talesfromthepayload - Tumblr blog

talesfromthepayload · 4 years

Text

The Fall (Part Three)

A/N: Soooooo I really decided to just post this part because I was sick of staring at it. There’s going to be a lot of world building used, considering there’s not a whole lot to go off of. You might also notice some video game logic bent to fit more properly into the world. Again, this work is entirely self indulgent, and I pulled a lot of inspiration from Tony Stark. Also, again, this work will have romantic themes with three different characters before the inevitable split in the story, where you’re welcome to read whichever ending you so desire.

Jack had a lot to think about.

Being the Strike Commander of Overwatch, most days he didn’t even have time to ponder his own thoughts. Ana had suggested he take more time to himself, but he couldn’t justify just up and leaving for hours at a time, so he made his compromise in the form of you. He would be training you in the mornings, which might not sound like a break to most, but it was a step in the right direction.

The base was mostly quiet around this time, nearly five in the morning, and it was far more relaxing than the normal chatter and conversation that echoed through the halls during the day. He let out a sigh, stretching his stiff muscles in preparation. He hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately, but he knew that neither had Gabriel.

Thoughts of his friend brought a frown to his face. The two of them had always had their own opinions, but lately they’d been at each other’s throats. He should try to schedule something so they could relax and have a normal friendship for one night.

“Please tell me training comes with breakfast?” Your voice was lower than normal, filled with sleep still, but the bags under your eyes told him you didn’t get much of it.

“I’m guessing you didn’t sleep much?” He inquired, though he knew the answer.

You shook your head, lifting your arms wide into the air as you stretched. You were in the standard issue Overwatch sweatpants, same as him, but instead of wearing the shirt that went with it, you were in just a sports bra. Your wrist housed that same little watch device you were wearing the previous day.

“Never been one for sleep,” you admitted, though there was a decidedly haunted look in your eyes.

It surprised him, if he were being honest. You seemed so young, like the world hadn’t left you scarred yet, but the look you held just then made a different statement. Once again, he found himself wishing to know more.

“Gabriel wasn’t too hard on you, was he?” He joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

One corner of your lips curled up.

“If anything I was too hard on him,” you laughed.

Jack definitely didn’t doubt that. You were quick witted, and he had one hell of a feeling that you didn’t take any shit from Gabe.

“I figured we’d start with a lesson in rank and etiquette,” he said after a short pause, leading you towards a more comfortable, and private, lounge. “Then we’ll start on physical training.”

“Well, Strike Commander,” you emphasized the title, “I’m a quick study.”

He breathed out a laugh.

“I don’t doubt it.” He took a seat opposite you and powered up his holopad so you could see the information as well. “How well do you know the chain of command?”

You leaned back, letting yourself relax comfortably before bothering to answer.

“Not at all,” you replied, shrugging. Then, with a mischievous twinkle, you added: “We could make it a tad more interesting.”

He didn’t shoot down your idea right away, but left it open ended for you to continue if you so chose. You did.

“Every question I answer correctly, I get to ask you one.”

There was a challenge in the gentle furrow of your brow, and boy did he want to rise to it.

“Fine,” he conceded, “But you have to answer too.”

You sucked in a breath and chewed on your lip thoughtfully, an action that was way too tantalizing for the early morning.

“Okay, deal.”

“Overwatch chain of command,” he restated, “What is it?”

There was a hint of that Strike Commander voice back into his tone, but he was surprisingly playful.

“Strike Commander,” you answered, pausing thoughtfully.

“Is that all you’ve got?” He asked after a momentary pause.

You held your hands up in surrender.

“I’m trying to remember from when I was looking at everyone’s files,” you muttered almost unconsciously.

He made a noise, one of both surprise and indignance.

“You shouldn’t make a habit of hacking into the database.”

The smile that took over your lips could only be defined as sultry. You looked up from beneath your lashes, quirking a brow.

“I suggest better security then.”

He opened his mouth to retort, though with what he wasn’t entirely sure. You beat him to it.

“Next are the commanders, then the heads of fields, captains, and lieutenants.”

He closed his lips, offering a grunt of affirmation and not commenting as he awaited your question. You didn’t make him wait for long.

“Where are you from?” The question was basic and straightforward.

He was genuinely surprised by the one you chose. Most people would delve further into his personal life, or even his career. Instead, you went for a question that was fairly easy to find the answer to on your own.

“Indiana,” he replied, leaning forward to meet your stare. “You’re telling me you hacked into Overwatch and found all of our secret operations but not my birthplace?”

You released a breath, splaying your hands out as you did so.

“I looked at files on Overwatch and Blackwatch, but I figured I’d rather learn personal details from the man himself.”

He ran his tongue along his teeth. It was so hard to decipher you. Despite having more information than most people, and far more than you should’ve, you kept personal details private.

“What about you?”

Your eyes crinkled up the smallest bit, and he knew you were reliving fond memories in your mind’s eye. He often romanticized memories of his home too, even though deep down he knew he’d never be happy there again.

“Massachusetts,” you relented, meeting his gaze with something less intense and more playful. “Right outside of Boston.”

