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You honestly couldn’t believe you were allowed to go on such an important mission, seeing as you were a fairly new recruit. You were quite anxious. It was flattering that the higher-ups thought that you were good enough for it, but what if you screwed up the mission? What if you were so bad they never sent you on another mission ever again?
The cherry to the top of this anxiety sundae was the discovery that your - and keep in mind, the term was used quite loosely - partner was none other than the insane pyromaniac, Junkrat.
How in the blazes were you going to succeed at this mission when you had to keep a careful eye on the junker at the same time?
It would take a freaking miracle.
“Oi, ya ready, (Y/N)?” your partner asked excitedly, holding one of his many bombs loosely in his hand.
You cringed, staring at the explosives. “Do you really need to have those out right now?”
Junkrat gave you a slightly offended look. “O’course we do! How else are we gonna cause murder and mayhem?”
“By not causing it.” You crossed your arms. “We are going in silently and undetected while the others distract Talon.” Honestly, why did they assign Junkrat the sneaking role? He was perfectly suited for distracting - alone. He made you nervous.
You watched as Junkrat visibly wilted under your chastising. He looked like a sad dog, which caused your heart to hurt. At the thought of a sad dog - not the psychopath you were working with. He was just one of those freaky junkers.
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t blow things up when we’re leaving, right?” Junkrat asked suddenly, perking up at the thought.
You pinched the bridge of your nose, letting out a loud sigh. “I mean, I guess... but only if we’re found out.” Which was probably unavoidable with Junkrat. “Just don’t do anything that attracts attention to you.” Easier said than done, you added silently.
He pouted. “Don’t be such a spoilsport, mate.”
“Just deal with it - for this mission at the very least.”
He pouted. “Fine, we’ll follow your boring rules.”
“Thank you,” you muttered.
Soon, the signal went off, spurring you and your partner into motion.The two of you rushed through small side streets and hidden alleyways on the way to Talon’s outpost.
Evidently, the other group was doing their job quite well. Neither you nor Junkrat saw anybody from Talon on your way down. The most danger the two of you were in was one of Junkrat’s bombs going off. You forbid him from using his explosives at all for the rest of the mission, to his despair.
By some miracle, only a couple of the opposing team found you both. At that point, however, the two of you were outside the outpost.
After you had successfully - and quietly - dispatched the third Talon agent, Junkrat began to bother you about the explosives again.
“C’mon, (Y/N), it wouldn’ be too distracting! Most of them are up near the front lines right now!”
“No.”
“Please, just one little explosion, it wouldn’ endanger the mission, we’re already here, so-”
“Are you kidding me? Of course it will, I just can not believe that you would-!” You stopped yourself before you got too far. Instead, you just glared at him irritated.
Junkrat didn’t take the hint, and continued with his pitch. “Just one lil’ kaboom, would that be too much to -”
“Yes! Of course that would be too much to ask, Jamison Fawkes!” you screamed angrily, driven to the edge. The loud yell put an abrupt end to his spiel.
There was a long silence between the tall Australian and you.
“I... How’d ya know my name?” Junkrat finally demanded, eyes fiery, face pale.
You fixed him with a cool look. “Unlike you, I try to get background knowledge on a mission. That includes the place we’re going to be in, the people we’re going against, and the maniac I’m going to end up working with.”
The fire in Junkrat’s eyes dimmed a bit. “You think I’m a maniac?” he asked quietly, a desolate tone in his voice.
You didn’t respond. You couldn’t believe you just broke your semi-professional veneer. In training, you had been taught to never let on how much you disliked your partner. It made missions easier, with a mutual tolerance. But your anxiety to do well on your first mission had broken all protocol.
Now that you were looking at Junkrat - really looking - you saw an uncertainty and nervousness that he normally hid behind inappropriate humor and explosions. He was human, just like you. He felt things other than the excitement of blowing things up. Why did you have to be so rude to your own freaking partner?
“I...” You realized you didn’t know how to take back what you said. Or at least lessen the pain you had inflicted on him. “Junkrat, I’m -”
“Never mind,” Junkrat cut you off. “We’ve got a job to do.” He sounded completely serious, looked it too.
It didn’t fit. Junkrat being serious scared you.
“Junkrat...” You cringed at the desperation in your voice.
He ignored you.
