I'm just going to apologize now because this is trash. I am trash. I am so sorry. But I love my Mercy76. And per popular request, I have decided to expand my story. Instead of a one-shot, I'll be turning this into a full-blown story. Stay tuned for additional chapters!

A small grimace crossed Winston's face as he joined his teammates at the table. He wasn't really going to join them in eating, but rather keep a watchful eye on their expressions. This was the week leading up the dreaded death of their beloved companion, Jack Morrison. And this? Well, this was the first time the gang was together again.

As he kept an observant eye on all his friends (old habits die hard), he knew how they behaved. Most would grieve alone, drink with friends, or spend a few hours wandering the Overwatch Exhibit at the museum. You know, reliving the good old days. But there was one in particular whose emotions caused him some concern.

Mercy.

Being with her old friends was the medicine she needed but...

Well, just looking at her, you could see the scars she wore. The incident that took the lives of Jack and Gabriel still burdened her. And now that the group was eating together, sans those two, he could only imagine what her mind was thinking. How she failed Jack. How she failed Reyes. How she lost HQ and couldn't do a damn thing about it.

Angela was strong, impressively strong. Her stomach was lined with lead or something as little phased her, especially in the gore and horror department. But when it came to past crushes...

She sighed, looking at the meal before her. It was the same old, same old. Chicken, carrots, and beans. Her folk glided her chunk of chicken around the plate until she reluctantly took a bite of it.

"We should do something," Tracer said. She meant no harm by it. The sweet girl was always trying to do something that could bring the group together.

"A tournament," DVa was quick to add. That large, sly smirk on her face.

"No, not that kind of something. I mean in honor of the lives lost."

Silence filled the room before Mercy spoke.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," although her words seemed riddled with sorrow, her eyes seemed hopeful. "A memento to give thanks to those who lost their lives so we could return again."

"Exactly," Tracer purred before turning to the rest of the table. "Dish to pass? Our personal favorites?" Her accent as cute as always.

DVa's eyes went wide. "How about we leave you on cleanup."

"What!" Tracer's brown fringe fell flat in her face. "Are you saying I can't cook?"

"She's just saying that the last time you grilled burgers, they were still mooing." McCree cracked a grin. Tracer, being the speedy type, might have forgotten that just because she can manipulate time didn't mean food could. She had the burgers done in record time only to find out she hadn't cooked them at all. "Not that I mind but I'm pretty sure DVa still has nightmares about them."

The shorter brunette's face had a slight green hue to it. Her fingers covered her lips. "So...much...b-"

"Beer," McCree cut her off, seeing the paling faces of the others. "A lot of beer."

DVa's head instantly nodded. "Yes, all of it."

"Whoa," Mercy's finger pointed down the table to the little lassie, "someone's not old enough yet. You'll have to leave the drinking to us."

McCree, who was sitting beside Mercy shook his head no. He would sneak the gamer girl some drinks while Mercy wasn't watching.

"Don't think I can't see your nodding, Jesse," her lips curled up into a coy smirk.

Jaw dropping, the cowboy sank in his seat some. How the hell did she know he was nodding?!

"I have eyes on the back of my head," she looked over her shoulder, "it's how I keep you kids out of trouble." Her cheeky wink followed.

"Kids?" Reinhardt's bellowing laugh filled the room, immediately drowning out any thought of sadness. "Last time I checked, I had a good few years on you, Ang."

"My apologizes," her hand pressed lightly against her chest, "it's how I keep you kids and grandparents out of trouble."

Junkrat, amused by the whole lot, soon joined in with the laughter and added a few little sly comments here and there about how Mercy was all right, save for being a hardass when it came to post-battle inspections.

"You'll thank me for them," she added in a mockish, sing-song tone. "You all know what happened to Jesse." The way she flitted her lashes made the cowboy squirm.

"We don't have to remind them," his hand raked nervously through his hair. "Besides, aren't you bound by some doc-patient thinger-magger?"

As the evening antics continued, one particular brute at the table finally decided he had enough. Soldier 76. Raising promptly and without warning, he stopped off into another room away from the giddy crowd.

"What's his problem," DVa asked without restraint.

