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wetsockonyourfoot · 6 years

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I Ain’t Your Southern Belle

(so i’m trying to post this on AO3, but I thought I might give it a try here! Sorry if this sucks!)

If there was one thing Jesse McCree wasn’t, it was a coward. That being said, when he was suddenly tossed to the wild unknown that is the foster care system, he was a bit scared. Not cowardly, just… slightly scared. After all, it’s not every day that a family disowns a thirteen-year-old child simply because he was born the wrong gender. The night honestly had been a blur, but as there seemed to be no one in the place aside from Jesse the foster care system decided to give him to a rather trusted couple who had been hosting children for several years now. Morrison-Reyes was the family name, according to what Jesse had been told, and they consisted of a cop and a high school teacher. Why they wanted another kid to look after was something of a mystery to Jesse when the found out they already had three other kids in their home. Not only that but he knows they got the records of him from before.

Jessie Isabella McCree hadn’t the greatest past. He knew from a young age that had been born the wrong gender, and the tight feeling of shame of his own situation had only grown under the influence of his birth parents. They and his two older brothers had never approved of the idea, forcing him to wear dresses, and bows. Treating him more like a doll than a person with feelings and thoughts of their own. So, on the faithful night that they kicked him out, Jesse knew he would never be allowed back near their farm, not that he wanted to be anyway. So now at sixteen years old, three years after being kicked out, he was finally found by child services and forced into the system. It all happened too fast for him to really recognize what was going on, but perhaps that was for the better. He put up little fight, though when asked his name by the officer that got him, he did reply with Jesse, and though it has little difference in pronunciations, the drop of the I in his mind did wonders.

From there he was tossed around a bit for about two weeks, before it was decided he would be going to the Morrison-Reyes home for thanksgiving and Christmas to see if they would be a suitable match. Few days of paperwork later he arrived in front of a classic two-story brick home, modernized and decorated already for Christmas even though it was about a week before Thanksgiving. School, which he had to be put back into, would be out within the week, so he would be forced to spend time with the family. He did find out though that one of his foster parents was the Spanish teacher in his school, which turned out well since Jesse was almost fluent in the language. Probably the only good thing that had come out of living in a Spanish guys house for the past three years, was the immense pick up of the language.

Thus, he was introduced to Jack Morrison, and his husband Gabriel Reyes. Jamie was the overexcited and slightly loud Australian whom he would share a lot with and also the newest of their children, Hana being an original member of the family as she had been adopted first and was a baby even before the couple was married. Finally, there was Lúcio, a gifted youth who matched Hana in age, both being eleven, and excelled with music. Hana was a rising competitive gamer, and Jamie was an inventor. All of this information was thrown at Jesse within the span of about twelve minutes. Oh, and dinner was in ten.

“C’mon, put your bags down son, we’ll get your settled.” Jack stated with a smooth voice that honestly suited the whole golden boy look he fitted in. Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect smile, and a toned body. Not that Jesse was really looking at the last thing, but hey it was obvious why the man attracted Mr. Reyes. Gabriel Reyes however was a dark skinned, and hard edge sort of man. He looked like the kind that would quiet literally snap some one’s neck in half if they so much as looked at him wrong. Jesse was not a coward, just a little scared.

“Yer uh… my Spanish teacher…” Jesse mumbled looking at the hulk of a man.

“And you’re the child that’s been skipping class since you got put in my class.” He answered back simply raising a brow that Jesse ducked down at.

“Uh… yeah about that-” Jesse laughed uneasily before yelping as he was pulled into the kitchen by an overly enthusiastic Hana.

“Scare him later papa, I want dinner and dad said we’re not having it till we’re all there!” She called back towards the man, who just shrugged behind the kids and followed in line.

“So Jesse, you’re sixtee right?” Jack asked and received a nod. “When’s your birthday?” He carried on the conversation.

“Oh uh, it was like July 28th or somethin’… I ain’t got a good memory for dates.” Jesse answered slowly edging into a seat that was offered up by Jamie who seemed to be eyeing him down curiously.

Mr. Morrisons brows furrowed in confusion as he turned and handed a full plate of food to Hana. “You don’t remember? Now how do you forget your own birthday?” He tried to joke, but ended up only making Jesse duck his head down more.

“I aint celebrated it in a… a while.” Jesse answered truthfully as Jack just nodded and cut of his awkward laughter.

“Well maybe we can change that.” He offered up a plate to Jesse, who hesitantly took it and put it down on the table as quietly has humanly possible. Dinner continued on in this manner with Mr. Morrison trying to find out some stuff that had already been on Jesse’s files from Jesse himself, and the teen giving a half answer since he didn’t even know most information on himself anymore. Once he was done pretending to eat and pushing food around on his plate, he stayed and helped Mr. Reyes clean up.

“You know kid,” The man started. “You’re only gonna make this awkward if you keep dancing around and keep it awkward like this. I suggest you just give up and try to make yourself as comfortable as possible in this situation.” Reyes advised as they finished up, Jesse drying off the last dish and putting it onto a pile he had made. Seeming to be done talking, Jesse was lead to his room by Jamie. The room was right across from the couple’s room, with the remaining three upstairs if he needed them. A simple full bed, and dresser it was obvious the room was for guests. Reaching down and touching the quilted blanket on the bed, sighing as he dropped his single bag of clothing he owned. Most of it was worn down and ratty but it’s what he had so that’s what he’d wear for the remainder of his stay he supposed. Flopping onto his bed Jesse sighed and tried to curl up to get some sleep after he kicked off his shoes which thumped onto the floor.

The following morning was a Saturday, and while normally Jesse would be rejoicing the lack of school, it meant he had to spend time with his new foster family. He was up late in the morning, around 10 am was when he woke up. Wandering into the bathroom connected to his room he firstly relieved himself, and then focused on looking presentable. Popped a few zits, and rummaging through his bag for some bandages he taped up his chest. He knew this was a bad thing to do, but it’s all he could afforded and no one ever stopped him, so bandaging it was. He dreamed of having enough money to own a proper binder in all honestly, but with how things were before and the now lack of any money at the moment, he knew this was a dream for another day.

Brushing his greasy hair, he decided he would find out how to take a shower later, and headed out in the same clothes he had worn the day before. Jack was standing in the kitchen when he came in, sending a kind smile when he noticed the new comer in the kitchen. The home had been remodeled to have an open floor plan Jesse suspected, as the kitchen wall was blown open so it included the living room. An island separating the living area from the kitchen area and at the island sat a very sleepy looking Jamie and Hana who both were eating cereal with varying degrees of success in getting the fruity loops into their mouths. By Jesse’s judgment, currently Jamie was winning in getting the most in his actual mouth. Hana meanwhile was making a nice collection in her long hair.

Jesse subconsciously touched his own hair as he thought about when it was down to his waist. His mother refused to let him get it cut, and eventually he took a pair of scissors to it and fixed the problem himself. It was sloppy, and a little long in the front now, but it was above his shoulders and that’s all he cared about. “Morning Jesse.” Jack greeted him, snapping Jesse from his thoughts and the man gestured towards the breakfast bar. “Want some cereal?”

“I’m good actually.” Jesse declined not wanting to take even more of their food. “What’s everyone doin’?” He drawled out looking to the living room where Lúcio and Gabriel were decorating the large fireplace located on the adjacent wall to the door and stairs. Stockings and other items being hung up with care and lots of command hooks.

“Oh they’re just finishing up decorations.” Jack explained as Jesse mindlessly nodded along. “You can join them if you like and aren’t hungry.” He offered up as the teen nodded once more and moved into the living room watching till Gabriel noticed him and grunted to Jesse.

“Here, help him put these up on the tree.” He spoke out as the teen jolted into movement to help. Lúcio was humming while they did this, and slowly Jesse worked himself into a rhythm of handing the younger an ornament for the tree, and waiting patiently with the next one while it was hung upon the tree. This same rhythm soon seemed to follow Jesse into his life style with the Morrison-Reyes household. He would wake up, deny breakfast, help decorate or another small task/chore, then laze around for some time, claim he had eaten lunch, laze around some more and then eat dinner before showering and bed. This provided as sense of security in his routine, and when school started on Monday he simply fixed it so he would talk with Mr. Reyes during Spanish class (He was no longer aloud to skip it) and then go about his other classes. He was behind in most things considering he missed three years of schooling, though they simply threw him behind a grade and called it good enough.

He learned a lot about his fellow foster and adopted kids while he was going through the first week. Hana regularly had nightmares about her birth mother who had died while trying to get to America. Lúcio didn’t even know his birth parents, and grew up in the system from day one. Jamie however, Jesse grew particularly close too, as he found out he was also transgender. The boy offered all sorts of advice and things Jesse didn’t even know existed. He had started some hormone therapy while he was still on the streets, but he didn’t half the information Jamie had told him about it. Apparently, Reyes and Morrison had been paying for Jamie’s treatments for the better half of a year and they didn’t plan on stopping any time soon. Binders were also another topic brought up, and when Jamie found out he was using bandages to bind the boy nearly threw a fit inside of class (They both had history together as it wasn’t Jamies strongest subject). The following period Jesse was dragged to Reyes classroom who was just as appalled to find out. One doctors trip later he learned that the pain he had been feeling when putting them on was caused by a fractured rib. Jamie freaked out.

With his chest now exposed to the world, doctor’s orders, they left the office and Jesse received several looks as he tried to adjust to the sudden freedom and lack of pain he felt. He was ordered to not bind or even attempt it again for six weeks till the rib had healed properly. Left with no other choice than to follow orders he then spent the remainder of the week, god it was only Wednesday, to staying home and cleaning up the place as an excuse to explore the house fully (Jack knew but didn’t say anything. Humans are curious after all).

