This is a First

A Picnic

   'Who knew life could finally get back to 'normal'? Or- as normal as life can get. It's actually very nice here; my apartment is roomy and comfortable. Everyone's even here- together. I've got neighbors I've teamed up with, all my friends. I'm so glad to finally get back on track with my life.' The scribbling of ink on paper echoed lightly through the small bedroom. The pen was set down as Mei paused and took a look at what she'd written down on the still-spacey page. She took a glance to her bed, seeing a resting Snowball cuddled up on her soft blankets. Her eyes glinted with adoration at the drone before she once again looked back at the paper.
   "Hm." She hummed out, grabbing the pen once more to write down more in her daily journal. She stopped as soon as a knock was heard on her front door. Standing up and slipping on her yeti slippers, she walked over to the door and opened it.
   "Heya Mei! Winston's invitin' everyone for a day at the park, for a picnic! It's goin' to be lovely! Can ya make it, love?" Lena held a big smile across her face while slightly hopping up and down in barely-kept excitement. Mei blinked in surprise. She was expecting just a day to treat herself, but who could miss out on a picnic with the group?
   "Oh, of course! What time does it start?" Mei inquired, tilting her head in curiosity.
   "Right now actually! That's why I'm rushin' around tellin' everyone, silly." Lena answered back with a laugh.
   "Oh!" Mei glanced around the front door looking for proper shoes to go out with, "Thank you for telling me Lena. I'll be sure to meet everyone there," she gave a small wave to the speedy woman while looking back towards her.
   "Cya then, Love!" Lena gave her famous salute before racing to her neighbor's door. Mei closed the door for a second, really not wanting to face her oh-so-explosive neighbor. Slipping off her yeti slippers, she placed on some comfortable boots, along with a thin blue jacket. She opened her door, closing it before hurrying down the stairs.
   "-on't try to burn anythin' while you're there!" Mei overheard Lena upstairs, knowing exactly who she was talking to. She sped up her pace once more, definitely not wanting to walk to the park with 'Junkrat'.
   "Ey, lookie here!" Mei flinched lightly at that voice, sighing only to herself, "Wait up sheila!" Jamison caught up with her, giving her a wide smile upon approaching. Mei gave a small smile, it noticeably being non-genuine.
"Hey Jamison." She muttered lowly, continuing to walk once more as he kept with her pace.
"So- how ya been Snowflake?" He asked her, interested in how she's been holding up ever since the end of the Omnic Crisis.
"I've been well." Her tone was quiet, always when she was talking to him. Not wanting to be rude, she asked in a similar manner. "How have you been?" She tried to smile truly now, but fell short from it looking real.
"Good, other than a few problems with the ol' hand." He gestured to his mechanical hand, holding it up. "Thanks for askin'." He noticed the fake smile once more. Did he do something wrong again..?
"Yeah." Mei answered, seemingly distracted.
"Ya busy with your thoughts, I'm guessin'." He lifted an eyebrow with wonder.
"Huh," looking up from the sidewalk, she peered up at him, "busy with my-? Oh! Yeah... I've had a lot on my mind." She answered, finally managing out a snicker at her absent-minded actions.
Jamison chuckled back, finding her slightly occupied-self amusing.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He offered, placing his hands in his pockets while keeping his attention focused on the shorty.
Mei kept eye contact at a minimum, brushing her forearm with her other hand. Keeping her mouth closed for a few moments, she let the silence between them rest. Before she could make up an excuse to not tell him, he pointed over to a small group gathered at the park.
"Seems like there's already a few others here. C'mon Snowflake." He gently grabbed her sweater, averting her straight, continuous walk to the right.
They soon came to the bunch, seeing Jack at the park grill, cooking up a variety of different food.
"Kids. Gotta be so picky. What happened with just liking burgers and steak?" He grumbled but still held a small smile on his face, a 'Kiss the Cook' apron wrapped around his form. Winston was setting up the table, placing down a table cloth along with plates, eating utensils, napkins, and plastic cups. Lucio, busily setting up a stereo nearby, gave a wave to the two. Hana was playing a game of frisbee with Pharah; Ana watching from the sidelines and making comments every so often to tease her daughter on her frisbee-throwing skills.
"Hey Mei, mind helping me set up the other table?" Winston's voice caught Mei's attention, now glancing to him.
"Oh- sure!" Her mood perked up as she moved towards the inspirational scientist.
