( closed ) when you were lost

[personalwar]

Who: Soldier: 76 (personalwar) & Ana Amari (nanamari)
What: It's time to get settled in at their new home sweet home.
When: Post arrival in Olympia.
Where: House #6
Warning(s): N/A! Just some old people, nothing to see here.

They have a house number, which is something to go on, a starting place. Not that anywhere has been home in a long, long time for either of them. Everything remains temporary, and 76 suspects that will be the case here too. Just a few weeks to get settled, then they're on their own. He wouldn't have it any other way.

By some stroke of luck, he and Ana have been assigned to the same place. It might have something to do with the fact that they'd walked through the gates into Olympia together, and therefore they'd been processed at the same time. Either way, this is the one thing he won't question.

Both of them are interested in finding their new lodgings, so it isn't long after the nametag incident that they meet back up to do just that. Once they hit the residential sector of the city, though, Jack realizes that this won't be such a simple task.

The houses, if they can be called that, are crammed together, sometimes literally on top of each other, with no rhyme or reason to any of it. They'd been built as needed, he guesses, without any planning to help the process along. He's definitely lived in worse places, so he isn't turning his nose up at it, but finding the house that belongs to them might take some work. The labeling system is just as confusing; just finding a house's number is an ordeal.

"Do you think they even go in order?" he asks under his breath, a low grumble.

Comments

[nanamari]

Even the two of them are overdue for some good luck, relatively speaking. It saves some time, not having to make excuses to roommates or find a safe place to settle on their own in an unfamiliar city. That doesn't mean the whole thing is going to be easy, of course, or that they can forgo that process - but it's good to have a place to settle down and regroup. It seems like Jack's presence is one of the few constants in her life these days.

She follows him into the warren of ramshackle houses, noisy and dirty and all stacked together. It's a step up from what they're used to, considering that they probably have running water and electricity here.

"What is it like to be so young and full of hope?" Ana replies, dryly. "At least we'll get a good feel for the new neighborhood. I wonder what they're planning to do with us. We don't have any legitimate way of making money to move yet..."

[personalwar]

Jack's head snaps back toward Ana at that first remark. How dare she accuse him of being young and full of hope. He's the exact opposite of that, and she knows it. Which is, of course, why she'd made the joke in the first place.

"Guess we're gonna have to find a way to start making money soon. Kinda doubt that anyone's going to bankroll this many people's living expenses." They've essentially been dumped into some foreign land and told to make their own way, without much direction on how to do that. Granted, the two of them are resourceful enough that they can figure something out, but Jack wonders how some of the other refugees will get by.

Not that it's his problem.

"Probably for the best that we find somewhere to live that's a little more isolated, anyway." Still, this will have to do for now, so he sets about exploring the area in search of their "house."

[nanamari]

Ana usually positions herself so that Jack walks in her blind spot, which means she doesn't see him react to her comment. She knows that he's offended though, she can practically feel his heckles raise. She turns a little and looks up at him, her expression mild and amused.

"Not for long. If what they've said is true, this place has a large refugee population - we've seen that they have some infrastructure in place to support the influx, or people would have turned to violence much sooner."

She nods when he mentions moving to a more isolated place. That seems like the natural progression for them, regardless of what they're provided with. She joins Jack in the search for their house, but it's only a few minutes before Ana shakes her head.

"This isn't getting us anywhere." She looks around until she spots a fire escape. The lower part of it is rusted off, but she should be able to use it to get up onto a roof. "Give me a boost, I'm going to scope in and look for it."

[personalwar]

The jury is still out on how they'll be treated as so-called refugees, but Jack doesn't have high hopes about that. They're foreigners, no matter which way you look at it, and a pretty mixed bunch on top of that. He imagines that natives will be wary of that, and that's the best case scenario. Still, Ana has a point; it could be a lot worse.

Jack's been taking note of numbers on the housing units where he can find them, but there really isn't any rhyme or reason to it, and he's quickly getting frustrated too. At Ana's suggestion, he turns toward her, gives a small shrug, and gets into position.

He bends his knees slightly, weaves fingers together, and turns his palms upward to make a step for her. Once she steps up, he'll boost her upward with some of that enhanced strength, which should give her plenty of clearance to land on the roof. It's a move they've made use of countless times over the years, when they'd quickly needed to get her up to a sniping position in the middle of a firefight.

"Let me know what you find." Jack, meanwhile, keeps his attention on ground level, in case someone wandering past has an issue with the fact that there's a woman up on the roof.

[nanamari]

Ana gets a running start and it's almost effortless, even after all of this time. She lands in a crouch on the roof, slides a couple of feet, and stills. When she's sure of her footing, she moves into a position that isn't quite so visible at a glance from the street.

Even if she isn't there to shoot anyone, people generally find a woman with a large gun sitting on the roof just a little bit alarming.

Ana peers through her scope. It's a minute or two before she yells down to Jack.

"Eight o'clock, pink roof!" It's squished into an alley between two older houses, both randomly numbered, that are beginning to slouch towards it. It's no wonder it was hard to find from the street.

