They sat down at a table and Genji took the visor off, revealing his face. "Are you not afraid, someone might know you?", she asked him. "They knew me when I came here before, even with the visor on, so I don't need it here.", he replied. "What do you want to eat?", he asked, while studying the menu. "I, uh ... I can't read this.", she replied. Genji took the seat next to her and leaned in close, reading the menu to her. "What do you think is the best to eat here?", she asked. "For me these ramen are the best.", he replied and pointed at the menu. "Then I'll try them", said Mercy in reponse and smiled at him. He went back to his seat and ordered for both of them. The owner of the restaurant, who came to take their order, greeting Genji in a friendly way, calling him by his name. He smiled at the old lady. She had written down the order and went back to the kitchen. "I came here to eat everyday I left the castle when I was young. I'm surprised she recognized me. I changed a lot since then, the last time I was here was ... almost 18 years ago.", he said, as he looked back to Mercy. He grinned at her and added: "Back then I had my hair dyed green." Mercy looked at him, a little bit confused. "Green? Really green? All of it?", she asked. He nodded, the grin even wider. "I wish I could've seen that", she giggled. "I was thinking of dying it again ...", he replied.
Just now the old lady came back to them and placed two smaller bowls of ramen in front of Mercy and three big ones in front of Genji, the she said something, smiled and left. "She said one bowl for each of us is for free.", he smiled. He clapped his hands and continued: "Yosh, Itadakimasu!" Mercy tried to repeat after him, but failed miserably at the pronounciation. Genji gave a small chuckle and taught her that word, until she pronounced it correctly. Then he started eating, Angela tried her food as well. It was delicious.
She barely even finished her first bowl of ramen, eating a tiny bit from the second bowl, while Genji was already on his third bowl. "Are you done with eating?", he asked. "I full ... You can have the rest if you want to.", she answered. He grabbed her bowl and even finished hers after eating his third bowl. "Aahh. It's so good to eat here again.", Genji said after finishing all the food. He smiled, such a warm and precious smile. Angela couldn't help but smile back at him, trying to save that image of his smile in her head. He looked peaceful, happy.
"Let's go back. I'll pay and then we can leave.", he said after a few minutes and got up. Genji paid for their food and walked back to Mercy, waiting to leave. He seemed a bit on edge. "Is everything okay?", she asked. "Yeah ... I'm just tired and want to get back. The wound is still getting to me, even though Soba is trying to heal that.", he replied and laid a hand over the wound. Mercy nodded and they walked back to the hotel, slower than on their way to the restaurant.
At one point on their way back, the cyborg stopped and leaned against a wall. "We're almost at the hotel ... It's just a few more meters. Or did the wound break open? Are you in pain?", Mercy asked. "It's okay, Angela. I'm just really tired. My legs are shaking, I'm just weak ...", he replied and pushed himself off the wall, continuing to walk the rest of the way to their hotel.
Once their were back in their rooms, Genji quickly dropped his armor and laid on the bed. "I'm so tired ... And it's way too hot in here ...", he said and closed his eyes. Mercy actually liked the temparture of the room, so she walked over to him and laid her hand onto his forehead. "You're burning up ... Don't tell me you've had a fever from when we left the restaurant ... Let me check the wound!", she demanded and took off his bandages. The wound didn't look well. Her fingers softly touched the skin around the wound and Genji cried out in pain. "Don't! Please, don't touch it.", he said with a shaky voice. "We need to get back to the base. I need my equipment. Your wound looks bad and I need to treat it before your condition gets even worse.", she replied, rather quickly. She grabbed something from her bag and put it on Genji's wound, again earning a heartbreaking cry from him. "I'm sorry ... but it'll help.", she said and placed her hand on his cheek. A tear ran from the corner of his eye and he was shaking. "I'm so sorry ...", she added. Her thumb softly brushed the tear away.