“Long way from home,” he commented. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but he couldn’t really imagine you being the kind of person that was content to stay in one place.

“You’re one to talk,” you shot back, a soft laugh warming the air around you.

“Overwatch divisions?” He questioned, trying not the uplifting tunes of your laughter linger for too long.

You were back to pulling your lip into your mouth as you thought. Jack nearly pinched himself at the thoughts running through his mind at such an innocent gesture. Gabriel had been right about one thing: he needed to loosen up and get laid. He was getting wound up way too easily.

“Engineering,” you started gently, “Medical, strike teams, and…” you dragged the word out with a dramatic wink, “covert ops.”

He nodded, fighting back the smirk that threatened to appear.

It was odd, having someone who wasn’t already familiar with the inner workings of Overwatch converse with him. Almost everyone he talked to nowadays were overly interested in every small facet of Overwatch.

“Why Overwatch?”

Your question was simple, but there was a genuine curiosity in your eyes. He swallowed, and despite better judgment telling him he should stick to the same story he always did, he found himself talking.

“I wanted to help people,” he said, voice faraway as he remembered the early days of the Omnic Crisis.

He was so young then, naive of how the world worked, just wanting to make a difference. It was his duty, as well as his privilege to help those who needed it. Until it wasn’t.

“And then there was nothing else.” It was a hard admission, and he couldn’t quite meet your eyes. “War was all I knew, so I kept fighting. Never stopped.”

There was a weight that rested itself upon his shoulders, the whole world throwing itself in his hands.

A smaller, warmer weight settled upon his hand, and his shining blue eyes moved up to meet your gaze. There was a sort of understanding passing between the two of you, and he couldn’t quite grasp why. Nothing in your file suggested that you should be a kindred spirit, but the look in your eyes made him very aware of the fact that you were.

“Your turn,” he reminded you gently, making no move to pull his hand away.

You relaxed into the contact as you thought about your answer. The roguish looks and troublesome smiles faded. There was something so much deeper that caused you such pain, yet he couldn’t decode it.

“My dad used to be my hero.” The suddenness of your voice after a long period of silence nearly startled him. “He was special ops for the US Army, 151st.”

“Battle of New York,” Jack muttered, the name ringing a bell.

You nodded gently.

During the Omnic Crisis, there had been many different locations hit. The United States were lucky enough to be spared in most places, but it hit New York City hard. For six weeks the city was unreachable. Many people thought it’d never be recovered, but one division of soldiers managed to sweep through and reclaim the city in three nights. Jack had met a few of the members involved, even recruited some, but a great deal of them ended up sacrificing their lives.

They were war heroes.

More confusion came with your statement. Why in the world would you keep something like that off of your record?

“I wanted to be just like him,” you continued, “Or at least someone he would be proud of.”

“Where is he?”

It was all Jack could ask. He didn’t know you well enough to try and delve further into the past. A safe option, he realized.

“Dead.”

There was a bitterness on your tongue, like the words themselves were poison. Despite the questions he wanted to ask, he didn’t. It was something you’d tell him later, or not at all, but not something he could demand.

“I thought basic training was like,” you gestured vaguely in the air around you, finally removing your hand from his, “exercise.”

The frown that had wanted to show at the loss of contact was replaced with a wry grin.

“It is,” he conceded, “but you also need to know procedures. Do you even know who to salute?”

The morning carried on in much the same manner. He had learned a lot of small details about the person you were through your answers, but it was very obvious that you kept a lot close to your chest. He did his best not to pry, and you respected the unspoken boundary as well.

Even through the strenuous fitness regime that Jack had laid out for you, you continued with the playful attitude. It was very obvious that you were winded, and exhausted, but the joviality never faded.

As the few hours he’d carved out of the day to focus on your training came to an end, he found himself looking forward to the next one.

You, however, were not.

Yes, spending time with Jack had been nice. He was good company. You’d found yourself really warming up to him, just as you had to a few others in the facility already. The conversations came easily, and despite the big reputation, he was a genuine man.

You didn’t like all of the running he made you do though.

Sure, you understood it was necessary and all that, but the man was built like a friggin truck and he expected you to keep up. Your wit wasn’t lost to exhaustion, and the jokes were a never ending stream of thinly veiled complaints.

Still, after you finished, you gave him a sweet smile and a promise you’d be back there bright and early the next day.

As soon as you were free from your morning obligation, you nearly sprinted to the cafeteria. It was still early enough for some recruits to be just getting their breakfast, and you hopped in line with them. If your sudden appearance made them question anything, they didn’t voice it. Once you piled your plate with as much food as you could hope to eat, you found a familiar silhouette tucked far into the back corner of the room.

Deciding it was your best option, you took a seat at the same table.

“Sorry for attacking you,” you tried, sheepishly.

The man leveled you with a stare. He wasn’t eating, just waiting, and it seemed you interrupted his time to do so. He didn’t look particularly hostile, but was in no way friendly either.

“Likewise,” was his short reply.