Thanksgiving turned out to be relatively quiet after he arrived, as far as Thanksgivings go, with just the six of them eating together happily. Jesse was slowly speaking more and more, his shyness melting away easily with the group as he happily shoveled down the delicious multicultural food. Gabe had made delicious corn salads and salsa with chips for his contribution, Hana absolutely enthusiastic to shovel down the burning kimchi that Jesse could only stand a bite of before he was coughing, Lúcio providing some relief with his sweet rabanada while Jamie and Jack both gobbled down several people’s servings of turkey. Overall Jesse couldn’t remember a time he felt so stuffed and warm when he was wrapped up in a giant quilt with a snoring Hana on his shoulder afterwards. The girl having fallen into a peaceful food coma while Gaberiel and the others were busy fighting over what movie to watch.

Jesse came to find out that they did this often, the family dinner type deal, as he was continually surprised at the warm food which always seemed to be piled onto the table every night. Once school was called back in, Jesse reluctantly got up with Mr. Reyes (who now insisted he be called Gabe) in the morning, avoiding everyone’s questioning glances as he skipped his normal classes (He didn't feel like going to them and Gabriel didn't say anything in protest anymore) and sat in the Spanish room. Conversation flowing so easily between the pair that most of their discussions ended up on the quizzes that Jesse helped grade with Gabe. It took him several days of silent contemplation in the class room however before Jesse finally got the nerve to ask Gabe if he could borrow one of his or Jack’s large hoodies to help make him feel more normal. The bandaging around his torso did little to hide his chest, and with how he looked now it just made Jesse feel weird. The man of course obliged, taking Jesse out the next day and getting him several sets of safe clothing until he was allowed his binder back.

He almost started to have a small panic attack at the thought of Gabe spending so much money on him, but luckily Jamie had gone with them and simply said he’d wear some of the clothing as well so it wasn’t just money on Jesse. He didn’t know why those words helped, but the pain in his chest gradually eased away as he found a sweat shirt he couldn’t help but ask for. ‘BAMF’ printed on the front along with two little pistols in a deep red color that Jesse found absolutely hilarious. Gabe happily obliged in his wish after laughing his ass off as well.

Jack took Jesse back to the doctors about three weeks into his stay. He learned, sadly, that no binders were allowed still, as his ribs themselves were allowing to expand free and heal up properly. While this was a downside he did learn from Jack it just meant he could eat more ice cream and blame it on his ribs, so they both gladly raided the freezers contents and ate half a gallon each of chocolate chip. Jack came to surprise Jesse with a similar taste in movies, as they were the only one’s home currently, pulling out several classic Clint Eastwood movies that had both of them raving about the action qualities immediately. While Jack enjoyed his own action and hero movies, he did love westerns for their heroes and dramatic situations. It made Jesse full out laugh when Jack tried to ask how these situations even arose back then, the teen just shrugging and claimed all of them were bored without TV.

The answer pleased Jack it seemed, as the Indiana native just smiled at Jesse, ruffled his hair, and stole a scoop of his ice cream. With the movie playing, both of their attentions were split between watching and repeating the dialogue both knew by heart, and actually just talking. “So, what do you want for Christmas?” Jack asked as he took a sip from his Coke on the table.

Jesse paused in getting a scoop full of chocolate chip, to look at him. “I thought this was my Christmas gift. Yah know stayin’ with ya’ll?” He asked resuming the motion popping a spoon full of the cold treat into his mouth happily.

“Well in a way yes, but that isn’t it. You still have to ask Santa for something.” Jack teased softly gesturing over to the mile-high stack of papers Hana had filled to the brim with gift ideas for most of the family (mainly herself however).

“Uh… hell I don’t know… didn’t think Santa came to punks like me. Naughty list and all.” Jesse shrugged back simply with his attention back on the TV at this point.

The officer scoffing softly as he looked towards the teen. “Santa and I are very close, and I’ll have you know he has you on his Nice list. So, what does the cowboy want?” He asked again with a small smile playing at his lips.

“Shucks… I don’t know Mr. Morrison. I just usually got dresses and dolls back home….” Jesse mumbled rubbing his chest lightly to ease a small itch.

“Well you aren’t getting dresses, unless you want them for some reason, so think of something else okay? Just make a list or something.” Jack suggested softly, reaching over to the table and picking up a smaller stack of paper off the table Hana had taken up. “Or at least tell us if Hana is close to what you’d like or not.” He gently offered it up to the teen to hesitantly took it.

Jesse nodding slightly to acknowledge him as his eyes quickly scanned over the items listed underneath his name. “All this stuff seems kinda…. Yah know… expensive.” He mumbled before taking an offered pen and scribbling out the items which he deemed too extravagant. “Maybe just like… I don’t know some warm socks or a blanket…?” He suggested handing the list back for Jack to inspect.

Jack sighing softly as he found most of the items not crossed out were under 10 dollars each. “Jesse, you do know both Gabe and I work for a reason, right? We can afford to get you a real gift, and if you don’t pick it Hana will. And I know for a fact she can find more expensive items.” He gently combed a hand through the teens hair, smiling when Jesse leaned slightly to the touch letting out a soft huff.

“I know… still don’t mean I wan’ nothin’ expensive…. Maybe a cowboy hat or somethin’?” He tried once again, Jack seeming to accept his answer now with a nod and his smile growing.

“Cowboy hat it is! Juuust make sure to send your letter in to Santa okay? He gets cranky if you wait till the last minute.” The officer chuckled as he casually stole a bite of Jesse’s ice cream, the teen yelping as he tried to move it away in time. “What??” Jack laughed, feigning innocence as Jesse pouted.

“Fine then… I’m gonna take a nap instead ice cream thief.” Jesse huffed, but still smiled as he put the ice cream tub back into the freezer, and his spoon in the dishwasher. Jack still snickering as he turned his own attention back to the movie at hand. Jesse meanwhile headed into the guest room he’d been calling his own. A large red blanket with a geometric design stitched into it laying at the foot of the bed, one of the favorites of the blankets they had given to him to use in Jesse’s opinion. Changing into a slightly more comfortable pair of pajama pants and sliding underneath the warm covers, pulling the blanket up over his shoulders snuggly.

Sleep found Jesse quickly, taking his mind into a dark and endless abyss where he floated softly in the warm pleasure of the bed around himself. His thoughts gently drifted about, wondering from recent events, thinking of students who populated Gabe’s class room during the day. Eventually his mind wondered how his brothers were doing, before a jab of pain resonated into his chest from the idea. They were fine. Of course, they had to be fine, he was gone after all, something they wished for greatly.

Thoughts slowly swirled down from this point until Jesse was whimpering pathetically in the real world, twitching and shaking despite the blankets on his frame. He had only managed to dose for an hour before he woke up, sucking in a surprised breath. His chest lit up in flames, pulling tightly at the warm sweatshirt he had on till Jesse slipped the material off himself in an attempt to make the tugging stop. He was left in a short sleeve t-shirt he had snatched from Jamie some time ago, along with his sweat pants which he begrudgingly noticed felt wetter than usual. “Fuck….” He hissed out slowly getting up and shuffling into the bathroom. As fate would have it, his period had started. Wonderful, this stupid thing again.

He had thought the hormone treatments had stopping it, but having been off them for a while apparently brought them right back on when the hormones had been flushed out his system. Jesse begrudgingly slapped on a pad and tampon, holding his cramping middle as he shuffled out to change pants and lay down to try and control the tightness in his chest. He was a little shocked however to see his room wasn’t empty when he came back in. Jamie was standing over by his bed, gathering up the sheets from his bed and looking over with a smile when he saw Jesse. “’Ey! Wanna come up in my room?” He offered as he continued to strip the bed down, Jesse now seeing there was a blood spot staining the perfectly white cloth.

“U-Uh… yeah sure…” Jesse nodded looking at his feet as Jamie passed him, dumping the sheets in the laundry room before both teens shuffled into his room.

“Sit down, I gotta find som’tin.” Jamie instructed as he started to search through is mess of a closet, Jesse looking and sitting down on the stuff animal filled bed. It was the weirdest thing one wouldn’t expect when thinking of Jamie, but the boy loved stuffed animals. Whenever the family went anywhere he always got a stuffed animal from there that in some way represented the place they had gone.

When the teen returned, he dumped a clothed pad of some kind on his lap, before plugging the device into the wall. “Heat Pad. Always helps with my cramps.” He explained sitting across from Jesse with a bounce of the bed’s springs. “I thought’d you like it and maybe I could tell you a little bit about my fine specimen collection!” He asked gesturing to the stuffed animals, plucking up a stuffed Pig. “This one is my bestest one! I got it from my best mate back ‘ome, and lovingly named it Roadhog! Cause that was ‘is nickname ya see-“ Jamie began his giant tale of the animals Jesse laughing as he went on to tell a story about how he and this ‘Roadhog’ character had played around, almost blowing up an ant hill.

This is how the evening evolved, with Jesse laughing or leaning on the edge of his seat as Jamie chattered the world away with the seemingly endless tales of his stuffed animals. He found out Jamie had a slight concussion when he was younger causing him to have a slightly harder time forming new memories. So, the stuffed animals were like a touchable journal or memory bank. If he wanted to remember a time better, he could pick one of them up and it helped him remember. Without realizing, as the two teens chatted, eventually even swapping stories, Jesse’s chest unwound itself till he was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.