She walked to her bag again and called the remains of Overwatch, telling them to come get the two of them. She hung up the call and walked back to Genji, sitting down beside him. He had one hand over his wound, barely touching it and the other arm laid on top of his face, covering his eyes. He was breathing slow and deep, seemingly asleep. He shifted, taking the hand from his wound and turned slightly to the side, his breathing became heavier. Mercy went to grab a cloth and made sure it's damp and cool and softly put it on Genjis forehead. He looked a little more relaxed, but his arm still covered his face. "Thank you ...", he whispered and took a deep breath. "I'll take care of you.", she replied. He tried to fall asleep and eventually succeeded, but thanks to the fever he was haunted by nightmares. Angela tried to calm him every now and then without waking him and still doing her best to keep his temperature down, without pumping his weakened body with meds, plus she barely brought any.
She couldn't reduce his temperature but somehow keep it on the same level, he didn't look good and the more time that passed, the worse he looked. He lifted the arm from his face and slowly sat up. "Careful ... Your temperature won't reduce ...", Mercy said. Genji buried his face in his hands. "I don't feel good ... at all ...", he mumbled into the palms of his hands. He leaned his head against Angela and she ran her fingers through his hair. "I barely brought any meds, but I should have something to help you, at least a bit ...", she said and kept running her fingers through his hair. He looked at her. He looked worn out, weak, over all awful.
Mercy went and grabbed some meds and gave him three pills and a glass of water. "Take these. It will help.", she said. He swallowed the pills and emptied the glass. Again she checked his wound. "This doesn't look good ...", she murmured to herself. "The wound got infected ... and the infection spreads to my blood ...", Genji spoke and looked towards the injury. "You don't have to hide that. I know it ... I can feel it ... I feel my body trying to fight ... and Soba too.", he added. Mercy gave him a shocked look. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear. "Once we get back home, I know you can fix this.", he said and gave her a warm smile. She burst out in tears and hugged Genji, sobbing hard. "A-Angela ..? Don't cry ... Why do you cry ..?", he asked, holding her close. "Wh-what if your c-condition gets even w-worse? Wh-what if we don't g-get b-back in time?", she sobbed. Genji pulled her close and softly pressed her head against his chest. "Don't worry. We'll make it. I'm not that weak ... and also I've got help from you and a dragon.", he said. The bass in his voice echoed through his chest. The sound of his voice amplified and his heartbeat seemed to calm her down, her sobs stopped. She sniffled and brushed tears from her face. He softly laid his head onto hers. "Everything will be fine.", he said once more.
It took a few hours, until Mercy got a call. She took her phone and answered it. "Yes?" - "Okay. Where do we meet?" - "That's quite far away ..." - "Right ... I guess we have no choice then. We'll meet you there.", he heard her talk on the phone. She hung up. "We have to get a few miles outside the city to where we are supposed to meet ...", Mercy said, as she turned back to Genji. He got up, slowly. Angela had already packed their stuff and took most of the bags. "You shouldn't carry it all ...", he said and grabbed one of the heavier bags, putting the strap on his shoulder. "You shouldn't carry that. It's too heavy for you. Think about your condition.", she replied quickly and took the bag away from him, handing him another, lighter bag. "It's already not good for you to wear the armor. Don't try lifting anything heavy. We have to travel quite far ... We can't even ride a taxi, because nobody should see the airship Overwatch sent us.", she said. Genji nodded in response. Together they left the hotel and walked through the city.
The cyborg wore his faceplate, his steps were heavy instead of quiet and slow as well. Angela worried a lot. She searched in one of the bags for a water bottle, which she found and handed it Genji. "You'll have to drink more.", she said. He stopped, put the bag he carried down and placed his faceplate on the bag. He was sweating a lot and dark circles had appeared under his eyes. He drank the water with his eyes closed, then looked at Mercy, before putting his faceplate back on. "Let's keep going.", he said, lifted the bag up again and started walking. His voice sounded strained. Angela walked beside him.
They left the city behind and kept walking for quite some time now. Mercy looked for the ship, until she heard a thud behind her. Turning around, she found Genji on his knees and hands. She heard him breathing heavily. She dropped her bags and knelt beside him. He was shaking. Mercy took off his faceplate. "I can't ... keep going ...", he said between breaths. She touched his forehead, he was burning up. "Your condition is getting worse ... I have to call them to come and pick us up here. Just hold on.", she said and tried to look at his face. He didn't respond - no answer, no nod, he didn't even look at her. He was still shaking, trying to catch his breath. Mercy quickly grabbed her phone and made the call.
