Work Text:
Ana sat in her seat, her fingers mindlessly clicking away at keys. She was at Watchpoint: Gibraltar, working on a report of the recent Overwatch mission she supervised. Ana Amari, Reinhardt Wilhelm, Cole Cassidy, Genji Shimada, Angela Ziegler… she wrote, peeking out her office’s window. It was getting dark so quickly, and it made her wonder if time was going faster or not.
She found her mind wandering to Reinhardt while she typed his name and the things he’d done on the mission. Wilhelm held down a strong defense for his squadron, resulting in success of the mission. What was he doing now? Probably training, Ana supposed. He trained late into the night sometimes, and Ana couldn’t help but admire his drive and determination lasting into his older age. She almost, almost, didn’t catch her cheeks flushing as she thought of him.
We are much too old to become flustered about one another, she thought to herself. Still, despite all they’d shared and been through, Ana felt as though she’d never left the control room they danced in for hours when they were young, and it made her heart flutter the very same.
Click!
She jumped a bit at the sudden interruption, scanning the door across the room with her eyes, listening for any noise. When she heard a large footstep, her shoulders relaxed. Just Reinhardt.
“Ah, hello Ana.. I should be more quiet, shouldn’t I? I did try, but if I was successful in that, you wouldn’t be so relaxed, right?” Reinhardt spoke, his voice in as much a hushed whisper as a behemoth of a man like him could muster.
Ana smiled, the crows feet at the edge of her eye becoming more prominent. “You almost got me that time, Reinhardt,” she laughed, “but I’m afraid you’ll have to be much quieter next time.”
His eyes softened even further as he smiled back at her. “As a maus.”
Neither noticed they were smiling at each other in silence for a few moments until Ana spoke. “What did you come here for, Reinhardt? Surely it wasn’t to speak to an old lady, was it?”
“You know, I was considering that…” Reinhardt pretended to think for a second before continuing, “but I’m afraid there is something I had in mind instead.”
Ana turned in her chair, her body now facing him, showing her full attention to him. She leaned forward, brows raised, and nodded her head for him to go on. Her interest was piqued, wondering what exactly couldn’t wait until morning to discuss.
Reinhardt made his way to her desk and motioned for her to get up. She did, and one of his hands grasped her own, and his other covered her eyes.
“Oh, we’re keeping secrets now?” Ana teased.
“You started with them.” Reinhardt retorted as he guided her away.
It felt like forever before Ana recognized the path they were taking. He was taking her towards his quarters, and as they got there she tried to peek out.
“Your quarters? What for?”
“Maybe I should’ve taken a different route…” He whispered to himself. His door slid open with a few taps of a tablet on the wall, and his hand left Ana’s eyes.
She was met with a low-lit room, with the dining table moved to the middle of the room, two plates of food and a candle between them. She craned her neck up to look at Reinhardt. “What is this for?”
He tilted his head, his eyes showing a little surprise before he let out a loud laugh. “You! Who else?”
“Me? What’s the occasion?” Ana’s eyes went wide. She rarely saw Reinhardt cook, and usually it was microwave food or something not that great.
“Does there have to be one?” He replied, leading her toward the table.
The food looked really good, which raised Ana’s suspicion. She inhaled through her nose and immediately was brought back home, she recognized koshary anywhere. A meal she relied on during rough times, being filling and very delicious. Did Reinhardt do this just for her? He cooked a traditional Egyptian meal, just for her?
Reinhardt pulled out a chair and motioned for Ana to sit. “How gentlemanly of you.” Ana teased. He shrugged with a smile.
She sat, Reinhardt sitting in the chair across from her. She couldn’t help but giggle when she noticed the sheer difference in size between the chairs. If he sat in a normal chair, she was sure it’d break. Everything in his quarters were twice the size of the things in hers, to accommodate him.
Reinhardt grabbed a fork as did Ana, and he waited patiently for her to try it. She did and for a moment, it was amazing. But her mind changed when she tasted just how salty it was. This is… Terrible, Ana thought to herself. She smiled at him and swallowed the food.
“It’s really good. Did you do this just for me? You know you didn’t have to.” Ana lied, figuring telling him the truth would ruin the moment. Despite how disgusting the food was, it was really sweet of him to do this, and for no special occasion either.
Reinhardt let out a loud laugh, “Why wouldn’t I?! You work so hard, Ana! Don’t you deserve to be treated now and then? If I didn’t take care of you, what kind of a…” He trailed off.
Right, she thought. There is no real word for what we are. We never discussed it. But what is it then? Is now really the best time? No. Another day. Ana continued the conversation before things got awkward. “Well, thank you. It’s very thoughtful of you –”
She was interrupted by coughing and spitting. Right, he must've tasted it. How to save this now?
“This is terrible! How did you swallow this?” He said after drinking from his water.
Ana couldn’t help but giggle, and she put her hands on her knees and leaned forward. “I barely did. It is terrible. But you tried, didn’t you? It looks great.” She thought for a few moments before speaking again. “I have another idea in mind.”
Ana stood and snuffed out the candle, then flicked the lights on overhead, a low humming noise coming from them. She motioned with her hand to have Reinhardt come over to his small kitchen with her.
He did, and then spoke. “What are you planning?”
“You know, once I was deployed in Germany. I learned how to cook schnitzel there. Never made it once I left, but I did like it when I was there and made it a few times. I remember how,” Ana explained, while looking through his fridge. “And I think you have the ingredients to make it.”
Reinhardt almost felt his heart melt, his eyes squinted with a warm smile. He came behind Ana and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head. “I’m supposed to be treating you, meine liebe.”
“Wouldn’t this be more fun anyway?” She chuckled as she grabbed a few items from his fridge and pantry. He agreed and helped out with collecting the ingredients.
Pork, milk, eggs, flour, and breadcrumbs all lined up on the counter. Ana instructed Reinhardt to trim the fat off of the pork as she prepared the mixture. When she reached over him to reach for the bowls, she bumped into him and they both laughed. It all felt like they were young again, almost like she never left him. Never left Overwatch, never led him to believe she was dead. That ate away at her. How much he grieved her, all while she was hiding.
While they cooked the dish, Ana’s mind was elsewhere. She couldn't help but wonder what their relationship would be like if she hadn’t left. Fareeha seemed to be somewhat alright with it, despite her strained relationship with her mother. Reinhardt hadn’t done anything wrong in her eyes, while she was still grappling with her mother’s decisions.
While Ana was zoned out, a few jokes were cracked, a couple mishaps with the food, but eventually it was done. It looked great and Reinhardt definitely agreed, taking the plates over to the table before Ana spoke.
“Let’s eat somewhere more comfortable. Those chairs are not great to sit on for too long. Movie?” She suggested, with a loud laugh from Reinhardt. He nodded mid-chuckle and redirected towards the couch and TV nearby. She sat with her plate and sat with her legs on the couch, knees pointing up. Reinhardt sat directly next to her, putting on a movie they watched together so many years ago. A large arm wrapped around Ana, pulling her close to him, and they both tried the schnitzel.
Now it was Reinhardt who was reminded of home, a low hum of appreciation and bliss from his throat. “This is amazing, Ana. You always know how to turn things around.” He said while gently stroking her upper arm.
“You helped, compliment yourself too.” Ana replied, slightly leaning into his touch.
“Right,” he replied, kissing her head like earlier.
“Thank you, schatz.”