Hearing the commotion Jack peaked on the pair, smiling softly as he saw Jamie pretending to be attacked by a stuffed Crocodile while telling the story of the families first zoo trip with Lúcio. Jesse looked perfectly at ease with him, both of them unknowingly leaning slightly on each other for comfort and support. Quietly shutting the door again Morrison walked back downstairs where Hana and Lúcio were playing video games. He dropped a kiss on both of their heads as he passed the couch, sitting down at the dining table and going back to scribbling away at some forms for work.

His phone lit up with a text, a maraca shaking sounding out to alert Gabe had texted him.

‘How did the doctors appointment go? -G’

Jack smiled as he looked down at the message and typed back the reply.

‘Perfect. -J’

#overwatch #trans overwatch #trans jesse #trans jesse mccree #overwatch jesse #jesse mccree #please dont get mad at #lucio correia dos santos #dva #jamison fawkes #junkrat #ao3fic #i'm rewriting it and stuff #soldier 76 #reaper #reaper76

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paranoid-fighter · 7 years

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Overwatch: Reyes - Chapter 9: Reyes makes a call | Jesse makes a call | Morrison receives a call

Oh, how quickly things can change...

Author’s Notes: 1) Well, at long last, it’s here. 2) This contains plenty of mentions of violence - warning you now 3) I cannot even tell you how long I’ve spent writing this chapter. I’ve lost track of the hours. 4) Please let me know what you think 5) Special thanks to @slunkymcgee, @t0asty-marshmall0w, @one-doesnt-simply-walk-in-bagend and @ceata88 for reading various sections for me

Word count: 12030-ish Copyright: Overwatch and its characters belong to Blizzard. Original characters belong to me.

Gabriel Reyes stood before the polished black stone of the Widow's Wall and read over the names of those that had died while in service to him. The list was far, far longer than it should have been and, worst of all, he knew it... just as he knew that he was responsible for their deaths. He traced a finger over the etching of a mockingbird and let out a long, slow breath.

The Mockingbirds were dead. The Hellcats were dead. The Hounds were dead.

They and countless others now marched under the banner of the Last Watch.

He closed his eyes as he lowered his head, but he did not pray.

Prayer no longer soothed his soul.

He walked on.

Gabriel Reyes traced a familiar path through the empty hallways. They were the only thing that remained unchanged during his time as Commander. He never thought he would envy cinder blocks, but he found himself doing just that with each painful step that he took.

The years had not been kind to him. His thinning, greying hair was now hidden under the black knit cap that he refused to remove. His face was lined with wrinkles and scars. Every passing day made the bags under his eyes grow a little darker. Stress had eaten holes in both his stomach and his mind before it turned its attention to his aching joints.

It hurt to exist.

He tried to stave off the failings of his body, but he knew it was a lost cause. Nurse Lori and Nurse Sandy had given him everything they could in the hope that they could ease his pain, but they knew it wouldn't help in the long run. Every morning was greeted with a handful of medications that allowed him to function, but each night ended with the cold reality that he was beginning to live on borrowed time.

He walked on.

Gabriel Reyes had beaten the odds and had done so for well over a decade. He had risen from the trenches and soared through the ranks until his shoulders carried enough stars to rival the night sky. Were he to wear his medals, he would not have to worry about a bullet-proof vest; nothing would be able to pierce his heavily decorated chest.

He hated each and every one of them.

The medals only brought him shame, but he stood proud each time the world leaders pinned another to his chest in the private ceremonies. He would return their salute before facing his soldiers as he fought to remain expressionless. He knew that the polished metal that hung from his jacket had been earned through the sweat, blood and tears of those who died. He wanted nothing more than to throw the ribbons into an incinerator, but, instead, he wore them proudly for all to see. His soldiers would cheer for him, applauding the victories that they and their fellows had won.

Reyes could not share in their joy. How could he? Each award came at the cost of a new name on the Widow's Wall...

He walked on.

Gabriel Reyes launched a counter attack for every mission that the puppet masters ordered. He had spent countless hours planning both the missions and his retaliations, all to ensure that there would not be any true victories for the puppet masters. His efforts had paid off. There had not been any true successes within the past five years. Instead, there were only slim victories. It infuriated the puppet masters. They demanded more from Reyes, more, more, always more. Reyes did what he could to appease his soul and commanders alike, but it had not been easy.

Nothing ever was.

With each new mission, he was forced to play God. He had to choose who would live and who would die. At first, it had been almost impossible to decide who would or would not return from the field.

But now?

Now Reyes knew why God had turned his back on the world...

He walked on.

Gabriel Reyes found himself clinging more and more to his only source of hope. He knew that his struggles were almost at their zenith. At the end of the week, he would release all the documents that he had amassed over the years and would damn the puppet masters straight to hell, without any hope of escape. He had worked tirelessly with Morrison to gather all the evidence of corruption within Overwatch and Blackwatch and had even allied himself with several of Nocte's associates that specialized in computerized espionage. At the end of the week, he would give the order for Giga and her army of hackers to unleash every single piece of evidence they had gathered. Thousands upon thousands of documents would be sent to every major news organization in the world, every government agency she had been able to infiltrate and to more websites than Reyes even knew existed.

He hoped it would be enough.

He came to a stop in front of the door to the firing range. He hadn't passed a single soldier during his entire walk - the base was almost empty now. Most of the soldiers had been sent abroad for a variety of missions - all of which were coincidentally close to their native homes. The only soldiers who remained on base now were the ones who lived within the United States...

...and Jesse.

He pushed open the door and was greeted with the aroma of gunpowder, sweat and tobacco. He saw a blue haze hanging around Jesse and shook his head. He had given up on stopping him from smoking years ago. The only compromise that they had been able to come to was that Jesse now only smoked cigars instead of cigarettes.

Reyes leaned against the back wall as he watched Jesse fire round after round before reloading. Even to this day, Jesse with his beloved six-shooter was still the most accurate shot within Blackwatch and Overwatch alike - not counting the snipers. He smiled as he recalled the day, years ago, when a batch of greenhorns had accused Jesse of robbing them after they lost a marksmanship competition against the wanna-be cowboy. It felt like only yesterday that he had the baby-faced McCree sitting across from him, defending himself...

Where had the years gone?

That was a stupid question, he sighed as he rubbed a sore elbow. He knew exactly where the years had gone. For fuck's sake, each and every damn day left him with another ache in his body, another pain that wasn't dulled by medication.

Reyes pulled himself from his self-pity when the rhythmic firing and reloading came to a halt. He raised his head and found himself staring into the bushy face of Jesse McCree - had he always been so tall? Had he just never noticed? "Boss?" Reyes blinked and shook his head before giving the soldier a smile. "I swear, mijo; every damn hair I've lost has found its way onto your face." He reached out and lightly tugged on McCree's beard. "When did this get so thick, anyway?" "I'unno." Jesse shrugged as he laughed. "Just born with it, I guess." Reyes shared in the laughter - it was too rare that he had the chance to laugh now. "Just confirms that your father must've been a dog. Especially after walking out on your mother." "I was just a snot-nosed kid at that point. Can't really hold it against him." "I can." "And you do." Jesse sighed in mock frustration. Reyes only smiled.

"Any updates on anything?" Jesse asked as he and Reyes came to sit on the metal bench. "No. For once, I'm glad to not have any updates." He stared down at his hands. "Just a few more days. That's all we have left now. Just a few more days." "Yeah..." Jesse took the cigar from his mouth and blew a thick cloud of smoke into the air. "Y'all packed up, too?" "Yes. I'm living out of a suitcase at this point, but I don't care. I want to be ready to go the moment this gets started." "Same here." He returned the cigar to his mouth. "Hey, boss?" "Yes?" "Can I..." He swallowed. "Can I ask you something?" "Sure." "D'you think we're really gonna pull this off? I mean, it's been years. D'you think they've caught on?"

Reyes exhaled slowly as his eyes closed. His shoulders drooped forward, sagging under the weight of his sins. "I... I think they have." He massaged his left wrist. "But I don't think they've caught onto everything. I think we can still pull this off." Jesse nodded as he took a draw off of his cigar. "Can I ask something else?" "Yes." "Are you scared?"

The commander glanced over to his soldier. "Do you have a spare cigar?" "Yeah." Jesse pulled a case out of his breast pocket - a habit he probably picked up from Nocte. "Want me to start it for you? Y'always did have a hard time with that." "Sure..." Reyes sank back against the wall, his eyes closing as Jesse trimmed the end off of the cigar. "Before I answer, I want to ask you the same. Are you scared?" "y-Yeah." Jesse's voice was small. "I am. I mean, hard not to be, y'know?" "I know." He watched as Jesse began to light the cigar. "I am too, mijo. I'm fucking terrified. I know we're good, but are we as good as we think we are?" He frowned as Jesse slowly rotated the cigar over his butane lighter. "You're supposed to use matches to get a better flavor." "Flavor my ass," Jesse grumbled, "ain't smokin' this shit for the flavor." He took a few long draws off of the cigar before handing it to Reyes. "And I doubt you are, too." Reyes only nodded as he brought the cigar to his mouth.

He didn't speak until he had blown his own cloud of smoke into the air. "I've never been more scared of anything in my life, Jesse." He closed his eyes as his head came to rest against the wall. "But we're going to make it through - you and me. We're going to be fine." Reyes sighed and sat up straight as he held the cigar between his teeth. "I was going to hold off on this, but now's as good a time as any." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and unfolded it, listening to the thick plastic as it crinkled. "Don't open it yet. Open it when we're both safe." "Boss?" Jesse took the vacuum-sealed package and stared down at it. "What is this?" "Adoption papers."

