Chronal Disassociation Ch. 40

Lena stirred first. The morning light slipped through the part in the curtains and right into her eyes. She gave a groan of discomfort before attempting to roll onto her side and away from the light. She was stopped as a lump got right in her path.

She let out a small, sleepy laugh when she recognized Emily's familiar silhouette beneath the duvet. Her wife curled up in a way that convinced Lena she had already the same idea as her.

Wife.

The word struck Lena all over again, the reality still sinking in. She could feel their loosely intertwined fingers, wedding band feeling warm. Just that was enough to get her smiling all over again.

'If this isn't the best way to wake up, I don't know what is.'

Her other arm stretched out in a lazy yawn, still unwilling to remove herself from her wife's grasp. Her limbs were still pleasantly tired, but she wouldn't trade it for the world.

Emily stirred as Lena's small movements disrupted the cocoon of blankets she'd buried herself in. A soft murmur escaped her lips, barely audible, as she shifted closer to Lena, nuzzling into the crook of her neck.

"Too early..." Emily mumbled, her voice thick with sleep, muffled against Lena's skin.

Lena grinned, her heart doing that stupid little flip it always did when Emily was this endearing. "You're the one who wanted the curtains open last night, love." She teased, her accent still rough around the edges in her own morning haze.

Emily's response was a vague grumble, something unintelligible but undoubtedly disagreeing. Her fingers tightened slightly around Lena's, as though even the thought of letting go was too much effort. "It's your fault for being so warm." She finally muttered, her tone laced with mock accusation.

Rolling her eyes, Lena gave a chuckle that was punctuated by her other arm coming in to embrace Emily, "Well, I am the hot one in this relationship." Emily's response was a raspberry that tickled Lena's neck, much to the pilot's amusement, "Fine, fine. Five more minutes, alright?"

"Yay…"

…

It was not, in fact, five minutes. They were lucky that their check out was scheduled for the night, else they might've missed it with how late they'd gotten out of their room. Not to mention the time they actually woke up in the first place was only because of the smell of lunch wafting through the air.

Had it not been for that, Lena was certain they'd be in bed the entire day.

That being said, Lena could have done without the knowing looks on everyone's faces. She could only thank whatever deity was listening (cause Archer had made it clear that they were all real) that her parents - and Emily's - weren't there to join them.

Angela, of course, was the first to pounce. The doctor's sharp, teasing grin practically lit up the room as she approached Lena and Emily, just as they finished piling their plates with whatever it was Archer had cooked.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to grace us with their presence." Angela drawled, her accent adding a sing-song quality to her words. "Sleep well, newlyweds?"

Lena groaned audibly, already regretting stepping foot outside their room. She shot Angela a flat look, though the corner of her mouth twitched, threatening a smile, "Yeah, Angela, we slept great. Thanks for asking." She said, voice dripping with faux sweetness. "Y'know, not everyone wakes up at the crack of dawn ready to save the world."

Genji held a hand to his face as Angela's grin widened as she leaned on the back of a chair, her eyes flicking between Lena and Emily, "Oh, I'm sure. But if the time you woke up is any indication, I think saving the world was the furthest thing from your mind."

Emily choked on a laugh, quickly covering her mouth with a napkin, though her eyes betrayed her amusement. "She's got a point, Lena." Emily said, her tone playfully conspiratorial, "We were cutting it a bit close."

"Bah, we're off duty till we get back." Lena grinned as she ate a forkful of potatoes, "I'm going to milk it for everything it's got."

Reinhardt's booming laugh erupted from the far end of the room, making both Lena and Emily jump. "That's the spirit, Lena!" he declared, his massive hand slapping the table with enough force to make the plates rattle. "A honeymoon is sacred! Rest, food, and love! Duty can wait!" He raised his coffee mug like a stein, grinning broadly, "To the newlyweds!"

The group chuckled as Lena groaned, sinking lower into her seat, her face heating up more than ever, "Cheers, big guy. Subtle as ever."

Winston, sitting beside Reinhardt, adjusted his glasses and offered a more subdued smile, "He does have a point, though. It's important to take time for yourselves, especially after everything we've done recently."

Emily gave Winston a warm smile. "Thank you, Winston. That means a lot." She reached under the table, giving Lena's hand a gentle squeeze, her fingers threading through hers.

Sombra, who had been lounging in her chair with a smug smirk, twirled a fork between her fingers. "You know," She said, her tone laced with mischief, "I could probably hack the check-out system. Make it so you two don't have to leave at all. Call it my wedding gift."

Lena snorted, rolling her eyes, "Appreciate the offer, but I think the hotel might notice two guests never leaving."

"Too late for that anyway." Archer spoke dryly as he brought in a fresh plate of food, and everyone was already digging in before Lena could ask what it was, "I already told the staff to keep a look out for any funny business."

Sombra shrugged, taking a bite of her food with a cheeky grin. "Their loss."

Rolling his eyes, Archer gave Lena and Emily a onceover. Eerily, it reminded Lena of her mum when she was very much worried. The Spirit gave a nod of satisfaction, at what, she didn't know. She furrowed her brow as she opened her mouth to ask, only for Archer to beat her to the punch.

"You left your chronal accelerator yesterday during the wedding."

Her heart dropped as she registered the words registered in her head. It was only through sheer effort and experience with the internal conversation with the other man that she didn't show any outward expression, other than the slightest pause in eating food.

For a moment, even Archer's cooking tasted nothing but ash.

Then, the moment passed as she processed the latter half of the sentence.

'...How am I still okay?' Her voice was small even in the recesses of her own head. She mechanically chewed as she tried to keep the cheer in her voice.

"That's what I want to know." Archer's earlier concern was warranted, she realized, "I found it behind one of the shelves when I was cleaning up last night. How it got there, I have no idea."