You decided it wasn’t anything personal and began digging into your food, letting silence permeate the air between the two of you. Genji was his name, if you remembered correctly. (And you most certainly did. You were a genius, after all.) He was another Blackwatch agent. When you’d been snooping around Overwatch’s files, you’d found a fair bit of data in regards to his cybernetic enhancements.

You’d made it about halfway through your meal when a low whistle sounded right by your ear.

“Fancy meetin’ you here,” the smooth drawl of Jesse McCree practically vibrated through his chest.

“Morning, cowboy,” you greeted, a smile finding its place on your lips.

He sat beside you with his own mountain of food, looking positively delighted to have found you when he did.

“So darlin’,” the look he gave you was anything but innocent, “What brings you to Blackwatch?”

“My genius intellect and devilish charm,” you quipped, adding a wink to lament the idea.

McCree’s laugh was hearty and loud. He laughed with his whole body, and you found it absolutely infectious.

“Are you joining us for trainin’ today?”

He looked hopeful, and before you could grant him with an answer, another body sat itself at the table.

“She doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter,” the voice grumbled, belonging to one tired looking commander.

You clicked your mouth shut with a sheepish smile.

“Guess Gabe answered that one for me,” you relented, toying with your watch.

“How come she doesn’t get in trouble for not calling you by your rank?” McCree whined, stabbing his fork extra hard into his breakfast.

“She will,” Gabriel promised darkly.

“Kinky,” you practically purred, leaning forward to meet his eyes.

Once more, Jesse laughed. His arm slung across your back as he pulled you into him.

“I think you and I are gonna get along just fine, darlin’.”

You stuck your tongue out at him, pulling away to regain some amount of dignity.

“I’m never going to have time to finish my thesis,” you complained, taking a final bite of your food.

Your eyes had been far too big for your mouth, and there was no way in hell you could finish it.

“I thought you finished your degree already,” Gabriel asked with a raised brow.

“Well,” you drawled excitedly, “Yes and no.”

“Yes and no?” McCree echoed, bumping your shoulder.

“I have three PhDs, I’m just working on my fourth.”

“That wasn’t on your file,” Gabriel grunted.

“Holy hell,” McCree commented.

Even Genji looked a fair bit surprised. Your question of education had always been a bit of a touchy subject. Truth be told, you’d only stayed in school for as long as you had and continued your education because you didn’t know what you wanted to do. Before the offer of Overwatch, nothing felt particularly fulfilling.

“We all have our hobbies,” you flashed a smile, tucking your downtrodden thoughts into the back of your mind.

“Does that mean I get to see the suit?” Jesse inquired, brows waggling.

Your gaze moved from Jesse to Genji. Genji feigned disinterest, but you could see the way he angled his body closer, like he was invested in the conversation even if he didn’t want to be. Then you looked at Gabriel. He was all hard edges and stern looks.

“Oh, honey,” the smile tugging at your lips was downright sinful, and two of the three men before you drank it in, “You can’t handle it.”

McCree practically snorted, clapping his hand on your back as he did so. Gabriel, however, held your gaze, brows raised in a challenge you weren’t quite sure you posed.

“What about you, six shooter,” you patted the holster Jesse kept his gun in, “You sure you don’t want an upgrade?”

“Peacekeeper is as good as it gets,” he stated proudly.

You puffed out a breath. By your standards, his precious gun was a fair bit outdated. You wanted to help Overwatch in every facet, but you had a feeling that too many of them were attached to their current weaponry to accept an upgrade.

“And you,” you nodded your head towards Gabriel, then added as an afterthought, “sir?”

His eyes flashed at your use of the title, though you couldn’t quite place whether it was annoyance or amusement. You decided the latter from the wry smile that pulled at his lips.

“Impress me,” he muttered, “and then we’ll talk.”

His voice was low, almost as if concerned others were listening in, yet oddly comforting. You turned to the last member of the Blackwatch trio with a hopeful plea.

“Ninja boy?”

“I have my own weapons.”

You didn’t miss the hint of aggression in his tone, nor did you miss the sharp look Gabriel shot him. A bit of a spitfire, then. You wondered why, or even who he was, really. Despite having access to every single one of Overwatch’s secrets at your disposal, you didn’t care to use the information to learn about the people you surrounded yourself with. If they wanted to tell you something, they would, otherwise they were free to their own privacy.

“Maybe I should go see Torbjorn again today,” you suggested to Gabriel. “He would appreciate my offer.”

Gabriel scoffed.

The day prior, Gabriel had actually taken you on the tour he promised. You’d been wide eyed running through the facility, taking in everything they had to offer. Few places impressed you as much as the engineering labs. You could spend your whole lifetime there and never be bored. Torbjorn Lindholm, as well as his friend Reinhardt Wilhelm, had been there to greet you. They were very friendly, and very receptive of the ideas you shared in the short time you had before Gabriel dragged you off to continue familiarizing yourself with the base.

“You’d never leave,” he commented dryly.

You waggled your brows.

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“Ya couldn’t see my charming face anymore,” Jesse gave you a smolder that you were sure had swayed the hearts and minds of many people before you.

He was met with a leisure shrug and flick of your wrist.

“Oh no, how would I ever survive that?” You drawled sarcastically.