Jesse's cigar nearly fell from his mouth. "w-What? Boss, what did you just say?" "They're adoption papers, Jesse." He met his soldier's gaze. "I've already filled out all the parts I needed to and got them notarized. When we're safe, open that up and fill out your parts and then mail it off." "I don't--" "Jesse, I've called you 'mijo' for long enough. It's time that I made it official." He took a long draw off of his cigar before blowing the smoke over his shoulder. "When we're safe, just fill it out, stick some stamps on there and put it in the mail. It'll go to a contact of mine and she'll get it processed." "Can't we do it now?" Jesse was still in disbelief as he stared at the envelope. "Please?" Reyes shook his head. "In case something goes wrong, I don't want any other links between you and me. I just want them to think you're a soldier of mine and that you didn't have any part of this." "Oh..." Jesse slowly tucked the envelope into his pocket. "That's fair." He slumped back against the wall next to his commander - his soon-to-be-legal father. "Been a crazy few years, hasn't it, boss?" "Yes, yes it has." Reyes smiled slightly. "Do you remember, years ago, the very first day you started your shots?" "Yeah; what of it?"

Jesse found himself blinking in shock for the second time as he stared down at Reyes' phone. "Holy shit," Jesse breathed. "You've grown into a handsome man, Jesse Gabriel McCree." Reyes smiled as he looked between Jesse's actual face and the face in the photograph. "Look at me... I was just a baby," Jesse found himself laughing. "Look at those cheeks! Smooth as silk!" He looked to his commander. "You kept that picture for all those years?" "Of course." Reyes took his phone back and smiled. "A father has to have baby pictures, you know." "Gawd," he ran a hand down his face as his cheeks burned. "Y'ain't even my dad yet and you're already makin' me embarrassed." "Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Reyes laughed. "There's no way I could be the cool dad that every kid wants." "Just don't start with the dad jokes, or I'm out of here." "Hi, I'm out--" Reyes' laughter redoubled as Jesse groaned loudly...

He and Jesse went their separate ways at the end of the night. They had slightly deviated from their tradition and had gotten burgers on a Monday night - Friday, they would be hightailing it to Mexico and were planning on eating trail rations while speeding to freedom. He sipped the last few dregs of his milkshake and walked into his bedroom. The door locked behind him as he stared around the small room. In just a few days, he'd be leaving this all behind - one way or another.

He just hoped he would leave it of his own volition...

Marigold Lawson's manicured fingers drummed against the table in both nervousness and impatience. She had less than forty minutes before she had to be back at work. The tight deadline frustrated her to no end, but what could she do? She had to return to Prime Minister Garret's office before anyone questioned her absence. She had been his aide for almost ten years now and no one had ever seen her return late from lunch. It would not do for her to show up late now.

She knew it would have been easier to do the meeting after hours. Ever since she had arranged it, she had been trying to convince Prime Minister Garret that it would be better to do at night, but he had told her to get it done as quickly as possible. Instead of calling out the man's idiocy, she only smiled and told him that it would be done.

It left her with a little over half an hour to meet with an internationally infamous assassin inside a closed restaurant and hire him.

Ms. Lawson's nails continued to rap on the table as her frustration outweighed her anxiety. For four years, she had lead a task force that monitored the activities of Blackwatch and Overwatch alike, all of which placed her under even more scrutiny from her fellows. Ever since the failed mission to assassinate Hanzo Shimada, Prime Ministers Garret, Ikanawa, Vittorio and several others had their concerns over the leadership of their armies. They had noticed an increasing amount of failures and causalities. The amounts were still within the acceptable limits, yes, but it was unusual, considering the nearly flawless years that came after the creation of Blackwatch and Overwatch.

In an effort to understand the ongoing trend of slim victories, they placed Marigold in charge of researching the actions of the armies and had given her both the tools and budget to fix their problems. Their only rules were that they couldn't know who she was talking to and that if her activities were exposed, all evidence of her work had to be destroyed. After all, it just wouldn't do to be linked to such shady activities...

Marigold checked her watch. "He should have been here five minutes ago." "Traffic is a problem at this time of day," Andrew put a hand on her shoulder, "he'll show up. You've made him an offer he can't refuse." "I don't like that phrase," she huffed, "everyone can still refuse." "Well, in this case, I don't think he can." "It's true." Hiro nodded from his position by the door. "Taking this job should be a no-brainer for him. It's either this or life in solitary confinement - he'd be an idiot to not accept." "Regardless of what happens," Andrew looked down at the petite woman, "you found him and where he lives. He can't escape now." "Hush;" Hiro stood straight, "I hear footsteps."

Marigold's heart hammered in her chest as she stared at the door. Three years of near-obsessive searching for the man named Nocte was about to come to fruition...

Special Agent Carson Scapine opened the door and ushered a tall, masked man into the room. He closed the door behind him as Special Agent Hiro Nobuya and Andrew Smith stood at strategic points in the room; Andrew stood at Marigold's back as Hiro stood in the far corner. Carson kept his place by the door as Nocte came to sit at the table across from Marigold. His white mask shone in the low light of the private dining room. "Hello, Nocte. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person." She smiled up at the white mask. "Indeed." Nocte's voice was flat. "I must commend you for the effort that you put into finding me. I have not seen such determination and dedication in quite a long time." He placed his gloved hands on the table. "What your technique lacked in elegance, you more than made up for in brute force." Marigold hid her annoyance. She knew this was going to be a difficult meeting. "Sometimes, brute force is the only solution." "Indeed," came the monotone response. Marigold refused to let her smile waver. "I would like to hire you, Nocte. I represent several men and women who want someone--" "Dead. Yes, I am aware. Why else would you go to such lengths to find me?" He tilted his head as he looked to her. "Unless, of course, you wanted to ask me for a date." He gestured to the dining room. "If that is the case, I am afraid I must decline and will file for a restraining order. You are clearly a stalker." He paused as he mulled over his words. "However, I am willing to reconsider your offer for a date if you bring me some wine. I feel that I might need it to settle my nerves." His cheeky smile was audible. "After all, it is hardly fair for you to expect me to perform in front of both your lovely self and these three handsome men." "Enough of this!" She snapped. "Nocte, I want to employ your services."

Nocte was nonplussed; this wasn't anything he hadn't done before. "I would very much like a glass of wine." "What?" She blinked. "Wine. I would like wine. It will make this conversation much more pleasant." "Nocte, pleas--" "I will not talk unless I have a glass of wine." He sat back in his chair. Marigold sighed. "Someone go and get wine. Please." "A bottle, actually," Nocte piped up, "and several glasses." "Please bring what he asked for." She refrained from rubbing her temples. She didn't have much longer until she had to be back at her desk and she didn't want to waste precious minutes arguing with the assassin. Special Agent Carson hesitated but slowly stepped out of the room...

Nocte did not react as a glass of red wine was placed in front of him, nor did he react when the bottle and a second glass was placed in front of the woman. He picked up the glass and stared at it, amused by at how thin it was - it wouldn't take much effort to shatter it. "Thank you," he said as he placed the glass back on the table. "I will let this breathe for a moment before I try it." He met the woman's gaze. "Now that I have my wine, we can discuss business. Who is it that you want dead?" "Do you know someone by the last name of Reyes? He's a rather powerful man." "Reyes is a very common surname. I am sure there are several powerful men with that last name." "Indeed," she poured herself a glass of wine even though she had no intention of drinking it, "but this particular Reyes has been in a military position for many years now." "A military man with the last name of Reyes? That is doing nothing to jog my memory - you would be better asking me about the number of stamens in a rose." "And how many are there?" "That depends on the type of rose." Another audible smile.

Marigold, despite herself, laughed. "Alright, alright. I see your point. I'll cut to the chase, then. The men and women who have sent me to you want a man named Gabriel Reyes dead. He is the commander of Blackwatch - have you heard of Blackwatch?" "Do you know how many stamens are in a primrose?" He turned his attention back to the wine glass. She frowned - surely he knew of Blackwatch. How could he be in that line of work and not know...? "It is the counterpoint to Overwatch, if you will. They handle the things that Jack Morrison and his soldiers cannot." "And why is that?"

Her cellphone buzzed momentarily in her pocket – there were twenty five minutes left until she had to leave.

"Morrison cannot be seen carrying out assassinations or sabotage missions." "How is that different than what Overwatch does already? Are not all missions assassinations or sabotages, but at a larger scale?" "This is different, Nocte." "I fail to see how. A rose by any other name, you know." He picked up his wine and swirled it around the glass. She bit her tongue but refused to show her emotions. "Please trust me when I say that they are different." "You are asking me for trust? That is a bit much to ask, but alright." He placed the glass down. "I am not here to discuss trust with you." He raised his masked face. "I must ask, though; why are you wanting Reyes dead? Why not Morrison? He is the more influential one, it seems." "Between him and Reyes, he really isn't; he's a figure head. Killing him would cause more problems than it would solve. The public would demand action - they like their hero." She frowned. "Fair enough," he nodded, taking a moment to think. "So, you want the leader of Blackwatch dead, yes? That will be a difficult task. I hope you are willing to compensate me for this." "I am, indeed." She pulled a slip of paper out of her breast pocket and placed it down on the table. "You will find my offer on that. It is a generous amount, I know, but we want this to be done as quickly as possible. Preferably by the end of the week, if not sooner than that." She slid the paper towards Nocte.

Another buzz; twenty minutes.

