A week later there was a dinner, she had been sent up a dress and a stylist to ensure she didn't look like a mess, which honestly Guada had wanted to do. Just show up to this fake meeting with messy hair and looking like trash, but clearly, that wouldn't be allowed.

Reaper waited at the door in all of his armor when she was ready and walked her down to the car.

"Why do you get to wear that while I have to wear this?" she asked indicating her bright pink dress.

"Because you're still high alert."

"And they expect you to stop me?" she scratched at her scalp roughly, aware that she was likely ruining the styled bun on top of her head.

"Yes."

"Would you."

Silence filled the car.

Reaper scratched his claws together, "I would do my job."

She smiled sardonically and shook her head, "How romantic."

"Can I ask you a question?" The eyes of his mask seemed to look down at the floor.

Guada eyed him without turning her head from the window, "What?"

"What's his favorite color?"

She shifted in her seat, "Gadiel?"

"Yes."

She thought on it for a moment before answering, "You could have asked them yourself if you weren't an idiot."

He sighed in agitation and shook his head before looking out the window. They rode in silence the rest of the way to the restaurant.

Upon arriving, the place was filled with the familiar faces of security guards from around the base they had been keeping her in.

"A company dinner?"

Reaper nodded in response.

"Ah, finally, the honored guest has arrived," it was Akande standing in the center of the room, at the center of a very long table, "Please, sit."

Two empty places were made up in front of him. They took their seats there.

"So, how is the Mrs doing?" Akande asked merrily as he ushered for servers to come forward.

"I have, like, an entire identity outside of being married… Please just call me Guada."

Akande smiled at her and leaned on one large hand, "So how is the Mrs doing?"

Guada looked at him in exhausted apathy until a server placed down a menu in front of her.

"She'll have the steak...and lobster tail...and a salad, with extra spinach."

Guada shoved the menu back at the omnic server, "With some sweet white wine, please."

"No wine. She'll have a water with some lemon."

She gave a tight smile, "Then at least do me a favor and bring sugar packets for my lemon water, please."

The omnic waited on Akande who shook his head, "We'll be back with your order shortly madame."

As the server floated away, Guada turned to Reaper, "Not going to eat? I guess the mask stains easily."

"He never eats out here, always takes to go," Akande cut in.

"I wasn't asking you, Akande, I was talking to Gabriel."

He laughed, "You," he wagged his finger, "I like the cut of your bite. No wonder he sleeps in the hallway."

Guada was taken back by the comment, is that where Reaper had been sleeping?

An omnic server filled his wine glass, "Feel free to call me Doomfist, I like the sound of it."

"Guess we all enjoy our own brand," she muttered chewing her cheek.

Guada turned in her seat scanning the room.

"Recognize anyone?" Doomfist laughed, "No. I don't think you will. I've made sure to keep you separate. No distractions for you, you need to focus on getting back in the field."

Guada snickered and picked at the fabric on the table.

"You can not fight me forever," Doomfist had lowered his voice as he leaned in affectionately, "Soon you will join us. I promise you."

Guada stretched her lips in an odd facial expression of boredom, " 'kay."

Doomfist seemed to give up on her at that point, turning to speak to others around him.

Guada passed the time listening to the idle conversation they all held around her. Uninteresting dating lives, celebrity gossip, home decor… her head was spinning from pure annoyance, but at the same time she was desperate for that kind of normalization back in her life.

She felt Reaper bump the side of her leg with his hand and turned to look at him. He gestured at his hand, it hovered over her knee.

"No, thank you," she mumbled with a slight shake and pulled her leg in closer to herself.

The claw went back to his lap and Guada's face grew warm.

Was that their plan? Make her so desperate for socialization, for a friend that she would run into Reaper's arms? At least she could talk to him, but this feeling of being forced into him was disgusting.

She pushed the meat around on her plate as she contemplated just how much dignity Gabriel could possibly have left all things considered here.

"Eat." Akande's voice was deep, "I hear your iron is low, not very good for a woman in your position, eh?"

Guada glared at him, "I don't really think having armed guards threatening my life everytime I step out to go to the gym is good for someone in my position either, but then, I'm not all that sure what my position is."

"Your position is very important, you'll be one of my employees. Dogs like Nataio cannot be bought… well, they can, but that would take a lot of time and training when I could just have this one," he took a large bite of his food, then dabbed at his mouth, "I like my employees in top shape."

"Then I guess you didn't hear that I was also overweight, all these calories are probably going against your best interest," she said as she took an awkwardly large mouthful of salad.

