thisavrou | ( video )

[So did Jack--he'd been in no shape to get up and move after pulling himself out of the rubble, and had spent a not insubstantial amount of time in a safehouse trying to recover. It had given him plenty of opportunity to watch the dismantling of Overwatch in real time, something that played a large part in his decision to stay dead.

He imagines that Ana went through something very similar.]

Where did you go?

Egypt.

( It shouldn't be surprising -- it was home, somewhere she'd long fought to protect. It wasn't the only place that ana had been over the years, and not the first place she'd gone to, but it was the most important )

It felt different, but necessary.

Easy to hide close to home.

[Home. He can understand it—but Jack didn’t get back to the states until long after Overwatch was shut down, and he hasn’t set foot in Indiana for years. Even before the Moira, he never stayed in one place to long, cutting a path across the American midwest to Colorado then south to Mexico.

Then, he’d dropped everything to get to Egypt. It shows on his wanted posters, the international something to be vaguely proud of, maybe, if only for the fact it means he’s a thorn in the sides of people the world over.

There is, however, one thing he'd like her to know.]

I went back. I looked for you until they made me stop.

[Because the last thing he wants is for her to think that he abandoned her--gave up.]

( She gives a hum, a mild agreement with his words. It had been easy to hide, and that had been exactly her intention. She had wanted to disappear, struck by failure, embarrassment -- self pity. Those were more the things that Ana had felt in the aftermath -- much pain, and regret, and though she had thought of those that she had left behind she hadn't thought about how much they would have looked for her.

No, that was a lie. Ana knew Jack too well to ever believe that he wouldn't look for her, which was why she'd hidden as well as she had. Ana had known that Jack would have searched, that he could have found her and helped if she'd allowed him too, but she'd felt vulnerable -- more vulnerable than he'd seen before, and more than she'd wanted them to know )

I didn't want to be found.

( Which she supposes he knows now since she hadn't actually been dead. After the explosion... sadly Ana can't say that she'd given the same search for him. She'd asked questions, tried to find the information but doing so without revealing her own status had made her search less in depth. It wasn't until more recently when she'd sought him out, when she'd been ready, that she'd truly gotten her answer )

I don't know that I can explain it.

( Or that she wants to. Their trust had ran deep, still did, but how did you explain wanting to be dead? Or how she'd felt )

You don't have to explain it.

[Because although he didn't quite get it at first, he understands now that he's done it himself. He knows what it's like to feel as though the world doesn't need him, that everyone would just be better off if he stayed dead. To fail so thoroughly that the only course of action is to remove oneself from the equation, because it's for the best.

It still hurts, to know that she didn't want to be found--that she allowed him to believe he got her killed (because she must have known how he'd take it--but Jack thinks he's too glad to have her back to keep dwelling on it. They both did what they had to do and all they can do is move forward from here.]

I think I understand.

I am not glad that you do.

( It isn't something that you can understand unless you've gone through it yourself, and Ana knows that he has. He hadn't just hidden to keep people safe by letting them believe that he was dead, or because it meant that Talon wouldn't try to hit at him, but because he'd felt as she had. Guilt, disappointment. That he was no longer needed.

Ana had hated the feeling in herself, but knowing that someone she cared for her also felt it? It struck low, especially with all that Jack had done -- all of the good, and the hope. He had done much for the world, and to be left feeling that way was as if saying none of it matter.

But in the aftermath of the explosion it hadn't. Overwatch was done, Jack Morrison dead, and the good that they had done had been shattered. It's painful to think of )

If there was another way-- here could be something different.

( If the secret was out perhaps. There was only them, no one else. No one knew of their world, or Overwatch. It wasn't a fresh start but their actions could count again, if needed )

[It helps, at least. Even if the circumstances that brought them both to this point is not ideal, they’re back together now and that’s what matters. Jack doesn’t begrudge her for what she did as much as he might have, because he’s gone and done it himself. He knows what she’s feeling—wishes they didn’t have to shoulder their respective burdens, but it’s easier when they’re a team. They can help each other, just as they always have.]

Still haven’t given up on getting home.

[He needs something to drive him. It’ll be too easy to get complacent if he doesn’t have a goal to work towards, even if all he’s doing is sitting around waiting for his number to be called.

Jack's fingers itch again, wanting a more substantial touch than just a friendly hand on her shoulder, but he visibly hesitates.]

We've got work to do.

( There's another nod, and honestly Ana would be more surprised if Jack did ever give up on going home. They're creatures of habit, and being forcefully relocated and having to settle is never something they'd be any good at.

Settling was a joke itself.

But they're here, they'll work, and even fight -- for home, and to keep themselves busy )

I trust you have something on that.

( For now something could be small, even the slightest bit of information that would give her anything about their prospective chances of going home )

Not much, unfortunately.

[He's going to dig, once he gets settled, but even on the ship it was all a brick wall. The Ingress is decidedly beyond him, and he's wished Winston was here on more than one occasion. From what he understands, however, all they can do is sit and wait.]

They've gotta match your signature to the right world before they can send you back.

[So he understands, anyway.]

Might not be the truth, but can't go home either way.

Do you believe it?

( It sounded far too convenient to her but it was the only answer he had, which Ana would take to mean was the only answer there was. Or the only answer they'd been given. It didn't sound good, but it was better than nothing )

They took us originally. It sounds like they should have our signatures.

Not really.

[She knows him far too well—knows he’s much too paranoid to accept an easy answer like that, even in the face of evidence otherwise. Ana’s quick to voice those concerns, and he nods along, though he supposes there is something of an explanation, shaky as it is..]

The spaceship we were on—the Moira, the Ingress that should have our signatures? Wasn’t supposed to be out in the first place. It’s possible the people here didn’t get anything from it, at least as far as we’re concerned.

I did not come on the ship.

( Not this time at least, and she had gone one time before )

They also sent me away. They may have what they need.

( Unless she went somewhere else which would be a terrifying thing )

[He shakes his head at that. More parallel universe time-space business that Winston would be much better at explaining than him. Still, he'll try.]

They'll tell you that the you from before belongs to a parallel universe. You remember things back home that I don't, right? I think that has something to do with it.

It sounds too convenient.

( They say, they'll tell you. Yes, Ana did remember something that had happened at home that Jack didn't but she had also left Thisavrou more recently )

Perhaps I remember because I lived it. You haven't disappeared, you haven't had chance to yet.

I wouldn’t be able to wrap my head around it.

[His talents mostly involve pointing a gun at something and pulling the trigger. This is a little out of his wheelhouse.]

I guess what it means is that I’m a different version of the me back home. The one you found.

[Or maybe he’ll just eventually be that version of himself, returned home to the point at which he left.]

Winston would be better at this.

He would no doubt enjoy seeing this place.

( He was a scientist. It wouldn't only be the Ingress that could tempt him but the people, the planets. There was much for a scientist to explore here. As for Jack... )

You are still the same Jack I have known. That is what is important.

( Not just one memory. He still remembers the rest of their lives. She'd also know something was fishy with him )

Guess so.

[He offers her something of a halfhearted smile. It's pained, though not because of anything she's done, simply because this is how he is, now. Jack will try his best for her, and there's still a sincerity to it underneath it all, in spite of everything.]

I'm glad you're back, Ana.

[Even if she doesn't remember being here or gone. It's no secret that Jack is lost without her, a sentiment he doesn't need to voice for her to know.]

( There's a nod, and her own smile to join his. Whatever this is, and whatever they are or had that she's lost, there's always one thing that is constant: they're better together )

We will figure something out.

( It might not be everything but as long as it's enough to get by, or get out of dodge, will work )

( video )

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