Let's Turn Up The Beat! {AP.}

It had been nice, being able to have someone be so close to him and trust him. He had fallen hard and fast for them for this very reason and it had only grown the longer that he’d known him. 

So to be here, kissing him. It felt like some odd dream that he may have had when he managed to sleep. Something that he had been able to get more of while being around Lucio. 

Junkrat was only vaguely aware of the other removing their gear, too caught in the moment to notice it. Hands grabbing at the other as he continued, shifting to grab at places once covered by armor. 

     As he was picked up, he wrapped his legs tightly around the Aussie’s abdomen, keeping himself close as both arms wrapped around his neck. One hand reached into the healthy roots of the blonde’s singed hair for no reason other to stimulate the nerves upon the crook of his neck, where the skin joined his scalp from the nape.

     Being a healer had its perks. In this case, knowing human anatomy well enough, Lucio knew just about everywhere to drag his fingers. Pressure points of which he could gently prod to bring relaxation.

     He’d not the faintest recollection of how they got to his room. His often unoccupied bed suddenly becoming useful in a better way than it had been before. The sheets and blanket were still neat over the mattress’ surface, given the fact he rarely slept in his bed, lest he had good reason such as an injury or illness and needed to be more comfortable.

     His room was a storage room of sorts, as Junkrat would see, there were boxes and large containers stacked on top of each other. Belongings that had been tucked away since he moved in, for they didn’t have a proper place.

1. i am sincerely sorry

2. 1 is a lie

3. it was my plan all along

“ please just let me forget. ”

“ c'mon try to guess what. ”

“ just leave me alone already. ”

“ no, i’m not going to. ”

“ you can’t change my mind. ”

“ my mind is made up. ”

“ i’m not gonna let you. ”

“ don’t do that to me. ”

“ think about what you’re doing. ”

“ why aren’t you listening now? ”

“ i want to sleep forever. ”

“ you need to leave now. ”

“ i’ll always have your back. ”

“ now there’s no going back. ”

“ the view really is spectacular. ”

“ i didn’t think you’d care. ”

“ why can’t you trust me? ”

“ don’t even bother with clothes. ”

“ i don’t love you anymore. ”

“ i am a great person. ”

“ you are a tolerable drunk. ”

“ exactly, why are you awake? ”

“ i’m gonna ignore you now. ”

“ how is that not hilarious? ”

“ please just calm down now. ” 

“ i was already calm, asshole. ”

“ i can see your underwear. ”

“ i’m afraid you’ll replace me. ”

“ please stop losing your temper. ”

“ you can cry if needed. ”

“ you have to run away. ”

“ i just wanna be yours. ”

“ ashes, we all fall down. ”

Yet here he was being pushed up against the others door, how did they even get here? He must have been spacing out as he had wondered how in the world this was happening. 

     But Lucio had never expected any sort of reciprocation. It’d been a while. He had feelings for the Aussie since they first started really hanging out and talking, but never thought about admitting them for his self assured defeat had convinced him that Junkrat would never feel the same.

     Hell, half the time he came over, Lucio would fall asleep due to the feeling of safety he gained from being around him. And even though there’d been more than a few times he awoke, accidentally having leaned up against him in his sleep, he never thought much of it.

     Neither was he ever so forward, either.

     So, when the Junker returned his kiss, despite any sloppiness brought forth by excitement, Lucio was so simply enamored that he didn’t care. 

     But deepening the kiss was only making himself get shaky with his own anticipation. 

     For one moment, he removed one of his hands, his tongue still brushing against the Blonde’s own as his fingers felt for the switch of his gear. A quiet hissing sound was the result, his left leg now free as he kicked the armor away. For his right leg, he was hesitant a moment before following suit. 

     He simply used his left leg as a ballast, gingerly kicking off the armor of his forever useless leg, and kept only his toes upon the ground of that foot.

     But it occurred to him then that he was stuck there without his crutch, lest he planned to woo Junkrat by suavely hopping on one foot.

     He pushed the thought from his mind. Choosing to follow instincts, he gently pulled on his grip around the Blonde’s neck, a sign to direct him to lead him away from being pressed to the door, only to result in stepping back on his right foot with an immediate jerking recoil. 

she swallowed her pride and disdain.

“i… may have gotten directions confused,” she confessed. “i would have used my global positioning program, but my hardware has-…”

     Yet, she wasn’t the only one having to swallow pride and disdain. However, even with his history, she wasn’t what he hated. It was Vishkar. That was the only bias he had. Her history.

