starhuevalley | .1 caliber [Intro]

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.1 caliber [Intro]

[ACTION]

[She steps down from the bus and tugs at the strap around her shoulder tighter - she travels light, but there's something rather long, carefully wrapped, strapped between her bag and back. Squinting lightly at the warm summer sun, she sighs. Mixed feelings, all in one breath. This lady travels light except for the baggage in her mind.

Still, as she treads through the beaten paths towards an x in a map (excellent orientation skills, for one), she looks around carefully with what seems like a half smile in her piercing gaze. Yet, when she finds the place in the map, she keeps walking around, checking the Community center, the city, - greeting a couple of kids playing outside with a smile - walking through the beach... ending up finally at the Saloon around the evening, asking for a cup of tea at the counter.

Where do you meet her? ]

[VIDEO]

[That's exactly where she is when the video feed opens up. She's looking down at the screen, kohl rimmed eyes scrutinizing the device with a somewhat disappointed expression to them. She tsks.]

So unintuitive. How old is this?

[Dexterous fingers reach the screen and blip! goes the feed

Ring ring?]

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[A sigh, she wouldn't really be surprised. It was such an old contraption.

She shakes her hand, 'nevermind'. ] Not long ago. How about you?

It's been a few days.

[But Jack has been trying to keep as busy as possible--he supposes that's easy enough for Ana to imagine.]

Trying to get to the bottom of this.

[It is. She would be immediately suspicious if she saw Jack kicking back and chilling.

... even if they all could use a vacation.] I know.

[A tilt of her head as she takes a careful look.

The stress takes decades off of Jack Morrison, she realizes.] Hope you're not exhausting yourself over it. It's counterproductive.

[Jack is pretty sure he's physically incapable of ever taking a vacation, much less kicking back and chilling. Probably this is going to bite him in the ass somewhere down the line, but right now he's not exactly thinking about it. There's a farmhouse to renovate, especially because he's definitely going to invite Ana to come live with them.

He'll feel safer with both her and Gabriel watching his back, and vice versa.]

No, no, I'm fine. Just, uh. Wasn't expecting any of this.

[Obviously.]

[Here's that same old look she gets whenever Jack says 'I'm fine' - press x for doubt, basically. Though she nods.] Me neither.

I don't think I remember getting on that bus.

Same for me.

[Which is extremely disconcerting, to say the least, but he doesn't need to say that, as she's most certainly feeling it. Best to get on the same page as each other.]

What's the last thing you do remember?

[Damn it. That she had a fight with her daughter being the last thing she remembered felt sour in the back of her throat.

That and Jack looking the way he does. Is he even from a timeline where all that happened? ] Fareeha left to visit her father. Things were [how to explain] tense.

What about you?

[That’s not very specific, and Jack’s eyes narrow. As glad as he is to see Ana, there’s still too much about this situation that sets him on edge. Her vague answer that doesn’t really give him a timeline isn’t exactly helpful. Given the age of Angela Ziegler, he wonders if he should ask Ana what year it is.

Still, he doesn’t want to come off as overly-suspicious, so he doesn’t broach the subject for now.]

Business as usual, you know? About five years out from the Crisis.

[Paperwork. Field operations. Jack can’t name a specific incident, but hopefully that gives her some idea. Overwatch is just starting to come into its own.]

Five—! [She parrots with some incredulity. Then, yes, of course it made sense.

It’s not just farm life that is making Jack look young, or the lack of stress - she’s actually from a timeline where Jack is older.
She takes a soft, slow breath. A slow exhale - as if she’s preparing for a shot.]

Well, that you don’t think I’m over 50 is a compliment, I guess.

[She gives him a soft smile.] We have a lot to catch up on.

[Jack is, at times, fairly perceptive, though it's not hard to notice the way her expression changes, the tone of her voice, and the sigh she lets out. It's all familiar, but it points to something stranger, something he can't quite begin to comprehend, as he's never really had to deal with it before.

How can he reconcile being on a different point in the timeline wiht so many of the people he thought he knew?]

Are you--?

[He's not sure he should be asking that question, so he tries to play it off with an awkward laugh.]

If you're from the future, then I'm not sure I should know.

[At least his reaction was entirely familiar, even if here was a Jack that was much younger, still had the same vibrancy to him at five years after the Crisis, standing in a Saloon that would be only contextual if they had been to some sort of weird mission together.

There had been a mention to memories when she arrived, hadn't there? Out of everything, she didn't manage to quite understand that part.