"You have to come and pick us up, now! I don't want excuses, I don't have time for that! You've got my location now hurry up!", she shouted into her phone. "A-angela ...", Genji's weak and strained voice called for her, then another thud. She turned around and saw him lying on the ground. She dropped to her knees beside him and turned him around, holding his head up. He was having trouble to breathe. She took down the armor, around his wound. The infection had gotten way worse. A sepsis was starting to spread through his system. "Nein ... Genji.", she whispered. Finally she heard the sound of the airship. They really needed to hurry now, time was now a limiting factor on Genji's life. The airship landed and immediatly two men ran outside, one grabbed Genji, the other one grabbed the bags. Mercy told them to hurry. And as told, luckily, they had brought her equipment. She worked the whole flight to save him and had to put him in an induced coma. Every few days she ran a dialysis, cleaning his blood from the rest of the infection. She also treated him with antibiotics and gave blood infusions. Seeing him attached to wires, tubes and sensors displaying his vitals on monitors broke her heart. 2 months, she waited before letting him wake up.
Mercy watched as his eyes slowly opened. His eyes searched around until they found her, his vision still being blurry, but he made out her coat, the blond hair and they way she leaned over him. "Angela ...", he whispered. "Oh, Genji.", she hugged him tightly, a few tears ran down her cheek. She kissed him. Genji was surprised at first, but quickly closed his eyes, placed his hand on her cheek and kissed her back. When they separated he spoke: "I'm sorry, I made you worry." She shook her head. "I'm just glad it's all good now.", she replied and hugged him tighter, pressing her head against his shoulder. He placed his hand on the back of her head and wrapped the other arm around her, whispering to her: "I love you, Angela." He leaned his head against hers. She whispered very quietly: "I love you, too." Genji smiled, he didn't think he could be happier, than he was in that moment.
She pulled back and looked at him. He still smiled and her heart jumped at that sight. He looked at lot healthier, compared to two months ago. "How are you feeling?", she asked as she looked down to the wound and back up again. "Much better.", he replied and sat up completely. He noticed something tugging at him and turned to see a lot of wires and tubes attached to his body. He went silent and just stared at the mess of wires and tubes. Mercy got up and laid her hands onto his shoulders. "I'll remove those. You're fine now.", she said in a soft voice. She had noticed how the expression on his face had darkened. He hated being attached to machines, it made him feel like one and Mercy knew it. She placed a kiss on top of his head. "Genji ...", she called his name, in a more calming tone and placed her right hand on his cheek. He looked up at her, almost like he wanted to ask something with his expression only. "I said, I'll remove the wires and tubes. I needed those to clean your blood from the infection.", she explained and grabbed one of the tubes. She twisted it and pulled it from his body. He leaned forwards, so she could see and excess every tube and wire. When she was done, she placed both her hands on his cheeks and made him look at her. He looked into her eyes. "Angela, I-", he started, but was interupted by a kiss. He closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her to pull her closer. After a short while he placed his forehead on hers and just looked at her. "You know me, every part of me. You know my strengths, my fears, everything. You saved me, many, many times. I cannot thank you enough, never. I love you. So very much, Angela.", he said. "G-Genji ... You've saved me too, many times. And you know that I love you as well.", she replied and smiled at him. He kissed her again, after that he got up.
Genji was very unstable on his legs and used the table to hold himself up on. "You should take it slow ...", Mercy said. He nodded, but tried to walk a few steps. He used one hand to support himself on the wall. "Don't push yourself too much.", she said once more and offered to help him. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders. His stomach growled. "I ... am hungry.", he added. "I'll bring you some food.", she offered. "No. Let us go together. I don't want to stay here. I'll be fine.", he replied. She sighed. "Genji. Just listen to me for now. You do not have the strength yet. I'll go get something to eat, while you stay here and rest. Please, just listen once to when I say no.", she spoke. He closed his eyes. "Alright ...", he replied and let Mercy help him back to the bed. The cyborg sat on the bed, then placed his legs on it to lie comfortably. He leaned back. "I'll wait here then.", he said and closed his eyes again. "I'll get you some food and come back here. Just ... rest please.", she said and left the room.