     However, she had never been nice to him, and he hadn’t been particularly friendly either.

     His gaze flickered down to his gear. Vishkar technology. 

     “Eh, so we’re in similar spots. I’m still tryin’ to find my way back but ...”

     Bias aside. Do the right thing. Don’t just let her her stand there with an inability to move because you don’t like Vishkar. 

     “My gear is from Vishkar, I can only assume yours is the same.” He tried his hardest to keep the disgust from his voice as a hand fell to the cable on his hip, of which, he unplugged one side from its circular port. He held out the cable, yet he didn’t dare get closer.

A brief memory of her original Overwatch days flashed over her mind. An argument with her daughter. An argument caused simply by Ana’s stupid impatience and blindness to what Fareeha wanted. That was the day the old Ana died at the hands of Talon. The last words Fareeha had ever spoken to her were seared into her mind like a hot brand; 

“I hate you, mom!”

Shaking the memory off, the old sniper gave a warm smile and an accompanying chuckle. 

“Tafali, I’m old enough to be your Grandmother. But it’s like I said; I try to look after my own. After all, the old fool calling himself 76 isn’t going to do it.”

She never did understand why Jack began calling himself that. Then again, everyone from the old days went by a different name now. She didn’t really question it. Even she took up an alias. Shrike, the Scope of Egypt. It was only a rare few, like Lucio, that actually used their real names in combat.

     Lucio Correia dos Santos. Just another average person.

     Now with a released album, a technical criminal record, some stolen Vishkar technology, a busted, and a useless leg hidden by the support of his gear. All alongside with the blood on his hands for what he’d done to gain his fame. He didn’t do it for recognition. He did it for freedom.

     He did it for his family. A family so distant from him now, they refused to speak to him despite fighting for the better good. 

     It pained him to think about, so he surrounded himself with people so he’d never have to.

     “Psh, me? Trouble? Ha. That’s a good one. My mom would call you ‘Louco como uma galinha com a cabeça cortada.‘” He released a laugh, folding his arms over his chest. “Crazy.”

     At least, in the past she would have. Viewing Lucio as the golden child of his siblings. But really he just simply held the highest morals. It was a thankless duty.

she simply held her icy glare, her only and immaculate weapon, while the medic continued to talk them down. or rather, attempt to.

their opposition was silent, silent, silent, unsure, wavering.

finally, the large, accusatory man stepped back. he glared absolute bullets at satya, but he did step back. she held her relieved exhale.

“fine. guess if anyone knows, it’s you,” he said to lucio. as he did, his expression, and the ones of his friends, shifted to apologetic. “sorry, man.”

back to excluding her from the conversation.

nevertheless, they seemed to extract themselves from the situation, wandering back in the direction from whence they came. now was time for the architect to release her sigh, sharp and ending on a small shudder. she hated to show weakness, she despised to show weakness in front of him, but she did truly fear what could’ve happened.

     A hot breath left his nose as his shoulders lowered.

     One problem down.

     He raised an eyebrow in her direction, clenching the fist she couldn’t see. His heart was still pumping from the adrenaline his mind had pushed through him to prepare for a fight. His face felt hot, and his stomach churned. For an instant, he was frustrated. A want to express that she would have been jumped had he not come along readied heavy on his tongue. But he waited for the moment to pass and chose something less hostile.

     “M’kay, next time you’re alone, in the middle of the night, with three mean-lookin’ dudes whose legs could outweigh you, I’ll leave you alone.” The words were spoken with no malice. No anger. Not even the sarcasm he wanted to add. Just the breathlessness as he tried to keep his residual panic down. Yet, he still added a casual shrug to the end of his sentence, as though it were really true.

     No ... no he wouldn’t. He’d have her back. He still gave her the benefit of the doubt when it came to his own protection, but nevertheless, it was a thankless job for him. Despite the thought of Vishkar constantly bringing ghost pains to his useless leg.

     But, it was also a job that taught him to notice even the smallest of detail when it came to others and their physical health. He noted her prosthetic didn’t seem to be moving at all, and her gear lacked any sort of light indicating power. However, there was no comment to be made.

     “Speaking of, why are you out here in the middle of the night in ... This area?” A non-judgmental question, in fact, his tone remained casual. As though he were talking to any other person.

          Bias aside.

one bigger than his associates jutted an accusatory finger toward satya, then made a wide circular gesture to indicate her entire self. she could almost feel her eyes slit at such rudeness, the coldness replacing the fear.

