Chapter Text
Warning(s): Reader does use female pronouns.
Title: Redemption and Healing
Number in Series: One
Pairing: Jesse McCree x Reader
Fandom: Overwatch
Word Count: 1,720
Art: McCree
Life in the small village was alright. You worked hard on the farm and everyone worked well together. It was self-sustaining, there was no need to go anywhere. You had accepted that your entire life was going to be spent here. Your parents would die and leave you in charge of the farm. You may only be going on fifteen, but they were already preparing for you to get married. They wanted to get you with a good guy who could help you live a comfortable life. You hated the idea of marrying someone you didn't love, but if it is how life works, you guess you had to go along with it. You wanted to trust them.
Every day was the same as the last. Get up at the crack of dawn, do your chores, eat, get to work, give out deliveries, dinner, washing, bed. Rinse and repeat. It would be a lie to say you didn't wish for more, but you never wanted to be selfish. You had dreamed of traveling to the distant lands and discover what life had in store for you, but how could you do that with your parents depending on you? You were their only child. You were all they had, other than the farm. It would be terrible for you to leave them here just because you wanted something more in life. That wasn't how it worked in their book.
You sighed, carrying the bucket filled with feed to where the chickens stayed. As soon as they saw you, they began to squawk out noises as if trying to show they were excited to see you. It was nothing more than them getting excited about the food being brought, not your actual presence. You wondered what it would be like to be wanted by someone, for someone to be that excited to see you. Your parents told you that they loved you, but you felt like they only loved the useful parts of you. They liked the hard worker in you. You quickly shook your head, trying to keep those thoughts from overtaking your entire being.
As you began to toss the seed to the chickens who crowded around your feet, you heard it. The shrieking of terrified people. It scared you so much that you dropped the bucket entirely, the feed spilling everywhere. The chickens didn't mind, they just tried to get even more. You didn't care what they did, they weren't important at this very moment. Without thinking, you grabbed the closest thing that could be considered a weapon. It ended up being a hoe that you had left here after working in the fields. With that in hand, you sprinted toward the noise, ready to defend your family from whatever harm was coming to them. Why did the coup have to be so far away?
The sight that greeted you was blood soaking the snow-dusted ground. Ripe apples staining the pure snow. There were people in all black, attacking villagers while also fighting people who you had never seen before. The village wasn't too large and you saw the people you had grown up with dead on the ground. The younger adults and parents were fighting alongside these new people. They weren't great but the desperation to protect those they cared about was burning in their eyes.
You threw yourself straight into the battle, with a growl. You may not be properly ready for the fight, due to fighting with a hoe, but you weren't thinking straight. You were prettying good at fighting, slicing at enemies with the sharp side while just bashing others with the more blunt side. No matter where you hit, you were going to leave a mark. You were stronger than you looked. That was what happened when you worked in the fields. Your family hated to use machinery for anything. Your entire village kept most technology out, not wanting to taint their pure home. You never understood why they thought it would taint the soil. You didn't have a say in the matter though, so you pushed it to the back of your mind.
You tried to block out the screams for help and the dead bodies that littered the ground. It was so horrific, you'd never experienced something like this. You felt yourself get shoved to the ground, your back hitting the dirt with a loud thump. Beside you, you saw them. The lifeless bodies and dull eyes of your parents. Before you could grieve over the loss, you swept the hoe under the man in the black-clothed person's feet, toppling him to the ground. A blonde man stood over him before the sharp whistle of the bullet alerted you that the man you were fighting before you had fallen. You were just surrounded by the dead.
The fight continued and you ended a few of the attackers once you got up, getting only a few scratches and bruises yourself. Yes, it hurt, but you were surprisingly good at fighting. It was a shock to you that you were a natural. Once the fighting was done, you began to help the injured. You may not have known you could fight so well, but you did know that you were a good medic. Before, when your parents' still believed they would have another child, you were the town medic's apprentice. When they realized you would be their only child, they started to teach you more about running a farm without help.
As you tended to a hurt child, the blonde man that had helped you walked back over. He crouched next to you, looking at the kid before glancing at you. You had to admit that he looked cute, a farmer's boy if you had ever seen one. As soon as he spoke, you knew he was American, not Canadian like yourself. Who were these people? Your town was rather secluded and most information didn't get through. People saw your town as backward and you couldn't help to agree with them. What was the world like away from this place? You wanted to know, it grasped for the truth.
"You alright?" He asked, watching as your skilled hands were taking care of the child, who wasn't seriously injured like the many people you had been raised around.
"I'm fine..." You mumbled out, not looking up to look at him.
"You did well out there. Glad you didn't get hurt, I would feel bad for letting you fight alongside us if you got hurt. I'm surprised, who taught you to fight like that? Your dad, mom? It doesn't seem like many of the people living here could fight like you can."
"No," You glanced at the bodies that were your parents, which told the man enough to keep him from asking you about it anymore, "I was never taught anything. I never fought except for schoolyard fights. I just did what felt right with me. I wanted to help, I couldn't just sit by and not do anything."
"I'm Jack, may I ask who you are?"
"(Y/N)."
"Nice name."
You finished helping the child before giving your full attention to Jack, the mysterious hero who had saved your town. His blue eyes were soft as he watched you. He looked shocked that no one had taught you to fight at all. He made you feel comfortable, even though you didn't know him. Maybe it was his accent, maybe it was just how he held himself. You squirmed, ignoring all of the blood and dirt that must be covering your clothes. You would need to wash up after all of this...What were you going to do? You had lost everything that was your reality. Everything had shattered in a matter of minutes.
"Are you alone? Do you have any family left living here?" You knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if your family had all died in the attack. All you did was nod, not wanting to talk about it. You kept your tears from falling. You didn't want to cry in front of strangers. You needed to be strong for the rest of the town, for the people who were watching you. You never liked to cry, it made you feel weak. Your father told you that you would be weak if you cried, so you should never do it.
You let out a little nod, refusing to look up at him. Instead, you focused on your dusty lap. You knew that as soon as your eyes met his blue ones, you would lose it. All the tears and sadness would come out. Just keep staring at your lap. You can keep it in.
"How would you feel about joining Overwatch? It is the organization that we work for. We are a group of people that are trying to keep the world safe. We can always use more members who want to just help the world in any way they can. I see a lot of potential in you. We would give you a good home and everything that you would need would be provided. Please take some time to think it over and give us a-"
Before he could finish his sentence, you shouted out a yes. Why? You had no idea, but it felt right. The idea of being a part of these heroes, it amazed you. This was what your fate was. You had wished upon every star to be shown a bigger destiny. You knew you were meant for more. This was what you were supposed to do with your life. You would be part of something bigger, something important. You had seen a poster about Overwatch, one that just had the symbol on it. When he said the name, it came to you who these people were. They were the heroes. They were doing everything they could to keep the world safe.
"Are you sure you don't want to think about it? I don't want you to rush into anything without really thinking."
"I want to join, I have no purpose here. I want to make a purpose in life. I want to make a difference. I want to help."
Jack smiled, almost looking proud of the words you had just said,
"Welcome to the team."