Work Text:
Halloween night, Watchpoint: Gibraltar
“Come on grandpa, tell us a story!”
“Dad said you are good at storytelling, so pretty please?”
“I really liked your mad scientist story last time Reinhardt, can we have another?”
Reinhardt looked at the children gathered around him. They are so young, full of life and hope – and now they all look at him, eager to hear whatever Halloween story he can dispense. The others – children or no - looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.
Ana was curled up in his arm, a pumpkin full of candy in front of her. Hana, Lena and Lucio are clumped together on the couch, looking expectantly at him with all their innocence even as they shared a candy bag between them. Angela and Fareeha are sharing a beanbag. Jesse is sitting in an armchair with Hanzo perched on his lap, Zarya and Mei in the other. Zenyatta floats next to the couch while Genji perched himself on the back of it. Gabriel and Jack are cuddling on the loveseat. The two Junkers are seated on the floor, Jamie nibbling at the candy in front of him. Winston is eating peanut butter from his place next to Lena.
It reminded Reinhardt of a day long ago, when they were young and happy. Before… everything.
He cleared his throat before the memories had the chance to drag him down further.
“You all asked, and I will deliver.”
“This is a story I was told when I was but a child. A ghost story about two lovers.”
Jamie looked like he wanted to protest, but he stopped himself when the others glared at him to stay quiet.
“As you may all know, I came from a city in Deutschland - Stuttgart.” Reinhardt felt a surge of pride at the name of his beloved city, “but this story was said to be from a town close to it. We call it Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I, ah, do not know how to translate it to English.”
Athena piped in helpfully. “It means The Red Fortress in English.”
“Thank you, Athena.” Ana silently hands him a cup of fruit punch; Reinhardt nodded at her in thanks before gulping it down. “Anyway, the town is famous for its beauty and regal looks… but there is another darker secret lurking in it.” Reinhardt trailed off.
Lena was the first to speak. “Some sort of artifact?”
Jamie follow suit. “I bet it must be a treasure.”
“Could be a monster.” That was Angela. Reinhardt laughed.
“No, nothing of the sorts.” Lena and Jamie looked positively disappointed. “Rothenburg is famous for having a family line of mad doctors, generation after generation in the town.” Fareeha snickered while Angela glared at her, “So much that the townsfolk were said to have a tradition of using pitchforks and torches to chase out whoever was the latest member of the lineage at the time.”
Gabriel cleared his throat. “What did this… mad doctor… do to warrant that?”
Reinhardt looked lost in thought for a moment, before he continued speaking. “The history books was vague when it came to what they did. But rumors had it that the mad doctors experimented on people, creating inhuman monstrosities that destroyed entire villages. Of course, it was never actually confirmed if it was true or not.”
“Until about a century ago.
“The latest resident mad doctor then – a genius in school, knowledgeable in the workings and intricacies of the human body, at least according to the histories – did not get chased out of the town by the townsfolk. Instead he left on his own.”
McCree snorted. “Smart man.” Hanzo immediately hushed him.
“He was said to have left for America, seeking challenge and fortune. Some said he was hired to fight, to become a mercenary – in some war called the Gravel War.”
“It was a few years after that chaos befell the town.”
“Big planes descended upon the town. From its insides out came robots – armies of robots, threatening to raze the town to the ground. All was seemingly lost.”
“It was then the prodigal son returned, with a team of fighters in tow. Together they retook the town, saving it from the armies of robots that came upon them.”
Angela huffed. “So he came back to the place that forsook him in the first place? What could have made this man do so?”
Reinhardt shook his head. “The doctor made it clear that he held no love for the place that casted him out – he and his team were only here on behalf of his superiors. A woman only known as The Administrator.”
Mei nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Apparently the team was fighting a war against a man called Grey Mann, and the robot armies were his – they were seeking to destroy everything that belonged to his brothers.”
Zarya laughed. “Such a petty man, da?”
“Anyway, the doctor was not alone. Another man was at his side most times when they were fighting in Rothenburg.”
