Chapter Text
Thorns- Hardship
"Commander Oxton, are you seriously asking us to consider letting you have Elizabeth Ashe in Overwatch?" Lena kept her cool during the meeting with the American representative, but inside- she was a wreck. She sent a quiet sorry to Emily, it must be hard feeling that stress. "I understand that she's done a lot of harm, your honor. But yes, I believe if given the chance to rehabilitate, she can repay her debt to society." Lena spoke slowly, measured- it was hard for her. She was usually so go, go, go…but she couldn't do that in this situation.."You have every right to be cautious about this, but we believe in second chances. If you lock her up, then no good comes out of it. She's just in a box, not actively helping the world." The American representative, a woman named Haley Jones, looked pensive, as if she were considering Lena’s words. That’s what Lena wanted- if she could convince Haley, then Haley could inform her higher ups and the whole thing would be settled. The Brit had a strange but not uncommon longing for the past- Cole had just been able to be picked up for Blackwatch. No one knew he was there- But Lena had to explain his presence as well. He was a bit easier than Ashe, since his acts of good had been somewhat documented…As well as a good word from the director of Mekka. That had been a huge boost. Ashe didn’t have any of that- She had been a criminal since eighteen years old…Twenty years later and Lena Oxton is taking a huge risk based on one person’s testimony. Lena trusted Cole- he was like a brother to her, but this was pretty mad.
Haley studied Lena’s face for a good minute before speaking again. “As she was the only survivor of the Deadlock Rebels- she is the only person who can answer for all the crimes they committed. That gang terrorized the west for two decades, commander. How will joining Overwatch pay for twenty years of criminal activity?” She asked, her eyes narrowing. Lena took a long, measured breath- Just like Emily taught her. “Keep your head, love. That’s it…Just like that.” Lena could hear her soulmate’s voice in her head, clear as day. Just as if she were right in that room with her. “We’re dealing with more and more crises, your honor. Null Sector, Talon- Paris and Route 66 were just the beginning, I’m afraid.” She began after a moment. “The assassination of Mondata was a measured spark. We believe that Talon orchestrated it to set the omnics on the war path. Null Sector, something we thought we had dealt with during the London Uprising- they’re back and they’re more enraged and well armed than ever before.” Lena’s expression darkened. “The god ai too is getting worse as well. It infected every single omnic in the employ of Ashe’s gang.” Lena’s shoulders fell and she feared she looked as tired as she felt. “Frankly, your honor, we’re in over our heads here.” Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest to be so honest- but that was Lena’s way. She wasn’t like Jack and Gabriel. She wouldn’t lead Overwatch from a place of deception. “We could really use someone with Ashe’s skills- She’s proven time and again to be a good strategist…Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to avoid capture for so long. The world needs her skills, your honor. With the right environment- I know she can do a lot of good. Besides…This way, you’ll always have an eye on her.”
On Ashe’s side of things, the past two weeks had been a damn rollercoaster. First- everyone in her gang, including the closest thing she had to family- died and she almost died alone in a cave. Then she came to Overwatch on death’s door and was resurrected by the Angela Ziegler. Now she was limping, supported by two beams, as she worked to adjust to her new knee. Fucking wild. It was damn near impossible to get used to this shit- Cole did his best, but he was busy. Emily was nice and snuck Ashe a touch of whisky every once in a while with a wink and her finger to her lips. But the good doctor? Ashe could not get a read on Angela Ziegler- and she was pretty good at reading people. Well- whatever. The doctor was very busy and so Ashe was left in the care of Emily most of the time, unless she had physical therapy. Lena Oxton came by from time to time, but it was mostly to talk business- Ashe could tell the young woman was a bit out of her depth running Overwatch, but by all accounts, she was doing a great job. Well- Ashe was in no place to judge by age, she had run Deadlock since the tender age of eighteen. Maybe that’s why she didn’t question Hana Song’s involvement in this kind of organization- Hana was weirdly friendly with Ashe, being the most frequent visitor besides Cassidy. She would bring games- since Cole had told her Ashe was great with strategy, she wanted to test it out, see how many times she could win. Hana also asked about B.O.B, saying that he was cute and that Brigitte (whoever that was!) could probably fix him. “I appreciate the offer, but, it wouldn’t be /him/ y’know? Without his core, his memories…It ain’t him. But, thanks.” Ashe responded with a strained smile- she really did appreciate the sentiment, but it was painful to think about. Thankfully, Hana dropped the subject after that. “Mkay! I gotta go now but I’ll bring chess next time.”
