Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Soldier 76 is found rummaging through an old bent up little box. His hands trace an old photo. Recognizing the familiar pattern of aging tape. He almost smiled, a twitch of the lips before he startles slightly when Gabe makes himself known.

"Trip down memory lane?"

Morrison scowled.

"What does it look like Reyes."

Footsteps and the bed dips. Fingers gently taking the photo out of Jack's hands.

"A picture of a stuffed tiger. How old is this?" Reyes asked, amused. Jack huffed & responded.

"I was being sarcastic, I know what the picture is."

At the question Jack shrugs. Gabe hands back the photo & presses a chaste kiss to the man's temple before leaving the room, likely to see what the Hell the stupid cowboy Mcree did to piss off Hanzo this time.

[Time Skip]

The mission went smoothly, blowing the Talon agents sky high with Junkrat's help. Everyone takes a break before preparing to haul off the payload. Whilst taking said break, the Soldier wanders off. The location felt so familiar. He had to take a look. Reaper of course had followed at a distance just in case of any more trouble arising.

Morrison is drawn to a particular house in ruins. Having been in the blast radius of Junkrat's bomb, the wall was blown in. Boots crunch through glass and rubble. Going up a barely intact flight of stairs.

The visor sends a flurry of info to his head. Oddly the scans coming about his surroundings is making him nostalgic before a particular object caught his attention. The visor scanned the object but couldn't identify.

Grunting in slight annoyed manner, Soldier 76 crouches to move some bits of rubble till his gloved hand touched a soft shape. Taking off his gloves to properly feel it, Jack almost gasped. Fingers ran over the whole object that fit neatly in his hands. If this thing is here then this must be his old home when he was a kid.

"Jack everyone is ready to go-is that what I think it is?"

76 grunted an answer & stood, placing his gloves back on. He uses a strap to wrap the object to his belt.

"... obviously."

[Time Skip]

No one said a word about Jack bringing back a stuffed tiger to base. It was strange yes, but they weren't judging. The adorable little animal became an impromptu mascot of sorts when brought out. Mostly it stayed in Morrison's room against the headboard of his bed.

Eventually, someone had sewn a name into the tiger's butt.

Benny Augustus Reyes.

Hanzo looked smug anytime it was mentioned, the sneaky bastard.

Chapter Text

Benny looked very confused. D.Va had just asked That One Question™.

The one question everyone avoided asking, as to not induce a major dose of existential crisis. Soldier 76 held his breath, Reaper froze, Tracer gaped, & Hanzo looked wide eyed. Mcree did a spit take. Genji sniggered & Zenyatta dropped all of his Omnic orbs.

“Do you even have fingers?”

The silence increased when Benny looked down at the Xbox controller in his lap, then at his paws before turning to D.Va

“….?”

Jack waited for the other shoe to drop. That is until a grunting noise from the tiger sounded out. Benny concentrated on his paws, little nubs appearing on the sides to resemble small thumbs.

He gripped the the controller & gave a triumphant expression at an astonished D.Va then proceeded to snipe her in the game they’re playing.

“Hey not fair! "

Chapter Text

Benny Augustus Reyes. Tiny tiger & companion of a battered, blind old man. The stuffed animal huffed when Jack scowled. He’d been doing that for quite some time at a suspiciously smug Hanzo.

Benny narrowed his eyes, a paw feeling at the new embroidery in his butt. It hurt, sore from the hour it took Hanzo to stitch Benny’s full name on his ass.

The tiger hadn’t moved the whole time. What did he do to deserve a tattoo?

Everyone had argued over his full name. D.Va wheedled out his first name from Jack who’d been too tired to argue. Next came the middle name. Reinhardt was adamant about it being Augustus. Naturally there were arguments & proposals. Mercy went as far as taking a poll & organizing little slide show for reasons about the picked names. It was ridiculous.

Benny Kitty.

Benny Morrison.

Benny Kat Nerfer.

The names were too silly or too cute. Benny bless his soul, suffered through it with amusement. Not that they could tell.

Augustus was decided through a vote, he’d responded to that the most. Reyes came naturally because he belonged to Jack & seemed to favour the man’s partner. The final verdict came from Morrison of course. The poor Soldier face palmed & shook his head at the fight for Benny having a full name. He’d shrugged. Gabe was pleased the tiger got his last name, however he thought Morrison would’ve been cuter.

Currently, Benny is quite grumpy. He can’t sit properly & Jack keeps running his fingers over the name stitched into his ass. The tiger patted Jack’s face to make him stop. Whilst Hanzo goes off to see what Genji & Mcree are arguing about, Benny forms a plan of retaliation. Settling into the crook of Morrison’s arm, laying back.