"Jamison, I bet you'd really enjoy a game of frisbee with these two." Ana mentioned, waving him down while mentioning Hana and Pharah.
"'Course! Ya think all that aimin' I have is gonna go to waste now?" He boasted, wandered off over to them quickly, joining the duo. Ana laughed at the comment, shaking her head at his eagerness.
"You never have to aim Jamison." Ana mentioned, causing him to give a mischievous smile back.
"Oh yeah? Come and show what ch'ya made of then, Granny!" He waved her over to the game, all the while Pharah sticking her tongue out to egg on her mother.
"Alright, alright. I'll teach you you've reckon with the wrong 'granny'." Ana stood up from her spot on the bench, smiling gracefully and joining the game.
Winston smiled at the scene, admiringly before glancing back to Mei. They shared a laugh before the ape spoke up. "I'm glad to be a part of this. A part of this amazing family." He placed down another plate along with a few of the eating utensils.
"Me too." Mei mentioned, agreeing with his statement. "Everyone's happy again, and close too."
"Speaking of happy, look who's arrived." Winston noticed, pointing out Gabriel beginning to walk over.
"Winston." Mei shook her head while trying to hold in a laugh, playfully and gently hitting his arm at the sudden shade thrown.
"I heard that monkey." Gabe grumbled out, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Nice one Winston." Jack mumbled. He gave a thumbs up but quickly set his hands back to work on the grill as soon as Gabriel turned around. The grump narrowed his eyes at Jack and made a 'I'm watching you' motion before continuing his way to the table. Mei had trouble holding in a laugh now, gulping down the need to as soon as Gabe sat down at the table they were working on. He was honestly pretty scary- along with Jamison. That Australian wasn't very scary, but what's she's heard about his past along with Mako.. keeping out of his way is the best thing to do. She needs to keep her reputation clear anyways.
'Is that being.. selfish?' She thought to herself, not taking into consideration how they could have possibly been friends if she hadn't put up such a guard around her rep.
Shaking away the thought, she heard the rest come in a giant herd. She gave a wave to as many as she could, surprised to see everyone did in fact make it here.
"..Aaanndd, there! Tables all set!" Mei finished with the table, pulling away and looking at the both of them with pride.
"Woah, very nice job guys. The table looks quite nice." Angela complimented, revealing a small flower with a plastic vase she'd brought along to place in between the two tables as they met.
"Thank you doctor. By the way, how has the hospital been?" Winston asked while pushing up his glasses.
"Full," She placed the vase down, "but exciting. New patients everyday, and success rates on surgeries are now up to 95%." She smiled once more, pausing to take a look at the table.
"All thanks to your work Ziegler!" Mei exclaimed, joining into the conversation.
"Oh, I believe it's a team effort with all the doctors, nurses, and staff." Angela blushed lightly, being modest about the situation.
"You're still very crucial for such. Don't believe you're any less." Mei quietly added, making sure the doctor wasn't having a few self-doubt thoughts.
   "Thank you. It's just a small bit stressful, but Moira's been quite a lot of help as well." She gestured over to the Irish woman who was conversing with Zarya.
   Moira looked over to them at the mention of her name, giving a confident smile along with Zarya giving her own challenging smile. The Russian was one to reckon with. Akande knows that firsthand (Pun intended- pffftt) after an arm-wrestling match. It ended with both of them visiting the hospital and a poor, broken table.
   Both Bastion and Orisa were sharing their interest in Ganymede, the Omnic's small bird companion, as he chirped out a few songs towards the two.
   Akande, Jesse, and Reinhardt were all trying to out-boast the other about their old accomplishments, along with new ones they've picked up.
   Genji was shaking his head at the three, laughing while placing a hand to Hanzo's shoulder and teasing them. Hanzo was going to brush his hand away, but instead left it there and smiled lightly. He could deal with his little brother a while longer, after all.
Sombra was cracking jokes, telling a few inside jokes as Amélie tried to keep a straight face. Ever so often, you'd hear a stifled laugh escape her mouth before she brushed it off as a cough.
   Zenyatta, being the slightly knowledge-hungry self he was, was asking Torbjorn a few questions on how to keep his own self fully functional. The newly-employed Engineer was already going on how the Omnic could improve many things to his system. But by Zen's tone, you could tell he was still in a happy and joyful mood. He seemed entertained by such detail Torb could give and improvisations listed.
Mei was silent, soaking in the ecstatic energy. It was enough to actually bring tears to her eyes.