“we might trust lucio, but your like are snakes. you’ll slither from this and learn nothing!” there was the english, clear and enraged. at least he spoke directly to her and not refer to her in third. “if you don’t leave this city right now, you’ll learn the hard way!”

she could submit. give in. say yes. better idea, allow the audio-medic deescalate everything.

     If so, this whole situation was now escalating from what it’d been to something alarming and it was doing so at an incredibly fast pace.

     Lucio, who had his arms crossed over his chest, dropped them to his side, his fingers grazing his weapon as he did so. Stubbornness of both parties was coming into play it seemed. As per the usual, and now he was stuck in a situation that had him wanting to turn around and just leave.

     Here was his teammate who he, to be frank, didn’t care for due to her history with Vishkar. Not only that but their interactions had only been snide comments to one another despite the fact they still worked together. But while they worked, he set his bias aside.

     And even now, this was a dangerous situation for her. Likely more dangerous than she even realized, especially with his own presence giving these boisterous guys some more bravado.

     He was putting his bias aside again. As much as it pained him, his moral dilemma was solved. He’d fight for her life if she was being unnecessarily attacked. 

     He gave her the benefit of the doubt in thinking that she’d do the same for him.

Ana looked the other up and down. A frown began to crawl over her expression as a hand planted itself on her hip. However, it didn’t seem like a disappointed, more of a… worried one? It was true that the two hadn’t spoken at all, really, but Lucio was part of her team now and that meant he was a part of her family.

As a result, her maternal instincts came naturally. She couldn’t help it, it was just who she was! 

“No, no, no… your injuries are easy to fix. I’m not worried about those, Dr. Angela can fix them up in a matter of seconds…”

A pause.

Her one tattooed eye almost seem to pierce into Lucio’s soul. She stared him in his own eyes and didn’t break contact for a second. Her visage turned serious, however there was a hint of something else. A spark of worry danced in her iris and a hint of uncertainty quivered on her upper lip. Her instincts were in full swing.

“What I’m worried about, tafali, is how you’re doing in your noggin. You’re not a soldier… you’re a musician. Not to say that in a derogatory way, I’ve seen the influence you have over people. Your music helps them in ways most of us old farts could never hope to do…”

Ana gave a slight huff of amusement. Since when did she become a psychologist?

     Lucio’s expression shifted from his usual, jovial grin to a faltering, knitted brow of confusion. He really had gotten used to others not really caring for his mental state, something he thought he’d accepted. But, knitted brow shifted to one lifted momentarily out of ... a type of interest he hadn’t expected. He half wanted to make a joke about her acting like his mother, his usual cop out when emotions were brought into play.

     Make them into jokes.

    “I might not be a Soldier, but I sure as Hell do a lot of fighting.” He mused, pulling his grin back to his lips as he stepped aside the proverbial ravine she could create should she push him down the road of truly acknowledging the horrendous things he’d seen, the terrible way he felt, all of the things that were constantly hidden by the guise of upbeat music and attitude.

     “And yeah, it ain’t easy, but I’m just doin’ what’s right.” He admitted, flashing a brighter smile, “Thanks for the offer though, really. You’re kinda like, the whole team’s mom y’know. Pretty sure half of of ‘em wouldn’t sleep or remember to eat or take care of themselves without you, even guys who’ve been here forever.”

     Including himself. However, his reminders were set by surrounding himself with people. With the whole team. 

they shared glances, frantic, unsure.

in their confusion, satya became enlightened. she grew colder at the supernaturally warm voice, solar eclipsed and frozen over.

“i do not require your help. more gas to a fire does not douse it, miscreant,” she hissed, though she obviously did so quiet enough that her opposition did not hear.

soon after, so soon that he almost cut the architect off, one of the strangers used his voice. a language satya did not know, but lucio did as his native tongue.

          ... Miscreant eh? That’s a new one.

                         Bias aside.

                                     Bias aside....

     And like that, this was escalated six-fold. His presence alone had escalated it. In fact, his hardened, prolonged glance at her was enough to say that he wasn’t sticking up for her for his own benefit. But for the fact that he knew she wouldn’t be there long, he wouldn’t be either. They had work to do, and then they would be leaving. And as much as he would love to kick anyone’s ass who worked for Vishkar ...

     A ghost pain in his right leg caused a twitch in one of his eyelids at the mention of his home.

     He released a sigh, rolling his neck as he readied his own words in his native tongue.

     “[I know she is. But it isn’t going to be like that. I, of all people, wouldn’t let it.]” He started, offering a quiet chuckle,