"Yes, I heard, but looking at you I have to disagree, I think that's just how you Puerto Rican women are built."

He winked then and Guada felt sick.

"Besides, you'll be burning it off once you're in a routine again. Get you running, swimming, moving, no more of that home life," Doomfist wagged his finger at her, she was growing tired of the gesture, "Nataio wasn't made for that, and so neither were you."

A pain built up in her jaw and Guada realized she was grinding her teeth. She flexed her jaw and looked around the room.

Eye contact, a young, tan woman with purple highlights in her hair had been looking at her, but now she turned away. Guada watched her pretend to be interested in the conversation of her table.

"Guada, are you going to start behaving?" Doomfist asked leisurely as his pushed the food away from him.

She shook her head slowly, "Probably not, but if you give me some Burger King, maybe I'll play nice for a day or two."

He chuckled then. Reaper was looking elsewhere and Guada wondered what he could be thinking.

"I'm done here, bring the rest of the wine and meal to my room, I've other matters to get to," Doomfist rounded the table patting on the shoulders of different people as he moved past them, when he got to Guada, he simply slapped the table twice before walking on.

"God, he is so fucking annoying," Guada released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"You get use to it," Reaper said, "Finish your meal."

"Even if I wanted to, I can't. This is way too much."

"You need to try."

"No, fuck off."

They sat there, the plate growing colder as time ticked by. The omnic servers finally came around about an hour later and took away the plate, but to Guada's annoyance returned with it boxed.

Reaper took the box in his claws and pulled her chair out, "Let's go."

"I don't want to go," Guada practically whispered, "It's not that I like it here, but I'm tired of that room."

"I'll figure something out for you," He looked down on her as he stood waiting, "but we're leaving."

Guada took one last look around the busy room. She knew the next time she'd be seeing their faces, they'd be cold and concentrated again.

"After everything I heard, I could have sworn you'd be more… lively."

Guada turned to the voice, it was the young woman with purple hair.

"Sombra," the woman said sticking out her hand.

Reaper gave a growl.

"Oh right," she leaned in, "He doesn't want me talking to you… annoying you, he says."

"No annoyance at all," Guada jumped in and took the girls hand, "Sombra, that's such a beautiful name."

"Gracias, Guada es un nombre bunita también."

They stared at each other's eyes for a moment, and Guada wasn't sure if the size up was meant to be threatening, flattering or… flirty? She began to smirk as she changed her hand's position so that she was holding the woman's fingers delicately.

"You're very pretty," Guada spoke without moving her eyes.

"Thank you, I know," the woman seemed almost surprised by the reaction.

"How old are you?" Guada asked taking a half a step closer.

"Time to leave," Reaper gruffed placing a hand behind her back.

"I'm trying to make a new friend," Guada didn't move her body but turned to stare up at him with a cruel smile.

"Don't worry," Sombra said pulling her hand back, and then waving her fingers at Guada, "I'll," a dramatic pause, "be around."

Guada smirked as she rested her hands on her hips and watched the woman walk off towards another group of people.

"Let's go," Reaper urged pushing on her back more.

Guada finally gave in.

Back in their apartment like room he finally spoke again, "I don't want you speaking to Sombra."

"Oh? Why not?"

"She's up to something, can't be trusted."

"Honestly, you saying that makes me want to speak to her more," Guada said lifting the bubblegum-colored dress over her head and flinging it off in a random direction, not caring where it landed, "But, at the same time, I wonder if you knew that, and that makes me suspicious, and now I think maybe I shouldn't talk to her anyway… But then I wonder, 'who cares? If I die, I die.'"

"You're not going to die," He huffed following her around the suite, his eyes looking over her soft body. He could see where the muscle was trying to make a comeback from the workouts, half-assed though they were.

"Says who? You? Doomfist," she said the name with a mocking accent, "All those people out there with guns at the ready for me? Likely story, old man."

"If they kill you-"

She turned to him as she let down her hair, "What? You'll stop them? Fight them yourself? Is that why you sleep in the hall, apparently?

You're like a shitty guard dog. Honestly, Nataio scares me more than you at this point." She dug a finger into his shoulder and tried to pushed him back, but he stood unmoving.

He fell silent and still as he watched her turn again and walk into the bathroom, "I'm not trying to scare you."

"Then take off the shitty mask."

They looked at each other, or at least Guada assumed they did as they faced in each other's direction. Guada waited, but finally relented and slammed the bathroom door shut.

