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Chapter Text

What made an individual stronger? Well maybe that question was too complex, there was many different forms of strength, physical, psychological, emotional, a bodybuilder could lift hundreds of pounds but still not have the emotional or psychological strength he or she needed to function properly. A small individual could be the strongest person in the room, but was anyone truly strong is all aspects of the word? Everyone had a weakness, right? So why did she feel like she was a disappointment?

Jasmine Kabyra Perryman physically was not strong, she stood at a 5’9 stature, came in at around 176 pounds, she had some muscle, but it wasn’t much. She made up for it in emotional and psychological strength, she was a powerful woman, it’s how she got to where she was, in a two bedroom, city view apartment in New York City, she paid damn near ten thousand a month in rent, but she could afford it with what she was doing. She had made a comfortable life for herself and at a fresh forty, she wasn’t looking to retire from it, though she was feeling a bit lonely.

She had never married, but at twenty, she had gotten pregnant by a boyfriend who never wanted children, Keith Wilson, white guy, short brown hair, at the time he was a dream, now, he was a deadbeat, granted their son, Jules “JuJu” Spencer Perryman was now twenty years old and in college, but Keith still had never been there for JuJu. She raised him by herself largely, with little to no help from Keith, being a mother was what made her stronger as a person, the determination to do better, her son drove her to make not just herself better, but also him too.

That was part of the reason why she felt alone, she had an empty nest, he was off to college, one of the best in the state, he had gotten both academic and sports scholarships. She was proud of him, oh so very proud, but here she sat, in her room, on the edge her bed, looking out her floor to ceiling windows at the city, the lights illuminating her face, nothing but the company of herself and her dog, a pit bull by the name of Ajax. She sighed softly as she brought a glass of wine to her lips, reaching her hand up to adjust the silk bonnet that sat on her head, it was lavender, matching the pajama set she wore, she was thinking, thinking about the other reason she was lonely. A beautiful,  successful woman like her should be married, especially at her age and perhaps she would be, if the person she had been with hadn’t gone to prison almost six years ago.

Jasmine Perryman found her success in one of the country’s biggest technologies brand, Torr. Corporations, she started out as a secretary and worked her way up, ended up at the ambassador for the company to work with other companies, that’s how she met him, it started with a call to her boss’ office.

“Mr. Torres?” Jasmine opened the office door that belonged to her boss, Samuel Torres, he was a popular man in New York, as well as the rest of the world, good man too, he was kind and understanding, donated to charity, the only bad thing she could find on him was a rumor that he was having an affair, but it never went anywhere, he was just genuinely a good guy. “You wanted to see me?”

“Ah Jasmine, yes please come in, close the door behind you, lock it too.” He told her, his usually chipper tone still there, he chuckled at her face. “You’re not in trouble and nothings happening, we’ve just got some serious business to discuss, a new client.” He gestured to the chair in front of his desk, Jasmine gladly complying and sitting down across from him, adjusting her skirt after she crossed her legs.

”Our client discussions have never involved a locked door.”

”Well this one does, it also involves an NDA.” Samuel slid the paper across his desk with a pen to Jasmine, the woman staring at it in bewilderment. “If you sign this, you’ll be switching gears a little bit, I’ll be hiring a second ambassador for your current projects, you’ll be taking this over full time, a little bit more hands on and in person stuff.” He explained, watching as Jasmine reluctantly grabbed the pen. “…it also comes with a significant pay raise.” He chuckled as the paper was signed almost instantly. “Knew that would get you.”

”I’ve got a thirteen year old at home, those things are expensive Mr. Torres, especially when they’re in sports.”

”Oh don’t I know it, all three of mine are in sports, I always wanted a girl, but they’re even more expensive, glad I never got one.” He laughed a little and then pulled the paper back, looking at her. “Now this new client is a little different, we’ll be giving them our technologies to use as usual, but in working with them you’ll be joining a council of sorts on my behalf, I can’t have me going to these meetings, it’ll ruin my reputation.” He told her, setting the pen back in the cup on his desk and the papers that Jasmine signed in a folder and then into his desk drawer. “Don’t worry though, the travel isn’t a lot, just every now and again, though it might be a bit at first.”

Jasmine nodded in understanding. “I can handle a little travel, Mr. Torres, I have people to watch my son for me if need be.” She told him, smiling a little. “What’s so bad about this client that you can’t be seen with them?” She inquired, Samuel sighing a little.

He folded his hands on his desk. “Now I need you to listen to me Jasmine, this is something that you may not agree with, but this is business.” He made sure she nodded before going again. “You’ll be working with the Organization known as Talon.”

Jasmine’s eyes shot wide. “Talon?! Isn’t that the name of that terrorist organization that’s been running around? Overwatch is trying to stop them, why would we give our technologies to them and why do I have to be on a council?”

”Miss Perryman, I understand the confusion, but this is going to make us a lot of money and I actually agree with their ideas, the human race needs to get stronger and we only get stronger by adapting to tough situations.” He held his hand up when Jasmine went to protest. “You don’t get paid to agree with them unless you’re with them, in addition to this you will keep one or two more companies under your belt, other than that, you’re basically free, you get some more off time with that boy of yours, it all works out, alright? I’ll get to speaking with the client and sometime within the next few weeks we should have a meeting with them here, alright?”

Jasmine had reluctantly agreed to that, now she wish she hadn’t, but then again, her life wasn’t all so bad, she sees the perks, but she also sees the downsides, after eight years of working with them she sort of sees things their way, but other times she doesn’t. It was a constant internal struggle, but being in the organization has definitely made her stronger, it made her look at the world differently, but part of the reason she regretted it was because of someone she had met within her time in the organization. She had met him at that meeting Samuel was talking about, she had proven to him she was strong enough to be within his presence, just by being herself.

Her heels clicked against the floors of the office building, she was heading to the meeting room to get set up for everything, but when she went to head into the meeting room, she happened to glance over to Samuel’s office and noticed a few extra bodies in there. Cautiously she made her way over to peek into the window, quickly making eye contact with her boss, the man instantly gesturing for her to come in with that famous smile of his. Jasmine opened the door, two extra sets of eyes focusing on her, one set were red, belonging to that of an omnic in a black suit, a golden pin on the right side of his chest.

The second set of eyes were a deep brown and they belonged to that of a very large, dark skinned man, short natural hair on top of his head, he wore a suit as well. His eyes followed her until she took her spot behind Samuel Torres’ seat, that’s when he turned his attention back to Samuel. “This is your ambassador?” He inquired, the tone wasn’t necessarily rude, it was a simple question, no emphasis on the word ‘this’ or anything that would imply he didn’t believe it, but the question still made Jasmine’s blood begin to boil.

”Yes! She’s wonderful.” Samuel gestured to her, smiling back at her and giving the okay for Jasmine to go ahead and introduce herself.

She stepped forward, holding out her hand first to the omnic that was sitting there, he was closer. “Jasmine Perryman.” She spoke, his cool metal hand slipping into hers, gladly shaking it.

“Maximilian, a pleasure to meet you.”

Next she turned every so slightly to the large man sitting next to him, he glanced down at her hand for a mere moment before lifting his very large hand up and gently shaking her hand, it still felt firm, but she could tell he was holding his strength back. “Akande Ogundimu.” He spoke, letting go of it, instantly looking back over towards Samuel, the man sliding over a chair for his employee to sit on. “Did she sign the NDA?” He inquired, Jasmine glancing over as Samuel nodded with a little laugh.

”Yes of course, had her do it before we even schedule this meeting.”

”Does she know who exactly she’ll be working with?”

Jasmine glanced across her to where Maximilian was sitting, the omnic staring over at Akande silently, but she could see some form of emotion in those red eyes of his. “Of course, she understands everything about this whole arrangement.”

”Even the da….”

“Mr. Ogundimu.” Jasmine herself cut him off, a hand resting on Samuel’s desk in front of her, the interruption took all three of them off guard based on the looks in their eyes, but frankly, she didn’t give a damn. “I signed an NDA, a nondisclosure agreement, meaning anything that is said in this office is not repeated and anything I may see in your facilities is not shared. What I did not do, however, was take a vow of silence, therefore, if you have any further questions about or for me, you may ask me.” Jasmine leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs again and resting her folded hands on the top of her knee.

Akande sat silent for a moment, either trying to calm down from his own anger or trying to process what exactly just happened. Jasmine mentally decided the latter, perhaps he hadn’t expected the outburst from her. “Well then Miss Perryman.” Akande leaned forward on the desk in front of him, folding his hands on the table. “Do you understand the dangers of working with us?” He asked, tilting his head just a little.

Jasmine stared at him, leaning for and mirroring his posture, her own hands folded on the desk, a little smile on her face. “Yes I fully understand the dangers of working with your organization, I, in fact, expect them.”

That was the start of something she didn’t exactly expect, she expected the dangers, Talon was a group of a bunch of terrorists who believed the human race evolved through conflict within it, something was bound to happen. She expected maybe someone with a gun getting in her face or getting shoved, which both happened. When she first entered one of the main facilities in Venice she was warned by Talon’s head of accounting, Diana Rossfield, that she needed to be strong to deal with “Those boys there at the adults table.” It was a valuable piece of advice, for Jasmine took it and ran with it.

Those boys tested her, there was another woman on the council, Dr. Moira O’Deorain, but she was never an issue, in fact, Moira found her quite amusing with the way she was able to hold her own against the other men at the table. At first she didn’t say much, but once she started being addressed it was easy for her to adapt to her surroundings, a group of men all sitting up on their golden high horses, lined up for her to take shots at when needed. Her attitude continued to attract the attention of Akande, he started to even value her inputs on some of the matters when she gave it. It all lead up to about eight months later being asked out by the man, he at first gave it the title of a ”Business Arrangment”, but it very quickly grew into more.