She comes back to the edge of the roof a moment later and waves down at him. She could find her way down on her own, but it's a waste of time when Jack can catch her easily. She doesn't have to ask him. She just waits for his signal.

[personalwar]

They may be getting along in years, but that hasn't stopped either of them for long. Even if Ana had taken some time away from this kind of life, it hasn't slowed her down much. She doesn't have the benefit of enhancements, either, which Jack knows plays a part in his own physical state and how it's held up against all odds.

When she calls down to him, he nods. This is a lot more mundane than when she's spotting targets for him, but in the end it worked as planned.

He motions to her when he's ready and positioned to catch her, no words needing to be exchanged before she's leapt down into his arms. As soon as he's got a steady hold on her, he tips her so that she can set her feet back on even ground.

"Looks like there's an alley we can cut through this way to get over there," he says, already starting in that direction. Making a mental map of this district is going to take some time, but Jack isn't worried. It can't be any more complicated than the inside of an Omnium.

[nanamari]

Jack catches her effortlessly, like they're still in their twenties and she weighs nothing to him. She feels the impact more these days, with her old joints and bones that have been broken too many times. She shoulders her rifle again as soon as she's on her feet, and she doesn't let it slow her down.

She wants to envy him. Sometimes she does, in those rare moments where there's more fight left in her heart than in her body. But at the end of the day - she can't wish to be like him. Jack carries an open wound with him wherever he goes, and there's no sign yet that anything as merciful as age will slow him down.

Ana falls into step, though she knows exactly where he means to go. They're silent for a moment, but heading towards a house they mean to share has her thinking about something.

"Have you been keeping an eye on the others?" She expects Jack to know exactly who she's talking about.

[personalwar]

The only thing that might slow Jack down is death, and that seems to elude him no matter what he does. He doesn't know if that's because the world (or the universe, rather) isn't done with him yet, or if it's just bad luck.

But with Ana at his side, it isn't so cut and dry anymore. Even if they're both the others' reason for living, maybe that's enough. Either way, they're going to figure out this bizarre situation they've ended up in together.

Of course, then she has to bring up the others - Lena, Angela, and McCree. Jack only barely holds back a sigh, because he knew this was going to come up at some point. It's only the five of them up and about right now, which means he can't really ignore their presence.

"I made sure they all survived the crash, yeah. Didn't talk to them directly, but..." All three of them stood out in their own way; it hadn't been difficult to find them.

[nanamari]

Ana braces herself for what she expects to be a long, uphill battle. They both know where this conversation is going.

"But we'll have to, eventually." She finishes for him. "I think it's time."

She exhales softly. "I'm not any more eager than you are."

It's a lie. She knows it, he knows it. Ana isn't looking forward to a single one of the conversations they're going to have, that much is true, but that's still a step up from Jack, who barely wants to acknowledge his own existence, let alone invite anyone else to do it.

[personalwar]

Of course Jack had known that eventually Ana would insist that they come forward with their identities. Or rather, that he should come forward with his. Some of the others already know about Ana, and with the two of them spending so much time together, they're bound to figure it out at some point.

That doesn't make it any easier for him to accept.

"Are you sure?" he asks as he keeps his gaze pointed forward, on the lookout for their lodgings but mainly just using it as an excuse to not look at Ana.

"All of them have done better for themselves without Overwatch hanging over them." Which is to say nothing of Lena's decision to bring it back (well, Winston had started it, but she'd immediately joined), which Jack still thinks is a terrible idea, for the record. "And some of them shouldn't have any more... encouragement."

[nanamari]

"This isn't about Overwatch, Jack." She's speaking quietly enough, this close to him, that the name won't carry - but it's still significant that she says it aloud, in public.

She's not going to pretend that she needs to spell it out for him. Jack might not like hearing it, but he knows what she's talking about. Who they were to the world and what they stood for doesn't matter here, not in any real way. She tries not to dwell on it. She tells herself it's for the best.

[personalwar]

It is significant, and it's enough to make that creeping sensation start under his skin as he looks around them, as if expecting someone to fling themselves from the crowd and pin him to a wall to air out all their grievances to Jack Morrison.

Of course, that doesn't happen, but Ana's trying to make a point and it's not one he likes very much.

He isn't going to make this easy, not for himself and not for Ana. "What's it about, then?" he asks, forcing her to elaborate as he marches through the narrow, crooked streets and alleyways.

[nanamari]

"You." For a moment, that's all it seems like she's going to say, but if Jack is determined to be difficult, Ana is determined to be stubborn. This is about him in the end, as much as it is about the others. She's worried about him, one tired old ghost to another.

"They're not going to be as hard on you as you already are on yourself. But maybe that's what you're worried about. That they might not hate you if they know who you are."

Ana has never pulled her punches with Jack, and she isn't going to start now.

[personalwar]

The unfortunate part about having a friend you've known for as long as Jack has known Ana is that they can read you like a book. For all that he's put efforts into becoming a different person, she can see past all of that even with only one eye.

Arguing with her will only implicate him further, and he spends a few seconds grumbling to himself instead.

"I don't want their forgiveness. Overwatch is more dead now than it ever was." With Earth being gone and all. "If they know I'm here, that you're here, it's only going to pull them back." Sometimes what dies should stay dead, even if both of them are too stubborn for that.