Reaper sat down on his mattress for a moment, missing the comfort of it. He imagined waiting for her like that, forcing her into his lap and cradling her to sleep, but he knew that he could never follow through with something like that.

Instead, he listened to her shower for a moment, lied to himself that maybe she would call for him if he waited long enough. She didn't. He finally left a while later, only when he heard the water being shut off.

A month passed, within that time Gabriel had convinced them to allow her out on jogs with him as her guard in allowed zones of the city. That morning he had surprised her after her check up with Moira by tossing her the new workout gear for the occasion.

He wore a smaller mask and grey sweats. Guada, with her curls stacked on her head, strays sticking to her face, wore a bright lime green sweater combo, all the better to see her in if she tried to escape.

"Doesn't this feel good? Being outside?" he asked jogging backward and watching her run along the path.

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind," she huffed trying to ignore the pinch in her side.

"It'll get better once you're used to it again, but you have to actually try."

"I'm running aren't I?"

"I know you can do better," he shouted as he slowed his pace for her to catch up.

"I don't care what you think you know," Guada took heavy but even breaths.

"I know you might be out of shape, but you're holding back. Stop it… if you actually wanna get out of here, maybe train up and you'll have a fighting chance."

"Is that the insinuation of an escape promise?"

"Come on, keep up," she could hear the smile in his voice despite the mask.

She rolled her eyes, slowed and stopped with her hands on her knees, "I'm tired."

"No, you're not," he urged jogging back to her slowly.

"We're not all perfect soldiers, Gabriel," she looked up at him, "Some of us are still only human."

"I need you to stop holding back, Guada."

"Let me guess, this isn't game?"

"When you work with them, it goes easier." He was trying to keep his voice calm.

"Oh well then, I'd hate to get in the way of my kidnapper."

"You want to see Nataio so badly, but you keep acting this way and-"

"And what? They'll kill him? Clearly, they wanted him alive, and I'm just along for the ride." She rubbed at her face with the sleeve and eyed the empty spaces around them.

Alone in public.

"So, what? You don't care about him anymore?"

The words stung her faster then she could process, the nerves spreading through her like fire.

Guada sprung up with her elbow out, pointed into Gabriel's chest. She felt him give a second before solidifying again under her weight as they both moved in the direction together.

"Talk about holding back, huh?" she asked rebalancing.

"I know you don't like it when I do it."

"When you ghost, shadow, whatever you call it, yea… it's disgusting."

They stood toe-to-toe, "If you want to see Nataio, you have to cooperate."

"I can't wait to explain to the UN about how I had to co-op with a terrorist group or else I might never get to play fetch again."

"So you do or don't care about Nataio, just say it."

Guada flung herself at him again, but he stepped back. She landed on one foot and used her momentum to throw her other leg into him from the side.

It sliced through Reaper as he went into shadow form, and she managed to land on the spinning foot in time to attempt another spin kick which also went through the shadowy figure. With both feet on the ground, Guada threw a punch in his direction.

He solidified then and took the hit into his chest before grabbing at her hand. Guada was quick and grabbed his wrist with her free hand. She spun around still holding on to him, and gave him a mule kick into his groin.

With Reaper's free hand he shoved her away hard as to avoid the hit landing. She was forced to regain her balance before coming back with a shoulder blow into his midsection.

He stumbled backward, then stood again.

Guada stood with her hands out in a low crouch.

"Come on," he beckoned.

Guada's breathing was ragged but from anger more than anything.

"You've been wanting to do this, go ahead," he barked at her.

She let out a yell, "AHHHHHHHH!"

The sound bounced amongst the buildings, echoing. Birds scattered and landed again.

Reaper was nodding and motioning his hands as he sunk into a fight stance as well, "Come on."

"This isn't some shitty movie!" she yelled standing up again and storming off back whence they came.

"You've wanted to fight me every day since you saw me, just do it."

She turned around, "No! This isn't for me, Gabriel. You're the one who wants a fight. If I have to fight you, I will, but this is stupid.

What? You think we'll get all emotionally charged, argue, fight, wrestle around on the ground and then make-out? Sorry, this is the real world, and people don't actually makeup like that.

At least not healthy people."

She began to storm off again, then turned on her heels wagging her finger, "Movies only do that because they're fucking toxic. Okay? That shit is abusive. I shouldn't want to hit the man I'm with. You shouldn't be asking for a physical fight, this is disturbing!"

Reaper's hands were on his waist. He gave her a shrug, "We're not together, remember? You're not my wife."

