Chapter Text
Chapter 1-Gunshot
So this was how he died...
It wasn't new for him to be injured, as the lifestyle he led left much to be desired in the way of safety, but there it was; a ragged hole ripped right into his left side directly below his ribcage, that seeped thick rivulets of blood with every breath he took. He watched as the Talon sniper responsible raised her rifle and took aim again to finish the job, and he squeezed his eyes shut and waited for oblivion.
He heard the gunshot and felt his heart leap in his chest, but instead of getting his head blown off a painful scream pierced the air, and when he opened his eyes again the purple skinned woman that was supposed to be his death clutched her arm in pain and quickly retreated from sight. Baffled he looked around him and spotted the source of the gunshot. A man dressed like a cowboy grinned and tipped his hat at his adversary's last location, smoke still billowing from his gun barrel.
"That'll learn ya. Now let's see what distracted you."
As the man turned around to face him he felt himself shrink a bit, not sure if he should trust him. But try as he might he couldn't seem to stop the pain from surging forth again and he bit back a strangled cry as the cowboy knelt before him looking concerned.
"Hey, partner you don't look so good. You're that Junkrat guy ain't ya?"
Jamison "Junkrat" Fawkes never wanted more in his life to run away than he did right now. He and his bodyguard Roadhog didn't even belong in this fight, and he'd only accepted to help these clowns because it was join or rot in federal prison for the rest of their lives. As it was it looked like his own life was saved for the moment by the man known as Mcree, and he hated that he had to be helped by one of the very people he had resigned himself to avoid if he could help it. He wanted Roadhog, and if the big lug had been with him in the first place he wouldn't be laying here bleeding out with this stranger hovering over him. In all the chaos of battle, the last he'd seen of his mountain of a bodyguard was the man charging like a bull at a hoard of Talon agents.
"No shit mate....don't expect me ta thank you for savin me arse though...and if you haven't noticed I ain't out of the woods yet.."
He looked down at the wound and couldn't help the worried look that crossed his face as it hadn't stopped bleeding yet, and seemed to be getting worse. He tensed when Mcree got closer and pressed further back against the cracked wall he'd been leaning against. The cowboy raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, guessing that the younger man wasn't used to being so vulnerable in front of people he didn't know, and he tried to think of what he could do to get him to accept his help.
"Hey now I'm not gonna hurt ya, I just wanna help. If we don't stop the bleeding you ain't gonna last till we get back to the team. Where's your big guy ain't he supposed to be protectin ya?"
Junkrat scowled a bit, but relented and let the other man come closer. He hated that he'd gotten careless and wound up so badly wounded. Normally he'd have been on alert watching the buildings and cliff faces of the small rural town they'd wound up in, but losing Roadhog in a strange place had thrown him off and he hadn't noticed the Talon sniper until it was too late. He supposed he owed the cowboy for being there at the right time to save him, but he wasn't in the habit of outright thanking people, and the words just didn't sit right on his tongue.
He tensed and let out a gasp as Mcree touched the area of the gunshot wound and pain lanced through it making him jerk. He was about to slug the bastard for the action until he realized that the man was feeling to see if the bullet was still lodged in him, and he tried his best to hold still. It wasn't the first time he'd been shot, but the other times it hadn't been in such a vital spot, and normally he could catch a hit off of Hog's gas canisters and he'd be right as rain. He looked down as he saw the cowboy's brows knit together as he found what he was looking for, meaning he was about to really hate the next few minutes of his life as the man uttered.
"Found it...brace yerself."
He cursed under his breath and steeled himself, but no amount of preparation could prepare him for the white hot pain that tore a scream from his lips as the gunslinger carefully inserted his fingers into the wound and fished out the slug that had lodged itself in his side. He saw stars and a fresh flow of blood started seeping out, but Mcree quickly pressed a hand to it to try and stop it as he dropped the bullet in the sand next to them. He was growing concerned at the lack of color on the blonde's skin and knew that they needed to get back to the team and hopefully a healer, but he didn't know if it was safe to move or how many Talon troops remained in their area. Junkrat gave a groan of pain and looked over at him.
"That hurt you drongo...Maybe you're not as bad as the rest of those Overwatch tossers."
Biting back the urge to defend his teammates, Mcree shrugged and gave a nod and his usual customary grin.
"Much obliged. You think you can walk at all, cause if we sit here much longer we're gonna have Talon up our asses, and a bullet wound won't be our only problem."
Junkrat weighed his options and decided that he didn't feel like dying today, and at least not without chewing out his bodyguard for leaving him behind. The big jerk was gonna get an earful when he found him. It was a struggle but he let Mcree help him to his foot and peg once they'd established that the bleeding had stopped for now, and slowly started making their way back towards the others.
