Hold my hand

Mercy never had any particular problems with Halloween, but the way Overwatch celebrated it had always bothered her. It was time consuming and distracting her from her research. The first year she had been part of Overwatch, she had been dragged out of her lab by Ana and a bunch of other soldiers dressed in monstrous attires, and had been stuck at the Halloween party the entire night. The years which followed, she had finally conceited to partake in the Halloween tradition, and had been wearing the same witch costume every year ever since.

This year was no different, and Mercy would have already gone to the party, hadn't she had company. She was looking at the clock in the small living room as she waited for the little girl inside the bathroom to be done. The party would be starting soon. She tried to open the bathroom door but was instantly pushed away by a little voice:

"No, I'm not ready yet!"

"Well hurry!" Mercy replied with a gentle voice. "We'll miss the party."

"I'm almost done!"

Mercy looked back at the clock.

The door opened, revealing a seven years old hidden under a cardboard raptora suit helmet. Only her mouth and chin were visible, showing off bronze skin and a bit of black hair. The rest of her outfit wasn't made of cardboard, but still had the blue and gold color skim of a raptora suit. She wore a blue tee-shirt too big for her. The Helix logo on it was on her belly, instead of her torso. She wore a blue jacket and jeans which Mercy recognized as belonging to the girl. She had strapped to her back a set of cardboard wings mimicking that of a suit.

"Oh, a raptora suit, I see!" declared Mercy.

The girl nodded and her helmet bobbed lightly.

"Can you even see where you are going?"

"I can if I look down. But you better hold my hand."

Mercy smiled and took the pumpkin shaped bag on the table. The girl had insisted on carrying the bag even if they were not touring around the base, and Mercy knew she would have to make sure the bag would not be filled entirely by the end of the night. She then took the little hand of the girl and carefully led her to the door.

They left the room and Mercy closed the door behind them. She handed the bag to the girl, and took her free hand.

"I wish mom could have come with us."

Mercy smiled sadly.

"I know, Little one. But you mom had to go save the world again. I'm sure she'll be back in time to see you in your costume."

The girl nodded again and her hand shot up to stabilize the helmet on her head. It made Mercy laugh lightly.

They walked slowly toward the room were the party was held. Tracer had already caught up with them, dressed as a werewolf, and had passed them when Mercy had told her they would join her back at the party.

They were halfway there when they heard Athena declare:

"Ship arriving at hangar 3"

The girl jumped with joy, and Mercy was quite surprised. She had been told the mission would take a long time to complete, but apparently that was false. A harsh tug on her hand brought her back to reality.

"Come on! Mom is back! I want to go and see her!"

Mercy nodded with a smile. The girl rushed toward the hangar, not bothered by her lack of visibility anymore, and Mercy had to prevent her from hurting herself on multiple occasions.

When they arrived at the hangar, the plane had already landed and its hatch was already open. One after the other, barely scratched Overwatch agents walked out.

"Mom!" The girl ran to her mother and jumped into her arms, the cardboard raptora helmet accidentally hitting the real raptora helmet.

Fareeha hugged her daughter before turning to Angela, dressed in her witch costume which she adored on her.

"I thought you wouldn't be back before tomorrow."

"The mission went smoother than expected."

Before she could kiss her wife thought, her attention was drawn back to her daughter, who was shaking with the desire for attention.

"Mom! Have you seen my costume!"

"Sure I've seen it! Your grand-ma told me all about how she helped you make it!"

"Do you like it?"

"Of course I do. But I can't see your pretty eyes under your helmet. Let me take it off..."

"Only if you let me take yours!" the little girl added quickly before her helmet was lifted off her head. A mass of smooth black hair fell around her face, and two bright blue eyes seemed to shine at the sight of her mother. She quickly took off her mother's helmet, and Angela was struck by how much her daughter and her wife looked alike. If not for her blue eyes, she could have been Fareeha's clone.

"Come on, let's go to the party!" The little girl shouted.

"So I don't even get to change?" Fareeha asked.

Angela smiled and took their daughter in her arms. Even though the girl was now too heavy for her mother to carry her, Angela could still hold her for a few minutes.

"Go, I'll hold her off."

"No you can't! Because I'm... flying!"

The girl wriggled expertly out of her mother's grasp, put Fareeha's helmet on her head and ran around the hangar with her arm outstretched, making both of her parents laugh.

"I'll catch you guys later."

They exchanged a kiss and Fareeha handed the cardboard helmet to Angela before she went toward their quarter to change and put her own costume on. Angela turned back to her daughter who was still flying around and asked:

"Who wants to go to a party?"

"I do!"