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Balanced on the few inches that were left of the desecrated third story floor, Ana grasped both her rifle and the window behind her tightly. Lucky there was a wall left, she thought as bits of concrete crumbled from right under her and her grip on the sill became white knuckled.
“Jack?” she spoke into her comm. “I could really use a hand up here--”
The sound of helix rocket blasts from behind and below cut her off and Jack grunted into her ear. “Don’t have one to give right now, Ana! You can’t climb!?”
Briefly she considered this option, looking down for possible holds--then a window on the floor below her fell out and smashed on the ground. That was what she had been planning to grab onto first. “The situation is getting precarious, boys. Don’t think I should risk climbing, if I can help it. Anyone else?”
Gabriel was silent; Torbjorn was not even in the area. Finally the voice of an angel chimed in on the comm--Reinhardt, sounding as giddy as always if not a little out of breath. “I am on my way! Hold tight, Ana! I am coming!”
Not more than a minute later she saw the glint of armor rounding the wall. Thank goodness.
Reinhardt made quick work of climbing over the pile of rubble underneath her, leaving his hammer propped up against the neighboring building. She looked down and he looked up. It was a little bit ironic. Putting his arms out, he yelled up to her. “Jump, meine schatz! I will catch you!”
Ana raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so Wilhelm. I’m too high up and your arms are no better than the rocks, if you’ve forgotten.”
Reinhardt looked down at his armor clad body. “Oh. I suppose you are right! You always are!”
But there weren’t really many options. She was going to have to climb down. At least she had a spotter now, even if being caught by him would hurt like a bitch. “Alright, put what I’ve just said out of your mind. You’re going to have to catch me. I’ll start to climb down, see if I can get closer to you and then maybe the fall will not be so damaging. You know where my biotic pack is in case this goes wrong, right habi?”
Grin faltering slightly, Reinhardt nodded. “Of course! Please be careful, meine liebling!”
“Good. Here, take her first.” Ana threw her rifle and Reinhardt caught it with ease, putting it gently on the ground next to him.
Here goes nothing. Ana took a deep breath and flipped to face the wall. Going slowly so as to not break what was left under her feet, she scooted over so that she was above the window below her. It was a stretch, her foot only barely reaching the lip and she had to drop. Her stomach jumped to her throat as she let herself fall the remaining centimeters but she landed solidly. The next two movements went just as well. Getting a bit too cocky, she went to step down to the top of the first story too fast and she slipped. Luckily she caught herself, feet dangling but holding tightly onto the solid ledge she had been standing on before.
“Are you alright!?” Reinhardt called worriedly and she opened her mouth to respond.
The material under her hands crumbled suddenly and she flailed, grabbing for anything but finding only air. There was nothing she could do but close her eyes tightly and brace for impact, trusting her Crusader to break her fall.
Of course he did, and Ana felt a few things crack inside her as she hit the ridges of his armor. A little too far to fall, she thought as her head knocked against something solid and she slipped momentarily into unconsciousness.
When Ana awoke she immediately felt the itch of the biotic pack doing it’s work. Mentally she took stock of everywhere she felt pain or numbness--not many places, which was promising. Her head ached slightly but she could feel the pain ebbing.
“Ana is in my charge! Waiting for new orders, Commander!” Reinhardt announced into his comm. This was also promising; Ana hadn’t been out for very long if he was only now relaying that information. Reinhardt’s attention snapped back to her as she tried to sit up and he took her hand, worry etched into his face.
“That’s not a good look for you, dear,” she said in the most motherly tone she could muster. “Chin up, I’ll be just fine. Thanks to you.”
The smile she got in return was achingly sweet. Ana couldn’t resist bringing a hand to his face and he leaned into it, closing his eyes. His massive palm came up to cover hers and somehow in the midst of a war zone, even with the sound of Jack’s rifle still echoing somewhere in the distance, she felt unreasonably safe. Times like this she remembered how grateful she was to be alive.
“Wilhelm, what do you think about marriage?”
“What, do you mean generally?”
“No, I mean with me. Marry me.”
There was a beat of silence and in a rather comedic display Reinhardt furrowed his brows in confusion before his eyes shot open and he gaped at her, dropping her hand and putting the back of his to her forehead. “Are you feeling alright!? Were you concussed in the fall?”
Ana grinned and pulled his hand down, holding it in her lap. “Only minorly, I think. The biotic field has almost cleared my headache completely. I feel just fine.”
At a loss for words, Reinhardt sputtered for a moment before replying. “Well...I...do you mean right now!?”
A helpless giggle escaped her at that ridiculous idea and she pointedly didn’t answer, instead pressing the button on her comm and talking into it. “Torbjorn, can’t sea captains perform marriage ceremonies?”
To her delight, Reinhardt’s jaw somehow dropped even further than it did the first time. The reply came back surprisingly quickly, gruff as always. “First of all, that’s a myth. Second of all, I’m not a sea captain. I worked on a boat once. You two are going to have to wait.”
The exchange barely phased Reinhardt, who was still in a minor state of shock. “Do you really mean it!? I thought that you didn’t believe in such things!”
“Well maybe I have changed my mind. Let’s do it tonight. That is if we make it home, ja?”
Reinhardt shakes his head and Ana is startled herself when she sees that there are tears in his eyes. Surely this is not a request that would warrant such a thing, even if he wished to turn it down? “Wilhelm, I’m--”
Before she could say anything more he reached out, presumably about to attempt to gather her back into his arms. The tears were not of sadness. Amused, she held a hand out to stop him and pushed herself to stand. Once again she was looking down at him and he was looking up at her. “You would think that someone so used to being clad in armor would not so easily forget that he is wearing it.”
Wiping away the first shed tear from his face as she leaned down, Ana pressed their foreheads together. “You still have not told me yes.”
When Reinhardt answered, it was the with the gentlest tone that she had ever heard him take. “Ja, Ana. A million times yes.”
“I am glad to hear it,” she replied with equal softness. “Now let us get this over with so that I can plan our honeymoon.”