"Old geezer needs to turn in for the day. It's past his bedtime," Junkrat quipped before a few of the younger members found themselves laughing.

"Maybe that should be our cue," Winston chimed in. "It is getting late and we need to move out early. We're combing the west corner."

"Awww," DVa's lip quivered. "But we were just getting to the part where Ang, Jack, and Gabe decided to have a shot drinking contest."

"And we all know I won," Mercy said with a wry grin plastered on her face.

"Oh that's how it went?" Reinhardt punched Torbjörn lightly. "That what you recall?"

"No, I'm pretty sure Jack had to haul your ass back to camp."

"Remember how jealous Gabriel was? Oh he was fuming. Why did Jack get to parade Ang around? Wouldn't let that go for weeks."

"Wait," Tracer's nose twitched much like that of a bunny, "Reyes and... Ang?"

At that comment, Mercy barked. "Are you serious? Me? Him? Ha! I would rather kiss a dog!"

"Oooh hooo damn," Lucio's hand covered his mouth. "Rejection!"

"No, it's called friendzoned," DVa corrected with her most bratty tongue ever. "Ang was too busy eyeing her Jacky Wacky-poo."

"H-how, how would you know?" The nervousness in her voice obvious due to the pitch change. Not to mention that slight stammer.

"You have a picture of him tucked in your med log," her wide, white grin spread across her face. "When you stepped into the next room to get those bandages, I might have looked through your book. His picture fell out." As smug as the little bug she was, she teased on. "I can only imagine what you do to that picture. Looked a little too loved. Oooh la la-ahhhh!"

"HANA SONG!" She was diving across the table, ready to murder the small child. Her bare fingertips just gracing the girl's long, brown locks.

Thankfully, McCree was ready and tugging the woman back into her seat. There would be no strangling kids tonight. "On that note, scatter!" he rattled out while dealing with the flailing elbows. He did manage to keep her seated while everyone else dove into the other room. Granted, in the process he did take her elbow to his nose.

"Doc," he said gravelly once she settled down, "I'm going to need you to look at this."

"It's not broken," her defiant head turn and 'hmmpft!' followed. "I could have taken her," she muttered.

"Uh-huh, sure. She's half your age."

"She's not! She's-"

"No, we're not half-mathing here. It's close enough. Now off you go. I'll clean up." He looked to Winston. "You in?"

Released from McCree's firm yet gentle grip, Mercy marched off into the hallway. The bathroom was full-Tracer, DVa, Symmetra-were all doing their thing. Pharah and Mei were changing in the room and getting ready for bed. Zarya was locking up her gear before heading to the bathroom to join the others. Though based on the light screaming coming from there, Mercy had a feeling a water-fight had broken out.

Shaking her head, the blonde medic decided she would spend the next few hours sitting out on the balcony just staring up at the twilight sky.

Only, those minutes soon became hours.

When silence finally wrapped around her, so did a claim, gentle voice.

"Ang," Winston stepped up beside her, "it's time."

Blue orbs glued to the heavens above, she nodded. Breathlessly, she added, "Yeah." Following after him, she washed up quickly before changing into her silky satin lingerie. She wasn't trying to look sexy. It's just...well, and Tracer thought it would be funny. Mercy was always so prim and proper. To see her in a cute white and orange gown with lace? It just made them giggle (and also stare a bit as she was breathtaking in it).

Undoing her hair, she lowered herself to the floor. Tracer and 's beds were right beside hers. They said they felt safe beside her, like an angel was watching over them.

Propping herself up on an elbow, she leaned forward to kiss 's still pink cheek. "Sweet," she rolled over to kiss Tracer's cheek, "dreams." Falling back against her sleeping bag and pillow, she smiled. It was nice to be close to them. To have friends. To not be alone.

Alone.

The smile faded. Turning over, she tugged her bag up around her shoulders. Alone.

Lip quivering, she slammed her eyes shut. She pushed out the sound of explosions. The broken look on his face.

Alone.

Body shooting up, she glanced around the room. A cold sweat clung to her creamy peach-colored face. Hair wet and matted due to her hot flashes, the blonde un-mangled herself from the blankets. Instantly, the night air hit her but it wasn't enough. She was still too warm.

