The Villain Wrangler | Overwatch

Chapter 32

The meeting with the UN took a week, during which it was agreed that Overwatch could continue to operate as it had been since the recall. Angelica was officially declared the Director of Overwatch, but the team knew that she was simply the figurehead. She adamantly refused to actually take control, claiming the Gabe and Jack knew what they were doing better than she could ever hope to.

They returned to the Watchpoint, avoiding the press for the most part, and returned to the usual day-to-day activities. Torbjörn and Winston collaborated on building a rocket to bring aid to Horizon, Gérard and Sombra worked on pulling every scrap of information they could get on Talon and their operations, and Jack and Gabe worked on tracking down Ana. Jesse, Hanzo, and Satya went on a mission to gain information on what Vishkar was doing, but returned empty-handed.

Angelica was making her way to the kitchen for a late-night snack when Athena addressed her.

"Director? There is an unknown individual calling on an older frequency."

She shrugged. "Still not in charge. Ask Jack."

There was a pause, then Athena spoke again. "It's Agent Mei-Ling Zhou."

"What? Why is she here? Where's her team?" Jack barked from somewhere ahead.

Angelica sighed and went to brew coffee. She had a feeling it was about to be a long night.

—

Several hours later, the small team, led by Jack, returned to the base. Angelica had settled in the common room with a cup of coffee and a data pad, reviewing Overwatch's climate division. She glanced up when Jack walked in, smile fading when she saw his face. She rose and crossed the room, wrapping her arms around him as he held her tight.

"How bad?"

He sighed, burying his face in her neck. "Ecopoint Antarctica. There was a blizzard, we couldn't get them a resupply drop. The captain ordered them into cryo. Everything was going to hell up here, so no one noticed the lack of communication. They were in cryo for nine years. The tech failed. Mei's the only one who made it out. I have her with Angela, might get her to talk to Zen."

"Oh, Jack," she breathed, pulling him closer. "It wasn't your fault."

He shook his head but continued holding her. They stayed like that for nearly an hour before Gabe found them.

He stood in the doorway, watching them. Angelica looked over Jack's shoulder and met his eyes. He nodded, then slowly pulled Jack away.

"C'mon, Sunshine. Let's go to bed."

Angelica watched them leave, chewing on her lower lip. Finally, she nodded.

—

Gabe snarled when someone knocked on the door. He was fully prepared to eviscerate whoever it was, hauling the door open with a snarl. He dropped it, stunned, when he saw Angelica, a small bag at her feet.

"You said the door was open, right?" she asked with a small smile.

He moved aside. "Yeah. Worried about Jack?"

She nodded, picking up her bag and walking in as Gabe stepped back.

"Just a fair warning? He snores like a Mack truck."

She smiled as she headed into the bathroom to get ready. Gabe was leaning against the bedroom door frame, watching Jack, when she emerged. He gave her a soft smile when he saw her attire, an old faded Overwatch shirt and bright yellow flannel pants covered in smiley faces.

"I don't know about those. I like the first one I saw you in," he said, studying her as she approached.

She bumped him with a shoulder. "At least I knocked."

"Ange?" Jack said, sitting up.

"Hey. Gabe said I could come in and cuddle tonight."

Jack said nothing, just lifted up one side of the blanket. She took the unspoken invitation, crawling in next to him. He lowered the blanket, pulling her close until her back was flush with his chest. She heard movement on the other side of the bed, then Gabe's arm dropped onto her hip. His thumb stroked across the flannel, then stilled.

"Think we should get a bigger bed," Gabe muttered, scooting closer to Jack.

—

Angelica woke with a start. Her eyes roved the dark room, but she couldn't recognize any of the silhouettes. An arm wrapped around her waist and she relaxed. Right. Jack and Gabe. She rolled over, nuzzling into the broad chest before her. She felt lips brush her hair and heard a sigh.

"Come on, Jack. We have work to do."

She cracked an eye open. "Or, you could stay and cuddle a bit. What time's it, anyway?"

She felt the rumble of Jack's laugh more than heard it. "Half past four."

"Too fucking early. Stay until six."

She felt the mattress dip behind her as Gabe pressed against her back. "Well, I'm not going to disobey that order."

She drifted back to sleep as they talked quietly above her.

—

She woke again, this time with sunlight filtering past the curtain and the bed empty. She sat up and looked around. The bedroom door was closed, but she could hear the low murmur of voices in the main room. She rose, carding her fingers through her hair to remove the worst of the tangles, and went to find her boys.

Jack was seated on a stool along the peninsula dividing the kitchen from the rest of the room, poring over a datapad, while Gabe was at the stove, cooking something that smelled divine. Jack looked up as she took a step closer, a small smile quirking his lips.

"Morning, sweetheart."

"G'morning," she replied, making her way to the bathroom to freshen up.

She emerged, dressed and prepared for the day, to find Jack and Gabe at the table, a third place set for her. She sat down, mildly surprised to see a platter of crepes in the middle of the table.

Gabe caught her expression and grinned. "I am a man of many talents."

"And I spent about a decade arguing with him about breakfast not needing hot sauce," Jack added.

She beamed at Gabe, kissing Jack's cheek as she sat down. "Well, I appreciate it."

She filled her plate as Jack and Gabe began planning on how to deal with the information Mei brought with her. She stayed silent, not really able to contribute much, looking over when there was a knock on the door. She rose to get it, surprised to see Reinhardt filling the doorway.

"Ah, we had wondered where the commanders had gotten to," he began, nodding to her as he turned to go.

She closed the door, brow furrowing, until Gabe's laugh barked out.

"Well, rumors are going to start flying soon, kitten."

She shrugged. "Don't really care what anyone else thinks about us, to be honest." She settled back down. "Besides. We've been a thing for a couple months now. I don't know why they'd be surprised to find me here."