Whenever she was with him, she was spoiled by the riches he owned, nice dinners, nice clothes, other gifts and such, she attended events with him as well. She was always kept close, he wasn’t risking harm coming to her at the hands of his enemies. He was always a phone call away, he knew people, he had people, if something were to happen to her, even while she was home in New York and he was in a different country, she would be safe within a good amount of time. Jasmine at one point had sworn he had people constantly patrolling the areas she would frequent.

Overall it was a great relationship, but then came the time any single mother dreads, her boyfriend meeting her son. Jules was fourteen at the time, he didn’t have much of a relationship with his father, but he held onto hope, partially because Keith kept making promises to his young, naive son. It was heartbreaking to see her son’s disappointment whenever he father failed to fulfill them. Jasmine had decided to keep it simple, a dinner at her apartment, no fancy restaurants, no Akande out in public constantly looking over his shoulder for he was Doomfist as well and couldn’t have people seeing him, just a simple dinner.

”JuJu! Can you get the door please? I’m a little busy.” Jasmine called from the kitchen, hearing a little huff come from the hallway. “Is that sass I hear?” She inquired, turning her head as her son came into the room. He was about an inch taller than her, but he was only fourteen so she was certain he would grow another inch or two, an even six foot or so, his family history on both sides had height. His skin was a few shades light that hers too at a light golden bronzish color, he had his father’s blue-grey eyes and his hair was recently done by her a few days ago, it was pulled back into some cornrows and the excess had been tied together by a thin hair elastic he stole from her bathroom.

”What? No mama that was Ajax.” He told her, gesturing to their four month old pitbull puppy trotting up behind Jules. Jasmine rolled her eyes a little and laughed as he walked over to the door. She knew who it was, it was Akande, she just didn’t know if her son remembered he was coming today. Jules grabbed a hold of the doorknob and twisted it to open the door, being met with a wall of a man standing in front of him. “Whoa.” He said, looking up at him, he was tall, pretty sure he was gonna have to duck underneath the doorframe to get in. “Uh I’m assuming you’re my mom’s….boyfriend.” It almost seemed wrong to call him a boyfriend, this man was in no way a boy, he was massive!

The man in front of him chuckled a little, his voice deep and rumbly. “I suppose you could say that.” He had a thick accent, African from what Jules could tell. “And you must be her son, Jules.” He held out one of his large hands for Jules to shake, which the boy did after realizing that’s what he meant by it. “Akande.”

”Cool, you can uhm come inside.” He stepped aside, watching as Akande did indeed have to duck to come inside. Jasmine waved from the kitchen, laughing a little when Ajax started barking at Akande. “Boy stop barking, you can’t do anything to him.” Jules grabbed the dog’s harness and leash off the shelf nearby. “Come on Ajax.” He muttered, crouching down to put it on the puppy. “I’m taking him out I’ll be back.” With that, Jules was out the door, causing Jasmine to make a bit of a face.

”That didn’t exactly go how I wanted it to.” She admitted, turning her burner on low as Akande walked over, pulling him down to give him a little cheek kiss.

“I’m sure he will warm up to me, from what I’ve heard it can be challenging to overcome such a change as a teenager.” He explained. “He just seems a little wary.”

Jasmine nodded, huffing a little before looking back up at him. “You made sure no one followed you right?” She gave him a serious look, Akande nodding.

”Of course and if I happened to miss someone lurking which is unlikely, you know what to do.”

”I do, I just would prefer not to have to now that JuJu’s involved, I want to keep him out of the violence, terrorist organization crap.”

”There is nothing wrong with Talon.”

”To a lot of people there is and I don’t need my fourteen year old in on it, I don’t entirely see the ideals either you know that.” She told him, making a face at the look in his eyes. “Don’t make me angry, JuJu didn’t grow up like you did, he plays American football and is learning responsibilities via taking care of a dog and I warned you what would happen if you brought up that shit at the table.”

”That I would finally meet a normal person who could take me on even with my gauntlet I know.” He recited, chuckling a little. “That’s a bold statement you know.”

”And it’s bold of you to challenge a mother in regards to her child. JuJu is not to know the world of Talon until I say so, to him, you’re the owner of a prosthetics company….and you can take one phone call while you’re here, chose wisely.” She pointed at him accusingly, she knew he was a busy man doing busy things, but to her this was important, very important and he knew this, so he agreed.”

”I’m expecting a call from Maximilian in about an hour, that will be the only call I take.” He glanced over at the stove just as the front door open, Jules and Ajax coming back in. It was almost as if Akande knew they were coming and stopped the business talk. “You told me no restaurants, but decided to cook steak tonight?” He asked, Jasmine rolling her eyes.

”I wouldn’t exactly call steak on a cast iron with asparagus, mushrooms and garlic Parmesan baby potatoes a five star dinner experience.” She told him, glancing over as JuJu walked into the kitchen.

”Well of course not, the portions are too big.” He joked, smiling a little when both of them laughed. “She complains about the portions when she goes.” He was now talking to Akande, the man looking down at Jasmine.

”Perhaps I should stop taking you?” It was a light tease and Jasmine knew that.

”I don’t just go with you to five star restaurants, Kan, I go for business purposes too.“ she glanced to the side as her phone lit up, grabbing it off the counter and adjusting her burners again. “I have to take this.” She announced, heading towards her bedroom.

”Oh so you’re taking business calls now too?” Akande chuckled as she glared at him, closing the door behind her. Truth me told the person on the phone was a friend, Diana, Talon’s head of accounting, they had become close and she had texted her asking for Diana to call her so she could listen to whatever her son and Akande talked about while she wasn’t in the room.

”Uhm….mom says you own a prosthetics company.” JuJu was the one her started the conversation, she knew he would be, he had promised her to be a little social.

”I do, Ogundimu Prosthetics to be exact.” Akande replied.

”Mom’s uncle has one of those, lost his left arm during the Omnic Crisis.”

”So she’s told me, she also told me you play football.”

”I do yeah, American football, uhm running back, I’m actually the only freshman on the varsity team, which is all upper class men.” He explained.

”So you’ve got some skill? That’s impressive.”

”Thanks, we’re in the playoffs now, if we win two more games we’re going to the state championship.”

”Well I wish you the best of luck.”

Jasmine smiled a little recalling the memory, she could tell something changed in the both of the boys that night. Jules had told her Akande was ”Okay.” when she had asked later, but it was obvious he was trying to act like he didn’t like him as much as he did. Akande seemed to ask more about him when they were alone or on the phone, it prompted more conversations about Jules’ father and how he was a no show a lot, which prompted Akande to give his opinion about how only weak men would abandon their children, but still, she didn’t expect him to do much without forming the proper relationship though.

Jules’ team ended up going to the State Championships and Jules had actually asked his mom if Akande wanted to come.  Unfortunately, Akande said he would be out of the country, but it didn’t seem to bother JuJu that much, especially since his father said he was coming, he was so excited. His dad had even sent him a photo of a confirmation email for the ticket he bought, that actually caught Jasmine by surprise too, she was impressed, though she never told Keith that and even though Akande wasn’t there, he still took care of them that night in other ways.

”I’m here to check in, Jasmine Perryman.” She stood at the receptionist counter of the hotel they were staying at for the championships. It was a pretty nice hotel, the school and Jules’ coaches had bought rooms for the team, well those who said they couldn’t afford that particular hotel, which was only a handful, Jules went to a pretty high class school.

“Here you are, The two bedroom premier suite?” The woman looked at her, noticing Jasmine’s immediate confusion. “Is that not right?”

”No I booked a standard room with two queen beds, we’re just here for my son’s football championships.” She told her. “I booked it about a week and a half ago.”

The woman checked again, looking at the screen for a moment. “It looks like your room was upgraded yesterday afternoon and that your card was refunded for the original room you bought and the suite was paid for with a different card.” She explained, Jasmine staring at her like she was crazy.

”Is there a name on that second card?”

”Uhhmmm, Ogundimu? That’s the last name.” She looked over and noticed Jasmine’s face changed a little, her lips curved into a smile, hung open a little as she pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth, shaking her head. “Is everything okay? Do I need to change the reservation ma’am?”

”No because I would probably get scolded if I did, that’s my boyfriend who did that.” She admitted, laughing a little.

“He upgraded your room for you? How sweet.”

Jasmine laughed, getting her room keys and walking over to find Jules to show him the room.

Jules had been absolutely amazed by it, the room was huge, it had a full kitchen, two actual full rooms, a living room, it was literally like a whole ass apartment. He had brought his gaming system, so he asked his mom if he could invite some of the guys in to play while she went and got some food for the two of them. Jasmine agreed, making him promise that the place wouldn’t look like a disaster when she got back, and it didn’t, in fact, there was no one in there when she had returned, there was evidence that Highschool boys had been there, bottles and trash in the living room that she picked up, but other than that? Nothing. When she had gone to check on JuJu to see if he was in his room, he was, lying there under the covers with no tv on.

”JuJu? What are you doing, baby?” She stood in the doorway, watching as JuJu shrugged from his spot on the bed, his back was facing her. She came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong?” She inquired, her heart dropping when JuJu turned his head to face her, tears streaming down his cheeks.

”Dad’s not coming.” Was all he said before he started full on crying again, Jasmine instantly pulling him up and into a hug.

”Oh baby, I’m so sorry.” She whispered, rubbing his back, letting him cry into her chest.