Nocte picked up the scrap of paper and stared at it before placing it back down on the table. He picked up the glass of wine and brought it to his mask, tilting it so that the red wine just barely touched the white surface. He held it there before placing the full glass down. "This is a delicious white wine. Truly. It must have come from a well renowned vineyard." "Is this a joke?" She asked with a faint frown. "No." He picked up the scrap of paper and crumpled it into a ball. "The only joke here is your proposed pay. I hardly get out of bed for this amount." He tossed the wad of paper to the side and, in his anger, knocked over his glass. It fell to the hardwood floor and cracked along the side of the bowl - just as he expected. Nocte leaned down and picked up the broken stem and the larger shards of the bowl. He placed it on the table, just a hair out of arm's reach. "My apologies, but my point remains. Your offer is unsatisfactory, just like the wine." "I see." She forced her smile back into place. "I will double it, then." She noticed that her agents were now standing a little straighter, a little more on edge; Carson stepped closer to Nocte, stopping only feet from him. She forced herself to remain calm and gave Nocte her full attention as he spoke. "That is still not enough. You are asking me to take down the leader of a military force that carries out assassinations. This will not be an easy mission and it will take time - time that you are not granting me. I expected to be compensated appropriately." He placed his hands on the table. "Good work is expensive. Good work done quickly is even more expensive." "Then what would you recommend?" "Triple it." His voice grew firm. "And offer me a favor that I can redeem at an unspecified point in the future." "If I refuse?" "Then I will leave this room." "I am afraid I cannot allow that, Nocte." Her tone grew colder. "I think you underestimate the intentions of the men and women I represent--" "I beg to differ. I think I understand quite clearly." "--they want you to kill Gabriel Reyes. He is a threat and you are one of the best to eliminate threats like this. I know your modus operandii - you specialize in removing terrorists and Reyes is one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world."

Another buzz. Fifteen minutes.

She continued.

"What's more, we know exactly who you are, Nocte... or should I use your real name?" Her smile grew darker. "We know all of your bank accounts, all of your home addresses and who you work for. If you do not do this, then I will have to take matters into my own hands." She placed her elbows on the table as her chin came to rest on her laced fingers. "You like your freedom, do you not? All the wealth you have amassed? If you refuse this, you can kiss all of that goodbye." "I see." Nocte frowned. "Fine, then. I will do it - but the pay must be tripled." "No. Doubled is the highest I will go." "Then you must guarantee my freedom after this is completed." "I will." "Wonderful." He smiled as he stood up; his voice was suddenly as cheery as a sunny day. "Let us shake on this." "What?" "I would like to shake your hand to seal the deal. Once that is done, we can discuss how the payment will be made." Marigold hesitated for a moment but slowly stood. She extended her hand to Nocte's and gave a slight smile as his fingers closed around hers while she stared at her own reflection in his mask.

She didn't notice that his left hand was now touching the broken stem.

In one swift motion, he pulled her forward, over the table, as his other hand rose--

Marigold screamed as the glass pierced her eye. Nocte shoved her away. She landed heavily against Andrew as Hiro and Carson drew their guns. Andrew caught her and guided her to the ground. He did his best to keep her hands away from the glass. He knew pulling that it free would only make it worse... but that didn't stop him from wanting to do the same.

Nocte grabbed the bottle of wine and quickly turned as the two agents trained their guns on him. He kicked his chair into Carson's stomach before jumping to the side. He barely landed before lunging forward as his grip tightened on the neck of the bottle. In one upward swing, he shattered the bottle against Carson's temple. He held onto Carson's now-limp body with one hand and pulled the gun from his grasp with his other.

Using Carson's dead body as a shield, he fired a volley of shots at the agent.

Hiro faltered as two bullets struck his vest and shoulder; the first bullet lodged itself in the wall behind him. He raised his gun again as Andrew stood up. Before Andrew could fire, Marigold's bloodied hands grabbed his leg. Her screaming was louder and more disoriented as blood and ichor dripped freely from the now-empty socket. He stumbled, his gun lowering, as Nocte fired a fourth shot.

Both Hiro and Carson fell to the ground in heap of deadweight as Nocte turned and stared at Andrew.

Andrew raised his gun--

Nocte squeezed the trigger.

Marigold's screaming grew fainter as shock claimed her. She saw Andrew fall to the ground. She forced herself to roll over and crawled toward his body as she blindly searched for his gun.

Her fingers wrapped around the grip.

She rolled onto her back as she brought the gun u--

Her body twitched from the impact of the bullet before falling still.

Nocte placed the smoking gun on the table. The assassin knelt down beside Marigold and quickly searched her body. He took her phone and then the pocket book from beside her chair. He tucked the phone into the purse as he made his way over to the dead agents. He took their wallets, badges and phones, stuffing them into the now purse as he went. He tucked the bag under his arm left the room without as much as a backward glance.

He ran through the empty restaurant and through the kitchens as he made his way to the employee entrance. He didn't even stop as he grabbed an apple off of the counter. His gloved hands unlocked the heavy door and pushed it open.

By the time the door closed, he was already in his car.

The assassin removed his mask and gloves as he started the engine. Instead of peeling out of the parking lot with a squeal of tires, he calmly drove towards the main road. One hand held the wheel as the other pulled out his phone. Without looking, he tapped out a number and brought the phone to his ear. "Praise be to the Son of Atilius." Said a feminine voice. "Long may he live." Nocte intoned. "What can I do for you, Nocte?" Giga asked. "I need you to tell me that I am wrong." "If I can, mi'lord." "Marigold Lawson, the woman that wanted to hire me. She worked for a Prime Minister, yes?" "Yes. That is what my research showed. She worked for Prime Minister Garret - one of the founders of Overwatch and Blackwatch." "Shit." "What happened? Was the meeting as bad as you were expecting?" "It was worse." "What--" "She is dead, as are her three men." His car inched forward. "I need to call Reyes. I suggest you get your team ready. I think the timeline is about to change." "Understood. I will be on standby until I receive a call from either you or Reyes. Good luck, Nocte." "The same to you." He ended the call and dialed another number...

"How many stamens in a primrose?" "Equal to or twice as many petals." Nocte said as he made his way through the dwindling lunch hour traffic. "Reyes, we have a problem." "What?" His heart began to race as he sat up. "What happened?" "Someone just tried to hire me to kill you." "What?" He surged to his feet, alarming the cowboy that sat nearby. "Nocte, explain." "A woman by the name of Marigold Lawson and her three agents met with me. She was an aide to Prime Minister Garret - does that name ring any bells?" "Yes--was? What do you mean, 'was?' Nocte, what did you do?" "What's goin' on, boss?" Reyes waved a hand at Jesse as Nocte spoke. "She is dead, as are her three agents." He pulled off the main road and began driving down a side street. "I highly suggest you give the order to Giga now. Get the documents out there and get yourself to safety. Once they find out that she is dead, this will probably grow worse before they ever grow better." "Why did you kill her?" He fought to keep his voice from growing any louder. "Why did--" "We do not have time for this!" Nocte snapped. "I did what I had to do to keep both of us safe. Now call Giga! Tell her that it is time and then get you and your pretty little cowboy out of the country." "What of Jack?" "Tell him to run, too." Nocte rolled down the window as he saw the stagnant river. He pulled a phone out of Marigold's purse and threw it into the slimy water. "I have to call him," Reyes began to pace. "Nocte, I will call you back soon. I have to go." "I will await your call." The assassin ended the call. He placed the phone on his lap as he picked up the apple. He bit into the crisp flesh as he drove back to the main road...

“Boss, what's happenin'?" Jesse was staring up to his commander. He didn't like the tremble in his voice. "The plan changed. Drastically." Reyes dialed Jack's number as he paced. "Stay here with me. I'll explain in a moment."

"From Peru to Cebu," Jack said as he scrawled his name over another piece of paper. "Hear the power of Babylon." Reyes felt his heart hammering against his ribcage. "We have a problem." "What's going on?" "Nocte just told me that someone tried to get him to kill me. He thinks we're about to be found out." "Fuck." Jack stared at the papers in front of him; he had been writing pardons almost nonstop for all the men and women he wanted to spare from the shit storm he and Reyes were about to create. "Gabe, we need more time!" "We don't have it. If Nocte thinks that this is about to go south, then I'm inclined to believe him." He did not look to Jesse; he couldn't stand to see the fear in his eyes. "Get your things and get ready to move. I'm going to be calling Giga soon." "I can't yet! I still have--" "What could be so important that you can't leave?!" "I just need a day. One day. One day." His words were rushed. "Just give me one day." "Twelve hours." "No. I need a day." "I don't think we have it, Jack!" Reyes snarled. "Get ready to leave!" His pacing came to a halt. "I have to call Giga. I'll call you back soon." Jack ended the call without another word.

As Reyes made to dial a number, Jesse grabbed his arm. "Boss, what the fuck's goin' on? Who did Nocte kill? Why do we need Giga?" He let go of Reyes' arm and stared up into his dark eyes. "If you're this worried, let's just get in the car and go now. Fuck it all; leave it all behind. We need to go." "I can't leave yet. I have a few things I have to take care of." "Then do it and let's go!" "I have to get Jack to go with us." Reyes' voice was distracted as he resumed pacing. "He's not going to leave. I know him. He won't leave. I'll have to drag him out of there." "Why are you even concerned about him? It's not like--" He paused and stared at Reyes as his eyes widened. "Boss, are you serious--no, you are serious. You're still with him, aren't you? Even after--" "So what?" Reyes snapped before taking a deep breath. "Yes, I am still with him. I love him, Jesse. He and I have fought through too much together at this point to throw it away. If I'm going to safety, he's coming with me." "But..." Jesse found himself staring at his shoes. "But Gabe, what about me--" Gabe closed the distance between them and hugged the soldier to his chest. "You are my son. You have always been and you will always be. He is my lover. I love you both, but in different ways." He held Jesse's arms and stepped back as he met his gaze. "Jesse, nothing will ever replace you in my eyes. You are the most important thing in my life." "Then let's go," he whispered, "please. Let's just go now. We can be safe. We can escape. We have time." "...Give me two hours," he hugged Jesse back to his chest. "Two hours, then we'll go..."

