Work Text:
During the first months of his “rehabilitation,” in between the medical examinations with Mercy and the awkward conversations he’d so often find himself taking part in (not of his own volition), Reyes found himself sitting out on the roof. It was quiet, with only the sounds of the breeze and the occasional bird. Usually he didn’t like the quiet, he liked when there was something distracting to take his mind off of the pain, even if filling the silence meant listening to Dr. DeKuipers nonsensical ramblings or listening to the music of Swan Lake while Amélie practiced her movements.
Since coming to back Overwatch, Mercy had looked over him and decided to put him on various medicines and nano-biotic treatments which had eased the pain. It was still horrific, the feeling of being scattered across space only to be reassembled, but the pain was more a dull thud in his background than a striking stab that sharply stung each individual nerve.
And so, he was okay with silence. Revelled in it, almost. The freedom from sound soothed his senses and gave him space to breathe. He had been inhaling the thick smoke, the residual of bombs, since the day the Swiss HQ exploded and being there, out on the roof of Gibraltar, with his guard as lowered as much as he could feasibly manage, it was a breath if fresh air. Both literally and metaphorically.
“I didn’t think you’d be interested in the art of meditation.” The smile was audible in the cyborgs voice, sharply contrasted with his footsteps which were almost silent. Had Reyes been anyone else, had he been someone unused to the ninjas tricks, he would’ve been frightened. Instead he just sighed.
“I’m not. What’re you after, Shimada?” Reyes voice rasped. He was unused to hearing it. Without the filter provided by his mask it sounded so… Rough. Sore. Pained. He wasn’t a fan. It only served to remind him of the thick black smoke that hung around him like a dreadful cloud.
Genji hummed, as if he needed a moment to consider. “I suppose company is nice. I have rarely been prone to meditating in solitude.”
Reyes rolled his eyes, but nonetheless shuffled to the side to make room for the cyborg. The whir of cybernetics and the flashing on of green lights settled as Genji took his place, his legs crossed.
And it was silent again. And Reyes was grateful.
Neither were certain how long passed before Genji broke the silence.
“How has it been? Being back.” The cyborg was motionless as Reyes turned to give him a look, his eyebrow raised.
“How do you think?”
Genji hummed contemplatively. “So it’s not going well?”
The ghost huffed as he turned his head away from the ninja. “It’s going as well as it could be going. Cole’s been helping me get settled and Ziegler has me on some medicine.” Moira was a good geneticist but she was hardly a practicing medic. Reyes couldn't recall ever being prescribed treatment for his pain. In fact, Moira almost seemed to revel in it.
The cyborg nodded, the only movement he’d made since settling in beside Reyes. The tranquillity of the scene nagged at Reyes, a number of things did.
“I have- had been working with Talon for a while. You had no way of knowing that this wasn’t a setup and still you convinced Winston, the guy I electrocuted in an attempt to steal data from this very base not too long ago, to let me join up.” The situation had been nagging on Reyes’ mind since his return. He remembered the Shimada as someone cautious and untrusting. Someone who wouldn’t think about letting a known enemy live, nevermind about letting him on base. The contrast between then and now was so jarring. It scratched in the back of his mind, demanding an answer.
Genji turned to address Reyes. His metallic faceplate made him difficult to read, paired with the fact Genji was always better than Cole when it came to keeping his true intent hidden, Reyes had a hard time deciphering the ninja. However, Reyes found that the simple act of his hesitation displayed his confusion plainly.
“…And? ...Is there a problem, commander?” Sincerity plagued the cyborgs voice, somehow familiar and not. Foreign but nostalgic. Reyes first impulse was to recoil (an impulse he managed to restrain). Everything was the same but oh, so different.
“It’s strange as hell.” He said simply. He didn’t meet Genji’s gaze.
The ninja was silent for a long time after that. Reyes might’ve been okay with falling into silence once more, before Genji finally finished composing his words.
“I suppose it was strange… Strange but necessary.” Reyes gave him a look, his expression flat bar one raised eyebrow.
“What I mean is, I believed that it was necessary to give you an opportunity for change. As I was given one myself, shortly after your disappearance.” Genji took his time explaining. Upon hearing the silence that followed, he took it upon himself to continue.
“You recall who I was when I was under your command, correct?” Reyes nodded. Genji continued. “I was so enraged. The fire my brother set that day he struck me down, it fuelled me for so long, kept me going throughout our years together in Blackwatch. It made me a powerful tool. And then Overwatch fell apart. You disappeared, Cole left, and I had no more channel. No more outlet.”
Genji had taken to looking into the distance during his monologue, only looking away when he took a pause, checking that Reyes was still listening.
He was, of course.
“It was shortly after the Petras Act was announced that I met Tekartha Zenyatta, a monk from Shambali. I struggled so much with what I had become, what circumstance had transformed me into. I felt inhuman. Especially after my time in Blackwatch as a glorified weapon.”
Reyes looked away. Genji seemed to take note, but continued. Neither was oblivious to the others thoughts. Reyes knew what this story of what had happened since fate forced them apart was meant to communicate to Reyes.
“I needed him then. I needed someone who took the time to understand what I was going through and took the time to help me come to terms with it. It helped the anger fade.”
Reyes’ head was bowed as he listened. His body had been twisted. Moira had “saved” him but he often wished he had never been saved. His time since had been nothing short of excruciating and miserable. He was turned into a tool, a weapon. Reyes scolded himself for only now being able to sympathize with the cyborgs plight. Only now that Reyes had been a project turned vengeance-fueled weapon did he understand.
Reyes felt a hand on his shoulder. It was cold, much like his own.
“I felt that perhaps you needed someone like that, just as I did. That perhaps, like me, you had also been blinded by pain. By being ripped apart, and carefully sown back together.” Genjis voice was steady, it didn’t waver, but he twitched ever so slightly as he spoke.
Reyes exhaled, a heavy sigh that shook his chest. He relaxed. He let the tension finally leave his body. His extremities turned to a thick black smoke. It hurt, but it was calm. It was tranquil. He felt that cold hand squeeze his shoulder slightly. Comfortingly.
“I hope my reasoning makes more sense now, Commander.” Genji bowed his head, one hand rested on his lap and another rested on his former commanders shoulder. An indication of understanding, of camaraderie.
The ghost just nodded. His face was almost unrecognizable. A painting of smoke and scar tissue. It deteriorated slowly as the spirit allowed himself to relax. And it was okay.
There was a faint hiss that drew Reyes’ attention briefly. Genji carefully pulled his faceplate from its resting place and placed it to his side. The scars faint, but they were deep and permanent.
Reyes chuckled.
They matched.