so just wanted to pop in and say that your 5 times ovw fic is my rainy day fic!! i always go back to it whenever i need a pick me up. you characterise everyone so well and i cant wait to see how it all develops. esp curious to see how mccree eventually finds out the truth haha. keep up the fab work!!
Oh gosh anon, thanks a million for your kind words! Theyāre super flattering and encouraging to hear. The past few months have been a little hectic and I havenāt had much time or motivation to devote to writing. But comments like your help a lot! Iām still planning on finishing the fic, so stay tuned. Thanks again! :)
RL has been kicking my butt lately and I havenāt had much time to work on 5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself. So have some silly fluff instead.Ā
Consider it a continuation of the āwho are you and why have you knitted my cat a sweaterā AU, which Iāll revisit and actually write out eventually. Here you get to see Jack meeting Reaper (Gabrielās cat) for the first time. ;)
EXCERPT
The cat creeps in through the open window on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Jackās in the middle of moving into his new apartment, airing the place out as he unpacks the last few boxes. Heās been at it all day, methodically ripping the cardboard to bits before arranging and rearranging the handful of knickknacks heād dragged across the continent. In the military, Jack had been ruthlessly pragmaticābut now that heās been forcibly retired, heās allowed to be a bit fussy.
Still, itās a relief to finish unpacking. Dinner had arrived nearly forty minutes ago, but Jack had been down to his final box and unwilling to consider stopping. His stomach gurgles unhappily as he nudges the empty boxes into a haphazard pile with his foot. Jack flops onto his squeaky sofa and squirms until he manages to settle into its sweet spot, at which point he lets out an indecent groan and reaches for a slice of cold pizza.
Heās shocked to see a cat sitting oh-so-politely atop the pizza box.Ā
āHello, handsome?ā he murmurs, extremely confused. The cat really is handsome, with sleek black fur and unusual white markings framing its face and striking golden eyes. But itās certainly not his catāJackās never seen it before.
The cat mews back at Jack, wiggles its butt, and leaps onto his chest. Startled, Jack freezes. The cat seems to take this as an invitation. It meows again and rubs its face softly against Jackās cheek, purring as it hunkers down into a bread-shaped blob across his lap. Jack blinks down at it, dumbfounded. āUm.ā
The cat doesnāt seem inclined to move. It purrs louder as Jack tentatively raises a hand to scratch between its ears. The sound is oddly soothing, and Jack finds himself smiling as he slowly flips open the pizza box and grabs a slice, careful not to jostle his new companion. He flicks on the television and surfs through the channels until a wildlife documentary catches his eye.
āLook,ā Jack tells the cat, tapping it gently on the nose so it opens its eyes. He points to the lion roaring on the screen and says, very seriously, āItās your uncle.ā
The cat doesnāt look impressed.
Three weeks later, as Jack is struggling to knit a vaguely cat-shaped sweater and questioning his life choices, the cat still doesnāt look impressed. āOh, come on!ā Jack, exasperated, gestures violently to the television with his knitting needles, nearly undoing an hour of progress. āEverybody knows youāre supposed to punch sharks in the gills. Why would you evenāHandsome, can you believe this?ā
Despite having ignored the terrible horror film and its idiotic protagonists entirely, Handsome chuffs in agreement. Jack rewards him with a belly rub. āGood boy,ā he mutters before shaking his head and refocusing on his knitting. The local veterans support group had suggested that he take up a new hobby to keep his hands busy, but he doubts that this is what theyād had in mind.
Still, Handsome is obviously coldāhis fur may be thick and glossy, but he keeps curling up in Jackās lap. Heās always sneaking into bed with Jack, and Jackās woken up more than once to find Handsome perched on his chest, staring down at him. So Jackās decided to knit him a sweater. Ā Ā
february 17 | "reunion"
(Late? I don't know the meaning of that word. Here's the final day's outline! This week has been awesome and I hope you've all enjoyed the fanworks on @r76valentinesevent as much as I have.)
Corporate AU where Jack and Gabriel are CEOs from rival companies that unknowingly sleep together. The morning after their one night stand, Gabriel figures out that Jack is the head of Overwatch and storms out, furious, thinking that Jack had just slept with him to play mind games. Jack wakes up alone and is also upset because heād thought that Gabriel seemed like a pretty cool guy but he turned out to be a jerk that only wanted to get into Jack's pants.
