Chapter Text
“Jack?”
“…”
“Jaaaaaack?”
“…”
“Jack, Jack, Jack...”
“Lena, what?”
Slowly, Jack peered out of the covers, glaring blearily at the tiny girl by his bed. She smiled widely and lifted up a white tooth. “I lost it when I ran into your door.”
The six year old had apparently invited herself in, once again. With a groan, Jack sat up. “Winston’s gonna wonder where you are.”
“I know. It’s okay. He’ll make, he’ll make banana pancakes when I get back!” Lena was practically dancing in place. “It’s breakfast, Jack! Let’s go and, have a lot of breakfast!”
Cute kid. Gave poor Winston split hairs, but cute. Jack smiled softly. “Fine. Go wake everyone else up, kiddo.”
“Already diiid!”
All the same, the child speed demon took off. Jack cracked his back before stepping out of bed, smoothing his sleep shirt before leaving the room.
Everyone really was already awake… more or less. Jamie was working on turning his spoon into metal origami. Again. Genji’s head was leaning against the table, green hair tousled every direction possible. Hanzo was going through his phone, his hair neatly tied back and looking as much as an adult as an eleven year old could. And Angela, the family’s lady, was setting out bowls and choosing out cereal options that weren’t pure sugar.
Jamie noticed him first. Dropping the spoon that was practically bent into a triangle, he waved. “Hi dad! Did you sleep in today?”
Jack picked up the spoon and carefully bent it back into its proper shape. “One of you unplugged my alarm clock. I’m going to ask once who did. And don’t break the spoons.”
“It was me.”
Angela looked every inch of embarrassed. She set down a bowl at the head of the table. “It’s a Saturday, Jack. You can sleep in an hour or two.”
Hmph. Angela might look, and most of the time act, the part of an innocent child. But she had a sneaky side. Jack sighed and took his seat, taking the Cheerios and pouring himself a bowl. “If you do that again, you’re grounded,” He warned.
Angela smiled sweetly and set the milk in front of Jack. “Never again, then!” She chirped.
Hanzo looked up from his phone, slipping it back into his pocket. “What is the plan for today, Jack?”
“I wanna go see Mako! I wanna go see Mako!” Jamie was now standing up on his chair, hands planted on the table. “I made a best friend bracelet with Angie, I wanna give it to him!”
Hanzo snorted and raised an eyebrow. Jack swallowed before pointing down. “Butts belong in chairs. And yeah, we’re going over to Reinhardt’s today. We’re going to barbecue.”
The chorus of cheers, even a tired sounding one from Genji, was nearly deafening. Jamie did a little dance before plopping back into his seat.
Everyone liked going to Reinhardt’s house.
~*~
“You have a pool now?”
“Eh, Hana wants to learn how to swim! What was I supposed to do?”
“We have a public pool a half hour away.”
Winston carefully set a platter of lemonades down on the table, glancing over the railing of the back porch into the backyard… which was overflowing with children. “You remember to leave it covered, right? I don’t want Lena falling in.”
Reinhardt shrugged and leaned back. “It is covered, do not worry, my friend!”
Jack shook his head and took one of the glasses. “I think building a whole new pool was excessive.” Then again. That was just Reinhardt in a nutshell. The loving father his children deserved.
“TAG! YOU’RE IT! NO TAG BACKS!”
“Zarya, I’m not sure if I want to play-”
“Satya, go for Jamie, he really wants to be it.”
“But… He’s… so dirty though… Erm, Jamie? You’re it?”
“YIPPEE! I’M COMIN’ FOR YOU, MAKO!”
“Oh. No. Whatever will I do.”
“Oi! Put me down, you porker! Put me down!”
Everyone was having fun at least. A wild game of tag had sprung out among most of the kids, only a few opting to stay out. Ana chuckled and leaned against the table, shaking her head. “They’re going to all pass out tonight, aren’t they?”
“First weekend of summer it’s not raining. Lena’s going to try to sneak outside after dark. Again.” Winston sipped his lemonade, looking a bit sour.
Winston was the youngest out of their ‘single parents’ group, and only had little Lena. Granted, Lena was enough child for anyone- always moving, always exploring, always asking ‘why’. She was the sweetest thing, at least. Just a handful for those not ready.
Jack was honestly lucky he had adopted Angela first. The tiny orphaned Swiss girl. Shy, missing her parents desperately, but always trying to help others and keep a strong face. She was just as good for him as he was for her. The Shimada brothers had come around quite recently, their parents being killed in a violent car crash that nearly took Genji’s life. It did take both his legs below the knee, and his right arm. He was adjusting to the prosthetics quite well, even if some days he’d flinch at the mirror, seeing a scarred face. Hanzo had walked away without a scratch, and he was still quite sullen and disagreeable, but Jack was patient. The kid had lost his parents, that was rough. Jack would know.