Jesse left Reyes' side to finish packing as Reyes sat within the empty firing range. He made a series of calls, starting with Giga. He ordered her and her soldiers to remain ready - the moment he landed in Zurich, he would give the order to release the documents. Next, he called Echo and told him to arrive on base. Echo, in an unusual display of professionalism, agreed and ended the call, sparing Reyes from twenty minutes of incessant nattering. Satisfied, Reyes called Sonar and requested that he and his partner fly him to Zurich. Sonar said he would only need an hour to rouse Radar and to fuel the plane in preparation for their trip. He thanked the commander for allowing him to keep the Crimson Angel within the Overwatch hangar; it made last minute requests much easier to accommodate.

Reyes placed one final call as he lit a cigarette...

"Nocte, I need a favor." "What do you need?" "I... I need you to watch over Jesse for me. Not every day, not frequently, but just," he sighed, "just check in on him from time to time, alright?" "Why?" "I have a very bad feeling about this." "About what?" Nocte frowned as he sped down the highway. "What are you doing? Or, rather, what are you going to do?" "I'm flying to Zurich soon - without Jesse." "For Jack?" "Yeah," he blew a cloud of smoke over his shoulder, "he won't leave the base. I know he won't." "So you are going to go there?" "Yeah." "Reyes, this is not a good idea. Why are you doing this?" "Because I love him." "Do you love him enough to die for him?" "I..." his voice faltered as he stared down the range. "Yes. I do." “Are you sure?” “Yes.” "And what of Jesse?" "I love him more than anything else in this world, Nocte, but..." Reyes took a long draw off of the cigarette. "I'm not always going to be there for him. He needs to realize that. He's a grown man; he'll be okay if I'm not there." "Who are you trying to convince?" Nocte's voice held his frown. "...myself." "You do not have to go to Zurich. I am sure there is another agent there that I could call upon that can go there for you." "He won't listen to anyone else. I know he won't." "But he will listen to you?" "Probably not, but I'm prepared to pull him out of there." Nocte's left hand was resting in his lap, his thumb idly stroking his and his late husband's wedding bands. "Is he worth your life, Gabriel? Is he worth the risk?" "He is." His voice was resolute. "Then I will not question you further. I understand." Nocte's voice grew melancholic. "You under--?" "We were married for forty three years, five months and two weeks," Nocte smiled sadly. "He passed twenty-one years ago this December. I would still give my life for him without a second thought. I understand why you are doing this, Reyes. I will keep watch over Jesse." "I can't pay you." "It does not matter." "Thank you..." Reyes snubbed out the cigarette. "Nocte, can I ask a question?" "Yes."

"...how old--no.” He thought for a moment. “What are you?" "Do you really want to know?" Reyes frowned; the man's voice made his skin crawl. "...No. No, I don't." Nocte laughed. "Is there anything else that you want to ask?" "Why did you kill her?" "Because she knew too much. Or, rather, I did not want to risk her words being true. She had found me and that in of itself is worrying. I could not risk it. And as good of a friend as you are, I must protect myself, too." Reyes couldn't fault him for that; he stood up and began to pace. "I need to go and pack. Sonar and Radar are going to fly me to Zurich; Echo will take Jesse to the safe house. Once I have Jack with me, we'll fly out and go to the safe house, too. Will you meet us there?" "Not immediately. I am needed overseas, but I will return as soon as I can." "Alright." He bit his lip as his pacing came to a halt; once he ended the call, everything was going to start... "Good luck, Nocte. And thank you - for everything." "Good luck, Gabriel. We will see each other again."

Gabe listened to the silent phone for longer than he cared to admit...

With his bags packed and a poorly knitted blue hat shoved deep into his pocket, Gabriel Reyes stood in his office with an intercom microphone in his hand. Beside him stood Mrs. Ramanaja, a cup of tea in one hand and her unlit cigarette in the other. Their eyes met. She gave him a solemn nod and he turned on the microphone. "Good afternoon everyone; this is your Commander speaking." Reyes' voice was oddly chipper. "I want to start off by saying that serving as your Commander has been the highlight of my life and has given me years' worth of memories that I will never forget. Each and every one of you is a hero - never forget that." The soldiers that still resided within the halls fell still as they listened to their Commander. "It saddens me to say that this is the last day that you will serve for Blackwatch. I am disbanding this army. Your brethren in other countries will be receiving a recording of this message, to let them know what is happening. Each and every one of you is being honorably discharged from service and will be receiving a bonus as a sign of my personal thanks." Mrs. Ramanaja sipped her tea as she watched Reyes give his final orders. "For those that remain within this base, you will need to leave within the next twelve hours. After twelve hours, this base will be nothing but smoking concrete and warped metal. You will receive your full explanation as to why this is happening tomorrow - it will be all over the news, world-wide." He let out a slow breath. "So, soldiers, the remaining vehicles on base now belong to you. Put aside your differences and help each other return home." He smiled faintly. "What you do after you leave is up to you, but just remember: you have to raise hell if you want to get to heaven. And if you're going to raise hell..." "Raise it well!" The soldiers' voices echoed through the concrete halls. Reyes dismissed his soldiers and silenced the microphone as he heard the whooping cries of his soldiers.

"Nicely said, Commander," she said as she placed her empty tea cup on his desk. "You have done more for them than anyone else would have." "They've earned it. It's not their fault they were forced to play in this farce." "Indeed." She placed her unlit cigarette between her ruby lips. "You have done your duty; it's time for me to do mine." "Will you need any assistance?" "No. The base is not overly large; I have plenty of thermite and other explosives on hand. I will make it look like we were victims of an air strike." "Good, good." Reyes stared down at his desk, a bittersweet smile on his face. "So many memories, so many years..." "You are doing the right thing." She placed a hand on his arm. "Go save the world, Gabriel. I will take care of what remains." "Thank you, Sangita," he smiled as she hugged him. "It has been a pleasure working with you." "The pleasure is mine." She returned his smile before he walked to the door. "Gabriel?" "Yes?" "Remember: two parts water, one part full-fat milk, good quality black tea leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and fennel. Boil the milk, water and spices. Reduce it to a simmer. Steep the tea for three minutes, strain and then add sugar to taste... and if I hear that you are using tea bags again, I will be forced to find you and punish you for your poor judgement." He laughed and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." His smile grew fond. "Goodbye, Sangita." "Goodbye, Gabriel." She pulled a lighter out of her pocket and, for the first time since joining Blackwatch, lit her cigarette. Clamping it between her teeth, she went to work...

Jesse frowned as he stood on the small airstrip. Echo was nearby, leaning against his car and whistling a jaunty tune. Only yards away was the Crimson Angel and her pilots; he could hear the pair bantering as they did their final checks. He knew why the pilots were there, but why was Echo? Reyes had told him they would be flying...

He waved to Reyes as the man came jogging up to him. He watched as Reyes placed his bags in the trunk of Echo's car before walking up to him. Jesse shouldered his bags as he looked up to his commander. "Why's Echo here?" "You're going to go with him." "What?" He blinked; his face began to pale. "Boss, no. You're comin' with me, right?" "No, Jesse. Not this time. Not now, at least. I'll meet you at the safe house later." "Boss, no. No!" He stepped closer to Reyes. "No. Just come with me. Please. We can go; we can escape!" "I can't, Jesse," Reyes whispered as he pulled Jesse into a hug. "I can't leave him behind. He's fought just as hard as we have; he deserves his freedom, too." "Then let him get it himself! You don't have to go and get him." Jesse's arms wrapped around Gabe's waist, all but squeezing him in half. "Please, let's just go. Now. We can still be free..." His voice was shaking, filled with unshed tears.

Reyes bit his lip as he stared up to the heavens. He wanted nothing more than to get in the plane with Jesse and fly away from all of this, but he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Jack now, just as he knew he wouldn't be able to stomach anything happening to Jesse...

Reyes pressed a kiss onto Jesse's forehead as he hugged him. "Mijo, I could not love you any more than I already do, not even if you were my own flesh and blood. I do not want to do this, but I have to. I hope and pray you understand." He pushed Jesse away, holding him at arm’s length as he met his gaze. "I will see you again soon. For now, though, we have to go our separate ways. I have to go and get Jack." He squeezed Jesse's arms. "Get in the car with Echo. He'll take you to safety. I'll meet you at the safe house. Once there, we’ll all live the life we've earned." "No!" Jesse shook his head as his hands grasped Gabe's arms. "No! I won't. I won't get in the car; I won't go without you. I need you!" Reyes shook his head. "Get in the car, mijo." "No." The commander let out a long, shuddering breath. "Mijo, do not make me do this. Get in the car." "I won't!"

Reyes drew his gun.

“Boss?" "Get in the car, Jesse." He raised the shotgun. Jesse began to tremble but he did not move. "I won't." Reyes pulled back the hammer. "Now." "No." A shot was fired at his feet. Concrete scattered over his boots.

