The Villain Wrangler | Overwatch

Chapter 2

Friday dawned sunny and warm, perfect for the garden party that had been planned for Christa's birthday. The teenaged volunteers were having a field day with the decorations that had been donated, covering nearly every available surface with streamers, bunting, and flowers, while balloons danced drunkenly above their heads, tied off securely to the backs of chairs. Angelica checked in with her boss, then fled the madness to await Reaper's arrival. Christ, she hated crowds. She knew that this turnout was only as large as it was because everyone wanted to see if Reaper would actually show.

She found a seat on a shaded wall where she had a good view of the garden and monitor any arriving visitors. She checked over her clipboard, ensuring that the release form only needed Reaper's signature. Sighing, she leaned her head back against the tree, taking a moment to brace herself. She could put up with the crowd for the day. She had fallen into a light doze when a shadow separated itself and gently tapped her shoulder. She yelped, instinctively swinging out with her clipboard, and smacked Reaper square in the face.

"Stop doing that!" she snapped, heart pounding in her chest.

Reaper finished readjusting his mask and studied her. "No."

She gaped at him, mouth working soundlessly as she tried to think of a response. Giving up, she huffed out a breath and shoved the clipboard at him. "Fine. Sign here."

He took it gently, apparently carefully reading the release in its entirety before finally writing "Reaper" in a surprisingly neat hand. After a pause, he scribbled a tiny owl next to it.

She took the form back, raising an eyebrow at him when she saw the owl. He simply shrugged in response.

"You're a little early. They haven't brought Christa out yet. You can wait, or go ingratiate yourself with the staff if you want. Christa can walk and dance for short lengths of time, no more than five minutes. You can carry her if you want, but pay attention to the doctors if they tell you to put her down. The rest of the rules are fairly simple: no weapons, no profanity, don't kill anyone, Christa is your main focus but you are encouraged to interact with the other kids, and no, you are not allowed to tell them what it is like to kill a man."

He seemed surprised at that. "Kids ask that a lot?"

She rolled her eyes. "All the time." She shrugged "Kids-"

"Are weird," he finished with her. He settled himself on the wall next to her, idly twining a shadow around his talons.

She watched him from the corner of her eye, then shrugged and double-checked the forms. He was humming as he watched his shadow, some vaguely romantic sounding tune that Angelica hadn't heard before. They sat in companionable almost silence for a while, Reaper humming softly and Angelica listening. She was startled when he spoke.

"You-" He paused, coughing awkwardly. Looking over her shoulder, he studied the garden. "Looks like the birthday girl is here."

Angelica followed his gaze and stood. "So she is. Come on, I'll introduce you."

He hummed thoughtfully. "No. You go first. I'll show up when it seems appropriate."

He released his form before she could reply, coiling into smoke and shadow and whisking off while she glared. Huffing out an annoyed breath, she head back to the garden proper.

As she approached Christa, she heard one of the volunteers softly saying "I'm so sorry, sweetie, but we couldn't find him."

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes and she sobbed softly into a black plush animal she held. Angelica's jaw tightened as she watched the volunteer quickly retreat to the side of the coordinator and she quickly glanced around, trying to find Reaper's distinctive shadow.