Mako noticed this and silently offered her a tissue as she thanked him and giggled. It was silly. Getting emotional over people having a grand time. But it was true; she was genuinely happy to see familiar, smiling faces.
"Food's ready!" Jack called to the giant bunch, causing a small bit of a mob hurrying towards the grill. Conversing and plate-grabbing continued until everyone had their food set and stationed at the table. 'Could you pass me's and 'Thank you's were being given left and right as a party atmosphere filled the table.
After some time of bellies filling up and plates being tossed into the garbage bin, the music was now set up loud enough for a bit of dancing.
Ana was immediately offered to the 'dance floor' by Reinhardt, the both still carrying on the conversation they previously had at the table.
"Come on Song!" Lucio gestured Hana as she stood up and raced with the DJ to dance.
Gabriel was still stationary at the table, grumping around until Morrison had enough and 'forced' him to go and have fun dancing. The two definitely still had that close friendship bond.
Hanzo ushered Genji hurriedly, saying how they need to have a dance battle so he could prove how much better of a dancer he was. Genji teases back, saying he was just afraid of losing to the coolest cyborg ninja.
Akande was pushed by Olivia, Lena, and Amélie before he could protest.
   Zenyatta offered Mei to join both Torbjorn and Bastion, but she kindly refused.
   "I'm not much of a dancer." She admits, shyly shrugging.
   "You're always welcome to join us if you change your mind." The Omnic revealed before giving a quick bow and continuing the other two to their short-fetched destination.
   Soon enough, nearly everyone was dancing and having a blast at it. A few stayed back, including Jesse, Satya, Orisa, and Mei.
They chatted among themselves, taking glances over at the others to smile and mutter 'Remember when's about their experiences with everyone.
"'Member when Pharah ended up eatin' Mako's birthday cake? Oh man, I was sure he was gonna hook her the second he saw her chowin' down on it." McCree uttered while kicking back in his seat with a chuckle.
"Luckily, Ana had a back-up cake. And Mako was understanding. Both handled it very calmly, to my own surprise." Satya added in.
"Remember when Reinhardt charged into Hana's room? And not exactly through the doorway." Orisa laughed, sitting down in a criss-cross manner.
"So many good times, it's crazy to believe the things that happened at the old headquarters." Mei said with nostalgia, looking into the distance with a far away look in her eyes.
The three all nodded along, sighing in small rememberance.
Before they could say much else, Lucio headed over their way and started to usher them to the dance floor. "There's no way you guys are missing out on my newest album." He retorted while they all were now near the stereo. Orisa and Satya were quick to begin dancing while Jesse slightly strayed until he was comfortable enough to join in. Mei just awkwardly stood there, brushing her forearm nervously with one hand as she glanced around with wide eyes.
"Havin' a bit o' 'two left feet' syndrome?" Mei glanced toward who that voice belonged to, seeing Jamison with a raised eyebrow. She was surprised to see Mako not with him currently, but spotted the masked man with Gabriel and Jack.
"Um- yeah? Sort-of. I'm just not much of a dancer." She once again admitted, shrugging her shoulders with an embarrassed look.
"Nothin' to be afraid of! Everyone's dancin' Snowflake." Before she could protest, Jamison had pulled her closer to the dance floor. He started dancing himself, chuckling as she starts to just shuffle a bit.
"Oi, I know ya got it in ya. C'mon." He encouraged with a knowing smirk across his face.
"I-uh.. guess I sort-of do like to dance." She muttered lowly, moving her arms now.
"That's it sheila!" Jamison exclaimed as Mei finally started to loosen up.
Her once-tense moves were now smooth and relaxed, a smile subconsciously appearing on her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the wonderful feeling of being care-free. Then she heard the sound of someone slipping. Opening her eyes, she saw the junker losing his balance.
Grabbing his hand quickly, she steadied him as he blinked in surprise.
"Bloody peg leg, ya know?" He laughed as she also nodded, giggling lightly. Pausing, she noticed she was still holding onto his hand and he didn't make a move to let it go. Instead he gave a small smile to her, genuine. One she's never seen before. It had that feeling only hot chocolate would give her after the first sip.
   'What are you doing Mei?! Stop staring!' Letting go, she broke eye contact and pulled away from him. The DJ was lowering the music, gathering everyone's attention.
"I'd just like to make a small announcement." Lucio stated, looking from one face to the other.