Jesse stared at Reyes, betrayal in his eyes, as the gun was leveled at his chest. He held the stony gaze for a moment before taking a step back, followed by another...

Reyes watched as Jesse climbed into the back seat. He did not holster his weapon until the car was out of sight.

With a heavy heart, Reyes boarded the plane....

He returned the phone to his pocket. Giga had just received her orders. She would begin her mission. He stared up at the Overwatch headquarters. The statue of Jack Morrison loomed over him, a testament to what the world thought they stood for.

He squared his shoulders and marched forward.

Jehová es mi pastor; nada me faltará.

He walked through the first checkpoint.

En lugares de delicados pastos me hará descansar; junto a aguas de reposo me pastoreará.

Guards saluted him as he passed through the second checkpoint.

Confortará mi alma; me guiará por sendas de justicia por amor de su nombre.

The main gates were only feet away.

Aunque ande en valle de sombra de muerte, no temeré mal alguno, porque tú estarás conmigo; tu vara y tu cayado me infundirán aliento...

He pushed open the doors and walked inside...

Reyes paused as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. Turning his head, he found himself staring down at Ana. "Gabe? Why are you here?" He ignored her question. "Where is Jack?" "He's in his office." "Thank you." He let out a slow breath as he met her gaze. "You need to leave the base. Take everyone that you can with you. Get out. Now. Get to safety." "What?" "Just trust me, Ana. Leave. Things are about to get bad." "Reyes, I--" "I don't have time to explain; just get your things and go." He brushed her hand off as he made his way to Jack's office. She frowned at his departing back...

Jack raised his head as the door to his office was thrown open. His wide, panicked eyes met Reyes' as he signed another pardon. "Reyes--" "Grab your shit, Jack. Now. We're leaving." "I need--" "Fuck what you need; I need you to leave." "What the--" "Giga's gone to work. The first sites will be getting hit any second now. We don't have any more time, Jack. This is happening. We've done all that we can. It's time for us to go." "But--" He floundered as he stared around the office. "I'm not ready." "Neither am I, but we don't have a choice anymore. We set this into motion and now it's time for us to see it through." He came to stand beside his lover's chair. "Come on. Sonar and Radar are waiting for us." Jack slowly placed his pen down and stood up. "We're doing this?" "Yes." He stared down at his desk and bit his lip. "Reyes, did we do the right thing?" "We did." Reyes nodded and took Jack's hand. "Come on; let's go. We've earned our freedom."

Jack stared at him for a moment before closing his fingers around Gabe's. He knelt down and picked up his pack. Shouldering it, he followed Reyes out of his office...

Little did they know that there were others who had set their own plans into motion...

Prime Minister Garret returned his phone to the desk as he looked to Prime Minister Vittorio. "It's done," he said calmly. "He will not be a problem anymore." "Wonderful." He sipped a glass of wine as he looked out of Garret's window and admired the bay far below. "It is messy, but, as you said, he will no longer be a problem." "Indeed." Garret poured himself two fingers of scotch. "Now we don't have to worry about what Jack does or doesn't know." He stared sadly into the glass. "To you, Marigold. You are missed." "To Marigold," Vittorio echoed as he touched his glass to Garret's. "If we had known Jack had ties with him, we never would have sent you to meet with him..."

The two men fell into morose silence as they stared at the waves.

Jesse sulked in the back seat of Echo's car as the man drove them to Mexico. Echo had been his usual chatty self as he drove; occasionally he would fall silent, giving Jesse a few minutes of both blessed and damned silenced. Jesse wanted nothing more than to escape his thoughts, but there he had no way to escape. He tried meditating, he tried reading. Hell, he even tried talking to Echo!

In the end, though, he could not find a way to escape the turmoil within his head.

Reyes was thousands of miles away, risking his life for Jack Morrison. He still hadn't forgiven Jack for shoving Reyes after his surgery all those years ago and he never planned to do so, either. He wasn't sure why Reyes had forgiven him - or if he had even forgiven him. With a sigh, he slumped down in his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest. This isn't what he wanted at all; he wanted Reyes with him. Even if Reyes couldn't do anything, it'd still be good to have him here...

Jesse's frown grew deeper as the music was interrupted by an emergency warning tone. His heart began to race as a robotic voice droned over the speakers.

There had been a terrorist attack.

On the Overwatch headquarters.

The number of casualties was currently unknown.

Jesse scrambled for his phone. He hastily dialed Reyes' number.

Each ring was a missed heartbeat. Each moment of silence stole his breath away.

He called again.

And again.

And again...

The robotic voice interrupted the music again. It confirmed that the base had been populated during the attack and that the amount of casualties was rising as rescue workers began to excavate the base.

Jesse scrambled for his phone as it began to ring. He brought it to his ear and felt his world growing dark as he heard Sonar's shaking voice. He and Radar had not been able to find Reyes or Jack. They were still digging through the rubble, but they hadn't found them yet. "We'll keep looking," Sonar assured Jesse. "We'll keep you posted." "Thank you." Jesse whispered as tears began to slide unchecked down his cheeks...

Jack blinked the dust out of his eyes as he stared into the darkness. He could barely breathe. He coughed, dust and debris tumbling from his mouth. Slowly, very slowly, he flexed his toes and fingers. Relief coursed through his body as he felt them moving. He looked around, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, as he tried to see what was pinning him down.

Cold panic flooded him as he realized what was on his chest.

"Reyes?" He nudged the man's body. "Reyes, talk to me." Silence. "Gabe?!" He shook him. "Say something!"

A low groan met his ears.

"Stay with me, Gabe," he whispered as he rubbed Reyes' arms, "just keep breathing. We'll get out of this. I promise." He kept rubbing his arms, trying to keep him awake. "Oh, god, please just keep breathing..."

He lost track of the hours.

Jack shouted for help when he had the strength. Other times, he would shake Reyes as best he could, forcing the man to wake up. He could feel Reyes' heart beating slowly against his chest and felt his own heart stopping each time Gabe's stuttered. He barely even noticed the pain of his own body as he clung to his best friend and lover.

In the long, empty seconds, Jack apologized.

He apologized again and again and again. His tears trickled down his face as he hugged Reyes. They were trapped, crushed under the weight of steel, concrete and their own sins. Reyes had caught the worst of the explosion and oh, what Jack wouldn't have given for them to switch places... "I should've listened," he whispered, "I just should've listened to you. Gabe, you gotta pull through for me. Please. Just keep breathing. Just hold on a little longer. They'll find us, Gabe, and they'll fix us up. I know they will. You'll see." He squeezed Reyes' arms, his ears straining for the sound of Gabe's breathing. "Just keep breathing..."

A sliver of moonlight almost blinded him.

Blinking, Jack raised his eyes to the light above. He felt his pulse quickening as he heard voices. Clearing his throat, he shouted for help.

And again.

He didn't know if they had heard him. He couldn’t tell if his voice had penetrated through the rubble.

He fell into despair as the world grew silent again.

"C'mon, Gabe, wake up," his voice was hoarse. "Keep breathing. I think they found us. I think we'll be safe soon. We'll go home soon. You, me and Jesse. We'll all go home soon. We'll all be safe." He kept his eyes on the moonlight. They had to come back.

...they had to...

Jack awoke in the back of a car.

He placed a hand on his head as he tried to push himself up - only to fall back onto the seat a moment later. "Stay down." A familiar voice whispered. "Stay down and don't move." "Ana?" He frowned as he forced himself to think, despite the clouds within his head. "Ana, what happened? Where's Gabe?" "Gabe is with Angela," her tone was grim. "I couldn't bring him with us." "Why not?" "He's in too rough a shape to transport." She glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "He took far more damage than you." "I know." He pulled the heavy blanket off of his body and frowned as he stared at the makeshift casts. "I broke my legs?" "And more, but we didn't have time to patch you up fully. I don't know if you're aware, but people want you dead, Jack. We did what we could to get you to safety before they killed you." "But what about Gabe? Where is he?!" "I don't know where Dr. Zeigler is, but she's taking care of him. Now lie down and try to rest. Don't make me sedate you again. We'll talk once we're safe." "I need to talk to her. I need a phone." His mind was racing. "I have to call Jesse." "No, Jack," she shook her head. "No. Just rest for now. When we get to safety, you can call..." "But--" "Hush. And put that blanket back over your body. You're supposed to be dead and if you get caught now, I'll kill you myself."

He frowned but did as he was told...

It was all her fault.

It was only a prototype. There hadn't been enough time to test it.

It was all her fault.

It was too late for Commander Gabriel Reyes. He lay motionless before her as the heart rate monitor screamed. His body was broken and bloodied. His eyes closed as he took his last breath.

It was all her fault.

It was hopeless. She placed her head in her hands as she sobbed. The sounds of her anguish were lost in the shrill cries of the monitors.

It was all her fault.

It was too late. The ward was dead.

It was all her fault...

His eyes opened to a grey world.

He blinked slowly as he tried to focus his vision, tried to stare at a spot on the ceiling. The world never stilled. Everything around him was buffeted by a roaring wind that he could neither hear nor feel. He turned his head and found himself looking out into a crowded hospital ward. Beside each shrouded bed stood a mourner. Their cries were louder than any of the sounds of his surroundings. He watched as the distraught men and women clutched the hands of the bodies. Reyes pushed himself upright and frowned as he saw the vast expanse of sheet-covered bodies. There were well over two dozen beds shoved into the tiny room.

Reyes tore his eyes away as he cast aside his own blankets. He had to get out of bed. He had to hide. It wasn't safe here. He knew that people would be looking for him. Slowly, cautiously, he climbed out of bed...