When she came back, Genji had fallen asleep. She placed the food on the table and sat close to him. He rolled over to his side, his back turned to her. He mumbled something in his sleep, which she didn't understand because it was japanese. He shifted again, turned on his back, his hands clenched into fists. She sat next to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Genji ... Wake up, it's just a nightmare.", she said softly. A tear rolled from his eye, then he shot up and almost hit Mercy. She shrieked back a bit, but when she saw the fear and panic in Genji's eyes, she placed both her hands on his cheeks and softly spoke: "Genji ... Calm down, it was just a nightmare. It's alright now." The fear in his eyes slowly faded, but tears welled up. "A-angela ...", he murmured more or less to himself. He hugged her tightly, buried his head in her shoulder and quietly sobbed. She hugged him back and softly stroke the back of his head. "It's okay now ... It was just a nightmare.", she reassured him.
It took a few minutes for him to calm down. He took a deep breath and finally let go of her. She brushed the rest of his tears away. "Better now?", she asked softly. He nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?", asked, she was careful on how she posed the question.
"In that nightmare ... We were on a mission, collecting data from an abandoned Overwatch base, but there was an ambush. I attacked them and ... you supported me with your staff. They were targeting you and ... I ... I wasn't able to save you ... you ... you died ...", he explained, slowly, trying to keep his calm. He swallowed hard. "What if that were to happen ...? I ...", he started adding, but Mercy hugged him. "Shhh ... Don't think about something like that. I protect you and you protect me. That won't happen.", she replied. She placed her hand on the back of his head and softly pushed it back to her shoulder again. He let her do so, closed his eyes and hugged her back. "And even if I were to get hurt on a mission, I know you'd be close to me and do everything to help me. Overwatch has great medics besides me.", she said and let her fingers run through his hair. He enjoyed it everytime she did that. Slowly he drifted back to sleep, but Mercy softly shook him. "You should eat first. You can sleep like this, after you ate.", she said.
He sat straight. Mercy brought him the food, it was a small piece of meat, two chopped up potatoes and some sauce. He ate it completely. She put the plate aside when he was done and sat beside him again. Genji hugged her, pulled her down with him, to lie with her. He closed his eyes. "Will you stay with me like this?", he asked, tired. She hugged him back, let her fingers run through his hair. "I'll stay. Just sleep, Genji.", she replied. He gave a small smile and fell asleep soon. He slept peacefully for a few hours, until another nightmare disturbed his sleep. His movement and mumbling woke her up. She laid her hand onto his cheek and brushed with her thumb across his cheekbone. "Genji, it's just another dream. It's okay.", she said softly. His hand went up to hers and he opened his eyes, looking straight into hers. "Thank you.", he whispered. He closed his eyes, enjoying the touch. "I'm glad you're here.", he pulled her close. "Of course.", she replied and placed a kiss on his cheek. She yawned. "I think I'll get a coffee. Do you want one too?", she asked. "I'd rather drink a tea now ...", he replied and let go of her. "I'll bring you some tea, then.", Mercy answered. "I'll go wih you this time.", Genji replied and got up with her. He seemed to be just fine, so Angela let him come with her.
In the kitchen, she boiled some water and put it in two cups, one for Genji's tea and the other one for her instant-coffee. She put two spoons of sugar into her coffee, as well as some milk. "What kind of tea do you want to drink?", she asked. "If there's still some there, I'll drink green tea.", he replied. She searched for the tea bag and out it into his cup, then she gave the cup to him. "Thanks.", he grabbed it and smiled. He took a sip, realizing the was still too hot. He tried to play it of. Mercy chuckled. "Let it cool a bit.", she giggled. Genji just answered with "uhuh." and touched his tongue. She started laughing out loud. He looked at her and held his tongue between his fingers. "Whaf?", he asked. She burst out laughing and had to sit down. Tears rolled down her face from laughing so much. "You're quick to laugh at people who hurt themselves by accident, aren't you?", he grinned. She just couldn't stop laughing.