the musician and the Junker a plate. He can't help but grimace, despite enjoying the scene of the young ones happily eating their meal. He stood up and walked out of the mess hall, feeling around his pockets as he did so.
It was a victory, but a bloody one. Fareeha and Jamison were the only casualties, but hearing the kid scream in the middle of that mission had sent vivid memories of a bad time in him, of his days in the army and after the Geneva incident. He would sometimes shed guilty looks onto Fareeha's cast which, after two weeks, healed completely thanks to Angela's nanotechnology. Ana told him, time and again, that it wasn't his fault.
But he can't help it.
Especially if this concerns his new family. "Good morning, Soldier 76." He looked down to see the floating form of Zenyatta, with Genji catching up behind him. "Morning. Lena and I made breakfast." Instantly, he regretted his words. Omnics don't eat at all, and he's pretty damn sure Genji doesn't even need to eat to survive. But the two simply nodded at him in encouragement. "Thanks, breakfast for Valentine's huh?" He could sense that the cyborg ninja just smirked at him, even with his visor on. A fellow masked man would know after all.
He waved goodbye to the pair when he finally arrived at the medical bay. Angela's room was just beside it, but the past years made him realize that she rarely does sleep nor stay in her quarters. Her workplace had more of her personality than her own room, and seeing through the glass that familiar blonde ponytail bobbing in and out of sight just confirmed his thoughts. Hesitantly, he knocked three times before fussing with his clothes and the mask, making sure it's still on. Why is he acting such a damn school girl? "Please, come in."
There really was no turning back from this point. She looked surprised once he entered. It looked like she just finished filing a medical report "Hey," He cringed. Really, not even a cool greeting? "Breakfast is ready." He's sounding lamer than ever with each word coming out of the mask. Angela had responded with a slight laugh, "Yes, Lena came by with a plate of those delicious breakfast muffins. Tell me, 76, how did you make that up from scratch?" She inquired as he rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed.
"We just followed the recipe. There was nothing special to it." Her lips pursed as she stifled another giggle at that. He could feel his heart loudly hammering in his chest.
"Well, how about you take over breakfast duty from now on?"
"I make the kids breakfast, then we wait for your world famous Rösti for dinner? Not bad, Mercy." They both shared a chuckle.
He took a seat by her desk as Angela prepared some tea to go along with the pastries. He saw the mass of paperwork cluttering the said desk. "Don't tell me you were working yourself late?" He carefully questioned her, accepting the mug from her delicate hands even though he can't drink it.
The blonde let out a tired sigh. "I did get myself some sleep, 76." She was quick to point that out when he merely shook his head.
"Still," His gruff hands nursed the steaming mug. "I know you just woke up." She took another bite of the muffin, as he watched her face savor the food.
Cute. "Have you eaten already, 76?" He shook his head. In fact, he hadn't tasted what he and Lena baked at all.
On her plate lay one more of the baked pastry. "You should at least try it then. It is simply divine." She tried to hand it to him when he shook his head once again. "You know I can't, Mercy." He was referring to the mask.
This angel, however, thought she'd push it. "Well, you could always take off that mask. It's just the two of us here." There was a suggestive tone to her voice, and while Soldier wanted to play, he knows he can't. There is a line he mustn't cross.
And his toes are barely crossing over it. "I will grab a bite, after everyone else." He shifted his eyes away, just as she stepped forward. He was startled to see her hand raising (his own twitching out of fear), only to gently rest on his cheek, rather that of the mask. He raised his own to prevent her from possibly ripping it off, but this only caused him touch her hand, and goddamn he wanted to take her in his arms, right there and then.
From his pocket, he produced a small, makeshift box. Wordlessly, he handed it on her outstretched hand. She curiously looked at it before turning to him, demanding some sort of explanation. "...For Valentine's." He managed to mumble out before cringing inwardly. God, he wished the floor would swallow him whole. He watched Angela's blue eyes widen slightly, her fingers working around the box before the scent of cocoa flitted through the air.
"It's not Swiss," He started when she didn't say a word. "But I hope you like it." He said softly, trying to gather some sort of reaction from the doctor. He watched, like a hawk, for any signs of disgust or rejection. But Angela never did that sort of thing. Always the angel, always the kind one.
"Thank you, Jack." She didn't. He misheard her. There was no way...
"Thank you, Soldier 76." She said, trying out a piece of the chocolate before giving out a contented sigh. He nodded as he tried to look away. Find something else to distract him. Maybe direct her attention back for a quick mission briefing.
She wore this look that seemed to know something. A deep longing that almost seemed familiar. This mask was the only barrier between him and Jack Morrison, and in Angela's case, this is between him and her. He knew the truth would only break her apart. Not now. He slowly took a step back, coughing awkwardly. He could mention her muffin getting cold, or the mission starting directly after breakfast, or that small lock of her hair barely touching the corner of her lips—stop. "Let's get going, Mercy." After the mission, after everything. He would tell her.
A/N: Okay, fine. I'm switching my head cannon. 76 is aware that Ana and Gabe knows he's Jack, but what he doesn't know is that everyone else especially Angela has their own suspicions of him being Jack. Goddamnit this is supposed to be fluffy why do I keep making angsty hurtful fics can't the ship sail on its own god.
Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's. Mine was...quiet. It's been 4 years since my last relationship, and well, I think I'm fine.
Cheers!