The cowboy in front of you looked offended, and the expression he was toying with was somewhere between childish and affronted.

“Let’s get to training before you hurt his ego more,” Gabriel chuckled lowly, ushering the three of you out of the cafeteria.

You used the short walk to the Blackwatch training facility as an opportunity to scope out more of the base, as well as the little group you walked with. Gabriel walked with a stance that demanded respect, and you could tell he got it from the salutes of recruits you walked by. McCree moved confidently, but lazily. He looked like he had all the time in the world, and knew damn well nobody would tell him otherwise.

Genji was more guarded. You didn’t miss the way his eyes flit to the various people in the hall. He was on edge, like everyone was a threat. Your heart went out to him then, because you had a good feeling something happened to make him so jaded and cautious.

The amount of people lingering nearby dwindled the closer you got to the Blackwatch facility. There was nobody at your actual destination, and a part of you was thankful for the quiet. It was easier for you to concentrate.

The training facility itself was large, four towering walls enclosing a space with maneuverable terrain. A massive window spanned one side, overlooking a portion of the quieter side of the Swiss base. The rising sun lit the room with warm rays, highlighting the various training bots that could be used.

“Jack’s going to be doing your standard weapons training,” Gabriel mentioned as Jesse and Genji spread out on the mats, obviously familiar with the area. “I figured you’d be more comfortable if you worked on the suit with us.”

You hummed noncommittally, wide eyes scanning the vast expanse of the training room. You’d never been afforded a luxury quite like this. Your excitement wasn’t far off the levels it’d been upon your discovery of the engineering labs. The university had been backing your research during your time there, but they had a pretty strict budget. Overwatch, it seemed, didn’t.

“If that’s all it takes to amaze you, darlin’, you should see my-”

McCree was abruptly interrupted by a quick strike from Genji. The cyborg ninja held nothing back either, nearly taking the cowboy off his feet in one hit.

Jesse was fast to defend himself, the two of them passing blows back and forth.

“Quite a team you got, commander.”

You said it with as much cheek as you could, and you didn’t miss the raised brow of one Gabriel Reyes. That grumpy exterior of his really wasn’t fooling you one bit.

“Ready for round two?” He asked in reply, not waiting for you as he assumed a fighting stance.

You smirked, pressing the button on your watch to activate your suit. The nanotech crawled up and down your arm, encompassing your body with a sleek titanium layer as it did so. The helmet dropped and clicked into place, lighting up with the information from your self made UI.

Genji and McCree had stopped sparring to investigate as you resumed a more defensive position.

“Again?” Gabriel huffed.

“She looks cooler than you,” McCree mentioned to Genji, elbowing him as he did so.

Your eyes swivelled towards the pair just in time to see Genji shove him to the side. An error in judgement on your part, as Gabriel took the momentary distraction to rush in.

Sparring with the commander of Blackwatch wasn’t something you would consider fun in any sense. He was undeniably strong, unbelievably fast, and he played dirty. Despite you being suited up, you were still fairly evenly matched without the use of the repulsor beams.

It was both frustrating and refreshing.

On one hand, you did want an opportunity to show off a bit. Your suits were some of the most important work you’d ever done, and they were impressive. Getting beaten repeatedly by Gabriel Reyes did not make them look remotely advanced.

On the other, it did give you a chance to really evaluate some improvements in hand-to-hand: both for yourself and the suit.

Eventually, however, you couldn’t take the repeated failures. You were ready to go out on a win, so naturally, you played dirtier.

As you lunged forward, you disengaged the back of the suit, allowing the armor to fly towards the commander. You, during the engagement, slipped behind him and moved in for the attack. Unfortunately, Gabriel Reyes was much smarter than you gave him credit for.

“I’m not falling for that twice,” he deadpanned, turning to meet your blow.

You stepped back in surprise, exhaling in relief when the titanium arm of your suit stopped his fist short.

Upon your departure as the primary pilot, the UI you designed took over the controls. It used a complex processing system to determine attack patterns and defenses that best supported you. Though the technology was something you’d only recently begun to tinker with, it had advanced a great deal, and was actively engaging Reyes.

Some might call it cheating when you, too, joined in the spar, but you called it fair. He was a super soldier after all, and he’d had decades of training in all different types of fighting.

“You really are Blackwatch material,” Gabriel conceded, backing off from the suit.

He watched with open curiosity as the nanotech dissolved back into the form of your watch, leaving nothing in its absence.

“I am pretty impressive,” you agreed, stretching out as you did so.

Gabriel didn’t look particularly pleased with you, despite claiming you were “Blackwatch material”.

“You hesitate too much,” he finally commented, leveling you with a serious stare.

You cocked your head to the side.

“Hesitate?” You repeated, not quite sure what he was insinuating. As far as you were concerned, you’d given him a run for his money.

“Hesitate,” he said another time, confirming you heard him correctly. “It’s kill or be killed on the field, and you’re spending far too long deciding on how to strike.”

The amusement slipped from your face as his eyes darkened. Surely he didn’t mean…?