Fast forward a few days to the morning of an important negotiation between Overwatch and Blackwatch. Jack shows up to work and gets into the elevator and who does he see? Gabriel.Ā
Their meeting is on the very top floor of Overwatch's headquarters, and Jack normally hates the ride up, but he's pissed. He pushes every. single. elevator. button.Ā
They argue the entire way up. Spoiler alert: they're making out by the time they arrive.
Must be honest, arranged marriage AUs are my ultimate weakness and the addition of supernatural powers makes it even more awesome :3
Me tooā¦ It may or may not still be Halloween in my heart. Iām definitely not over that comic or those skins yet! Jack in red leather, ngh, I cannot.
february 16 | "mission"
(Cheers, it's almost Friday! Here's the next overview for you. ā¤)
Gabriel is the James Bond of Blackwatchāhandsome, lethal, and his organization's best-kept secret. He specializes in undercover operations, especially ones that involve seduction.Ā
His latest mission is to infiltrate the Shimada Clan by posing as an illegal arms dealer. His contact in Hanamura is a foreign forger named Jack, who Blackwatch has bribed to act as Gabriel's lover and make the initial introductions.
Gabriel hadn't expected Jack to be so devastatingly attractive. But Gabriel's a professional, he can roll with this. The sexual tension just makes their fake relationship more convincing. Except Jack is also kind and unexpectedly sweet for a ruthless criminal, and whoops, Gabriel starts to fall for him.
Unbeknownst to him, Jack is also an undercover agent and a member of Overwatch.
TLDR; Two badass secret agents are ridiculous pining idiots.
5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself (P3)
Title: 5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself
Fandom: Overwatch
Pairing: Gabriel Reyes (Reaper) / Jack Morrison (Soldier: 76)
Rating: T+
Warnings: language and brief violence
Word Count: 3,587 (part 3) / 7,122 (total)
Notes: Happy belated Valentineās Day! Thanks so much for your patience and supportāI love and appreciate all of your comments, kudos, likes, and reblogs. This chapter takes place five months down the line from the last one. I hope it gives you feelings. ;)
OVERVIEW
A/B/O, golden-era fic where everyone assumes Jack and Gabriel are both alphas in some sort of casual fight-and-fuck relationship. Everyone assumes theyāre together because itās a convenient way for the two most dominant alphas to relieve some tension without ripping each otherās throats out. Theyāre not entirely wrongāthere is a lot of fighting and fucking involved, but itās definitely not casual and Jack is actually an omega. Oops.
This is a small glimpse of all that from the perspective of freshly-recruited Jesse McCree.
PART 3 EXCERPT
Fareeha looks up at him with determination in her dark eyes, frowning deeply and clutching her playing cards tight enough to wrinkle. Sheās about to cheat. Jesse sighs. Heās been trying to teach her how to properly cheat at cards for the past two months, but hasnāt had much luck yet.
Itās not because Fareeha is a lousy student. No, sheās very serious for a twelve-year-old. She watches attentively and nods at all the right moments during Jesseās demonstrations and dutifully practices her sleights of hand. Reinhardt had been absolutely delighted by the āmagic trickā sheād shown him the other day at breakfast. But despite the valiant effort she puts forth, Fareeha is still terrible at cheatingātoo much her motherās daughter, perhaps. Sheās hopelessly honest.
february 15 |Ā āfamilyā
(Here's the overview for an AU with all of the tropes because why not.)
Royal Arranged Marriage AU with supernatural fantasy elements. Gabriel is a wraith who's the literal Prince of Darkness, equally loved and feared by everyone in Blackwatch, his city. Overwatch, a nearby kingdom that Gabriel's always been wary of, approaches him one day, seeking an alliance. They offer him their Prince's hand in marriage in exchange for Gabriel's help defending against Talon, an insurgent force seeking to usurp them from within.Ā
Gabriel is irritated but agrees to meet his potential husband-to-be, since he'd apparently accompanied the envoy anyway. He's surprised when the handsome, scarred vampire he'd assumed was a bodyguard steps forward and introduces himself as Jack, the Prince of Light.Ā
BONUS:Ā Jack and Gabriel had already met the night before out in the city while avoiding their royal duties and being Grumpy Old Immortals. Neither had realized that the other was a Prince.
āwho are you and why have you knitted my cat a sweaterā au
february 14 | āproposalā
(Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Here's the overview of my favorite AU of the week, plus a bonus tiny excerpt to start you off right. ;D)
Gabriel's cat hates everyone and everything, except he's suddenly decided it's time to move in with their new neighbor, Jack. Gabriel only finds out about this because Reaper comes home wearing the world's ugliest handmade sweater. Gabriel can't believe his eyes. Reaper hisses when he tries to take the sweater off.