[nanamari]

"Are you a video game character with three lines? I told you, this isn't about Overwatch."

She moves to block his path as they reach the door, stopping in her tracks to stare up at him with her arms folded across her chest.

"We don't get to choose any of that, Jack. We don't decide if they forgive us or when. Overwatch isn't ours anymore. It was never meant to be for us, anyway."

He knows all of this, and maybe bringing it up will only make things worse, but she thinks of Lena and Winston, people who saw Overwatch as a second or singular home. She might not like the idea of bringing it back, or digging up the skeletons of the many mistakes and terrible things they did, but she's starting to accept that some things are out of her hands.

"They're adults. They make their own choices and their own mistakes, just like we did. We've been hiding from the past long enough. I think we need to face what's left of the future."

[personalwar]

Ana, please don't bring up his video game character status. It's not his fault, okay. These are the cards he's been dealt.

There shouldn't be anything that intimidating about someone so much smaller than him blocking his way, and yet Jack stops in his tracks as soon as Ana moves to intercept him. She has a forcefulness about her that she only uses when she has to, and so her actions stand out for that reason. She isn't going to let him get away with shrugging this off.

Overwatch isn't meant to be anyone's anymore. It's supposed to be gone, and watching Winston and Lena try to revive it only puts the taste of ash in Jack's mouth. But Ana's telling him, in so many words, to get over it because it's not up to him. He relinquished the role of Strike Commander a long time ago, after all.

We've been hiding from the past long enough. I think we need to face what's left of the future. And people had called him the one with the silver tongue. Nice play there, Amari.

Jack heaves out a sigh, his shoulders sinking. He may not say anything specific, but she'll know that he's relenting, at least a little.

"Let's just get inside and we can talk about it."

[nanamari]

She's tiny so she's got to fight dirty sometimes.

She doesn't think for a second that Jack will do anything but stop. It's true that Ana has a lot of confidence in her own skill, but in this particular case, it's because Jack has never given her a reason to be intimidated by him. He's never done anything less than respect her, even when she gets right into his face.

She sees the way his shoulders sink. As she moves past, to get behind him, she puts her hand on his shoulder and gives it a brief squeeze. There's no more discussion for a moment.

They enter the same way they would with any other safe house. Jack first, with his pulse rifle and his thicker body armor, and Ana at his back keeping a clear path to their exit. When the first room comes out empty, they separate. Ana goes right, Jack goes left. They check for traps, bugs, the usual rundown, and then meet back in the central room in less than a minute. It's not a big apartment, even with just two people inside.

"Are you going to take one of the bedrooms?" She folds her arms across her chest, indicating that the only correct answer here is yes. Knowing Jack, it's entirely possible that he'll decide he's better off on the couch or the floor or some other such nonsense.

[personalwar]

The house isn't anything special, but it's still nicer than the setup they had back home. Granted, they hadn't set out looking for something nice. They'd wanted to be remote, off the grid, and this is pretty much the opposite of that. They'll have to put up with it for now, until they can find a better alternative. Something a little more them.

At Ana's question, Jack huffs and then nods. "There's no reason not to, if it's there." The idea that this will be anything other than temporary doesn't even enter his head, though. There's no one out there who would be looking for them now, and yet he's already considering how to better fortify the place.

The living room has a small couch, which Jack approaches and settles on, allowing his rifle to sit across his lap. He lets out a sigh and looks around them. It's slowly starting to sink in, that this is their life now, that they're refugees in this strange city and they're going to have to start from the beginning.

"Everyone needs some time to settle," he says quietly, picking up their earlier conversation with no preamble. "Once we've managed that, I'll tell them."

He still doesn't really want to do it, but he can tell this is something Ana won't let go. And despite all his efforts, he can admit that it will come out eventually whether he wants that or not.

[nanamari]

That settles that.

It feels like the first time since this whole thing started that she's been able to stop and take a full breath. They'd had downtime on the station, supposedly enough to let it all sink in, but it was impossible to escape the feeling of being watched or the anticipation of what came next. Now, they're in a relatively quiet little house, tucked into the heart of a city she doesn't know the first thing about.

It's starting to sink in. The apartment is temporary, as much as she likes the luxury of running water, but the city - the country - this might be home.

It's a very small couch. Jack takes up most of it, just by himself. Ana sits on the arm rest, her own rifle settled by her side.

"I think that's a good idea," she says. "We'll give it a month."

[personalwar]

A month. It's both a lot of time and none at all, but it's more than Jack was expecting, so he'll take it. He nods, nothing more needing to be said on that subject for now. He can put it off a little longer, give himself the chance to mentally prepare for how Ziegler, Oxton, and McCree will react.

"In the meantime, we're going to need to learn as much about this place as we can." It's still impossible for him to think of it as a potential home, but it is where they'll be living, and they have to start from scratch. They need to know who's in charge, what sort of underbelly the city has, what kind of criminal activity is going on...

It's a project, if nothing else.

"And find work, too." He shakes his head to himself. Here they are, both far too old to be getting a fresh start, and they need to get jobs. It's ridiculous.