I'm the Man [Soldier 76 x Reader]

Perspective

Jack Morrison was the man who thought he had the handle and control upon his life. The fact he still was a respected figure amongst those at Overwatch was quite the feat that would be so easy to disregard or even to overlook. He- choosing to be called a soldier- had often stated that he didn't want this organization to be associated and spoken as heroes. Especially if the two words would be used in the same sentence as yet again. Heroes would save people and be loved by countless others. Yet, Overwatch was treated as a hate crime; as people saw the cause worse than good.

So when he saw your scars, and heard your words of pleas and whimpers of not being hurt, it all the more reminded him that he was a soldier. Not a hero. Such trivial matters, one that he already settled down and had engraved in the stone of his mind. He wouldn't let you refer to him as hero either, nor his past identity. It brought more painful memories than it does any ones that made him smile.

His gaze was locked upon your tired figure as you became determined to fight the robotic A.I. in preparation for fighting Hanzo. Each robot was at a different level, and the farther you progressed in your simulated battlefield the harder and crueler they became. Each time you were 'killed' a scoring penalty was added. It made you strive to be faster, smarter, and stronger.

In fact, this was the skill that he was using to train you for the next several says. At first, you barely made it half way, and now just at the two week mark before your testing: you just made it to three quarters. Your face was red and your skin was flushed with scorching heat that would sear even his fingertips through his gloves.

Slowly, his hands cradled the back of your neck and hefted your body up as you laid exhausted on the metallic ground. He was careful to hold you, adjusting your figure and holding your legs up by cupping the back of your knees and his palm spreading to the top of your shoulder blades. His gaze had shifted down in a brief moment before lifting back up to walk carefully towards the outside. The sun was slowly sinking to kiss the horizon farewell, and off in the distance a set of mountains decorated the changing colors of the sky.

A set of small pine trees and evergreens patched the small garden like area and a warm breeze wafted over your rapidly cooling skin as your mentor opted to sit down against a tree. His body eased against its trunk and your head lolled to perch next to his throat. Jack's coat collar was nudged to the side and a particular scent of leather filled your nose.

For one long moment, you recollected his question the other day, asking why you begged McCree not to decorate your skin. Your breath softly inhaled, capturing your mentor's attention.

"I was set up in foster homes when I was a child," you begun quietly, eyes staring out in the gardens as wild rabbits played with each other and birds fluttered through the air. "My mother was a surrogate for an Omnic and Human couple... I technically belonged to the three, but protestors and haters killed all three. The government had to step in and confiscate me before anyone else did the same to me."

Jack's head tilted, the jawline of his mask brushing over the top of your head.

"I earned the reputation of belonging to Omnic. The government had no control of which home I went to in the evil world- but they did have control over finally punishing those and what they did to me," you explained softly, eyes closing then.

Your mentor didn't say anything, though you felt his hand fist your shirt tighter. The thought process behind the older man would easily be deciphered: how humans can be so cruel to things they don't understand.. they don't know.

"I couldn't complain," you continued, swallowing a lump of bile down. "As I grew up I heard tales of heroes associated with Overwatch; I hadn't ever thought that they were a disbanded group and hated. I just heard of how close of a family they were... I knew then that's where I wanted to go. I figured that I could be a part of that family too."

Jack felt his whole being shatter within him. He listened to you explain why you were here in the first place. The fact you never had love of a family, never had anyone accept you for you- what a crime the world had dealt your whole life. You had come to Overwatch hoping that it would accept you for who you were and be a part of that family; yet here you both were. Your only friends were him, Angela, Genji, and Zenyatta.

As the silence droned on, the birds sang songs of the night and farewell, disappearing to their nests. Bunnies lazily hopped down to their boroughs and crickets rubbed their legs together to chirp at the stars in greeting. You had fallen asleep, causing Jack to heft you up and carry you back to your bed and tuck you in. The winding maze of the base was easily navigated with the help of his visor, and the symbols on plastic signs hanging on the wall. 

Although after settling you to bed, Jack didn't go to his own right away. His shoulders rolled back, stepping out of your room and your doors sliding shut with a hiss. His boots softly thumped across the floor as he made his way to the lounge. The other members of Overwatch were all relaxing there, a soft chatter filling the air. It went silent when Jack stepped into the room. His brows furrowed below his mask, looking around the room.

Windows sat high on the walls, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and a white support beam running between the widths of the room. A tv sat in the middle of the room, a maroon colored rug before it and shelves of dvds and games were present. Off to the back was a door to the gardens and a mini kitchen with snacks piled high.

"I have some important information regarding my apprentice," his gravel voice jumped out. He walked forward, the zipper on his jacket lightly clinking with the metal going down his chest.

"Why are you so fascinated with her?" Hanna asked, her nose wrinkling as she looked up from her phone. A bunny charm hung from the end of its case, swinging slightly as her hand moved the electronic around.

"She is a lost cause," Zarya confirmed, the weightlifter shifting her stance. The group was focused on Jack.

"That's what a lot said of Genji," Zenyatta countered, his monotone voice interrupting those who dared to try and sway Jack from putting hope in you.

Jack gave a simple nod of thanks to the Omnic. His head turned to the rest of the group then, hands clenching at his sides. "She was born to a human and Omnic couple," he begun, startling the group for a second. "She was raised in homes that tortured her and gave her scars. Angela, Genji and I have seen them and Jesse has had second hand experience from her relapsed memories," he continued, "As she grew up, she heard of us: Overwatch. The heroes that saved anyone and everyone despite who and what kind of person they were."

Genji looked to Zenyatta for a second, soon looking back to Jack.

"She yearned for the family we came to be. When she joined, she thought she could flourish just as we did with each other. Instead she gets her foster homes all over again," Jack's voice ended with a growl at the others. A soft of hostile stance overtook him and he lectured, "I may say I'm no hero but everyone else to adapt the same belief is bullshit."

The others who weren't your friends shrank back and flinched as they looked on at their leader figure.

"Overwatch had younger generations looking up to them. They had those who aspired to do great aside from the looming threat of Talon and those who hated the Omnics. We gave her that hope even when we were disbanded and hiding, and this is the treatment we give her?" His anger was boiling in his blood, and he only calmed down to sigh out. "I cannot make you apologize, nor can I make you act differently to my apprentice. I can however, ask that you treat her with the respect she still has treated all of us with."

He then walked on through the room, crossing to the door just opposite of the female rooms and entered in the male wing of the building. The door hissed close behind him, leaving the group to ponder his words.

Angela turned her gaze to where you were residing then. Oh how she wishes she could take all away of your pains.