She remembers her blood boiling, wanting to call Keith in a fit of screaming rage, but she didn’t, she spent the rest of the night with her son and after he fell asleep? She called Akande, he seemed disappointed with the news, if not a little frustrated, he was silent for a minute after she told him, though she later found out why.

Jasmine was entering the stadium, well she was actually currently going through security, they had a tight shift going on around here, but she wasn’t about to complain, especially since it was quick. She stopped to the side to fish her ticket out of her purse, rummaging through it when she heard someone clear their throat right behind her. She turned around and was surprised to be met with a large chest. She looked up in surprise, standing there was Akande Ogundimu, wearing probably what some would wear to horse racing, a pair of slacks and a longed sleeved button up, his sleeves were rolled up though probably about to his elbow. “Oh my god I thought you were in fucking Brazil what are you doing here?”

Akande chuckled a little when she gave him a hug. “To prove to your son that if his father wanted to, he would and that he deserves someone who wants to, being there makes a difference, if he sees someone believes in him, he will strive for the better. Strength gained through pain isn’t always the best form of strength.”

That was when Jasmine first truly felt love for Akande, she had loved him before, but that, it felt like there was more of a natural form to it, she couldn’t describe it. He was there for her son when he didn’t have to be, Jules wasn’t his, but he still showed and that meant the world to not just her, but Jules as well. He was so excited to see Akande, it brightened up his whole mood, they had won that game and Akande took them out to dinner afterwards, she was happy, truly happy….and then it happened.

”Do you have to go?” Jasmine was watching as Akande was getting ready to leave, he was heading to Singapore for some business stuff for Talon. He nodded from where he was standing, grabbing a hold of his duffel bag and sling it over his shoulder by the longer strap.

“And unfortunately, I can’t bring you this time.” He came over to her, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. “But I’ll call you when I get my hotel, tell JuJu I’ll see him later.”

Her face remained twisted, she didn’t want him to leave, but he had to. “I love you.” She spoke, Akande smiling a little.

“I love you too.”

And that was it, he had called her when he got to his hotel the night he landed in Singapore, but after that, she didn’t hear anything from him. It was making her extremely worried and she had every right to be, she remembered the day she found out very very clearly.

She was walking through the office building of Torr Corporations again. Samuel had asked her to come in to help him out with some things and since she only had two accounts on top of Talon and at the moment she wasn’t terribly involved with Talon, she had a lot of free time, so she was happy to help. She was walking passed the floor’s break room when she heard the tv.

`”International News from Singapore today…”`

Jasmine stopped in her tracks a little ways passed the door to the break room, turning around to make haste back to it, pausing in the doorway, her eyes widening at the sight on the screen. Helicopter footage from a fight in the streets of the city, she recognized the dark figure standing into the middle, his golden gauntlet shimmering in the sun.

`”Overwatch agents ambushed Doomfist yesterday, a public enemy and a known member of the terrorist organization known as Talon. The fight ultimately ended in the arrest of the treacherous man, he is currently awaiting trial, we will give you more information as soon as we hear.”`

Tears welled in her eyes as more footage of the fight showed, Akande getting beaten down by an enraged gorilla and then him in restraints being taken away. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go, he was supposed to come back, not go to prison. Jasmine rushed from the hall, ultimately locking herself in a random office to sob uncontrollably for a few minutes, making a phone call to her dear friend Diana to comfort her.

The event had ultimately unfolded a lot of things, including that very day when she got the call from Jules while at school asking why Akande was on the tv getting arrested. She then had to explain to her fifteen year old everything, including Talon, he was confused, conflicted, he was mad at her, mad at Akande, mad at himself for liking Akande, but he understood that he couldn’t tell anyone. He understood that his mom’s big raise was because Torr Corporations had made a deal with Talon and that she was involved in it, he was just upset.

Talon however, didn’t go as well, it went to shit at first, things were bursting at the seems until Overwatch ended a year later, but even after they had gotten the advantage they needed and some new members on the council, it wasn’t good for Jasmine. Apparently some of the members saw Jasmine as nothing more than Akande’s pet of sorts, they knew who she represented, but their respect only formed for her out of force for Doomfist himself being in her corner. She was faced with an obscene amount of disrespect, being told that her presence wasn’t needed at the meetings, that she wasn’t useful.

Jasmine was forced to adapt, she wasn’t getting backup from Maximilian or Moira, so she did what she needed to do, Samuel got involved, calling Maximilian and reminding him that Jasmine was there as a placeholder for him, reminding him that if his good name was tarnished because he had to show up for these Talon meetings then his business would fall through and therefore Talon wouldn’t be getting the support it needed from Torr Corporations, telling him that Jasmine was the only person he trusted with his job, but that she was also a woman who knew what she was worth and if she didn’t feel respected, then she wasn’t coming.

It sounded like a cowards way of dealing with it, but in reality Jasmine knew that Talon both needed and wanted Torr Corporations on their team. She knew what she was doing because at the next meeting she attended the tone was a lot different amongst them, she had gained respect and it had been that way for the past six years.

Reflecting on it all now, as she now stood in her apartment by the window, looking down at city belong, she had definitely grown in strength as a woman in a man’s world. Her ideals had changed, she saw Talon’s point of view more, their mission made sense to her, there was still some differences between them, but she had become a reputable member of the organization. Talon was her only client now, she attended events and conferences, it was easier now with her son off in college, but it was lonely, she missed Akande….and that was where she fell short.

There had been talk of him being released soon…well not released, but, broken out, it was talk amongst the task force that had been put together, Widowmaker, Sombra, Moira, Reaper, but it was just talk and it was something she had only overheard. No one had ever told her straight forward, but it was the whole reason she had been reflecting on the man in the first place. Six years he had been in prison, six years and she had never seen another man, never dated, never attended an event with another man. She had sat here and waited, not necessarily moping around, she had been productive, but when the time called for it, she was indeed depressed about the loss of him and now, what would he think of her?

She was certainly stronger as a person, physically she would never measure up, she could hold her own with a gun and she knew basic self defense, but in the world she lived in, that for the most part didn’t mean shit, but emotionally? Psychologically? She was stronger, she knew how to handle ”those boys at the adults table”, she knew how to not let her weaknesses show, her aura was powerful, she was smart, she was bold, she could stare death the face and not twitch,in a way she had with Reaper. Jasmine Kabyra Perryman was, in all senses of the word, stronger than she was six years ago, but she still held a weakness and it was Akande Ogundimu. Would he see her staying around as loyalty? Or would he see it as weakness?

It burned a hole in her mind, the idea of waiting around for six years, of being forty now and being told it was all wasted because Akande didn’t want a weak willed woman. It also made her blood boil, for if Overwatch hadn’t taken him away from her none of this would be an issue and sure they had been outlawed, but they were still out there, scattered to the countries, but they were out there. Reaper had recently broken into Watchpoint Gibraltar and stolen the databanks from the base’s computer, files on the agents, so far, he’s killed four, unimportant agents and gotten the snot beaten out of him by another, Haley Sampson, she was a mother now and as Jasmine had always said, never mess with a mother.

The theft of the databanks had caused the recall of the organization to be initiated by the same gorilla that put Akande in prison, they were going to start fighting back, start destroying the very plan Talon had for the world all because they couldn’t stop being fucking her….

Bzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!

Jasmine turned her head to her nightstand, her phone vibrating against the wood, she walked over, seeing the name on the screen and setting her glass of wine down, sitting down on her bed. Her free hand reaching over and beginning to stroke Ajax’s head, the almost seven year old dog’s ears perking up a little, but ultimately he settled into the scratches from his owner. “Perryman.” Jasmine answered the phone, pressing it up to her ear softly.

`”Jasmine, it’s been a while, amiga, how are things?”`

Jasmine smiled at the woman’s voice that came through the phone. “Sombra, it’s been a few months hasn’t it? Things are good, but I figured I would be seeing you next week at the meeting in Venice.”

`”You would’ve, but change of plans, no one was going to call you, so I figured I should….it’s time.”`

Jasmine froze in her petting of Ajax, staring out the window once again from her bed. Her mind shot in a million different places, she knew what Sombra meant by that, they were breaking him out, after six years they were breaking him out. It had been so long since she heard his voice, seen his face in person, Maximilian had advised no contact, which she was sure the prison wouldn’t have allowed it anyway, but it was for her safety. “…..where?”

`”I’m sending your flight information, it leaves tomorrow morning, once you touch down, I’ll give you a call, we’ll rendezvous somewhere and I’ll give you a key to the hotel I’ve book for us.”`

There was a ping and she checked her phone real quick, putting the phone back up to her ear. “Monaco?”

`”Akande wants to pay a visit to his old pal Maximilian before we head to Venice, I figured you would want to join the fun, I’ll see you there Jasmine.”`

The line cut off and Jasmine set her phone back down on the nightstand, staring down at her hands for a minute, it was time, this was happening. She stood up, beginning to walk to her closet to start packing, she tossed her doubts aside for now, Akande was going to see her and the woman she had become, it didn’t matter if either of them liked it or not, the waiting game was over…they had a war to start.

Chapter Text

“You are scared.”

”Yeah, but not of you.”

The drop ship was in sight, a dark figure standing at the bottom of the exposed ramp, perfect. His large feet patted against the concrete as he made his way over. “You’re late.” The voice was like nails on a chalkboard, the masked man it belonged to staring at him through blackened eyes, Reaper.

“I was delayed.” He replied, beginning up the ramp to the drop ship. “Let’s get going.” He made his way to the controls of the ship, looking over at Reaper as he came up beside him. “Tell me about the Russian mission.” An order, Reaper complied.

“We were supposed to kill Katya Volskya.”

“Whose idea was it, anyway?”