***
On the whole, the mission was a complete success. You got the information you needed, you had no dangerous hitches (ignoring the bomb that Junkrat had set off), nobody got injured; however, in your book, it was a failure. You ruined your relationship - professional or otherwise - with the junker. This caused no end to anxiety for you, seeing as the higher-ups took the mission success as more reason to pair you with him.
This would be a severe liability later, and you knew it.
So, when you heard that you would be going on another mission with Junkrat at the end of the week, you panicked. You would have to patch up your relationship... but you didn’t know where to start.
For the second time in as many weeks, you stood next to Junkrat. It appeared that Junkrat had complained about just working with you, though, seeing as his long-term partner, Roadhog towered over the two of you.
Today, your team was to be offensive, going in and flushing out the nest of Talon agents.
You nervously bounced on the balls of your feet. You were throwing quick side glances at Junkrat, trying to gauge how he’d respond if you tried to speak with him.
At the moment, he was ignoring you completely. Instead, he talked excitedly to Roadhog about some miscellaneous thing. Probably bombs.
You looked back down to your feet, heart feeling a little crushed. Multiple times this week, you had tried to apologize, but every time, Roadhog would send you away quietly - well, except for your last encounter. That was... less than peaceful.
Already, you could tell this mission was going to be awful.
Minutes later, and your prediction was holding true. Your partners were completely disregarding you. This left you to fend for yourself. It was ridiculous - there was no way you would be able to keep this up.
No better time than the present to fix things up. You gritted your teeth and began to battle towards Junkrat.
“Ja-” You were cut off by a loud explosion. This looked like it was going to be much more difficult than you had originally thought.
Junkrat danced away, cackling maniacally at the poor sap he had just blown to smithereens.
Eventually, you found yourself close enough to call out to him. You didn’t know how you managed to do it, but you weren’t about to argue about it. It had taken a lot of time and you were in no hurry to repeat the wild movements that had gotten you here.
“Jamison!” you cried out, hand outstretched towards him desperately.
Junkrat stiffened and threw a quick glance over his shoulder to confirm your identity. “Oh, if it isn’t our dear lil’ (Y/F/N) (Y/L/N). Why’re ya over here with this maniac?” He pumped enough venom into the word to kill a hundred men.
You flinched. “J-jamison, please, I just wanted to-”
“NO!”
You startled at the - unsurprisingly - explosive response.
“Jamie, please. Could you let me -”
“Why? Why should I, (Y/N)?” He glared at you. You had forgotten just how tall the man was.
“You know, if you would let me explain, I could actually elaborate on that. See -”
“WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?” he bellowed.
“Because I love you!” The words escaped your mouth before you could stop them. As soon as you heard them, you knew them to be true. His quirky ways and hobbies had grown on you without you ever knowing.
Junkrat stared at you, mouth gaping. “Ya what?”
In a smaller, more uncertain voice, you said, “I-i love you, Jamison. I guess I was just scared, but that’s really no excuse for what I did. I am so so sorry, I swear -”
Once again, he cut you off, but this time, it was because he pressed a long, slightly sooty kiss on your lips.
You were taken aback. You never thought that the junker would be the first to initiate contact - hell, you never thought he would be so freaking good at kissing.
When the two of you came up for air, you saw a goofy smile grace Junkrat’s face.
“Always wanted to do that.”
A small smile worked its way onto your face. Unfortunately, the kiss was so amazing, it caused you to forget your surroundings.
You felt a sharp pain suddenly punch through your back.
The smile on Junkrat’s face disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It was followed closely by one of pure horror. He dragged you into his arms as you struggled to breathe.
Judging by how the wound felt, it was some projectile that had pierced your lungs. The air refused to enter them.
“(Y/N)!” Junkrat screamed, cradling you close to him. “No, no, no! Roadie, get Mercy o-or Lucio or anybody! Please, (Y/N), stay with me!”
Again, you saw that serious expression that didn’t belong on his face.
“J-jamie,” you rasped, weakly reaching for his face. “Pl-please don’t let me die with you being so sad.” You struggle to smile at him.
“Nononono, ya... ya’ll live through this, got it? I can’t lose ya right after...” Anguish filled his face, tears falling from his eyes.
You gave him a small smile, lightly ruffling his ashy hair. “I-it’s okay, Jamie. Just pr-promise me you’ll smile after I-i’m gone.”
“No, (Y/N), please...” A softness penetrated his voice, something vulnerable that he never used.
“Goodnight, Jamie. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Your cold hand fell from his head.