Freefall 〈McCree x Reader〉

Chapter One: Los Muertos

Even in the dark of night, the heat was sweltering. Perspiration rolled down your temple and as you waved your hand back and forth in a fanning motion, you wondered how McCree could survive in his overdressed state.

Your eyes were fixed on the run-down house nearby. Access had been restricted by police as yellow tape lined its perimeter and entrances.

"There's blood and brains everywhere. Each family member shot in the head, execution style. Not even the toddlers were spared. I'm just here to tape off the place. In this part of the city, stuff like this actually happens all the time."

You listened to the policeman as he recounted the gruesome scene, and hearing the last part made you sick to your stomach. The nausea was so severe, you had to step away. You didn't stop walking until you were well out of earshot.

You felt your stomach roil and a dull ache formed in the back of your eyes. The night-time air wasn't seeming to help much, but you took a proper breath and leaned against the trunk of a tree.

"Hey," You heard your partner call after you, his voice gentle. Concerned, he laid his hand firmly on your shoulder and took a stance in front of you. "You holdin' up okay?"

"Tell me why I'm here again," You paled, putting a hand to your lips as you looked at your senior colleague—your mentor in firearms and anything gun-related.

"You said you wanted to do your philanthropy thing, right? This is the place Angela said needed the most help. Just so happens, the Commander wants a preliminary survey of the area."

You raised your brow at him, looking into his dark eyes, silently demanding for a better explanation as you fought off the queasiness.

"There's a deadly gang running amuck," He sighed, drawing his hand to his side. He wasn't going to lie to you, he couldn't. Not when your life could be in peril just by setting foot in this crude part of the States.

"So that's why you're baby-sitting me..."

"Well... it kind of works both ways, darlin'." He chuckled at your perceptiveness. "In case anything happens to me, I know you'll be able to patch me up."

"McCree," You started, taking his hand in yours when he began to walk away. "What are we dealing with here? And if this gang's really deadly, why are we the only ones dispatched?"

"Sometimes less is better. That includes knowing, too," He hesitated. "And we're probably gonna need to establish a cover for you while you're here."

"It's th--" You were cut off as he suddenly pulled you against him, crushing his lips against yours in a forceful and unforeseen kiss. You stiffened in his arms as he molded your body against his, and you were reminded of the day you'd met Jesse McCree.

"Play along," He put little distance between you and himself. His face held no humor. His eyes grew keen before he closed them and recaptured your lips with his, this time gently.

You sensed the vigilance in his body. You knew he wasn't kissing you for the hell of it. But a pleasant tingle started in your stomach and spread through your body. Before you knew it, it was overpowering the sickness. He'd trailed his lips to your cheek, downwards to your neck. You couldn't explain the heady feeling.

When he pulled away, he took you into a poorly lit alleyway and trapped you between the side of a brick building and himself. You realized civilians had fled the street.

"Shit," He said under his breath. "I shouldn't have agreed to bring you here." He took your chin in his fingers, tilting your head up as he buried his face in the side of your neck. "It's too dangerous."

Your face lifted up, you looked outside to the street, and there was a number of people with glow-in-the-dark markings covering their faces, their arms. You noticed the skeletal design to their eerie paintings, and your heart skipped a beat.

As McCree kept his face hidden, the group paid little attention to you. They were approaching the policeman that had recounted the crime scene details just a short while ago.

"Don't make a single noise," Your partner warned you, and hardly a second after, you were witnessing a murder.

Your breath hitched in your throat when you saw them batter the police officer's body with metal objects. They were laughing, jeering, as they spat on the middle-aged man's lifeless body.

"You think you can mess with us?" One of them sounded positively insane as he repetitively slugged his bat into the head of the corpse. "You're not strong enough, cabrón! There's more of us than there are you!"

Holy ...God. Shock kept you quiet. Your eyes widened as you saw blood and organ beginning to pool beneath the policeman's corpse. And you'd thought you were nauseated before. Fighting the bile rising to the back of your throat, you looked away from the gory sight and buried your face in McCree's shoulder. "Are we going to die?"

"I won't let that happen," His voice was low as he kept his hands at the small of your back, as he held you intimately close. You couldn't tell if it was all a ruse, if it was part of this cover he'd mentioned moments ago.

But being this near to him, being able to smell the cigar... the teakwood off of his skin... it was all making you dizzy. Then, again, it could very well have been the scent of blood and gore rising in the air.

"We're outta here." He said, then led you out of the alley in the opposite direction you came.

Leading you down a winding street, his hand's grasp around your wrist was unrelenting and almost painful. But you didn't raise your voice to complain. Mutedly, you let him lead you away from danger, until you returned to the mediocre motel room you both shared.

He didn't let go until you were inside and secure.

"Wait," McCree took your hand in his again before you went further into the motel room. He stood in front of you, as if shielding you from something. "Show yourself."

A sound not unlike buzzing filled the room and suddenly a woman appeared. She had purple accents in her brown hair and a sly smile on her pretty face. But the most noticeable feature about her was the grafts embedded in her head and along her spine.

"Well, I was going to take you up on that drink offer, but it looks like you got yourself a girlfriend." You noticed the lightheartedness in her voice as she gave a fake pout. "A real cute one to boot."

"What are you doing here?" Your partner demanded, not budging from the spot he took up in front of you. He wasn't tolerating the strange woman's playfulness.

"Don't be so mean." A smirk spread the violet shade of her lips. "I thought we were on a friendly basis. I helped you and your robot friend round up Talon after all."

You raised a curious brow at her, now believing she was more than just an acquaintance to McCree. "Who are you?"

A sultry laugh left her lips when she looked at you, "I guess you could call me his ex-girlfriend."

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A/N: Just to get my foot in the door with the spinoff I promised. I'm still writing the Genji ending to my other story. Thanks for reading, my friends! Hopefully you guys will like this series, too!