Jamie was one of the ones that didn’t lose their parents. He was one of the ones that had to be taken away. Jack didn’t get the whole story, and Jamie acted mostly the part of the normal kid, but he tended to flinch whenever someone raised their voice harshly and acted out the most out of all of them. His Australian accent was as strong as it was when he was put in Jack’s lap, and it honestly didn’t seem like it would fade anytime soon. It took all of patience to deal with Jamie, especially on his worse days, but the kid acted better around Mako.
Apparently they’d been in the same foster home- Jamie had clawed and bit when Jack chose him but not Mako. He would’ve taken the older one, but there just wasn’t enough room in his house for two more kids. Jamie was inconsolable until Ana came over with a surprise. She had taken in Mako and was already working on adopting him.
Ana was the first other single parent Jack had met around here. She had one biological daughter, Fareeha, who was a little older than his Mercy. She was the spitting image of Ana. Other than Fareeha though, Ana had adopted two other little girls. Satya, an Indian girl with an eye for details and who loathed disorder, as well as Mei, a sweet girl from China who had an addiction to the Disney Movie Frozen and loved her puppy Snowball. To go from these three girls to adopt a giant of a boy that looked like he’d punch you if you looked at him wrong was… a bit of a change. But the two bonded over a love of tea cups and peace. He certainly wasn’t all bark though- someone made the mistake of shoving Satya into the mud… Mako reacted, in his words, ‘accordingly’. After that, no one picked on any of the Amari girls.
Reinhardt was introduced to them by Torbjorn. Reinhardt Wilhelm, a large man with a larger heart, and wanted nothing but children in his life. Aleksandra Zaryanova, better known by her nickname Zarya, was the first to enter his heart. She was one of the harder ones, suspicious, angry. But Reinhardt was gentle and careful, and soon they were the best of friends. There was plenty of room in Reinhardt’s heart though, as Hana, Lucio, and Zenyatta arrived basically all together. Zarya declared herself their big sister and doted on them almost as much as Reinhardt.
Something bumping against his knee dragged Jack from his thoughts. With a frown, he looked below the table.
A little boy with dark brown skin, clutching a golden bouncy ball, looked back.
“Hello, Mr. Morrison.”
Reinhardt startled a bit before laughing loudly and looking underneath. “Zen! You’re not supposed to be under the table! What are you doing under there, boy?”
“Hiding. I don’t want to play tag right now.”
Ana softly cooed and lifted the boy onto her lap, letting him twist the ball between his fingers. “Well, you don’t have to hide under there, little one. You can stay here, on Ana’s lap.”
Zenyatta quietly smiled. “Thank you, Miss Amari. I think I’d like that. Mr. Lindholm? Is lunch going to be ready soon?”
A bushy face glanced out from behind the grill, scowling. “It would be done a lot faster if I had someone helping me. Wilhelm, quit talking and help me with these steaks!”
Booming with laughter once again, Reinhardt stood. “All right, my friend! Zenyatta, you can stay with Ana if you don’t want to play.”
Zenyatta made himself content snuggling with Ana, watching the backyard intently. He didn’t want to join, but he did like to watch.
~*~
“Lena! I’m gonna get you!”
Lena laughed as she skipped ahead of Mei, twisting and almost dancing around. “Can’t get me, can’t get me!” She chanted.
“Come on, you haven’t been it the whole time!” Mei made another grab for Lena as they ran into the front yard.
Lena bolted ahead and ran to the road, looking both ways before darting across. Mei skidded to a stop and went white. “Lena! Lena, you know you’re not supposed to cross the street without Winston!”
Giggling insanely, feeling absolutely pleased with herself, Lena stuck her tongue out and spun around. “Can’t catch me! Can’t catch me! And I’m not a baby, I know to look both ways!”
Mei scowled and backed away. “I’m going to go tell my Mom! You’re cheating and breaking the rules!” With that, she turned around and ran off.
Pfff. Lena blew the bangs from her eyes and looked around. She could cross the road just fine. Besides, she hadn’t been tagged once today, and she was going to keep it that way.
Huh? Her head cocked to the side as she realized there was a huge truck parked in front of the house in front of Jack’s. Nobody lived there. She once went in there with Genji, the back door was unlocked and they got to explore it. It was so quiet. She got grounded for a week and couldn’t watch TV when Winston found out where she’d been. But it was worth it.