In any case: ] I guess we can talk about it when we're all together. But yes, last time I saw you, there was some grey in your hair.

[An afterthought, and she brings up a lock of her own. Yes, quite a few greys to hers, too.

But on to more pressing matters.] Jesse called right away. He's been here longer.

Don't tell me that?

[What did he just say? Jack seems a little horrified, though it's difficult to tell whether he's concerned about the grey hair or the potential of ruining the timestream. All of this is a little bit beyond him, and he can't even wish Winston were here to explain it, because he has not, at this point, met Winston.

Jack tries to swallow it all down, but it's clear he's been flustered by this.]

Did you see him?

Alright, alright. [A small snort, and Ana lets the subject go. Any more teasing and Jack will thrum of worry into the stratosphere. She doesn't really blame him, though. It is a complicated matter.] It's good to see you, though.

[She raises the tablet on the table, gives it a shake.] Only through here. Has he been staying with you?

Yeah, it’s—it’s good to see you too.

[Jack reaches out to touch her shoulder, as if trying to determine whether or not she’s real. He’s all military formality, but his touch is gentle and it seems to put him at ease a little, even if he pulls his hand away quickly.

Talking about Jesse is, perhaps, easier. Jack nods.]

Helping us with the house. It’s in pretty bad shape.

[She turns her head just as his hand touches her shoulder and Ana’s lip curls for a moment The same way it made her presence there more believable, it also made Jack’s. And despite the fresh-faced, awkward look on his face, it helps, just a little.

She doesn’t blame him for making sure. It’s a good thing she mentioned Jesse, though. ] Do you need help?

Well, I thought that--

[Jack is clearly a little thrown off his game--he's now second-guessing what should be a confident question, but after a moment he seems sure of himself again. This is Ana, after all, and he can't imagine not having her by his side. That's what's important, not the gulf of time between them.]

I want you to stay with us.

And here I thought you liked me. [Ana's lip curls, looking at him with a subtle riptide of fondness. Jack's second-guess doesn't sit well with her, but she understands.

She starts tidying the things on her table, leaving a couple of coins for the tea and the snack she ate - she's still alive and full, and despite his awkwardness, Jack being there made everything a little better. She would have hated to leave him - all of them - behind.

So so far, so good.] You don't have to ask. I was given a house, though. Would do us good to see if there's anything we can use from there.

Someone's got to watch my back.

[Joking around, at least, has some degree of comforting familiarity, and Jack seems a little more at ease. When Ana starts to clean up, he stands.]

Yeah, that might not be a bad idea. A spare bed, maybe.

So much for my vacation.

[She stands up with a very fake sigh, waves the owner of the Saloon goodbye. He waves back amicably as she gets her bag.] Was thinking of a mattress. And I have a sleeping bag with me.

Shall we? [She starts to make for the door.]

I'll do my best not to get killed.

[He knows that keeping up with him his no easy task--that he throws himself into danger more often than not, and it's likely some of those gray hairs that Ana sports now are entirely because of him.

That said, the word vacation is a little foreign to him, at this point.]

Let me show you the house.

[Her smile tells him I know, but she still replies with a fond:] You better.

[She nods.] Lead the way. What have you been working on?

Edited 2018-08-10 09:49 (UTC)

Just cleaning it up, mostly.

[Jack holds the door for her as they leave, gesturing that they should make a right leaving the cafe.]

It was all in pretty bad shape.

How bad? [Ana steps quickly to walk by his side. The familiar pace of his legs was easy to follow - a lot less stiff than the last time she and Jack's overall presence almost warming up the side of her arm. It makes tension Ana didn't realize was there leave her shoulders.]

What should we work on next, then?

Like it hasn’t been lived in for a while.

[And farmland will, of course, fall into disrepair if it isn’t properly taken care of. He doesn’t need to tell her how suspicious he is to just be handed a house—she likely thinks the same things she does. Falling in step with her is comfortable in that way. Familiar. He already feels himself a little more at ease.]

Got the fields in better shape— [So they can make some money off them, of course.] —but if four of us are going to live in the house we’ll need to do some remodeling.

[Nature easily finds its way in somehow, she had learned quickly. It made sense that it would be the first thing to work on.

Four. So, Jack, Gabriel, Jesse and herself.] That's a lot of work to do. Can we afford the expansion?

I saw a fishing supplies store by the docks. [Drawing up the map from the tablet, she knocks softly on the location.] Maybe we can use that if it's not too expensive.

[Uops, falling into "planning mode". Habit. ]

Sadness

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