Gabriel sticks a note to Reaper's collar that reads, "Who are you and why have you knitted my cat a sweater?" So begins Jack and Gabriel's correspondence via post-it notes.
Jack's veteran support group had suggested finding a way to keep his hands busy, so he decided to knit a sweater for the lonely cat that keeps sneaking into his apartment. It must be cold if it keeps curling up in his lap, right? Jack is a dog person so he is completely clueless about cats. He pretty much treats Reaper like a dog but Reaper is a weirdo who loves him anyway.
BONUS: Gabriel's cat is an accurate predictor of his relationships with other people. So when Gabriel sees Reaper being a total sweetheart and purring as Jack puts Ugly Sweater 2.0 on him, he accidentally blurts, "Holy shit, marry me."
EXCERPT
Gabriel stares down in utter disbelief. His cat is wearing a sweater. His catāReaper, a feisty little bastard who hates just about everyone and bites anything that movesāis wearing a sweater. A hideous, obviously hand-knitted sweater that Gabriel has never even seen before, let alone put on his sweater-hating cat.
Reaper squints up at Gabriel and yawns, obviously pleased with himself. He meows once, very loudly, and swipes insistently at the frayed hem of Gabrielās sweatpants, which means āpick me up right now or suffer my claws.ā Gabriel hurries to comply, bending down and scooping him up, cradling the black cat close to his chest. Reaper purrs in satisfaction, shutting his luminous gold eyes and nuzzling into Gabrielās hoodie, batting lazily at its drawstrings. Gabriel, wary of being nibbled on, carefully pets Reaperās head, stroking the white, almost skull-like markings on his catās face.
Once itās clear that Reaper has decided to play nice today, Gabriel reaches out and hesitantly runs his fingers across the sweater. Itās a pale shade of blue, with ugly blobs of white dotted here and thereāmisshapen snowflakes, Gabriel realizes after a minute of intense scrutiny. The sweater must have been knitted by a complete novice, for itās noticeably uneven and missing stitches, in addition to having lopsided arms and a wobbly hem. But itās also wonderfully soft and lovingly madeāitās the perfect size for Reaper, snug enough to fit but loose enough to remain comfortable. Reaper certainly seems to love it.
Gabriel frowns, puzzled. Where did the sweater come from? Perhaps it was knitted by one of the other residents of their shared apartment buildingābut who? Reaper has always been independent, but heās never shown interest in any of Gabrielās neighbors before. For the most part, Reaper is content to explore the fire escape on his own. His favorite activities include chasing elusive patches of sunlight, frolicking in the herb garden the stern Japanese landlord keeps on the roof, and terrorizing the local pigeons. He tends to hiss at everything that walks on two legs.
Gabriel once saw Reaper bite the wannabe cowboy from 72A for daring to offer him a strip of bacon. So itās more than a little difficult for Gabriel to imagine some stranger taming Reaper, let alone managing to stuff him into this monstrous sweater.
(TBC eventually because Iām a total sucker for domesticity...)
Hi! Just wanted to ask if Reaper76 soulmate au with tattoo artist is really a thing. Can I find it somewhere?
Hiya, thanks for asking! That was the fic Iād meant to write for Day 3 of R76 Valentineās Event, buuuuut didnāt actually get around to writing yet. Hopefully Iāll have more time in the upcoming weeks to revisit all the little bits Iām posting in the meantime. :)
february 13 | "soulmate"
(Another quick overview!)
In a world where you share scars with your soulmate and are able to communicate by writing on your skin, Jack and Gabriel are soulmates who haven't met yet. Gabriel is a tattoo artist in the habit of doodling all over himself to test out designs. One day, while picking up his goddaughter Fareeha, Gabriel runs into Jack, the unfairly attractive preschool teacher whose skin is positively covered in Gabriel's ink.
february 12 | "gift"
(Still just an overview since I haven't got the time to write a proper fic!)
Gabriel is a nude model for bioengineering major Jack's recreational art class. Jack is SO not prepared. He really wants to ask Gabriel out for coffee or something, but he doesn't want to come across as weird or creepy. Especially since everyone else in the art class obviously wants to (and does) make a move on Gabriel.