“Vialli. Some were getting frustrated with how intractable she’s proven to be.”

There was a loud huff, a shake of his head. “That’s why she has value to us. She’ll keep the fight going. Volskya is more useful alive. Always has been.” His eyes peered over at Reaper, a nod coming from the ghost of a man.

“Sombra would agree with you. She’s been up to some extracurricular activities. She thinks she’s clever, but I’ve been keeping tabs on her.” Reaper almost seemed proud of himself, but he shook his head in reply.

“I don’t mind a little ambition in my people.” He admitted, shifting the conversation again. “I saw that someone killed Mondatta.”

“Lacroix.” Reaper replied instantly, referencing Talon’s living weapon, the perfect assassin, Widowmaker, formally known as Amelie Lacroix, wife of deceased Overwatch agent, Gerard Lacroix, killed by the woman herself. “Tensions in London are boiling over. Hasn’t been this bad since after the uprising.” 

There was another annoyed huff. “That was a missed opportunity, but who would have thought Overwatch would get involved?”

“Speaking of which, I retrieved part of the Overwatch database. I’ve already taken a few names off the list.”

“Morrison and Amari?”

“No, not yet.”

“I hope you’re not feeling sentimental..”

“No.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “We can deal with all that later. First, I want to speak with Maximilien.”

“Need a loan?”

“I need to get a lay of the land….and some new clothes.” The coordinates were punched into the ship's controls, the ship taking off when commanded to do so. 

 Six years, Akande Ogundimu had been in prison for six years, Doomfist had been in prison for six years, he had kept tabs on Talon, that was a given factor, but he was still very much in the dark. He sat leaning back against the cold metal hull of the ship, Reaper standing across from them in silence, he was thinking of other things to ask him, he had been out and about within the world of Talon, but his mind only wandered to one thing, to one person, to one woman.

”I’m glad you all reached out.” Sitting across from him was Samuel Torres, an older gentleman who owned Torr Corporations, the technology superpower in America. It was Akande’s first big deal within the hold of Talon, he was a businessman first, but he had been given the opportunity to join by his mentor Akinjide Adeyemi and had so far, been a mercenary for Talon. The higher ups within Talon favored his superior ambition, intelligence and leadership skills over his mentor and had recently been inviting him personally to more events. Which in turn had gotten him closer to the omnic business man sitting next to him, Maximilien.

 Max had admitted to Akande while out for lunch one time that for quite some time he had been attempting to get Talon connected with Torr Corporations, feeling that if Talon had influence in all of the world’s countries, that it would greatly benefit them in the long run and Akande wholeheartedly agreed, so he had arranged the meeting with the man himself. Samuel Torres had a few conditions to the agreement, it seems he was one of the few businessmen in the world with a spotless reputation and while he agreed with Talon’s ideals, his other clients may not like Torr Corporations publicly being around them. So business would be done through an ambassador of Samuel’s choosing, a physical body to sit at the table when the time permitted.

”Talon has been wanting to work with your company for quite some time, Mr. Torres.” Max spoke, watching Samuel intently. He went to say something but his eyes caught sight of something in the window of his office, a smile spreading across his face as he waved someone in. The door opened a second later, closing and locking after that. Heels. That was the first thing Akande heard before he and Max both turned around, seeing a woman walking towards them, her skin was dark, her hair was slicked back, pulled into a bun, she wore a navy women’s suit, the jacket unbuttoned.

“This is your ambassador?” Akande stared at the woman that had taken a spot standing behind her boss, his eyes falling to a beaming Torres.

”Yes! She’s wonderful.” He looked back at the woman, nodding his head in the direction of the two men in front of him.

 She took a step forward, her hand being extended out over the desk in Maximilien’s direction. “Jasmine Perryman.” She finally spoke, nodding as she shook Max’s hand.

”Maximilien, a pleasure to meet you.”

Her brown eyes locked with his own, her hand now extended to him. His gaze went down to her hand for a moment, lifting his own hand to shake hers as well, making sure to do so delicately. “Akande Ogundimu.” Upon letting go, Samuel got a chair for Jasmine, the woman sitting down instantly. “Did she sign the NDA?” He was staring at Samuel when the question was asked, glancing over to Jasmine to see her reaction, a test, how would being asked questions through a man affect her?

Samuel chuckled, nodding. “Yes of course, had her do it before we even scheduled this meeting.”

”Does she know who exactly she’ll be working with?” Another glance, there was a bit of a reaction this time, she was looking at Max, watching his reaction, maybe trying to see if this was normal? He couldn’t tell yet, but she didn’t seem angry.

“Of course, she understands everything about this whole arrangement.”

“Even the da…”

”Mr. Ogundimu.” A delicate hand was placed on the desk in front of him, his eyes locking with hers again, a fire now ablaze behind them, perfect. “I signed an NDA, a non disclosure agreement, meaning anything that is said in this office is not repeated and anything I may see in your facilities is not shared, what I did not do, however, was take a vow of silence, therefore, if you have any further questions about or for me, you may ask me.” She took her hand away, leaning back into her own chair.

 He watched her silently, doing his absolute best not to smile, good, she would do just fine. “Well then, Miss Perryman.” He leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. “Do you understand the dangers of working with us?” His head tilted upon asking the question, watching as she leaned forward as well, mirroring his posture with her hands now folded in front of her on the desk, a challenge.

“Yes I fully understand the dangers of working with your organization, I, in fact, expect them.”

“How are our assets?” He finally spoke, looking across the way at Reaper.

There was a scoff from him, shaking his head before looking back at him. “You mean Torr Corporations?” He inquired.

“Is that not one of our assets?” 

“Sombra told me you two have a history.”

“If history implies something, I could say the same for you and Lacroix.”

Reaper was silent for a moment, growling just a little. “She’s been hanging around Vialli a lot.” He answers finally, watching Akande’s face twist a little, avoiding his gaze once he saw Reaper staring. “Sombra knows something though, she asked if I had told her about your break out.”

“Did you?”

“No, I don’t speak to her if I don’t have to.” 

Akande chuckles, looking over at him once again. “Have you made an enemy Reyes?” There was another growl from the phantom, causing another laugh to come from Akande, but he nodded anyway. So, she was still around, he had heard her name in passing every now and again, but nothing major. He had begun to doubt if she had managed to stay around, alive or not, she never did agree with Talon’s ideology.

Maybe if she had joined earlier, it wouldn’t have been such a surprise to her, but her timing couldn’t have been worse with this one. She had entered in the midst of a huge power struggle within the council. He supposes he’s the one to blame, or maybe it was the council themselves for not allowing him the opportunity sooner, but he saw it in her eyes when he had walked in, the upgraded gauntlet belonging to his former mentor proud on his right arm. The word had spread that Akinjide Adeyemi was dead, number one rumor was that it had been Akande who killed him, she obviously didn’t believe it until she saw it.

 He recalls her eyes on him consistently throughout the meeting, her elbow resting on the arm of her chair, the fingers of that arm blocking her lips from view, no reaction, just like she had been taught by her boss. The moment the meeting was dismissed, she was up, gone out of the room, her phone being pulled out of her purse instantly. Akande found her outside, a little off to the right almost around the building, her voice was panicked, but irate at the same time.

“Mr. Torres, This….this is well outside of my pay grade, even with the raise.” Her voice stops as she listens to the man on the phone, huffing just a little. “….I’ll do my best, goodbye Mr. Torres.” Her phone is slipped back into her purse, turning around and jumping at the sight of Akande standing there. “You’re surprisingly quiet.” She comments, adjusting her blazer on her shoulders.

“You are scared.”

There’s a moment of silence between them, Jasmine staring at him, attempting to think of a response. “Yeah, but not of you.” It was a surprising answer, but it was clear she meant it. “You’re still the same man without that hunk of metal on your arm.” Her hand gestures to the gauntlet.

“You trust me enough not to kill you?”

”I didn’t say that, but you seemed impressed with me at our first meeting, I don’t think you’ll kill me.” She explains, watching him for a minute before glancing around the area. “I’m scared because I’m in unfamiliar territory, you all look at me like I’m fresh meat, waiting for me to say something, I don’t feel safe because I’m clueless, I’m new.”

Akande thinks for a moment about it before nodding. “Then allow me to give you a sense of security, Miss Perryman, I will see to it that you find an understanding of the purposes here at Talon.”

“You preach about wanting strength in the world, yet are willing to spend the extra time on me?”

”You have the ability to be strong, physically, you will never measure up….” He’s cut off by a scoff that comes from her, but he approaches behind her. “But there are other forms of strength.”

She feared the unknown, he knew that for certain, it was clear she didn’t trust a single person in that room, which he wanted to fix, at least for his own benefit. So, he spent the time building her trust, building her confidence to speak freely instead of when spoken to. He showed her that her opinions mattered despite not aligning with his. Akande takes another look to Reaper, why didn’t he like her? “What makes her so unlikeable to you?” 

“She’s cocky.” The answer is almost instant, catching Akande off guard so much so that he begins to laugh. It was funny to him, a man so dark and powerful, challenged by such a small woman. “Perryman knows what she’s doing and it’s very clear she does.”

Another silence commences, that he remembered about her, she was very aware of what she was doing, though he’s certain in this situation it’s different than what he’s thinking over. Spending the time with her to make sure she felt secure within Talon had brought forth something very unexpected. Akande had grown quite fond of the woman, so much so that at the time it had begun to get on his nerves, it wasn’t supposed to happen and he didn’t want it getting in the way, but that didn’t stop it from happening. 

 He remembers asking Maxmilien, the omnic businessman had been married to Talon’s head of accounting, he knew all about woman and when asked what he called a woman who knew what she was doing, Max answered plainly “Dangerous.”