Was someone living there now though? Forgetting all about tag, Lena took off running for the other house.
There was a girl! And a boy! The girl was sitting primly in the front seat of the truck, ankles crossed, while the boy played with chalk on the driveway. He was wearing a cowboy hat and had a… what was it called? Well, it was a fake arm, like Genji’s and Jamie’s.
New friends! Lena grinned and ran right up to the truck, nearly tripping in her excitement. They were a bit older than her, but surely that didn’t stop anything, did it?
“Hello!”
The girl looked up with a start, the boy as well, he snapped his chalk in half. He smiled quickly though, waving. “Howdy!”
He seemed nice! Lena waved back. “I’m Lena! I live over there!” She pointed to her house. Smallest one of the block, but Winston wanted to live close to a bunch of other kids. He was cool like that. “Do you live here now?”
The boy stood, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Yup! I’m Jesse! That’s Amelie. She’s kinda shy.”
Amelie narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “I am not shy.”
“Yeah, yeah. You wanna play?” Jesse hopped into the truck and pulled out two nerf guns, throwing one to Lena. “I’ll be the Sheriff, and you’ll be the rugged lowlife!” He grabbed one of the white chalk pieces and stuck it between his lips, like a cigar.
Lena giggled and pulled the best evil face she could. “This town ain’t big enough for the two of us!” She growled, taking a brave stance.
Jesse laughed aloud, but it died down as a shadow overcast Lena. Amelie went tense and Jesse gulped, the piece of chalk dropping from his mouth.
“H… hi, Gabriel.”
Lena turned around.
~*~
“Lena! Lena, where are you? Mei, where did you see her go?”
Winston was rapidly turning into panic mode after Mei ran onto the deck, saying that Lena had ran off and across the street. That was not something a parent wanted to hear.
Jack glanced around. Didn’t see any sign of the oversized brown bomber jacket or the yellow leggings. Where just had she wandered off to?
Mei looked ready to cry. “I’m sorry, Winston! I thought I should go get you! Did I do something wrong?” Her eye welled up and Winston softened.
“No, no, Mei, you did the right thing. Where could’ve Lena run off to though?” He glanced around wildly again before gasping.
Jack looked down the street to see Lena being carried towards them.
He didn’t have a clue who the man carrying her across his hip was, but Lena didn’t seem all that bothered. She just waved when she saw Winston. “Hi, Winston! Hi, Jack! We have new neighbors! And they’re cool!”
Two children about Mercy’s and Hanzo’s age were following the man, causing Jack to relax. He crossed the street, Winston running ahead of him. Man, could he run when he was freaked out. “Lena! You were supposed to stay in the backyard! You scared me!”
Lena looked up at the man and he gently set her down. She ran up to Winston and gave him a hug. “I’m okay, Winston, I found our new neighbors!” She let go and pointed at them as she listed off their names. “Amelie, Jesse, and Gabriel!”
While Winston kept fussing over Lena, Jack stood in front and eyed the three of them. Jesse nervously smiled and waved, Amelie just kept her hands folded in front of her, and Gabriel was analyzing Jack the same way Jack was analyzing him.
Finally, Jack extended his hand. “Jack Morrison.”
Gabriel shook it, his grip firm. “Gabriel Reyes. Came out of the house to get more boxes when I found Lena playing with Jesse. She always like that?”
“If she’s friends with your kids, she’ll probably start breaking into your house in the morning.” Jack glanced down at the two of them.
Gabriel cleared his throat. “Amelie’s gonna have a fit with that. Is Lena yours or...”
“No, just Winston’s. My kids are in the back...” Jack trailed off as Amelie pointed behind him. He slowly turned to see that the front yard across the street was now entirely occupied by the search party.
Jamie waved first. “Hi! We’re havin’ a barbecue, you wanna come?”
“Do you have hotdogs?” Jesse yelled.
“Yeah! We love hotdogs! And steak!”
Gabriel tried to speak up but Jesse whooped. “Hot dogs! Hot dogs! I’m gonna have hot dogs!” Almost as fast as Lena, he bolted across the street to the other kids, immediately introducing himself and making new friends right off the bat.
Groaning, Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry about that, I can tell him we’re ordering pizza and have to unpack still.”
“Just moved in, huh?” Jack mentally did a count up of all the barbecue supplies he’d bought. “… Come on over.”
Gabriel looked surprised. “Hmm?”
“We have plenty. You’re a single parent too?”
Speechless, Gabriel nodded.
“Come on. Looks like your boy’s already invited himself anyway.”