“His companion was rarely seen, but some people described him when he was seen with his team. A lanky bushman, always a bit cranky, and was very skilled with guns and bows.” McCree grinned at the description – the man was fascinated with bows ever since he started dating Hanzo.
“Some said the companion was seen putting bullets into robots from far away, the opponents falling en masse as his bullets found their mark.”
Lena piped up. “Sounds like a sniper to me. Like Widowmaker.”
Reinhardt nodded. “Indeed. He was called the Sniper, while the town’s mad doctor called himself the Medic.”
“The team stayed in town to fight off the robots before moving on. It was during this time that a different kind of rumor started.”
“What kind of rumor?” Hana, unable to hide her curiosity, asked.
“That the Medic and the Sniper were lovers.”
The room was silent as the team absorbed the new information.
“Some people saw the two being *more friendlier* comparing to how the Medic treated his other teammates. Others spoke of secret nights of passion in silence, in between grueling battles that took days. Relationships between two people of the same gender were not tolerated then, so it was just that - rumors. Nothing concrete.”
“They dropped off the history books after the team left the town. "
"Many years later, the Medic surfaced in the history of Rothenburg one last time – he was seen living quietly on the outskirts of the town, on his own. Since he did not do anything that warranted attention, the people left him alone.”
“But where was the Sniper then?”
“No one knew, and the Medic never told anyone. He was alone til the day he died.”
“On the day of the Medic’s funeral, people saw an outsider visiting and leaving flowers on his grave. He vanished soon afterwards.”
“I bet it was the Sniper, coming to visit his lover one last time.” It was Lucio – the DJ has been quiet throughout the story. Reinhardt nods.
“Since then, the people of Rothenburg has been speaking about the ghost of the mad doctor, yearning for his lost love. Winds blowing on the hills where the robot army once landed would carry whispers of the man, calling out to his beloved. The End.” Reinhardt finished the story with a flourish.
The Overwatch team clapped hands before a comfortable silence settled down over the crowd.
It was then Jamie finally chose to speak.
“My grandfather… he was a hunter. Good with a sniper rifle, he was. He raised me after me parents died – some big Omnic got them at the house. I was with grandpa at the time.”
“He once told me a story of a fella he once knew. A doctor, kind yet misunderstood by many. Kept him alive on many occasions.” Jamie paused, remembering the fondness in his grandfather’s eyes as he spoke about the man.
“They met as allies, recruited by some company to fight in a war. Bloody meaningless war, was all he said. But it paid well so he did not complain.”
“They were… close. Exactly how close, he did not say. But after your story, gramps, I think I got an idea on how close they really were.”
Angela spoke, her voice soft. "Seems like your grandfather was this... Sniper, that Reinhardt spoke of." Jamie nodded shakily.
“Said he moved back home to start a family, had to leave his mate behind. Was one of the biggest regrets of his life.”
“I remember that a few years before the Omnic Crisis, he went away to Europe. Said he needed to take care of some unfinished business. He looked really sad when he came home.”
He is gone Jamie.
Who is gone, grandpa?
The mate I told you about. The doctor.
That was the only time Jamie saw his grandfather cry.
“After that… grandpa threw himself into the war against those bloody robots. He… he died… protecting me from a bunch of ‘em.” Jamie was sniffing now. Mako moved to put his hand on the younger Junker, in an attempt to console him.
The room was quiet, save for the sniffings of the younger members. Reinhardt could see a glimmer of tears in Jack's eyes. Ana leaned further into him, and he wrapped both arms around her.
Lena got up to envelope Jamie in a hug. “I’m sorry about your grandfather Jamie.”
Jamie wiped his face on a napkin that Lucio handed him. “It’s okay… he had been gone for a long time. I hope he met that mate o’ his again.”
Angela smiled. “I bet he did. Now who’s on for the next story?”
***
Somewhere in Germany, two spirits - a hunter in vest and hat, and a doctor in a flowing lab coat - danced to some unheard melody, heedless of the world around them as Halloween settles over the world.