”So, you are heading back to New York?” Akande caught her in the hallway, Jasmine checking her purse to make sure she had everything, looking over at him with a small smile.

“I am, why? Are you going to miss me, Mr. Ogundimu?” The question was playful, that is what their relationship had become, they were friends, business partners.

 A small smile formed on his lips, not responding to her question but gesturing to the exit. “Allow me to give you a ride to the airport.” He offers, beginning to walk down the hall, nodding for Jasmine to follow along, which she did.

“You don’t have to do that, I can easily get there myself.”

“My driver won’t mind the extra passenger, in fact, it might give him a moment of peace from me.” He tells her, walking her outside where his car was already waiting, his driver opening the back door for them. “Ladies first.” Akande tells her, chuckling at her eye roll. Both settled within the car, Jasmine sitting on the bench across from him directly behind the already closed partition. He watched her cross her legs, her hands neatly settling on top of her knee as she looked across the way at him. “You know, it’s probably cheaper to stay here for a while than fly back and forth every other week.”

 Jasmine chuckled a little, shaking her head at the comment. “Torr Corporations covers all travel fees for me, as well as hotels, Mr. Torres doesn’t mind the amount of travel I do either, he understands, I do have a son at home after all.” She tells him, a surprised look coming onto Akande’s face, glancing down at her hand, no ring? No marriage.

“How long have I known you Miss Perryman? Five months? Give or take? How did I not know you had a son?”

“It’s not exactly something I’m very open about, especially in this line of work, but yes I do have a son, he’s almost fourteen, his name is Jules.” There’s a smile on her face as she speaks about her child, one that brightens when he rolls his hand to tell her to continue. “He’ll be starting high school in August and he plays American Football, my sister Jazlynn takes care of him while I’m away.” Her phone is pulled out of her purse, the woman taking a minute to pull up a picture of the young boy, holding it up for Akande to see, nodding a little, it was a school picture, plain and simple.

He looks a lot like you.” He comments, watching her put her phone away. “Why does your sister watch him if I may ask? What of the boy’s father?” Akande takes quick notice of her expression change, it appears he asked the wrong question.

Jasmine regains herself before asking. “His father isn’t much to show for, I had Jules when I was twenty one with the guy I was dating at the time, he’s been in and out ever since, rarely comes around, we don’t have any custody agreement or child support thing going on so, it’s just me and Juju.” Her explanation has some fire behind it, the topic is a touchy one clearly. “He rarely sees Jules, tells him he’s going to see him a whole lot, but never shows.”

 Akande tilts his head. “Why allow a man who never shows to keep in contact with your child?” 

“Can’t exactly tell my son he can’t talk to his dad anymore when he wants to.”

“Your son deserves a man who will show, a strong one who will teach him how to actually be a man and how to be successful, otherwise, he will never grow to be something useful.”

Jasmine makes a face, crossing her arms as she leans back a little. “I’m aware of what my son needs, but it’s not exactly easy to find someone willing, not that I’m looking either.” There’s a huff and she looks out the window, silence coming over them for a minute before she turns back to him. “What do you care anyway? In your eyes my son will evolve through the conflict the world is presenting him.”

“I suppose that is true, but without the blueprint for the man he should be, he might end up becoming the man he doesn’t want to be.” He watches her begin to question herself, debating on speaking again. “I’d like to meet him sometime if that’s alright.”

 Jasmine scoffs, looking at him like he’s crazy. “I don’t just let any man meet my baby.” She’s watching him, his demeanor, his body language, all of it. She had been keeping track and now, it was all coming together, a smile appeared on her face, a small one, but it’s there.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing….nothing at all.”

In that moment, she had caught him, she knew what she was doing, it had all worked out in her favor. He hadn’t exactly fallen in love with her, but he was close to doing so, her personality was fiery, which was something he desired. She was incredibly intelligent, the ability to have such serious conversations without angers rising or boiling over, it was admirable. Akande had found a strong woman and while she didn’t share his ideals exactly, he was certain he could shape her opinion as time went on.

 By the end of it, he had done it all, he had started seeing her, began to spoil her with his money, began showing up to events with her and finally, he had met her son. Jules Spencer Perryman reminded Akande of himself when he was younger, he had a passion for something, Akande’s was martial arts, Jules’ was football, he was passionate in the way he talked about it. It was important to him and therefore important to Jasmine. The woman did everything for that boy as any mother should, but he was humble, he wasn’t rotten or bratty, he wasn’t entitled, he was a good kid, a good kid with a shitty father. He had never met Keith, but he heard enough about him to know that he wasn’t the role model Jules needed and Akande wanted to prove it.

The thing Akande did to solidify just how serious he was about this to Jasmine was show up when he needed to. Jules at fourteen was the only high school freshman on his school’s varsity team and they had made it to the state championships. Akande had a business conference to attend to in Brazil so he couldn’t make it, which didn’t seem to bother Jules as much since his father was supposedly coming…that didn’t happen. Jasmine called Akande in a fit of rage having found her son in tears in their hotel room, it was a moment of chance for Akande, and he took it, secretly telling his driver to take him to the airport so he would make it to Jules’ game.

 The stunt royally pissed a few of his business partners off, but that didn’t matter, he was showing a young boy what a man should be like, what strength was. He knew what showing up meant in the heart of a young boy, for his confidence and outlook on the world, it was perfect, meaningful.

And then all of a sudden, it was gone.

He was gone, Akande had said his goodbyes to both of them, making a stop in New York a couple of days before going to Singapore where he was ultimately arrested by Overwatch. He had of course been enraged by the fact that his plans were halted, or at least slowed, but he was also upset at the fact that this all meant Jasmine was alone with people he didn’t necessarily trust around her and it no doubt meant Jules would have to be exposed to the world of Talon before Jasmine was ready to explain it to him. 

 Truth be told, he hadn’t really expected Jasmine to stick around, he had honestly expected her to step down from her position or even to be killed, which would be another issue in itself, but hearing the fact that she was there and not only that, but that she had been hanging around the likes of Vialli, he wasn’t sure what to think. He could only hope Reaper’s comment about Sombra asking if Jasmine had been told about the prison break meant something. 

Sombra and Widowmaker stood in front of the ramp of the dropship, both woman waiting patiently. Sombra was examining her holoscreens in front of her while Widowmaker was making sure she was completely aware of her surroundings, her rifle in hand. “Sombra, Lacroix, a pleasure to see you two again.” Akande greets them, both nodding and following behind him as he walked passed them. “Sombra, anything important you’d like to share with me?” He glances over his shoulder, a flash of magenta coming up next to him.

 “Overwatch has been recruiting some new members, people like Hana Song and Fareeha Amari.” She’s popping up some holoscreens as they walk. “Turns out Fareeha isn’t the only child Ana Amari had.” There’s a photo of two adults, a man and a woman with tan skin and blonde hair. 

“Well then they can all be buried together.” Akande replies, filing into the back of the car waiting for them. Sombra sits next to him while Reaper and Widowmaker sit on the opposing bench. “I hope you got my message.” He looks to Sombra, the woman nodding. 

“Don’t worry, everything’s taken care of, we’ve got a suit for you and everything waiting at the hotel.” She waves him off. “Me and Widowmaker will accompany you inside the casino.” 

“I hope you have no informed anyone of my arrival.” He warned.

 Sombra snickers a little, shaking her head. “Not Maximilien or Diana if that’s what you’re wondering, but people know.” She replies, crossing her arms over her chest. The rest of the carride is spent talking about other issues within Talon, Akande curious as to what else Vialli had been up to in his absence, among other things. 

Their hotel was just inside the party district of Monaco, Maximilian’s casino was a short ride away but they indeed needed to get ready to go. Akande needed to get out of these prison clothes and the girls needed to get dressed as well. Akande took the hotel room key from Sombra, he apparently had a separate room from them for whatever reason. He would never understand women. Reaper opted to stay on observation of the area, he wasn’t going in anyways, no need to get ready for anything. The card was pressed to the lock on the door, the green light flashing on the lock prompting him to open it. 

 He expected to be greeted by a usual hotel room, which it was, but there was one thing wrong about it. By the window, there was a woman, dark skin only slightly lighter than his, kinky, natural hair slicked back up top and tied back into a bun at the bottom. She wore an emerald green pant suit, her blazer resting neatly over her shoulders as she looked out the window. She turned her head upon hearing the door close, her hazel eyes locking with his, Jasmine, so, Sombra had told someone.

“What a surprise.” He spoke, a humored smile forming on his face, he had hoped to look a little nice her the first time seeing her again, but he supposed this meet up will do.

“You didn’t think I would be waiting until Venice to see you did you?” She asked playfully, tilting her head as she took a couple of steps forward. There was a longing in her eyes, she wanted to be close, but there was also fear in them, he could read her, she was worried about something. “Sombra gave me a call, told me it was time to get you out and gave me the flight information.” She explains, her hands folded neatly in front of her. 

 His eyes followed her, watching her body language, watching everything around her, Sombra was one of his loyalists, he wouldn’t try to kill him, so if she put this together? Why was Jasmine acting like this? “Jasmine you are no stranger, I expected a warm welcome from you.” He admits and within that moment he watches her wall fall instantly, the smile he was expecting spreads across her face and the distance between them is closed. He chuckles as he lifts her within his arms, squeezing her into a hug and sealing the deal when she brings herself in for a kiss, all these years, all this time, and she was still all his, pure loyalty.