“Blackwatch doesn’t really…” You paused, the furrow in your brow growing. “I mean, you guys aren’t assassins, right?”

Your gaze had moved from the tense commander to the two Blackwatch agents, hoping they’d laugh it off and say it was a joke. Overwatch wasn’t a judge, jury, and executioner. Surely, even something as off the grid as Blackwatch wouldn’t actually be killing people, right? The files you’d read had never mentioned killing.

McCree rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, puffing a breath through his teeth. Genji, however, remained unmoving by your suggestion.

“It’s a choice we have to make sometimes,” Gabriel grunted, not sounding particularly pleased with the action, but not really seeming guilty either.

Your entire body turned towards him.

“So you-you what? You want me to kill someone?”

You’d nearly stumbled over the word ‘kill’ like it was poison itself, and not just a long list of words you’d become familiar with in your life.

“You need to be prepared to,” he warned, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

Realistically, you knew combat was going to be a necessity if you decided to join. But fighting in a war was a little different than murdering in cold blood. Blackwatch was supposed to be the intel collectors. They were the undercover operations, not the assassins.

“I’m not,” you paused, spitting the word out, “killing anybody.”

“Hey now,” Jesse interrupted, cutting off the commander before he had a chance to interject. “Why don’t I show you some of the places our old antisocial, stick-in-the-mud commander doesn’t know about?”

You opened your mouth to vent your frustrations, but McCree beat you to it.

“Could be good for you, gettin’ a chance to really find your feet here.”

Your pride wanted you to speak up, but you weren’t entirely sure what you would say. An argument was obviously not on the table, as Gabriel had been rather blunt. He wasn’t the person to talk to about that particular topic, so you decided it best if you shelf the subject for the moment.

Perhaps Jack would be the better person to talk to about it.

You clenched your jaw and nodded your head, excusing yourself from the room to follow the click of Jesse’s spurs. You weren’t quite sure where he was taking you, and you didn’t bother to ask him.

Had you made the right decision by jumping headlong into an organization you didn’t know nearly as much about as you thought you did?

Even if you had, you weren’t going to let your oversight slide so easily.

Your frown went unnoticed as McCree pointed out every room and their function as you passed.

Tonight, you decided, you would find every dirty secret Overwatch had ever tried to hide. Good or bad, you needed to know just what the hell you’d gotten yourself into.

#soldier 76 x reader #jesse mccree x reader #reaper x reader #gabriel reyes x reader #jack morrison x reader #jack morrison imagine #soldier 76 imagine #jesse mccree imagine #reaper imagine #gabriel reyes imagine #overwatch imagine #overwatch x reader #this is gonna be a wild ride #so strap in kiddos #because we're going on an emotional rollercoaster

57 notes · View notes

talesfromthepayload · 4 years

Text

The Fall Part Two

A/N: Did I get totally distracted and let this take over my life? Yes, I did. Do I regret it? Only a little bit. Also, the reader’s intended age for the purpose of this fic is 23 at the start. (So yeah, there’s a bit of an age difference, but this is also me being entirely self indulgent.) This chapter is kind of heavily focused on Gabriel, but don’t worry the other two will be very involved coming up.

Gabriel Reyes did not make decisions lightly.

Despite the fact that they seemed often impulsive or lacking certain forethought, he knew what he was doing, and he was confident doing it. Hiring you was not a mistake.

Jack had called him and Gérard in a few days prior to discuss your onboarding. He, too, had been intrigued by what you had to offer, but he’d been hesitant. They’d found an issue while reviewing your history, and it’d become clear that your file had been tampered with. If Gabriel had to wager a guess, he’d say you did it.

So, Jack hesitated. He wanted to dig around more, try and see why it needed to be tampered with to begin with. But Gabriel wasn’t going to let your potential go. He needed Blackwatch agents, had for a while, but those with the potential were few and far between.

He knew Jack was going to be pissed when he realized what he’d done, but he couldn’t quite find it in himself to be sorry. His intuition hasn’t failed him yet.

He leaned back with his feet on his desk, watching the security feed. He didn’t give you any information, a final test to see if you were as good as he thought you were.

Genji and McCree had tried to convince him to spar this morning, but he wasn’t passing up the opportunity of watching you walk through those doors.

It was seven o’clock on the dot when he saw your familiar figure. You were dressed in all black, a jumpsuit tailored specifically to that suit of armor you had built it seemed. It clung to you like a second skin, and had a deep v-neck in the front. There was a briefcase in one hand that helped you blend in with some of the higher ups.

Reyes knew the minute he saw you he was going to have one hell of a time keeping McCree away. The boy flirted with anything with a pulse. You were young, far too young for any of them to be looking at you, and pretty.

Maybe he was being selfish by bringing you to Blackwatch. They were all jaded and scarred, and you looked like you’d fit perfectly in Angela’s Valkyrie suit.

Still, a certain amount of pride swelled in his chest as he watched you navigate through the wide expanse of the Swiss base. There was no hiccup in your step, nothing suggesting you were anywhere you shouldn’t be.

You were even swiping into rooms that should’ve been entirely out of access for you, yet that didn’t stop you. It was mesmerizing, to be quite honest, the way you walked through crowds like you had every right to be there.