...and frowned as he found himself standing upright without a single pain in his body. This couldn't be right; his spine had been crushed. How was he standing? Why didn't he feel pain?

The man standing next to Reyes' bed looked up to him. "Commander Reyes?" Gabriel slowly turned to face him. "Commander, what happened?" The soldier's face was bloodied. "Who attacked us?" "I... I don't know." He whispered. "Commander, what do we do? We have to protect ourselves. We have to protect our brethren." He stayed next to the bed, his hand on the shoulder of the covered body. "Help us, Commander. We need a leader." "I know." "We await your orders, Commander. Tell us what to do." "a-At ease, soldier." He forced his voice to remain level as he looked around the ward.

The sobbing of the woman to his right caught his attention - it was impossible to ignore the sounds of a broken soul.

She had pulled the sheet away from the body on the bed and was hugging the ragged corpse. "...just wake up..." she whispered.

Gabe felt icy terror pierce his heart as he realized the women had the same face.

He turned to the man on his left and grabbed the shroud. He threw it to the ground as he stared down at the body on the bed. It was a young man, fresh out of boot camp; his eyes were closed as he lay in the quiet repose of death. Gabe looked up to the standing soldier as his eyes widened in fear.

They were the same person.

He ran from bed to bed, pulling the shrouds away. He looked between the dead soldiers and the soldiers standing by the beds.

They were all the same.

Reyes found himself standing near the infirmary door, facing the soldiers and their corpses. Their hollow eyes were staring expectantly at Reyes. "What are your orders?" The first soldier shakily asked; his hand never left the shoulder of his body. "Stay here." Reyes said with a resolve that he himself didn't feel. "I will take a look around and see what else I can find. Stand down, soldiers, and rest. I think we're through the worst of it." He returned their salutes before leaving the room.

He tried not to notice that he had difficulty grasping the door knob.

He ran through the halls, unnerved by the silence of his own footfalls. Despite all of his shouting, no one answered his calls. Soldiers would not look at him as he ran by. A pariah within the base, he could not catch the eye of any man or woman that he passed. Even when he shouted an order, no one acknowledged him.

His frantic pace slowed as he neared the door to the doctors' break room. He had yet to find Angela or anyone who would tell him where she was - surely she would be here? Swallowing hard, he pushed open the door and strode inside...

Her head was buried in her hands as her tears fell like rain. She was alone in the dark room, illuminated by the flickering lamps that had managed to survive the bombing. "Doctor Zeigler," he stood beside her. "Look at me." She wouldn't raise her head. "Doctor." More sobbing. "Angela!" He grabbed her shoulder--

A shiver ran through her body. Her head raised from her hands. She looked for the source of the sudden chill and shook her head a moment later.

There was no one there.

Reyes stepped back as he stared in horror at his own hand. It felt as if he had just burned himself and the ashen skin did nothing to assuage his thoughts. "Angela!" He shouted, standing only feet away. "Angela, look at me!"

Her sobs started anew...

Reyes made his way back to the ward, his eyes downcast. He had left Angela's side when it was apparent she wouldn't look at him. He had tried to stop other soldiers within the halls, grabbing their arms or shoulders. No one reacted past a shudder. No one looked at him. No one saw him...

Reyes pushed open the door to the ward and found himself staring back at dozens of black eyes. "What are your orders, Commander?" "...Dismissed. All of you. Dismissed. Leave. Go home." "We can't." A woman hiccupped. "We can't leave. We swore our lives--" "Your lives are over!" He snapped.

The room fell still as the soldiers stared at Reyes, their faces warping into expressions of shocked horror. "What?" "We can't be dead--" "--we're still here--" "--where will we--" "Silence!" He walked toward the first soldier that had spoken to him. "Look. That is your body. You are dead." He stared at his body in silence, slowly processing what Reyes had told him. He then looked to the empty bed beside him and then up to his Commander. "...where is your body?" The soldier asked. "You can see us, hear us. No one else that came in here could. They put the shrouds back on the beds, but they wouldn't talk to us. We talked to them, but they wouldn't respond..." He shook his head as he met Reyes' gaze again. "Where is your body, Commander Reyes?" "I..." Reyes frowned and shook his head. "No more questions. Leave. Now." "I can't." "Leave!" Reyes grabbed the soldier's arm--

--the soldier vanished without a sound.

Reyes stared down at his hand as a breath of fresh air filled his lungs--

"You killed him!" A soldier screeched. “He's dead!" “Commander Reyes killed him!" "No!" Reyes shook his head as the soldiers began to gather around him. "No. He was already dead!" "You killed him!" "I didn't!" Reyes took a slow step backwards, followed by several faster ones as they came closer...

Reyes screamed as soldier after soldier vanished from sight.

He dropped to his knees as his body convulsed. He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs and could feel warm air within his lungs. His hands had lost their pallor and he could feel the ground beneath him once again. His mind raced as he sat alone in the now-empty room. The soldiers dissipated as soon as they had tried to hurt him, had touched his bare flesh.

He knew he should have felt remorse for the death of the soldiers, but instead, he could only revel in fact that he felt alive...

He forced himself back to his feet and pushed his elation aside as he heard footsteps approaching. He couldn't risk being seen now. With a final check of his pockets, Reyes left the infirmary and made his way through the ruins of the base...

Miles away, Jesse sat in the back of Echo's car as he stared out of the window. His tears fell steadily down his cheeks as he sat with his small phone in his hands. He hadn't been able to move ever since he received Sonar's last phone call. They had not been able to find Reyes, even after hours of searching. The pilot apologized to the shell-shocked soldier before ending the call. He and Radar couldn't stay any longer; they had to leave before the rescue workers discovered they weren't who they said they were.

"Jesse?" Echo glanced to the rear view mirror. "What's the verdict?" "t-They couldn't find him," he whispered, "they couldn't find him." "Jesse..." "He can't be dead. He can't be." "Jess--" "No. He's not dead. Boss always told me that you're alive until your body's dead and warm." He wiped away a tear. "So, he's not dead until they find a dead, warm body. He's not dead. He can't be." "Jesse, I--" "No!" He shook his head, biting his lip. "I know it. I know that he's not dead. I'd know it if he was." His hand touched his chest as he sniffled. "I'd know it, Echo."

The driver said nothing; he had heard that line far too many times before and knew better than to argue. Instead, he fell back into his uncharacteristic silence as he drove. It'd be easier for everyone if he gave Jesse the chance to mourn...

When night fell, Jesse found himself sitting alone in the safe house. Echo couldn't stay with him and, honestly, Jesse was glad for it. He wanted to be alone.

He needed to be alone.

He paced through the small home near the shore. He could hear the faint sound of the waves and the mournful cries of the gulls over the creaking of the floorboards. For the first time since joining Blackwatch, he felt lost. He had nothing now. He couldn't return to Deadlock and Blackwatch had been disbanded. What was he to do? Where was he to go? Reyes had told him that they'd spend time here by the shore, until the world calmed down, but Reyes wasn't here now.

His pacing came to a sudden end as he heard his phone ringing.

Jesse ran to the couch and grabbed his phone. His pulse raced as he saw Reyes' number flashing across the screen. "Boss!" He all but yelled into the receiver. "Boss, you're alive!" "Jesse!" Reyes heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, god, mijo; you're okay." He forced himself to keep running. "Are you at the safe house?" "Boss?" "Jesse? Jesse, can you hear me?!" His pace quickened. "Jesse, you should be at the safe house by now. Please, please just stay there. I'm coming. It'll be okay, mijo. It will. Just stay there. We'll figure this all out." His words all but spilled from his mouth, matching the frantic pace of his running. "Please, mijo. Just wait for me. I'll be there." "Gabe? Gabe, I can't hear you..." Jesse's voice grew thick with a new wave of tears. "Reyes, are you there?" "Jesse!" He all but screamed; his chest tightened. "Jesse, please, just listen. I'm here. I'm... I'm coming. I'm not okay, but I will be. I'll figure it out. I promise. Just wait for me, Jesse. I'll be there. We'll be okay, mijo. I promise." "Boss..." Jesse sank down onto the couch. "Boss, all I hear is static. Are you there?" "Mijo," his running slowed as he realized he could no longer hear the sounds of his boots crunching on the pavement. "Please, please listen. I'm here. I'm coming. I'll be there as soon as I can. Just wait for me!" "I can't hear you, Reyes. I... I can't hear you at all." Jesse bit his lip as his gaze grew distant. He wouldn't hang up, though. He couldn't force himself to end the call, even if all he heard was the sound of empty air, in hopes that he'd hear Reyes' voice...

Reyes found himself standing still in the middle of the road, his phone held fast. He watched the cars passing by him but could not feel the air moving around him. He frowned as he realized that no one was shouting at him to get out of the road, nor were there any blaring horns.

It was as if he was invisible...

Reyes took a long, slow breath. "Wait for me, mijo," he whispered. "I'm coming home."

With a heavy heart, he ended the call.

Jesse placed the phone down onto the couch as his body trembled. He bit his lip as he tried to stifle his tears, but it was to no avail. With a bleeding lip, he threw his head back and screamed his broken heart to the heavens...

#overwatch #trans gabriel reyes #trans reaper #the birth of reaper #jesse mccree #trans jesse mccree #gabriel reyes #jack morrison #morreyeson #overwatch mercy #overwatch ana #mercy #ana #paranoid-fighter writes overwatch #violence warning #gore warning #please please please let me know what you think #feels warning #the fall of overwatch

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