 She pulls back with a smile on her face, allowing him to take the time to admire her features, time had taken very little from her. She still looked just as she did six years ago, but even with the look of pure happiness, Akande could tell the years had hardened her, she had to fight and he’s certain he will hear all about it. “I can’t believe you’re actually back.” Her voice is soft, in utter awe at the fact that she’s within his arms, being set down back on her feet after a moment. “Your suit is in over there.” She points to the covered suit hanging on the closet door. 

 “No dress? Are you not coming with us to see Maximilen?” He makes his way over to the bed, sitting on the edge of it.

Jasmine shakes her head. “Fraid not, I’m supposed to be getting back on a flight to go to Venice a bit early to meet with Vialli.” She explains.

Akande’s face twists a little the same way it did on the ship. “And what exactly have you been up to with Vialli?” 

 There’s a laugh that comes from Jasmine, shaking her head, she knew this was coming. “Vialli sees me as a fellow business partner for his master plan, he trusts me quite a bit actually, figured that would be beneficial to you.” She gets a grin on her face, causing him to chuckle before completely dissolving into laughter. 

“Come here.” With a wave of his hand he beckons her over, allowing her to once more enter his space, his large hands settling on her, their height difference almost gone due to him sitting. “You are a remarkable woman, I cannot wait to hear what you have been up to all this time.” A hand comes up and captures her chin between his thumb and index finger, pulling her in a little. 

 She smiles, their lips inches away from each other. “Well you’ll be happy to know that we see a little bit more eye to eye now.” She admits, feeling the ghost of his lip curl up into a grin. “Overwatch taking you away from me, it put some sense of anger in me, followed by my issues within the council, they called me your pet, so I had to show them otherwise.” She felt his arm pull her body closer, their lips meeting again, this time for a little longer. Jasmine feels his hand lazily shove the jacket that had been resting on her shoulders and in turn she untucks the white tank top from his prison jumpsuit, taking it off of him and tossing it to the side. There was a moment of clear thought for her as Akande moved from her lips to her neck that made her realize just what this was hindering. “I have a dropship to catch.” She tells him. 

There’s a grumble, but he doesn’t move from his position. “Who is taking you?” 

“My driver?” A sigh escapes her lips at the feeling of his on her neck, fighting the urge to pry him off.

“I don’t trust them.” His voice rumbles against her skin.

She laughs almost breathlessly “You don’t trust anyone.” Her hands are firmly planted on his shoulders, pushing against them when she feels her shirt being untucked from her pants. “Akande.” She gave him a serious look when he finally looked up at her. “You have things you should be doing, like getting dressed.” Her jacket is picked up off the floor as she pulls away from him. 

 Akande watches her quietly, his arms crossed over his chest. “You have changed.” He comments, Jasmine looking over at him. 

“What? Am I supposed to be throwing myself at you? I’ve never been like that.” Her hair is being messed with in the mirror, her blazer returning to settle on her shoulders, staring at herself for a minute. “I’ve changed out of necessity, I didn’t need you around, but it sure did help.” She mutters, turning back around to face him for a moment until she went to grab her bag. “I need to get going.” 

 He grabs her arm as she passes by, pulling her back over to him. He stares into her eyes for a moment, watching her face silently. “You are not alone anymore, I can assure you I am not leaving again.” 

“I know you’re not K…”

“You don’t, you have put a barrier up, you fear losing me again.” 

 She stares at him silently, averting her eyes after a moment. “You were gone so suddenly and then it was all over the news, I wasn’t ready for it, not for you to be gone, not to have to tell Juju.” Her eyes lock with his after another moment, pain filled within them, but no tears. “But I couldn’t back down and I didn’t want to jeopardize my job or what we had, so I stayed and waited.” 

“And your ambition, your strength, your loyalty, I see it, it does not go unnoticed, you did not do it all for nothing I can assure you.” His arms are locked around her, keeping her in front of him. He watches as tears finally start to form in her eyes, her hands instantly flying up to wipe them away. 

“I’m not as strong as you.”

“A moment of weakness amongst a person you trust does not mean you are not strong. I think you have held this in for too long, you have fueled your rage with your sadness, put on a facade, you do not have to do that with me, if we are alone, do not hide.” He pulls her hands away from her face, wiping her tears with his thumb. “If you hide all of your emotions all the time it will eventually break you down instead of building you up and I do not want that, do you understand?”

 Jasmine nods, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. He was right, she had been hiding, up until now, her weaknesses were never shown as a defense mechanism, she never dared cry in front of people she didn’t trust. “Juju misses you.” She tells him after a minute, a smile appearing on his face.

“If you talk to him between now and Venice, tell him I will make the time to come visit.”

“You always have.” She presses a kiss to his lips before backing up, allowing him to stand while she went to grab all of her things. 

“Let me walk you down.”

“Go get ready! I’ll be fine.” Her hand is waved dismissively at him. Akande gives her a look, causing Jasmine to sigh and pull out her phone, typing in a quick message before dropping it back in there. “Reaper will be escorting me.” 

Akande laughs. “Reaper doesn’t like you.”

“He doesn’t have to, he just has to follow orders.” The statement was filled with sass, he now saw just what Reaper was talking about. Her bag was slung over her shoulder as she did another look around to make sure she had everything. “You tell Max I said hello and I will let you know when I make it to Venice.” She crosses the room, pressing a kiss to his cheek before turning around, only to be pulled back to him for a proper goodbye kiss. Akande pulls away, smirking down at her and getting one last look before sending her on her way, the woman making it to the door and looking back over at him. “I love you.” 

 There’s a nod, but Jasmine doesn’t give him the chance to say it back before opening the door, partially because he rarely said it back before, especially around associates and she figured Reaper would be standing right outside the door, which was correct. “Evening Reaper.” She speaks, the door shutting behind her. Akande shakes his head in amusement, heading into the bathroom to take a shower. He knew Widowmaker and Sombra were still getting ready and he wasn’t one to rush a woman, let alone two of his own assassins, besides, it gave him time to think, to reflect and most importantly, plan his next move, though this one was more personal. He would have to ask Maximilien after Venice…if anyone knew a good jeweler, it was him.

Chapter Text

The airport was insanely crowded, like crazy crowded, granted, it was a holiday weekend and Denver was a busy airport. Jules Spencer Perryman was a college student who attended university in New York, but was in Colorado for football purposes, a training his coach put him and a couple of other players through, he wasn’t supposed to leave until Friday, but something came up with his mom, so he had to go. He sat at his gate, already gone through security and everything, got his bags checked and had his backpack settled on his lap. He was playing some mobile game on his phone when a call came across the top of the screen, Jules instantly answering it.

“Hello?” He spoke into the phone after he pressed it against his ear.

“I upgraded you to first class, no nephew of mine is riding in economy.”

Jules smiled a little at the voice that came through the line, shaking his head. “Thanks Auntie, but you didn’t have to do that, I’m just flying home to see mom, that’s your money.”

There was a scoff that followed that. “You think I paid for that? No Sobrino, I hacked into the system, thank me later, you got a full flight.” The call ended after that, his auntie was never one to stay on the phone long, she worked with his mom and in their line of work, the slightest mishap with security could cost them their lives. 

 Jules was the son of a deadbeat father known as Keith Devin Simmons and a very powerful mother known as Jasmine Kabyra Perryman, she’s a company ambassador for Torr. Corporations, America’s technology leader. His mom had been working with other companies for Torr. Corp since he was ten, but when he was thirteen, she got a promotion, he recalls her telling him that the promotion meant a huge pay increase, but it also meant that she would be traveling a bit more. He didn’t mind the traveling, but he certainly missed his mom, especially since his dad wasn’t one to show up very often, but the pay increase was definitely noticed very quickly, Jasmine wasn’t as stressed about money and they got to do a lot more whenever she was home.

 Though he noticed a change in his mother’s personality as a whole, a little bit after she had gotten the promotion she was a bit….jumpy, or maybe it was more observant, either way, she was very aware of her surroundings. It was something he had picked up in his childhood, how to read his mother, she was never mean or nasty to him, but she did hide if she was sad or stressed and he was able to figure it out. It wasn’t long after the first change came that the next one did, she was distinctly happier, less jumpy, but certainly happier. 

“Juju, come out here baby!” His mother called him out from his bedroom, the fourteen year old exiting out into the hallway with his phone in hand. What he came out to was his mother sitting in the living room in her leisure wear, her hair tied up in a black head scarf. The way she was sitting said she wanted to talk about something serious, her legs crossed with her hands resting on top of her knee, but she didn’t use his full name, so he wasn’t in trouble. “Sit down, mama wants to talk to you bout something.” The spot on the couch next to her was patted.

 Jules cautiously came and sat down, setting his phone in his pocket and looking at her. “Is everything okay, mama?” He asked, had something happened? Had she gotten fired? Did someone die?

Jasmine nodded at him, smiling softly. “You remember how I told you that there might be a day when I meet someone that I like a lot and I’d want you to meet them too?” She asked, Jules nodded. He had long accepted that his parents weren’t getting back together, they never got married in the first place. He also knew his mother had gone on dates, but he had only met one boyfriend one time when he was ten, but nothing ever came of that, so this was a surprise to him that she potentially wanted him to meet another guy, it was exciting too, it meant his mom actually liked whoever this guy was, for she was always very careful on who she let around him. “Well, mom has a boyfriend now and she really wants you to meet him, is that okay?”

  He thought about it for a minute, he knew his mom, he knew that he was the most important thing in her life, she would do anything for him. “…can we do it here?” He asked, he felt as if his own home would be a better place.

”We can do it however you want to! Let me tell you a bit about him so you have an idea.”