You didn’t stop until you were in the hallway outside of his office, and he sat up straighter to greet you. However, you paused, taking a moment to look up at the camera. Your eyes met his through the screen, and there was a pleased smile on your lips.

He echoed the gesture, letting out a few breathy laughs, before a knock sounded at his door. You didn’t wait for him to answer, instead walking through the threshold with the same confidence you had throughout the base.

“You need better security,” you commented.

Gabriel walked around his desk so that there was nothing but a few feet of air between the both of you.

“There are very few people who could do what you just did,” he said, shrugging one shoulder.

Your lips were pulled in amusement but you didn’t offer anything more on the subject. You laid your briefcase to rest nearby, and he couldn’t help but wonder what was in there or if it was just for show.

“Blackwatch, huh?” Your eyes darted around the room before they settled on him.

He found himself unconsciously standing straighter and puffing his chest out.

“Overwatch didn’t strike me as the type to have secret divisions,” you admitted, taking a few steps closer to him. “And boy do you get into some trouble.”

There was something distinctly playful in your gaze, and Gabriel thought it was more charming than anything. He’d never been a stickler for the rules like Jack, thus his relationship with the agents under him was a little more lax. You were blatantly flirting though, and he found it absolutely amusing.

He realized right then and there that putting you and McCree in the same room was a recipe for disaster.

“I’d say you do too, but I can’t be sure with that fake file you sent us.”

It was a callout- a challenge, really, and boy did you rise to it.

“We all have secrets, Gabriel,” you shrugged nonchalantly, gesturing to the door. “Like hiring me without consulting the Strike Commander.”

As if on queue, Jack shoved the door out of his way. Ana was close on his heels, like she was trying to temper the storm. Genji had followed them in, obviously drawn to the commotion. Gabriel knew that McCree had wandered off, not bothering to stick around if he didn’t need to. You had a quirked brow, and despite the anger of his oldest friend, he couldn’t be drawn away from the small smirk on your lips.

“Gabriel I told you to-”

He stopped short, his loud voice deafening instantly as he noticed your presence.

He was taken aback, just for a moment, though Gabriel recognized the look in Jack’s eyes. Yeah, he may have also wanted you on Blackwatch because he knew that Jack had a type, and you were most definitely his type. Intelligent, good looking, quick witted, and frustratingly optimistic- he knew that, even if it was done unconsciously, Jack would want you under his command because of it. That and the fact that he’d seen Jack spend hours reading about the work you’d done like it was the damn gospel.

“Don’t stop on my account,” you giggled, holding your hands up in surrender.

The Strike Commander blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Ana cleared her throat, shooing away Genji and shutting the door behind him, leaving the four of you alone in his office. The anger on Jack’s face was lessening, and his exterior was becoming more fitting of his title.

“Apologies, I didn’t realize you were here already.” His voice was tight, and he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Gabriel was leaning back, looking for all the world like he could care less about what was transpiring. In reality, he was very interested in how the esteemed Strike Commander would act.

“I figured,” you nodded your head in Gabriel’s direction, “Someone’s not very forthcoming with information.”

His expression didn’t show an ounce of regret. If anything, his lack of telling you important information further proved how much his team could use you.

Jack bit his tongue, and Ana piped up to fill the silence.

“You know, Jack, I think Gabriel might be right on this one.”

You sent a warm look towards Ana, and it brought a smile to his face. Ana had always had a motherly attitude about her, it made people gravitate towards her.

“I know,” Jack sighed, running a hand through his blonde- slightly greying- hair, before holding it out to you.

You took it without hesitation, shaking firmly.

“I’m Jack Morrison,” he introduced himself, gesturing to the woman behind him. “This is Captain Ana Amari, though I’ve heard you’ve already met. And that is-”

“We’ve had introductions already,” Gabriel assured him, unable to help but add on: “I hope Genji didn’t make too much of a mess.”

You shrugged, walking past him with the same confidence you had making your way there in the first place.

“I figured now that we’re all friendly we can talk about my stolen research.”

You didn’t waste any time. Gabriel moved to watch from over your shoulder when you started typing on his computer. He was a bit miffed you hadn’t even asked him, but thoroughly impressed when three beeps sounded, alerting to the others in the room that you had successfully logged on.

“What was the research on?” Jack asked. “I’ve been reviewing your other projects, but I’m assuming you kept the one Talon stole private.”

“You assume correctly,” you smiled, looking up to shoot him a wink before going back to whatever it was you were doing.

Gabriel didn’t miss the small blush that colored Jack’s cheeks.

“IPI,” you said, pressing a couple of buttons on your watch. “Access file 07129.”

“Accessing,” a robotic voice replied.

You pinched your fingers together above your watch, before expanding them. As you did so, a holographic projection jumped to life around you. Gabriel couldn’t be too sure of what he was looking at, but it resembled the watch you wore around your wrist.

“What is it?” He finally questioned.

You puffed out a breath.