That's right, Winston's early wedding present. Instead of a chronal accelerator that was bulky enough to put on, let alone carry discreetly, he had managed to create a portable accelerator that fit in her pocket. It would keep her grounded as if she wore it, without the need to actually strap it to her person. She just needed it in her vicinity instead.

The only problem was that it was small enough that he had been worried about it getting damaged during an actual fire fight - lasers and plasma tended to still chew through the metals used by Overwatch, let alone the thinner material the portable accelerator was made from. As such, while it was a bigger target, the chronal harness was still much better as actual combat equipment.

Lena couldn't, of course, wear it to her own wedding.

This resulted in Winston giving her the thing a good two months early. She normally didn't forget it. It was difficult to forget the one thing keeping her attached to this timeline.

"And yet, you did forget." Archer was chiding, and for once, she couldn't muster the effort for a retort. She had royally fucked up. They were lucky that nothing had happened.

'...It was the nerves, I think.' That was the only conclusion she could come to, 'Was too damn nervous that I completely forgot about the bloody thing. Must've placed it there and knocked it over.' She wanted to scream, rant and rave at her own stupidity.

Lena reigned herself in. It wouldn't do for everyone to realize what had almost happened.

Archer gave a thoughtful hum, "Maybe."

'Maybe? Archer, I am not in the mood for this shit, just spit it out.'

"I'll tell you once I can confirm it. For now, just bear with it. And here, take it."

From everyone else's perspective, they would likely never know the intensity of Lena's dread. Not even as Archer handed over an entire plate of something or the other, "And finally, a treat for the newlyweds. Enjoy." As the plate changed hands, Lena's palm underneath the base, she could feel Archer slip the accelerator between them. She quickly pocketed the item, making doubly sure that it wouldn't fall out.

"I have a hunch that you've developed a sort of resistance to getting disassociated. Similar to how your body develops an immunity to a disease after getting exposed to it, you might've done the same since your entire being is constantly trying to disassociate. I'm not entirely sure myself, it's not my field of expertise."

She could only start eating in silence. Objectively, the food that Archer made was phenomenal, as always. Only, she couldn't enjoy it when the thought that there was a chance - a chance - that she wouldn't have been here to enjoy it in the first place wormed its way into her head. Her silence must've been a bit too obvious, as Emily's hand snaked its way into hers.

Looking back to her wife, Lena could see the mild concern beneath the smile she gave, "Lena? Something wrong?"

Lena shook her head a bit more forcefully than was probably needed. Both because she couldn't help but vehemently deny the question, and to clear her own thoughts. The event had already happened, and while she could hate the fact that it happened, she couldn't do anything else other than make sure it never happened again.

To that end, instead of brooding with her thoughts, she needed to move forward.

She gave Emily the widest, most genuine smile she could muster, "No, nothing's wrong." One tinged with relief, happiness, and satisfaction, "I'm just…really, really glad to be here. With you. All of you."

Emily's eyes softened at Lena's words, her fingers tightening around her wife's hand. She leaned in slightly, her voice low but full of warmth, "We're glad you're here too, love. More than you know."

Sombra smirked, tilting her head as she watched Lena with an expression that bordered on curiosity, "Getting sentimental on us, huh, chica?" She tapped her fork against her plate, her tone light but probing, "What, married life got you all reflective already?"

Lena chuckled, trying to shake off the lingering tension at her and Archer's conversation had left in her chest, "Maybe it has." She admitted with a shrug, her grin lopsided. "Or maybe I'm just realizing how lucky I am. Got a great wife, great mates, and-" She gestured dramatically at the table "-Archer's food. Can't ask for much more than that."

"I am unworthy of your praise, your highness. Truly." Archer snarked even as he gathered the (fully cleaned out) dishes, "Speaking of which, I still have one last thing I need to bring out. Sombra, help me out in the kitchen."

"Ha?" The woman in question only raised an eyebrow in response, "¿Sabes cuánto tiempo me tardé en hacerme las uñas? No way guapo, you're on your own."

"That ice cream parlor back in London you were talking about? I'll treat you if you help."

"Deal." At the deadpan looks that most of the room gave her, she shrugged as she joined Archer walking into the kitchen, "What? Free ice cream is free ice cream."

The conversation in the dining room began to lull as the main dishes were cleared away, the group settling into a comfortable rhythm of teasing banter and laughter. Lena and Emily, still holding hands beneath the table, leaned into each other, savoring the warmth of the moment.

It wasn't long before the kitchen door creaked open, and Archer and Sombra emerged, each carrying several plates stacked high with steaming, colorful dishes. The tantalizing aromas immediately silenced the room, every head swiveling toward them.

"Alright, everyone," Archer began, his tone dry but his pride evident in the way he carefully set the tray on the table, "I hope you saved room because I wasn't about to let this meal end without something sweet."

Sombra smirked, setting her tray down with a little more flair than necessary. "And I helped. You're welcome."

Archer rolled his eyes but didn't argue as he began to distribute the desserts.

The smell of cinnamon and caramel filled the room as everyone leaned forward, eyes widening at the feast of sweets before them. Reinhardt let out a delighted roar of approval, reaching immediately for a churro. "Archer! Sombra! This is magnificent!"

Archer shrugged, already halfway back to the kitchen to grab more plates. "It wasn't trouble. It's not every day you two get married."

Sombra plopped into her seat, plate already in hand, "He's definitely lying, he just likes to show off." She was munching down on a blueberry crepe as she spoke, "And don't think this is a substitute for that ice cream, guapo."

The team laughed as Archer rolled his eyes. The tension Lena felt faded away as they dug into their desserts.

It didn't taste like ash.

…