"Today is a day we can celebrate knowing a war has been stopped. We're here together- as family, as friends, as partners- with a future now paved clear. Here's to a bright path of good fortune and strong relationships." He wished as everyone gave a cheer. Lucio could always cheer on everyone, even when things seemed hopeless. A small round of clapping and whistling was heard before packing and cleaning began to occur.
Goodbyes' weren't exchanged just yet as many headed back in groups. Arriving at their apartment complexes, parting ways were now given.
"Thanks for throwing the picnic Winston." Lena thanked. The ape gave a nod back, saying it wasn't a problem and he was happy to see everyone enjoying themselves. He gestured towards Mercy and Genji while saying so, making Lena hide a giggle.
"Righty o'! Good night, everyone." She waved to the few that were on the second story part of the complex before heading inside. Winston gave his own wave as few kept outside, still chatting.
"Well that was.. a lot more fun than I had originally thought." Mei said aloud while opening her door and saying goodbye to the bunch.
   "Uh- gotta minute there, sheila?" Glancing back, she peered up towards the familiar junker. He stood there.. awkward..? When had he ever been even slightly awkward?
   "Yeah, of course." She spoke up, closing her front door and seeing the remaining few disappear into their rooms.
   "I jus' wanted to say," he paused for a moment, also noticing how they were the only two out now, "you've got some nice dancin' moves." The awkwardness he showed earlier was moving away.
   "Thank you." She gently said, giving a funny little curtsy, to which he laughed and gave his own bow.
   "Oh-!" Jamie stood up straight for once, showing how tall he really is when not slouching. "I also wanted to say thanks for savin' me life there on the dance floor." He gave a wink along with the comment.
   "It was no problem; after all, I've had my fair share of falling flat on my butt while skating." She said before realizing what she'd just spoken aloud. Gasping, she raised a hand to her mouth as Jamison burst out laughing.
   "Wow, didn't take lil' ol' ice queen as bein' so blunt and straight-forward." He teased as Mei stuttered out nonsense.
   "I-I didn't mean it like that." She blurted, looking towards the bleak wall of the apartments.
   Jamison nudged her shoulder lightly, smirking all the while. "Sure, whatever ya say..." He scratched the back of his neck for a moment while looking like he was arguing with his thoughts. Mei curiously peered at him, confused.
"Penny for your thoughts?" She smiled at the now small inside joke.
"Heh, nice one," the grin on his face didn't look real enough though, "I was just wonderin'.. about, I dunno, things I guess." The tall Australian lingered his gaze across the concrete floor.
"You can tell me, if you're comfortable doing so." She encouraged, clasping her hands together weakly.
"Well.." He looked troubled, but continued with his words, "does this make us friends..?" He almost looked like he wanted to take back those words.
Mei stared up at him for a short time, making him believe he shouldn't have brought up the subject.
"I understand; why be friends with a junker, right?" He turned away with an expression on his face trying to cover his hurt feelings. He started to head towards his own apartment, trying to hold back tears. Tears? When was he ever emotional? 'Hold it together, ya drongo.' He thought before noticing a soft hand was gripping onto his wrist. Turning back towards Mei, she delicately let his arm go as if it would shatter from sudden, sharp movements.
"Of course we're friends, Jamison." She didn't know what caused her to grab for his wrist so hurriedly, but she wasn't going to ruin this. New beginnings, right?
Jamison admirably gave a toothy smile to her, once again ready to tear up.
"Thanks; I needed that, love." The blurry-eyed male revealed with a chuckle as Mei gave her own inviting laugh.
"Anytime." She took a step back while waving to him. He saluted towards her while moving to his apartment.
   "Goodnight Jamison." She muttered lightly back, taking a moment to head into her own comfy home. Yawning and closing the door, she slipped off her boots and immediately sighed out of comfort as she placed on her yeti slippers. Walking into her bedroom, Snowball was quick to welcome her home- uttering out quick, small beeping and whirring sounds.
"I'm glad to see you too, Snowball." She laughed throughout the sentence, petting the drone as she pulled out her journal for a small writing.
'The picnic was absolutely amazing! Everyone was there and happy. I also realized today that I sort-of like dancing. And Jamison can be pretty clumsy.' She chuckled, covering her mouth as she laughed. Placing the journal and pen on her drawer, she slipped under the blanket cover and placed her head on the pillow, along with Snowball curling up right besides her.
Maybe.. just maybe, turning a new leaf was the best thing to do.