“Well, it was the first trial of my experiment.” You explained, spinning the hologram so that they could see all of the angles. “When I was a kid I wanted to save my mom. There wasn’t anything I could do realistically, so I started looking at the impossible.”

You came around Gabriel’s desk to lean gently against the front.

“Two years ago I had my first major breakthrough with temporal manipulation. I used chronal acceleration to propel an object forward in time, though just by a few seconds.”

You fiddled with your watch.

“Further experimentation and research brought me to a final conclusion. Three weeks ago I solved the mystery of time travel.”

Whatever Gabriel had been expecting, it had not been that. It didn’t sound real. There was no way somebody could just travel through time, was there?

“It took a lot of time. I had to input different equations and study the theory itself, but if they decode my work they’re going to have a fully fledged time machine on their hands and the whole of history to mess with.”

The friends shot each other looks as the room petered off into quiet once more. There was an uneasy air about, and Gabriel shifted his stance.

“Let’s get to work finding it then,” Jack finally stated, a hand moving towards the communicator by his ear.

You didn’t give him a chance to continue.

“Already done,” you exclaimed. “Atleast, potential hits.”

You fiddled with the holographic interface in front of you, lines of code swirling around your person.

“I’ve cross referenced the file number I originally gave the design through every major international database, as well as a few minor ones that have had previous ties to Talon. Most of the searches came up empty, but I did find a repeat of the word ‘chronos’ in the few encryptions I could find.”

“So they named it,” Reyes realized.

The grin you gave him was dazzling and wide.

“Project chronos got a lot more hits, though the information was scattered. You see, Talon doesn’t use its own mainframe for most of their work. They encrypt data into other locations and spread them out at seemingly random, so it’s difficult to follow.”

“But you followed it?” Jack inquired, a small smile tugging on his lips. It was obvious he was more than impressed.

“Sort of,” you conceded, “Like I said, it’s exceedingly difficult to track, but I managed to narrow down the locations.”

Jack and Ana shared a look, before he leveled you with that proud commander smile he’d nearly perfected.

“Good work, soldier. Send the coordinates and we’ll get recon teams there as soon as possible.”

With a swipe of your hand, the holographic images disappeared.

“Better yet, I’ll bring you there.”

Gabriel frowned at the sudden fall in Jack’s expression. He knew that Jack wouldn’t be letting you out into the field anytime soon. It wasn’t protocol, and Jack had enough people breathing down his neck.

“You still have to finish your basic training,” Ana said softly, taking a step forward.

You furrowed your brows.

“I can finish it later.” You assured them. “This is a hell of a lot more pressing.”

Jack shook his head, trying for a more gentle approach.

“We can’t let agents into the field who haven’t finished their initial training.”

“But this is my research…”

Your eyes were pleading with the two of them. Ana looked stern, but Jack couldn’t maintain eye contact. It was clear he wanted you on the mission too, if only because you knew what you were doing.

“We’ll send a recon team, and if you finish your basic training quickly enough, you can be a part of the strike team.”

Gabriel made the decision for them, and though you didn’t seem entirely satisfied, the answer still had you nodding. Jack gave him a look, one that told him they’d be having a long discussion later on, and turned his attention back to you.

“You’ll be reporting to me for your training.”

Gabriel wondered why he was keen on training you himself. He didn’t personally train recruits anymore- hadn’t for a while.

“As for Blackwatch,” Jack leveled Gabriel with a hard stare. “Gabriel will handle any additional training.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgement, letting the man know he understood. Jack was leaving your combat skills mostly to Gabriel.

Jack turned his back to where you stood, effectively ending the conversation. He only made it as far as the door before he stopped himself short.

“I did want to ask,” he began, “Why the fake documents?”

One hip was propped forward, and you looked as comfortable as could be. Your smile was a fair bit mischievous as you stretched languidly.

“I can’t show my hand before you’ve shown yours.”

Ana hid her smirk.

“Right,” Morrison affirmed, stomping away with the same confidence and authority he always wielded.

Ana was quick to follow, though her steps were quieter.

A tenseness settled in the air with them gone, and Gabriel didn’t dare to be the first to interrupt it. You were idly tapping your fingers on his desk, seemingly lost in thought. Finally, after a few moments, you pulled yourself from your own thoughts.

“So,” you drawled, siddling on up to him with your brightest, most friendly smile. “When’s the tour?”

Gabriel fought the twitch of his lips, instead giving you a deadpan look.

“Training starts now.”

It was a statement you barely had time to register before his fist was flying out. You dodged it narrowly, taking a few steps back to find a proper fighting stance.

“You sure are violent,” you muttered.

He didn’t offer a verbal response, instead going for a second strike. When you moved to avoid the attack, he changed tactics last minute, forcing you to the ground. The floor was cold and hard, leaving your back arched at the sudden sensation.

“Okay, not cool.”

“Sloppy,” Gabriel tsked from above, looking like he put no effort into taking you down.

The anger that morphed onto your face reminded him of a cat getting ready to retract its claws. Cute was a word that came to mind, though he didn’t dare say it out loud for fear of pissing you off more.