[Time Skip: 3 Hours Later]

Hanzo’s shout of total fright catches everyone’s attention. Seeing Benny walk out with a small bowl of grapes, Gabriel is the first to ask what Benny did when he approaches the Japanese man in the kitchen.

“What happened?”

Hanzo wouldn’t tell. But whenever Gabe caught Benny looking at Hanzo, the little tiger looked very self satisfied.

[Time Skip: 4 Weeks Later]

Mcree asked Hanzo one day, everyone was sitting down at the dining table to eat or standing around the counters, gathering at Jack’s house is now a habit.

“What did Benny do to you anyway?”

Everyone went silent & Hanzo pales to ghostly white.

“He has teeth….”

Everyone looked at Benny, the tiger sitting on the counter to eat his bowl of fruit snacks. Benny looked up & then blinked a few times, eventually ignoring them all.

No one left that room without imagining what Hanzo meant. Even when Genji asked Hanzo privately, his brother’s eyes would widen in the same expression when Mcree asked.

“Teeth….”

The only clue is the small scar on his opposite arm. In the shape of a bite.

Chapter Text

D.Va opened a bag of Doritos, pouring it in a bowl this time instead of eating directly from the bag. She doesn’t hear Benny walking until he’s right in front of her holding his own bowl. A very small bowl. One that Zenyatta bought for him, it has pawprints around the rim, as well as orange rings on the outside.

Benny made sure to use it. Like now, the tiger is looking up hopefully at the curled up D.Va; she stares at him from her position on the couch.

“What?”

He holds the bowl up. She should get it, he’s asking for a share.

“Nice. Heard Zenyatta got it for you. Cute.”

Benny huffed. Of all people….

He struggles to place the bowl on the table near the armrest of the couch. Standing on his tip-toes, he managed to inch the bowl onto the table, nudging it against the bag of chips. D.Va watched, face brightening in realisation—yes! She’s going to share!

“You sure you can have that?”

Benny sagged & face pawed.

“I mean I kinda get it when you eat grapes, just swallow them whole and stuf—wait where do they even go?”

The response to her question is a shrug, how is Benny supposed to know? He jumps up & down, making grabby paws at the Doritos.

“I’ll let you try one, or a few. Yeah, a handful should be good.”

Sticking her hand in, she placed the chips within his bowl & handed it to the tiger. Benny gave a delighted wiggle, plopping on the floor. He picks up a fairly large chip, hesitating when he feels D.Va watching him.

She’s watching rather intently too…

OM—NOM—NOM!!!

D.Va yelped spilling her own bowl & flailing to hide behind the couch. She then scrambles out of the room, running past a confused Morrison & unamused Reyes.

[Time Skip: 5 Days Later]

“D.Va why won’t you give Benny his food? it’s your turn to feed him.”

D.Va paled, eyes wide in the same exact expression Hanzo had when Benny retaliated. The girl shudders & replies.

“Teeth…”

She said.

Chapter Text

A pang of sadness, his Jack is different, even when Benny thinks he doesn't mind he finds himself wondering about when Jack will be himself...he never will be & sometimes that bothers him. He knows it had to do with Reyes, everything had to do with that man who called himself Reaper now. They used to be best friends when they were small & Benny still remembers how they used to be. Now they are too different for him to be unbothered by it, too much had changed while Jack left him home & never came back. It still hurts. Benny doesn't know why but it does, maybe he did something wrong to send Jack away...Benny doesn't like thinking.

Jack finds himself waking up. Waking to the sound of noise. Soft whimpering that didn't come from Reyes, Gabe's out on a mission anyway & won't be back till tomorrow. Listening as the sound goes silent. It's a sad & confused sound that makes the old man think that whoever is making that noise has possibly never ever felt sad before.

It happens again, shooting straight to his heart with how this person strains to keep their keening quiet. He's getting soft. Gruffly feeling around for his slippers, Morrison is going to pinpoint it & make it stop.

Until he hears it near the bed.

Benny doesn't like thinking because once he starts thinking he can't stop himself. The aching in his chest is heavier now, like a stone inside his stuffing weighing him down. It makes Benny scared, he knows this feeling, the anxiety & nervousness that equated to fear. To being downright afraid of something, Jack leaving him behind again without a word, that is a fear. 

But he does not know what sadness is, how it makes his chest hurt & tears glistening his eyes. Benny hasn't experienced this spectrum of what humans called emotion.

He wants it to stop. If this is the price of living, of fulfilling a promise to a wish from a bright blue eyed boy; he doesn't want it. And that hurst more. The selfishness that shows up suddenly. 

Benny is hurting & he can't make this feeling go away as he remembers, remembers, remembers & suffers because of it. The first sensation of being scared when Jack didn't return. The razor sharp tear of abandonment, what it did to his little heart to crack just a little, just a little bit so he wouldn't notice until times like this came without warning & reminded him of all the fractures in it.