So Jack just kind of keeps his head down and stays shy, and meanwhile, Gabriel is like "Fffffffssss the one guy I actually want to hit on me is ignoring me!" Cue hijinks, like Gabriel posing super provocatively right in front of Jack's easel.
TLDR; naked Gabriel makes oblivious Jack suffer.Ā
BONUS: Hanzo is Jack's roommate and the one who signed him up for the art class, which they are taking together. He definitely knew that Gabriel would be exactly Jack's type of man when he signed him up for the class. He embarrasses Jack by whispering "A gift for you!" on day one. (He may or may not whisper "A gift for me!" later on when McCree is the one modelling.)
february 11 |Ā āfirst dateā
(Just a vague outline since I havenāt got time to write this week.)
Harry Potter AU. Jack and Gabriel are rival seventh year prefects who somehow end up fake dating each other after a fistfight.
Jack is a Hufflepuff and Gabriel is a Gryffindor. Jack plays Quidditch and is the best beater the team's had in centuries (he likes to hit things, okay). Gabriel is the leader of the Dueling Club. They used to be really close friends up until their argument in fifth year.
Their rivalry started when Gabriel invited Jack to join the Dueling Club and Jack turned him down in favor of Quidditch. Gabriel, hurt by his refusal, said that Quidditch was a waste of time. They've been squabbling and pranking each other ever since.
In spite of that, the instant someone insults Jack (a muggleborn) by calling him a mudblood, Gabriel (a halfblood) loses it. They end up in an actual muggle fistfight which promptly lands them in front of the Headmistress, who cuts them some slack because she assumes that they're dating and Gabriel was just trying to ~defend Jack's honor~ or something equally ridiculous.
They run with it. They're both determined to make their fake date the Best Date Ever that, plot twist, they succeed and decide to keep going out.
Ohhhhhhhhhh man this week has been way busier than expected. I donāt have the time to actually write excerpts for @r76valentinesevent, but I still reeeeally want to participate. So please forgive me for just putting up vague outlines and headcanons for the AUs I was planning to write. Iāll double post some shortly lol.
Iāll be working more onĀ 5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself in the meantime, since Iāve kept you all waiting long enough. Thatāll be my valentine to you. >.>
Man, when I first started writingĀ 5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself, I told myself to keep things simple. Just stick to the moments.
Then I caught feels for the original Overwatch team. RIP.Ā
Well, on the bright side, part 3 is gonna delve even deeper into team dynamics and give you a glimpse of Jesseās interactions with them. Since yāall have been so patient (and have made it this far into my note), Iāll drop a hint that part 3 takes place as Jesseās preparing for his first Blackwatch mission. Iām slooooowly but steadily working on it. My lofty goal is to have the next part out before the start of @r76valentinesevent. ;)
Speaking of that, Iāve suuuuuuuuper got my work cut out for me. I havenāt started anything at all, so Iāll probably be sticking to overviews and excerpts again. Even so, Iām really excited to see what the week has in store!Ā
5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself (P2)
Title: 5 Times Jesse McCree Sorta Minds his Own Business + 1 Time He Canāt Help Himself
Fandom: Overwatch
Pairing: Gabriel Reyes (Reaper) / Jack Morrison (Soldier: 76)
Rating: T+
Warnings: language and brief violence
Word Count: 2,515 (part 2) / 3,541 (total)
Notes: At long last, part 2 is up on AO3! Thanks for all of your support and patience! I'm posting this right away 'cus I got excited, so please let me know if you catch any mistakes. Your critiques are more than welcome.Ā
OVERVIEW
A/B/O, golden-era fic where everyone assumes Jack and Gabriel are both alphas in some sort of casual fight-and-fuck relationship. Everyone assumes they're together because it's a convenient way for the two most dominant alphas to relieve some tension without ripping each other's throats out. Theyāre not entirely wrongāthere is a lot of fighting and fucking involved, but itās definitely not casual and Jack is actually an omega. Oops.
This is a small glimpse of all that from the perspective of freshly-recruited Jesse McCree.
PART 2 EXCERPT
āDonāt even think about it.ā
Jesse flinches in surprise. He twists, spurs jingling, his fingers wrapped tight around the grip of his revolver long before he remembers itās useless. The woman standing at his shoulder merely raises an eyebrow. āBest put some bullets in that gun if youāre planning on shooting me,ā she chides him lightly, unfazed by the barrel pressed into the curve of her jaw.
Jesse flushes red, stammering an apology as he holsters Peacekeeper. āOld habits die hard, maāam.ā