You rolled out of his reach before jumping back to your feet. Your movements were quick, but unpracticed. You definitely would be able to hold your own against your regular run of the mill civilians, but he was sure you’d need far more practice before you could start taking on fully trained soldiers.

Your eyes were calculating, and he found it a bit unnerving how you seemed to be reading him. From what he’d seen already, and what he’d found in your file, you were a genius. God only knows what you’d found on him already.

He didn’t move a muscle as you approached slowly, cautiously. His stance was firm, and he was ready to go back on the offensive should you decide for an impromptu attack. Still, he watched your body grow closer with a raised brow. Your movements were poised, an elegance not suited for a soldier.

His heart thumping wildly in his chest was the only noise as you leaned up to your tiptoes, keeping less than an inch away from his body. His fingers twitched, and he was idly aware of just how pretty you were. Dangerous was the word his mind supplied. Too pretty and young to keep his mind on more pure thoughts, and it had been so very long since he’d given into more carnal desires.

“You lose,” you whispered, the words kissing his ear, forcing a shiver down his spine.

Your proximity stuttered his system, and it took far longer than normal for him to realize what you’d said.

A questioning hum vibrated in his chest.

You pulled back the smallest bit, a wicked smile on your glossy lips that spoke of a danger he didn’t dare name. Being the devilish little thing you were, you winked, and nodded your head to something just behind him.

He tore his eyes from you, only to be met with the glowing stare of your suit of armor. It had the arm raised, the repulsor beam charged and ready to fire at a moment’s notice. How it’d managed to sneak up on him, he couldn’t be sure, but a frown pulled at his lips.

“That’s cheating.”

His voice was low enough to be a growl. He hoped you could hear the disappointment in it. (Though, if he were being completely honest, he was more disappointed in himself.)

You laughed, a light, melodic sound compared to the normal gruff voices that lingered through the halls of Blackwatch.

“Well, this is not what I expected,” a voice drawled lazily from the doorway.

Gabriel wanted to curse at McCree, but he held his tongue and glared at him instead.

“I think Clint Eastwood got lost,” you mock whispered to the commander.

His frown deepened in an effort to avoid smiling. You either didn’t notice or didn’t care, moving away to properly greet the new arrival.

“Jesse McCree,” Jesse tipped his hat, all charming smiles and vexatious eyes. Even the introduction of his name was a flirt.

“(Y/N),” you replied in kind, and Gabriel didn’t care for the way your name rolled from your tongue. It had far too many implications for one word.

“Pleasure, darlin’.” His voice was smoother than honey.

Gabriel cleared his throat, hoping to draw some attention away from the flirty cowboy and back to the mission at hand.

“I don’t doubt it,” you chuckled gently, eying him up and down before you turned back towards the commander.

“Don’t you have a sparring session to finish, McCree?” The commander bit out, crossing his arms over his chest.

His expression was nothing but intimidation, and the cowboy didn’t look the slightest bit perturbed.

“I was looking for something more interesting to do,” he explained with a shrug. “Looks like I found her.”

You puffed out a breath.

“That one usually work for you?”

“McCree,” Gabriel’s voice was venomous, and despite the cool facade on the younger agent’s face, he knew when pushing his commander was taken too far.

“Right,” Jesse inclined his head, “I’ll be off, but feel free to visit me anytime, sweetheart.”

Gabriel didn’t care to hide the annoyance on his features at the smile you had on yours. Despite McCree’s swift exit, you hadn’t made an effort to turn from where he was standing.

“You sure do have some characters,” you finally said, breaking the silence.

Gabriel blamed his anger on the interruption and useless chatter. Though, maybe it was because of the way your attention shifted so easily to whoever demanded it.

“The suit,” he gruffed, throwing an accusatory thumb to where it stood ready for an attack behind him.

The gun metal grey exterior was sleek, and the body looked almost identical to an outline of your own. Blue lights lined the feet and arms, and despite the flashy look, he knew they held purpose. Clearly, this could house you if you so chose it to.

“The original,” you said, pressing something on the screen of your watch.

The suit operated almost like an omnic would, though he knew there was no consciousness about it. The lights flickered off, and he watched with interest as the suit disassembled itself, until nothing was left but an unsuspecting briefcase. If he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes, he probably wouldn’t have believed it.

“It’s not as high tech as the newer models, but it certainly does in a pinch.”

“And you made that?” He asked for confirmation, in genuine awe of your capabilities.

“Nearly eighteen months ago now,” you smiled, though unlike the teasing or mischievous ones, this one was genuine. “If you think that’s cool wait until you see the rest of them.”

He nodded his head in the direction of the door.

“I think it’s time I take you on that tour,” he declared, picking the briefcase off the ground and handing it back to you. “There’s a few people you might be interested in meeting, and a few places I think you’ll enjoy.”

Your fingers brushed his as you took a hold of your briefcase. The contact was fleeting, but warm.

“Lead the way.”

#gabriel reyes x reader #jack morrison x reader #jesse mccree x reader #soldier 76 x reader #reaper x reader #mccree x reader #jesse mccree imagine #soldier 76 imagine #reaper imagine #overwatch x reader #overwatch imagine

83 notes · View notes