Ashe liked Hana- she was spunky and smart, a winning combination for a person. Baptiste was also someone who stopped by, when the doctor asked him to check in on the patient when she could not. He was real interesting to Ashe, and his easy-going, charming nature could have easily been annoying, but his earnesty offset that. His story was interesting as well- Ex Talon? Wasn't Talon Overwatch’s biggest threat? It sure was, but some testimony from Ziegler and Cassidy had secured Baptiste’s place. Speaking of Cassidy, he and Ashe had not had so much time to talk since before he had been taken all those years ago into Overwatch. It was…nice. A lot nicer than Ashe would ever care to admit. She had missed him- missed their friendship. Not that she would say that to him, his head was big enough as it was. She wanted out though- out of the medbay, out of recovery. Oxton had talked about what her involvement in Overwatch would be- and while she wasn’t thrilled to be taking orders, Ashe wanted in on the action. She wasn’t suddenly a “good person” or a “hero”, but she was bored and she was angry. Ashe had a lot of pent up aggression and if the way to let it out was to play hero- So be it. She wasn’t a damn hero, no one would ever make that mistake- But she was useful, that’s why Oxton stuck her neck out to get the government to let her repay her debts to society in Overwatch instead of a jail cell. “Good news, Ashe. You’re being released and you’re cleared for training. Not field work, not yet.” Angela announced one day- about a month after Ashe had been found. “Thank the lord.” Ashe groaned, sitting up. “Not that this hasn’t been just lovely .” Angela rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No need for that. I know this hasn’t been the best situation. Ah-” She stopped suddenly, blue eyes on Ashe’s arm, still bandaged up. “Those can come off. Usually Emily would handle this bit, but I’m here so may as well handle it now.” Ashe shrugged in response- Emily had been changing the wrapping on her arm regularly, but she wasn’t about to complain about the damn thing finally coming off. Didn’t matter much who did it.
Except it kinda sorta did matter. As soon as Angela unwrapped the bandage, her breath caught. There, against the ghost white skin of Elizabeth Ashe, was the mark of a bright pink azalea. Her azalea. Her throat went dry- suddenly the rose made so much sense . Red, like the color of Ashe’s eyes. A rose- passion…Thorns- sin and hardship. A red rose with thorns…Pain and pleasure. “Doc? You good? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Ashe’s drawl snapped Angela out of her daze and she gave a strained smile in response. “I’m fine, really. Everything is fi-”
“...Your soulmate, huh?” Damn she was perceptive. To Ashe, it couldn’t have been clearer- imperceptible to some, sure…But Ashe was more observant than anyone knew. She saw the shock clear as day on the doctor’s face, anyone could see that. No, no…What she caught was something far more subtle. The slightest change in those blue eyes, the briefest twitch of her upper lip. It was a look Ashe knew all too well. Disappointment, disdain. A look her parents gave time and time again- Ashe could never miss that look. “Don’t worry about it.” She shrugged, playing it off. “Not sure I believe in all that anyway. Choose who you want, doesn’t bother me none.” A lie, of course. But Ashe was a good liar. Relief crossed the doctor’s face and she gently lowered the other woman’s arm. “I see. Good to know.” An awkward silence fell between the two before Angela cleared her throat. “I believe Lena and Cole are out in the hall.”
“Great.” Ashe didn’t need to be told twice- She gathered what meager belongings Cole had salvaged for her (Really it was just her hat. Her gun had been found with her but it was being safely stored) and left without another word. Immediately, Cole could tell something was up- but he had the good sense not to mention it, he just tipped his hat instead. “Welcome to the rest of the campus, Ashe. Finally free of the medbay.” He smiled in that easy way he always did, it really helped ease the white haired woman, though she would never admit that. “Happy to be out of there.” She grumbled.