She guffawed at the statement, "Oh nice, that's really nice."

Her hands were waving and flailing while she spoke for emphasis, "I gave you 5 years, Gabriel, not to mention the years of being pregnant and raising that baby, without you. Some of the best years of my life. How do you repay me?

Kidnap? Wow, that's so fucking romantic. I'm all in," she began to clap in between words, "Lets. Do. It. Baby."

Reaper's rubbed at the back of his head and he released a deep breath and looked up to the sky, "Are you done?"

"Yas! Oh my god, stuff me in the car, force feed me, let a mad scientist touch my genitals and shoot me up with god knows what! This is so fucking hot!"

She stepped closer, but there was still space in between them, "Oh my gosh, please, yes, force me out in public in ugly sweats and then tell me to fight you. That's so goddamn endearing.

Let me whoop your ass, that will solve all of our problems. This is true romance."

He walked a line back and forth as she spoke looking around the space pausing as he realized he couldn't leave.

Her hands fluttered at her chest mockingly as she slowly staggered back to him, "How did you know that all I ever wanted, since the day we said 'I do,' was to be in some swanky lair by some douchey warlord and told to FIGHT my husband. Wow, Gabriel, you know me so well, better than I know myself sometimes. Impeccable."

She waved around at the empty sidewalks, "Dear Audience, a round of fucking applause for this husband of the year," Her words slowed down, " My panties are falling to the floor from the sheer weight of my juices. MmmMmmMmm."

She gave a slow clap with a giant, nasty snarl. She had been holding these emotions in for so long and a part of her wished she could go on and on.

"Are you done?" Reaper asked again turning back to her.

"No. Fuck you, you piece of shit, if this is what you were going to do to me" she paused as the tears caught up to her racing mind, "then I wish you'd have actually died."

He watched her cross her arms, lick her lips and suck them in while the tears ran down her face. He marched past her stiff with anger.

"Come on. We're going back inside."

"I don't want to."

"You're tired, remember?"

She rolled her eyes and hesitated before following.

"You're stuck with me, kid, like it or not, even if you don't like me anymore. So I think you need to figure out your frustrations because sooner or later you'll be taking my orders again."

"Of course, Commander Reyes, what an honor."

He stopped short and turned to face her, "It's not a joke!"

"I heard you the first hundred times you said that!"

They were face to face now.

"Then maybe think about listening, because right now I'm all you've got," He shoved his finger into her chest and pushed her back effortlessly, "If you don't give in, sooner or later they're gonna put you through hell, kid," His voice came down into a deep hiss, "I can't protect you from that."

"Then stop trying," she spoke through gritted teeth.

His frustration reached a peak then, "Why can't you just do as you're told? You're utterly ungrateful!"

The volume of his voice suddenly frightened her, she took a step back but then the anger rose again and she took back her position, "Who the fuck do you think you married?! I ain't no Barbie, my life isn't your creation!"

Now they were really in each other's faces, fingers pointing, his arms waving, her neck moving side to side and both their voices thundering against the buildings.

"...outside and you're still miserable..."

"...I regret every minute knowing you, you're spineless…"

"...years of work I've put in to keep you safe…"

"...and you ain't been shit since the minute you became friends with Moira!"

"Oh here we go, classic Guada move!" Reaper laughed.

"Fuck you, you know I'm right!"

"You wanted me to take back my place in Overwatch, I tried," he growled, "I fucking died trying to do it, you're never fucking happy."

"I didn't care about Overwatch! What the fuck are you even on about?"

"It was one of the first things we ever even spoke about!"

"Oh come on!" Guada laughed from mental exhaustion.

"You are only happy when you can't have what you want, let's be honest, you're happiest when you're unhappy."

"Well, that explains why my life was so much fucking better when you were dead!"

He let out a sound, deep and guttural then as his hands flew up into fists.

Guada quickly stepped back and away. She stared at him with bewildered eyes and for a moment, she swore she could look into the mask and see his glare.

"Come on!" he ordered whipping around, "Give me a fucking run, cadet."

"Fuck you," her voice shook.

"I'm not fucking asking," he said turning back and pointing behind her.

Guards were standing by, but when had they gotten there? Had it been all the commotion? So they had been watching them this entire time then?

His claws wrapped around her arm and pushed her in the direction back to their suite. Guada used the energy raised inside her to run.

Reaper hadn't wanted the guards there so fast. He knew they'd report what they'd seen. He mentally started bracing for the incoming leash pull from Doomfist.