Gingerly, she rolled up from her bed and tiptoed across the smooth wooden floor. It didn't creak or moan, which was nice. Helped that the weight was distributed across the room.

Hand feeling the grain of the wood that made up the door, she jerked the handle up before twisting the knob. It slid open without a sound. With swift, quick steps, she escaped into the hallway before making a bee-line for the balcony.

The air chilled her body in seconds. Hands crossing over her chest, she paid little to no attention to the visible points formed by her cleavage. Why would it matter? It wasn't like anyone else was up.

Slumping up against the railing, her sapphire eyes flew to the sky above. The mix of black, blue, and purple brought her to awe. "So beautiful."

Blissfully, she lost herself in the celestial world above. Only, the more she stared, the more her heart began to ache. He...he was up there.

Head falling down, Mercy found tears swelling in her eyes. He was gone. "Why, why did you leave me?" Her breathing started to deform. It was now heavy and off beat. "The world needs you. I need you." He was gone. Really gone. And she never found the courage to tell him how she fel-

A noise came from behind. Hand gripping the railing, she whirled around with grit teeth. Leaning back against the bar, her legs lifted into the air before folding on themselves. In that same second, they went flying out, kicking the solid form back against the sturdy wall.

She hadn't registered who her attacker was yet, but she didn't want to give them that opening. Arms releasing from the railing, she flew forward with her elbow primed and ready to dish out some serious damage. She knew the human body. She knew where to push to make it hurt. She could do this. So what if she was a medic! She could be a fighter! She could-

In a blur, she was falling back against her attacker. The hand snaked around her neck, cutting off her breath. Her spark. Her fighting spirit. She was going to die. This was going to be the end and she couldn't even scream for help!

Eyes wide with panic, she flailed and flung her arms wildly, doing all she could to break free. She had to find her voice. Tracer would come. McCree would come. They would save her. They were family!

"Christ, Mercy!" The grip around her neck loosened. "It's me," the voice said while stepping around to put himself in her sights. "Soldier 76." Hands flying up, he submitted to her as she was clearly still on the offensive. He did manage to rub his sore jaw in the process too. That red visor looking directly at her, making her skin crawl.

Hands flying around her neck, Mercy looked from herself to the man before her. Teammate. Teammate, she kept telling herself. Still, he could have at least taken that mask off!

"Breathe," he instructed.

She did. Slowly. In and then out. Again. And again until her heart stopped racing and beating a mile a minute.

"There," his arms fell over his chest. Stepping forward, he rested his elbows along the balcony's edge.

Hand running loosely through her blonde locks, she laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I, uh, I thought I was alone." She completely forgot about her attire and found herself wrapped up in Soldier's form. He had a nice build. Her eyes faltered. And a nice ass. Oh yes, it was indeed fine. So what if she was staring?

"Can I help you with something?"

Red smeared across her cheeks. "No, no. All is well. I ju-"

The space between them vanished. His hand now rested against her tender cheek. Then it slipped away and fell against her forehead.

Blinking, her brows furrowed. "What are you doing?"

"You're pretty red in the face."

"It's why I'm outside. It's hot in the room. Winston said no-"

He was close. So close. If he wasn't wearing that damn mask she could have sworn he was going to kiss her. Hell, she almost wanted him too!

Mercy's hand fell against his chest. It was so firm. That black shirt looked amazing on him. His arms. Ugh, she could get used to running her fingers up and down them. A kiss. Just one kiss. Maybe it would help her forget? A distraction? Yes, a distraction!

"You sure you're felling all right?"

She fanned herself before stepping back. "Yes, I'm fine. I, uh, I...I should go. Wouldn't want Tracer to miss me."

"Uh huh."

With her vanishing back inside, Soldier slammed his fist into the railing.

"Really? You had three chances and you blew them all." He was kicking himself for not saying, 'yes you are' when she said 'so beautiful.' He was also beating himself up for not grabbing some of that ass. And did you see what she was wearing? It was a good thing he tucked his dick up before stepping out. A boner wouldn't have been quite the introduction he needed.

If you could call it an introduction.

"If only you knew," he whispered. Sighing, he too decided it was time to call it quits. Maybe tomorrow he could try talking to her again.