Lena glanced between the two for a moment before taking charge. “Alright! We’ll give you a brief tour then we’ll get you settled in your quarters!” Ashe winced a bit at Lena’s volume- she was nice enough but loud. Very loud and talked very fast. “Great.” Was all the other two got before the tour started. “Here’s the common room- there’s movies and game nights sometimes. Don’t play anything with Hana, she will win.” Lena said with a pout- Ashe guessed there was some kind of story there- she didn’t much care about it. “This is the kitchen and eating area. We like to have meals together to build comradery. We’ll put you in the cooking rotation soon! There are some great cooks among us but there are some truly awful ones as well. I love Angie but she cannot cook!” Lena chirped- she was like a hummingbird. “Mei’s the best cook.” Cole added sagely. “I’m not bad myself, as I’m sure you recall.”
Ashe did recall- Cole made all their food when he was in Deadlock and it was all amazing. It was usually tex mex but he made a mean barbeque. “It was fine.” She muttered- not at all willing to admit she was excited to be able to eat his cooking. “Genji is pretty bad.” Lena continued. “Brigitte is good, Hana is not. Baptiste is pretty okay, Lucio is good. Reinhardt is good if you like currywurst.”
“Currywurst?” Ashe asked, eyebrow raised. “German street food.” Came Cole’s shrugged response. “It’s pretty good the first three times you have it, after that it gets old. Fareeha is okay at cooking, reliable. Just like in everything.” He considered. Ashe hadn’t met this Fareeha- not really. She came into the bay a few times to talk to Ziegler- had the doctor twirling her hair and blushing like a damn teenager. It was annoying. “Emily is alright but I’m slightly better.” Lena winked, pleased with herself. “Zarya is alright. All her meals are packed with protein though.” Cole shuddered. “Lil too much for me.” They moved on after that- Cole and Lena still chatting about the best cooks in Overwatch. They breezed through the training grounds and passed the officer’s quarters- peeked into Winston’s lab, and spotted Brigitte, Zarya, and Fareeha in the gym. Ashe could hardly contain the whistle that wanted to pass through her lips. All three women were jacked- It was especially noticeable on Zarya, who had been a professional weightlifter before joining the army and Brigitte, who had the delicate facial features of a woodland nymph- but was jacked. Impressive, to say the least.
Finally, mercifully- they made it to the part of the building Ashe’s room would be in. “Down the hall is a rec room of sorts- it’s mostly instruments.” Lena nodded her head toward a room. “Usually Lucio is the only one who uses it, but Cole plays his guitar there sometimes.” Instruments, hm? Ashe might have to use those at some point- she hadn’t played seriously in years, but the idea of pounding her fingers against the keys of a piano kinda sounded cathartic. “And here’s you! Cole is two doors down, Hana is next door, Fareeha is across the hall, and Lucio is next to her.” Lena explained. “Lucio and Hana tend to get pretty loud when they hang out, but the rooms are soundproofed. Alarms are on Athena’s system, so you’ll always be able to hear those as well as announcements.” She continued before pressing the panel next to the door. “Athena?”
“Yes, Commander?” Ashe had heard Athena’s voice before, had the A.I explained to her. “Still not used to that.” Lena giggled before carrying on. “Please register this room to Agent Elizabeth Ashe. Callsign…?” She glanced at Ashe expectantly.
“Just Ashe is fine.”
“Understood. Registering room to Agent Ashe.” Came Athena’s reply. The door slid open to reveal a plain room- The walls were a light gray and the furniture had a layer of dust settled on it. “We cleaned all the rooms when more people started joining- but fell back on the upkeep a bit.” Lena said sheepishly. Ashe shrugged. “It doesn't matter. I’m beat so- I’ll take care of it later.” She grumbled, hoping Lena would take the hint and bow out. Thankfully- the Brit had more tact than Ashe initially thought and she responded with a wide smile. “Alright then! Welcome to Overwatch, see you in the morning!” So damn cheerful- like the damn sun. But at least she was gone for now. Cole lingered, his brown eyes conveying silent concern. “...Later. I’ll tell you.” Ashe murmured, giving him a look. He nodded, relenting easily. “Alright then. Later, Ashe. Sleep well.” And with that, Ashe was alone- Just as she wanted.
“...Soulmates, huh?” She laughed, but it lacked any joy. It was bitter, empty, hollow. Ashe wanted to cry, honestly she did. But she didn’t dare- she knew who would cry her tears, she knew that that person knew who the tears came from…No way was she going to be so vulnerable after claiming she didn’t care. It was fine- all of it fine.