It didn't take long before they ran into more Talon soldiers, and Mcree had to let Junkrat go and dispatch them while the blonde ducked for cover. He had his launcher with him, but in his current condition just raising it to fire was too much effort if he didn't want to tear his wound open again, and he'd already used up his rip tire earlier in the battle. The explosion was glorious and he'd taken out half a squadron with it in one go; definitely one of his prouder moments.
They kept moving along the outskirts of the battle when they heard it. The unmistakable sound of Roadhog's scrap gun on rapid-fire, and as they watched he came thundering into view laying waste to a large group of soldiers desperately trying to escape the shrapnel being fired upon them, but the truly terrifying sight was that the big man was in a murderous rage and not even caring who he mowed down in his path on his rampage. Junkrat stepped forward as the scrap ran out and the enemy lay in pieces around them, calling out.
"Roadie! There ya are you, big idiot! What's the big idea chargin' off on yer own and leavin' me ta get a hole blown in me side!? What do I pay ya for ya bloody great drongo!?"
Roadhog stopped and instantly whirled around upon hearing his boss's voice. He stomped over and looked about to sweep up the smaller man in his arms, but Junkrat held up a hand.
"Oh no, you don't! You don't get to hug this one out mate. I almost died back there if Mr high noon hadn't stepped up and done your job for you. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"...."
Junkrat crossed his arms in front of himself and gave a curt nod satisfied with the answer, then turned back to Mcree.
"He's sorry so all's well now. You should tag along with us till we find the others; Roadie says they ran from him when he went all batshit so they can't be far. I'll start lookin over-"
Before he could get the words free his eyes rolled up into his head and he plummeted. For his size Roadhog was fast and caught his charge before he could hit the ground, sweeping him into his arms for support. He looked at Mcree through the mask for an explanation and the man paled thinking he was accusing him of doing something to the blonde.
"Whoah big guy it wasn't me...he got hit by sniper fire and I tried to help him out...must have pushed himself too hard. We gotta find the team and get him to Angela...damn Talon found a way to jam our comms...I haven't been able to reach anyone this whole time. Come on we gotta keep moving if we don't want him to get worse....poor kid's most likely in shock from that wound."
Roadhog didn't speak, but nodded his head and gathered the unconscious Junkrat into a more secure position in his arms, following the gunslinger towards the sounds of battle in the distance. They charged their way through as carefully as they could, taking out scattered enemies when they encountered them until they began to hear familiar voices and came upon the rest of the team locked in a stalemate with the Talon forces. Mcree spotted Mercy towards the back of the group trying to heal her teammates and shoot at the same time and he ran over to her.
"Angela we got injured. Junkrat took sniper fire and is down. He needs medical attention."
Angela "Mercy" Zeigler looked up as Mcree came running over and stifled a tired sigh, having spent the better art of four hours fighting and keeping her team from significant damage. She quickly came over as Roadhog appeared behind Mcree with the unconscious Junkrat in his arms to assess the damage, frowning as she saw how pale the man was.
"This looks a bit concerning...I do not like his color and he seems to be suffering from shock...I'm afraid I can only bandage the wound for now and apply a salve, but he may need a transfusion..."
She looked back at the battle wearily and pushed a stray lock of golden hair from her face.
"We must dispatch the enemy quickly. Mr. Rutledge we need you on the front lines, please entrust Mr Fawkes to Mcree and once the fight is done we will be able to help him....please do it for him.."
Roadhog begrudgingly surrendered Junkrat to Mcree at Mercy's request and turned back to the battle, but before he left he looked back over his shoulder and spoke for the first time that day.
"If he dies...Nothing will save you from me."
Sufficiently terrified Mercy set to work doing as best she could to treat the gunshot wound in Junkrat's side, cleaning it and applying a salve to stave off infection, then bandaging the wound quickly as the battle raged around them. Mercy finished and looked to Mcree.
"You keep him safe....for all our sakes..."
She turned and ran back to the battle Leaving Mcree to watch over Junkrat hiding behind a fallen concrete wall as a makeshift shelter. The cowboy looked down at the sleeping man and let out a sigh.
"Kid you better make it through this...I'm too old for this shit."
With the addition of Roadhog, the battle turned in Overwatch's favor and the remaining Talon forces backed off and retreated leaving the area free of danger and claiming a significant win for the team. They had now taken back an important outpost and could reclaim the data and resources that Talon had been hoarding within their base. The other members returned to the dropship and Roadhog and Mercy came over to where Mcree still kept watch over Junkrat, giving them a thumbs-up as they arrived.
"Still alive but getting paler doc..."
Roadhog muttered a mostly smothered "Thanks", before picking Junkrat back up and heading back to the ship with them. Mcree paused outside the door and surveyed the last of the area and all the damage that was done, shaking his head and dusting off his hat before putting it back on his head.
"Yup....definitely too old for this shit."
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