Lena was now perched on Winston’s shoulders, looking quite pleased. “See, Winston, it’s all right! We just made new friends!”
~*~
“Damn, that’s a lot of kids.”
Ana shook a finger at him. “Watch your mouth. But yes, we’ve all sort of grouped together as a unit. We all have lots of love to give, and each one of those children deserve it.”
Gabriel nodded, sipping his lemonade. At first coming off as a bit cold and stern, Reyes warmed up shortly enough, especially when talking about Amelie and Jesse. Jesse he’d apparently picked up about half a year ago, he’d fostered kids for years but never actually adopted. Jesse just struck the right cords apparently, a dirty kid with one broken arm and the other metal. Rough around the edges, but sweet deep inside. Amelie only came into his care in the last two months, she was cold on the outside but had her soft spots.
Now everyone was scattered around the backyard and deck, eating hot dogs, chicken, or steak. There were vegetarian versions for Zenyatta and Mako, while Jamie practically tore through a medium rare steak. Amelie had chosen to eat a kebob as well, although it was difficult to eat one in a ladylike manner, she was still definitely trying.
Reinhardt wiped off his mouth and turned to Gabriel. “You got a good pair of kids there, but I say the more the merrier!”
“I’ve considered looking into adoption again.” He shrugged. “Depends if I get called to take in another kid though.”
“I’m friends with the local social workers.” Ana patted Gabriel’s shoulder. “I can help you if needed.
Gabriel looked a bit off but a small smile briefly crossed his lips. “It would be appreciated.”
Lena’s loud yelling caught everyone’s attention.
“Who’s, who’s ready to play Escort The Payload!?”
The backyard erupted into a loud cheer while plates were discarded and various weapons picked up- Nerf guns, water balloons, Mako had fashioned a pink and blue jumprope into a lasso, Hanzo had a toy bow and arrow while Genji chose a plastic green katana. Lucio was dragging around a radio player which he had turned on to the nearest pop station.
Jesse looked very confused. “Pardon me for askin, but what the heck is a Payload?”
Hanzo strung his bow. “You’re on my team, you have Nerf guns. We have to drag the wagon from one end of the yard to the next. The other team tries to stop us. We put a timer up, and if we can’t move it to the other side of the yard in time, we lose. Rules are no hitting someone when they’re down, and after you’re hit you sit off to the side for a few seconds. Unless Angela gets to you in time. She’s the best to have on the team.”
Jesse looked overjoyed. “That sounds like fun!” Jesse spun around his nerf guns and took a cowboy stance. “It’s hiiiigh noon.”
Hanzo looked confused. “It… it’s one thirty in the afternoon.”
“No, no, not like that! Haven’t you seen any movies?!”
Amelie picked up a sniper gun, left behind for a water balloon bucket. “… I’d like to play,” She muttered softly.
Tracer grabbed her arm. “You’re on my team! We gotta stop, we gotta stop them. Try to get up on the swing set so you can get em! And we have a secret weapon!”
A brightly pink painted box scooted across the ground, covered in bunny stickers. A small head finally poked out. “Nerf this!” She lifted the box.
“NO NOT YET, HANA! NOT YET!”
Gabriel snorted. “Who came up with this game?”
Winston sighed. “Lena… she watches too many superhero shows.”
“THREE!”
“TWO!”
“ONE!”
Backyard exploded into utter chaos. Some of the kids had even assembled masks or goggles to add to their ‘looks’. Water balloons crashed into the house, foam bullets fill the air, it was war back there and everyone was having fun.
Gabriel shook his head. “… Haven’t seen Amelie have this much fun before.”
Ana chuckled. “I find the best help for children is when they have friends.” She sipped her lemonade. “This really is good lemonade, Winston, thank you.”
Winston looked flustered. “It wasn’t hard-”
A bullet then pinged off the side of Ana’s head, startling her into dropping the glass on the patio.
Gasp.
“WHO SHOT MY MOM?!” Fareeha was horrified.
Seconds later, a very quiet French accented voice spoke up.
“Sorry! I was aiming for Zenyatta!”
“DON’T YOU SHOOT MY BROTHER, YOU FRENCH ASSASSIN!”
The backyard exploded again as the wagon (who had Snowball the Pomeranian and Bastion the English Mastiff sitting inside) made its way another foot across the yard, Zarya climbing up the swingset while Amelie shot bullets speedily at her.
“You all right, Ana?” Jack was examining her forehead.
“Didn’t actually hit the socket, did graze my eyebrow though.” Ana straightened her eyepatch and chuckled. “Good shot, that one.”
Gabriel laughed and sipped his lemonade.
Yes. Yes she was.