Demoted || Genyatta

Chapter 9: Does Anyone Have The Guts to Shut Me Up?

This time, Angela's lab wasn't comforting even with Angela sitting calmly behind her desk. She looked up when Genji entered quietly, prominent bags under her eyes, and she jumped up from her seat.

She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Genji looked past her at the medical bed in the very corner of the room, where a very pale McCree lay under the covers. Poking out on top, though, were bandages that were thick with blood. It took Genji a moment to realize what he was seeing, but then it clicked.

"He.. lost his arm..?" Genji asked quietly. McCree was awake, his eyes blankly staring up at the ceiling and showing no sign of having noticed Genji's presence.

Angela softly took Genji's hand and led him even farther from McCree, although Genji doubted he was listening to them at all. He was completely unresponsive, like he was alive but without a soul. Perhaps it was the anaesthetics.

"He hasn't spoken a word since the operation," Angela spoke, reading Genji's mind. She looked exhausted, and was trembling slightly. "He isn't in shock, but he's just.. choosing not to talk."

Genji took Angela's hand in his own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "What happened?"

Angela took a deep breath to steady herself. "I don't know the details yet. At some point during the mission, his tracker went offline so a part of the team went out to look for him. When they returned more than an hour later, having found him trapped underneath half a building, his arm was completely shattered. I-I.. There was nothing I could do. I had to amputate it on the way back."

She tilted her head downward and pulled her hand away from Genji. She was close to tears.

"The way he looked at me, Genji," she said very quietly–Genji had to lean forward to hear her, "when I told him his arm would have to go.. I will never forget it."

Genji was absolutely furious. This shouldn't have happened. Genji had gone on millions on missions, but the one time he'd been forced to stay at the base this happened. McCree had lost his entire fucking arm, but that could've easily been prevented if he'd been by his side like usual.

He opened his mouth to relay this rant to Angela, but she looked up right then, tears now running down her cheeks. Genji swallowed his words and stepped forward, hugging her close as she trembled in his arms.

"It's not your fault, Angela," he said quietly. "You saved his life."

He felt his heart shatter at every little sob that escaped Angela's mouth, but he didn't know what he could possibly say to make her feel better. McCree was still staring up at the ceiling in the back, not aware of what was happening around him at all, and it was an unsettling change to the usually chatty cowboy. Genji wondered how badly this would change everything.

After what must have been at least 15 minutes, Angela finally stopped shaking and she slowly removed herself from Genji's arms. She still looked exhausted, but at least she was no longer crying, which was already a big relief. Genji wasn't very good at consoling people.

"You're right," she said, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Genji said instantly. He offered Angela a smile, even though she wouldn't really be able to see it while he had his visor on. She just seemed to know, though, because she smiled back before steadily making her way across the room to check on McCree.

The door to the lab opened, and Genji looked up to see Reyes enter first, followed by Zenyatta. His anger returned instantly, hidden in his chest like a time-bomb getting ready to explode, and he realized he didn't mind if it did; he needed to vent out his anger on someone other than himself anyway, right?