Akande Ogundimu was his name, owner of Ogundimu prosthetics company, Jasmine told Jules she met him at a business conference and that they had been talking for a while, going on dates whenever their time permitted it, she seemed really happy, so Jules was willing to give the man a shot. It was hard for him to say the least, he never thought his mom would date anyone seriously, yet here she was, introducing someone she was certain would stick around.

“JuJu! Can you get the door please? I’m a little busy.”

Jules huffed a little as he paused his game, glancing to the side of his bed where there was a pitbull puppy sleeping peacefully. “Come on Ajax, gotta get the door.” He hopped off the bed, assisting the puppy in getting down before walking out of his room, Ajax trotting behind him.

”Is that sass I hear?”

“What? No mama, that was Ajax.” Jules lied, he just didn’t want to get in trouble with his mama. He made his way to the door, his heart pounding a little, he knew who it was, it was Akande and he was very *very* nervous to meet the man, what kid wouldn’t be? Especially since his mom had been single for so long, it was a normal feeling to have. He grabbed a hold of the doorknob, turning the knob slowly, pulling it open to reveal a very tall man. “Whoa.” He spoke suddenly, looking up and down over him. “Uh I’m assuming you’re my mom’s….boyfriend.” There had to be a better word for it, Akande was not a boy in any sense of the word.

 A deep chuckle followed the statement, Akande adjusting the sleeves on his shirt. “I suppose you could say that.” He had a thick African accent. “And you must be her son, Jules.” His hand was held out in front of Jules, the boy shaking it after a moment of staring at it, taking a moment to realize that’s what he meant. “Akande Ogundimu.”

“Cool, you can uhm…come inside.” He stepped out the side, watching as Akande ducked underneath the door frame. His mother waved over from the kitchen, a small snicker exiting her lips when Ajax began barking up at Akande. “Boy stop barking, you can’t do anything to him.” Jules muttered, watching as Akande knelt down in front of the puppy, letting him sniff his hand, gaining his trust before being permitted to pet the little thing. Jules grabbed a hold of Ajax’s leash and harness, whistling for the dog to come over to him. “I’m taking Ajax out, I’ll be back.” He announced once Ajax was strapped into his harness, walking out the door without getting any verbal acknowledgment from his mother…he didn’t like this one bit.

Looking back now, he probably should’ve been a little nicer at first, Akande was very kind to him when he returned from walking his dog, the two of them got to speak without the influence of his mother when she received a phone call, he was a cool guy, praised him for being the only freshman on the varsity football team in high school. He told his mom that he thought Akande was okay, it was what he was telling himself too, he didn’t want to build up false hope to be let down again like he had many times with his own father. 

 Akande didn’t come around very often, every now and again, Jasmine was usually on the phone with him. She always sounded so happy when talking to him, even if the conversation seemed serious, there was just a tone in her voice, it was true happiness. She was also incredibly spoiled by Akande, like crazy spoiled, she had new clothes all the time, new jewelry, his aunt Jazlynn once asked his mom if she was a sugar baby rather than a girlfriend, to which his mother blew her shit on her. Overall, Jules didn’t particularly mind Akande, he was nice, but serious, light hearted jokes came out every now and again, he was capable of being funny. 

But perhaps the biggest thing, the thing that really solidified how Jules truly felt about his mom’s boyfriend was the State Championships. It was truly an honor that he, as a freshman, was even on the varsity team, but to go to the championships first year? That was even better! Jasmine was so proud of him, telling all her friends about it and he, himself, even told his dad. His father was a deadbeat to say the least, but fifteen year old him hadn’t quite seen that yet, he was still holding onto hope that he would come around. Much to his surprise his father said he would come, even sent him a screenshot of the ticket he had purchased for the game, it gave Jules a lot of hope at the time.

 Akande said he couldn’t attend, he had business to attend to in Brazil, which bummed Jules just a little bit, but he understood and told him it was fine since his father would be attending. The day they arrived at the hotel, his mother went up to the front desk to check in, she was up there for a while before coming back with a huge smile on her face. Jasmine took him up to a massive room, a deluxe suite or something, it was like a mini apartment, he and his mom had their own rooms in it, Akande had upgraded their room and had the money refunded to his mom’s card, the whole thing being put on his own.

 Surprising was an understatement, but it was definitely appreciated. The disappointment didn’t come until later that night while his mom was out getting dinner for the two of them. He had been at the pool with some of his teammates when he got a text from his father, he wasn’t coming, he couldn’t make it, something had come up, like it always did. Jules retreated to his room for the night, breaking down into tears until his mom came back. He could tell she was furious when he told her, but didn’t show it, she left him his dinner and him alone for the night, coming to check up on him once or twice before he eventually fell asleep. 

The hallway was loud with his team’s hype about the game ahead, but Jules was silent, he stood in his uniform leaning back against the concrete wall. “Perryman’s in demon mode.” One of his teammates said, a senior named Landon, he shoved Jules lightly, chuckling, but Jules’ face didn’t move. “Oh come on dude! We’re at the championships!”

”Braves! Don’t try and cheer him up, he’s gonna play like a beast today!” Another player shouted, nodding over at Jules. “I am sorry about your dad though.”

 No one said anything else to him, for it was time to go out on the field. They all piled out into the center of the stadium, hundreds of people in the stands above. He and teammates piled onto the sidelines, a group going up with the coach to the center of the field to do the coin toss to decide who got the ball or not. Jules sat on the bench quietly, his helmet resting in his hand, fingers holding it through the guards. His leg bounced on the ground below, watching his coach and the refs in the center of the field.

 ”Ayo Perryman, who is that big ass dude with your mom?” Landon’s voice hit his ears and there was a feeling that swelled in his heart as he turned around to look in the crowd behind them.

”What are you talking about?” He asked, standing up, following Landon’s finger as he pointed into the bleachers. His eyes settled first on who Landon was talking about, a tall, dark skinned man in a nice button down and a pair of sunglasses, his mother standing next to him, catching sight of her son down on the field and waving, tapping the man next to her and pointing down at her. The nod he got for some reason solidified that it was indeed Akande sitting next to his mother, he had made it. “That’s my mom’s boyfriend.” Jules replied, a huge smile spreading across his face as he began to bounce a little in his place, he wasn’t in demon mode anymore, but he sure as shit had to play his heart out now.

Jules smiled a little at the memory as he got settled in his seat on the flight, that moment had always stood out to him, even now at twenty, Akande had heard about his father not coming and the moment he did he caught a flight to get to New York to be there for him. They did win the championship and Akande praised him for it, giving him a pat on the back and taking him and his mom out to dinner that night. The initiative he had taken sadly proved to Jules that if his father really wanted to, he would, which was a hard pill to swallow, but it also made him grateful that he realized it while simultaneously gaining someone who did want to put forth the effort to get him where he needed to be. 

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end.

Math was just as boring as you would think it would be, especially sophomore math, he understood it, hell, he had almost a perfect grade in the class, he regretted not taking the opportunity to take ninth grade math in eighth grade, then he’d be in junior math right now, but either way, here he was. “You’ll be working on this packet for the rest of the class, there’s three sections in it, we’re doing section one right now, whatever you don’t finish in it will be homework tonight.” His teacher settled the packet down on his desk, going down the row of desks.

 He began to work on it quietly, breezing through the first couple of questions with ease until he got to the word problem at the bottom of the page. As he read through the problem he heard a small commotion from behind him, a couple of students whispering and gasping. “Doomfist got arrested.” He heard someone say, causing him to turn around completely. They were all watching something on a phone, wincing at whatever was coming on the screen.

”Did you say Doomfist?” Jules asked, he had heard about him, a criminal who ran with the terrorist organization known as Talon. He knew more about the second Doomfist than the new one, but he never really paid attention to any of that stuff.

”Yeah, Overwatch got him, here I’ll send you the link to the video, he got Tracer and Genji real good, but Winston ended up finishing him off.” His classmate tapped a bit on his phone, a vibrate in his pocket indicating that he had gotten the video. He pulled his phone out and tapped on the link, a video to a news story popped up, the omnic news reporter adjusting the data pad in her hands.

`”International News from Singapore today, Overwatch agents ambushed Doomfist yesterday, a public enemy and a known member of the terrorist organization known as Talon.”` *a picture popped up on the screen of the supposed Doomfist and Jules felt his heart drop instantly into his stomach, recognizing the face of the man with the golden fist on his right arm as Akande Ogundimu, his mother’s boyfriend. The rest of the news story was blocked out by ringing in his ear, watching intently as the fight that was captured was displayed on his phone screen. Akande stood being bombarded by bullets and ninja stars from Overwatch agents, he knocked Winston down! Threw a car door at Genji who was running on a building! Ripped Tracer’s chrono accelerator off from her back sending her spiraling through time and finally Winston came back to finish the job.

 His heart pounded in his chest as he watched every hit that Akande endured until the final blow to which Jules locked his phone, slamming it down on his desk, his hand flying up. “May I use the bathroom?” He asked when called on, hopping out of his seat and hastily exiting the room. Fingers flew to his recent calls list, tapping the first one on his list, his mother, the phone going up to his ear. Surely, this was a mistake, Doomfist just happened to look exactly like Akande, same stature and everything, there was no way that Akande was Doomfist, his mother would vouch for him.

”Hey baby.” His mother’s voice came through the phone, a sniffle following right afterwards, she had been crying, which only made him panic more.

He sat there silent for a moment, he was sure his mother could hear his heart pounding through the phone. “Mom….why is Akande on the news?” There was another silence, this time from his mom, neither of them said anything until finally, she spoke.