The fire of that tiny faded hope flutter flutter fluttering inside his being when after the wall of Jack's old home blasted in, getting covered in debris, unable to escape the explosion & frightened out of his mind till familiar hands lifted him gently. How every single thing about Jack Morrison flooded is mind; triggered by his name being uttered from an older version of that little boy who once went on adventures with Gabriel across the street.

He who promised to come back before leaving for the military & Overwatch recruitment. Telling Benny just like he did as a child to hold down the fort. To guard his room & let no one else in lest Benny tell on them. Benny loyally stayed put.

Jack didn't come back.

Benny doesn't like thinking, the aching is too much. He's trying to be quiet & the creak of the--! 

Callused hands find the stuffed tiger near the foot of the bed on the floor. Wrapping around his little body to lift him under the arms onto the bed. Led into the embrace of a blind man who figures out quickly that Benny's having a breakdown. An emotional crisis. Benny's feeling sad for the first time & he can't handle it as far as 76 can tell.

"S'alright Benny relax, not going anywhere."

The tiny body curls into his chest, a devastated whine that has Morrison genuinely worried.

"Getting too old for this shit."

The blind Soldier brought Benny to cuddle under the covers, forehead placed against the tiger's, in semblance of his childhood. Warmth of his battered body seeping into the smaller form. Stroking his head & murmuring sleepy reassurances. It's all Morrison can do, he has a vague idea as to why Benny is breaking down into this shell of a happy tiger. Sentience had to do with that, add in a few nasty ingredients like existential & emotional crisis (the existential part was easy to get past since Benny was actually granting a wish he made when he was 7.)

Toss in what seemed to be underlying abandonment anxiety & issues. You get yourself a barely held together (somehow still loyal after years of solitude) companion.

Jack knows that Mercy isn't much of a psychologist. Maybe she can figure out a way to help. He'd have to ask in the morning. Definitely not looking forward to the heavy dose of more existential crisis that Reyes & the rest of the team will have when he explains his cranky morning attitude is due to Benny having a nervous break in his room at Who-The-Fuck-Knows-What-Time-It-Is. 

It takes the better part of 2 hours as Morrison finally calms an exhausted Benny Augustus Reyes to sleep. The man himself taking several hours as the gears in his head turn. Thinking. Benny is impulsive he knows that much, the little guy didn't put much thought to anything, practical & logical. This breakdown is probably why; thinking dredges up things Benny has unconsciously buried for so long brought to the surface by experiencing unfelt feelings.

He likes sleeping with Morrison, the guy is a good space heater on cold nights when the summer's day disappears. The scorching sun on his skin isn't pleasant when he's left too long & Jack doesn't want his colour to fade. Careful even as he ran & played in the corn fields with Gabriel, careful not to get Benny dirty & warning a laughing Reyes he'll beat him up if he hurts Benny. The hispanic boy is not taking Morrison seriously whilst he teases but he doesn't push it too much.

Benny is a fierce protector of the duo, both children firmly believed magic was amiss to explain Benny being alive. Most accounted it to active imaginations. He was fine with that.  And then one day he wasn't.

These are the memories Benny lives for. These are the moments he wants to keep. The gleam of sunlight from a slightly clouded sky, riding in a basket Gabriel weaved with his Abuela's help. The basket rigged to a small bike as the boys pedalled hard, racing down the dirt road against the backdrop of a sunny sky & fluffy clouds.

These are the things Benny wants to recall. To feel what he knows is happiness.

Because the pain of living can topple even the mightiest of tigers.

Chapter Text

Sighing out loud, Benny once again stays still whilst D.Va applies another set of doll's clothes to his body.

(He feels like that's all he ever does these days, just sighing, he can't speak but at least his breathing patterns can be expressive.)

It's Halloween, well not yet, but everyone has a costume except Jack & Benny. Mcree had suggested for Benny to be a puppet, or Woody from some old children's movie.

Suffice to say, the little tiger wasn't  amused. He'd scoffed at Jesse's proposed costumes. Now however, Benny is suffering through what seems to be a game of dress up.

"None of these clothes work!"

D.Va threw her hands up. Slipping off the fancy outfit she'd fitted the stuffed tiger with; the gamer tosses it aside into the growing pile on her bed. 

Benny puffed out a breath of relief, he's about to hop off the dresser when D.Va snaps her fingers.

"I've got an idea! Come on Benny let's go ask Reaper!"

 Benny rolls his eyes. Leaping off the vanity to trudge after the hyperactive Korean girl. He's not looking forward to being shoved into more dainty clothes.

Part 1 to be continued...