”I’m coming to get you, we’ll talk when we get home, I love you Juju.” Was all she said before she hung up, leaving him standing in the hallway mortified, did she know that Akande was Doomfist? Was she fully aware? How could she be? Did he tell her on a date or something and she was just okay with it? It’s not like Jules could say he wasn’t actually the owner of a prosthetics company because his company literally began with Akande’s last name! He went back to class confused and dazed, unable to get more than another half a page done on his packet.

 It was halfway through his next class when he was called down to the office to be checked out, the hall seemed infinite, but eventually, he got to the front, his mom waiting for him in her work attire. “Come on baby.” She whispered, taking his bag for him and walking outside of the school with him. The car ride was silent for the most part aside from the radio and the occasional sniffle from his mother, she was definitely upset about this, but what aspect of it he didn’t know. When they got home, Jasmine locked the door behind them, checking all the windows and closing the curtains. It reminded him of when she first got her promotion, she no longer felt secure.

 Jasmine sat down with him on the couch, their dog Ajax coming up and laying on the floor by their feet. “I wanna start off by saying that yes….Akande is Doomfist.” She admitted, watching painfully as Jules’ face twisted in confusion and slight anger.

”You knew?” He asked, watching as his mom nodded.

“My promotion at work was because Torr Corp had made a deal with Talon to be business partners, all my business trips are to go to Talon facilities and monitor the use of Mister Torres’ technology.” She explains, sighing at her son’s face. “That’s where I met Akande and at first we were just business partners, but….it just grew into something more.”

 Jules sat there silently, he was so confused, but he felt…he felt betrayed, by not only his mother and not only by Akande, but by himself as well. How could he like Akande so much if he was a murderer? A terrorist? How could he enjoy all the things he got from his mom’s promotion when the work she was doing was with monsters? Was he a monster himself? He felt tears forming in his eyes, looking at his mother through clouded vision. “Mama…they hurt people.” He tells her. “They kill people.”

”I….I know.” She replies, tears forming in her own eyes. “I’m sorry baby, I didn’t want you to find out like this, I wanted to wait just a bit longer, but then Akande….” She pauses, a sob escaping her lips, her face going into her hands, she was heartbroken at the loss, shattered and destroyed, a villain Akande may be, but he was also the man she loved. Jules realized it too, he realized that Akande was gone, in prison for his crime for no doubt the rest of his life and while Jules was confused and angry, there was a stinging in his heart. He would never see the man who thought he was worth it ever again, for the crimes Akande committed were worthy of a no contact prison sentence or even the death penalty.

 Akande definitely didn’t get the death penalty, but he was in a maximum security prison and had no contact with anyone as far as anyone knew. There was another shift in his mother, she was definitely sadder than before, but she was also angrier. She never lashed out at him, but she was always mad about something when it came to work, the other members of Talon were treating her differently with Akande gone, she was disrespected and disregarded.

 The past six years had shaped his mother into a different woman, a stronger one, she had built a tighter defense to her attackers, she had looked death in the face before and not flinched once, he was certainly proud of her to say the least and he didn’t have to worry about her at home while he was off in college. It was relieving and alarming all the same, he was worried one day he would get a call that his mother was dead, murdered by the very people she worked with, but he knew she had some friends in Talon, some she had even let meet him. The woman who called him to let him know his class had gotten switched was one of them,  her name was Sombra. 

His flight landed in New York after a couple of hours and he gathered his things, he only had a backpack and a dufflebag so he would be able to head straight for the exit, not needing to go to baggage claim or anything. He had an uber outside waiting for him, having pre-booked the ride before he got on his flight in Denver. “Good afternoon.” He greeted the driver, nodding with a little smile before he got settled in the back, his mom’s apartment wasn’t any more than an hour from the airport, he just hoped traffic wouldn’t be too bad, he was tired of sitting after all. Jules was certainly happy that his mom was able to come home for a bit, she had been working a lot as of recently since a lot of stuff was going down in Talon.

 It took an hour and a half to get to his mom’s which wasn’t bad considering what it could have been. The driver received a very generous tip from him right after he got out of the car, adjusting his backpack on his shoulder and gripping the handle on his duffle before he made his way inside the lobby of his mom’s apartment complex. It was an extremely nice apartment complex, she paid an obscene amount of money to stay there, but she could afford it so it didn’t exactly matter what she did with her funds. The elevator took him up to one of the upper floors where his mother’s apartment sat with only one other on the floor. Jasmine knew her neighbor quite well, but they weren’t really friends, she wasn’t a very social person.

 Keys jingled as they were fished out of his pocket, spilling he got to the right one while using only one hand, sliding it into the slot and unlocking the door, pulling at the handle on the door. He was greeted with a bark and nails tapping against the tile, Ajax running out from the kitchen, his butt wiggling in excitement at the sight of Jules, jumping up on his legs when he was close enough. “Hey buddy! Look at you! Where’s mom?” He asked, loving on the dog in front of him. 

“Hey baby!” Jasmine greeted, stepping out from the bedroom and walking over to him, squeezing him into a hug. “How was your flight?” She inquired.

“It was good, got a little upgrade.”

Jasmine chuckled, shaking her head. “Sombra loves spoiling you.” She tells him, walking over to the kitchen to check something she had on the stove. “I’m making that chicken and rice stuff you like.” She turns a little when he walks over. Jules peaked over her shoulder, staring at the pot on the stove and tilting his head. 

“For what? Dinner the next three days? That’s a lot of food for the two of us mama.”

“Well, it’s not for the two of us Juju, it’s for the three of us.” 

Jules blinked at his mother, noticing her gesturing behind him at the tail end of her arm falling. He turned around in an instant, his heart stopping at the sight of a very familiar man in front of him, a large one, one from the distant back of his mind, always there, sometimes in the front, but mostly in the back for his own sake. Akande Ogundimu stood before him, the slimmest hint of a smile on his face, nodding at the young man in front of him. “Hello again Jules.” 

 He had a decision to make, after all these years, all this time, did he care about the crime? About the Doomfist? About being the leader of Talon? Or did he just want the man who showed up when it mattered? Jules knew that if Akande had never gotten arrested he would’ve been there, for the football games he could make it to, for his graduation, for his signing to his college, he would’ve been there and that was enough for Jules. He closed the distance, wrapping his arms around the hulk of a man, earning a deep chuckle and a pat on the back.

“It is good to see you too, you’ve grown.” Akande observes, patting his shoulder when he pulls away. 

“You’re still bigger…when did you get out?”

“About a month and a half ago, but I had some business to attend to, I’m sure you understand.”

“Yeah! Mom’s always busy so I can’t imagine what your schedule is like.” Jules shrugged, sitting down at the bar in his mom’s kitchen and looking over at his mom, the woman watching the two of them with a small smile on her face. “I’m sure you’ve been having fun with him.”

 Jasmine snorted, her eyes widening for a moment. “Oh yeah totally, tons of fun, getting some loose ends tied up so we can get everything going.” She turned back to the food on the stove, allowing Jules and Akande to catch up on things since they haven’t seen each other in six years. After about thirty minutes she realized she left something from the store in her car downstairs. “I’ll be back, don’t destroy my house.” She patted Akande’s back as she walked by, the man watching her leave the apartment before turning back to Jules.

“So….do you have any questions?” He inquired, it had been years and he knew Jasmine had to tell Jules about the whole Talon thing so he was more than happy to provide the information Jasmine couldn’t give him. In fact, he was a little disappointed when Jules told him he *didn’t* have any questions. 

“Not really, mom filled me in on a lot of it, I was really mad about it at first, but I understood why mom didn’t want to tell me though.” He shrugged, tapping his finger on the counter in front of him. “I didn’t understand the ideals at first, but mom got me on board with it, I just won’t be joining.” There was a mutual nod of understanding.

 Akande adjusted his posture, looking over at Juju quietly before clearing his throat. “I do have a question for you though, a pretty important one.” He looked over at Jules, the young man making a face at him.

“What question do you have for me?”

Akande fished into the pocket of his pants, pulling out a small box and opening it, showing a very expensive looking ring to him. “Jules, I would like permission from you to marry your mother.” He was a traditional man, but he didn’t really know Jasmine’s father like that, so the next best thing would be her son, the most important part of her life. Eyes were fixated on the ring in front of Jules, in awe at the sight of it and the question, glancing back and forth between the ring and Akande. It had been years since he had seen his mom happy and the last time she was happy was when Akande was around and based on her current behavior, she was getting back to that stage in her life. 

 Jules looked at Akande with a smile on his face, a nod following it. “Of course you can, just promise me you’ll protect her no matter what happens.” It was a reasonable request, but a serious one, he knew the Talon lifestyle was a very dangerous one, he lived in constant fear over the years about his mom around all of those guys with the power to kill someone at the snap of their fingers.

A giant hand was set on top of his shoulder, Akande giving him a serious nod. “You have my word, your mother will have my protection if she is to ever end up in a situation she cannot handle.” That was the best he was gonna get from Akande, the man knew what Jasmine could handle, he knew her strengths and he wasn’t going to fight her battles for her, but if it was something she genuinely couldn’t take, like physical battles, Akande had her. Jules supposes the promise is a good one, allowing his mother to get stronger while still knowing her weaknesses. “…I’m proud of you Jules, you grew into a very strong young man.” The comment seemed to come out of nowhere, but it had been a long time coming, he deserved to hear it after all this time, he had never heard it from his own father.

“Thanks d…” Jules stops himself, Akande shaking his head with a chuckle.

“If you believe I am worthy of that title, then you are entitled to call me it.”

“Thanks dad.” There’s a moment of silence. “….naaah that don’t sound right.” He says, Akande letting out a loud laugh, Jules cracking up not too long after. “You can have the title man, but I’m still calling you Kan.”

“That is quite alright with me, I am honored either way.”