The Heathrow airport in London is extremely busy on this sunny day, which is pretty normal for this time of the year. Everyone is traveling for a vacation or to see their families for Christmas and new year's. It is very fitting that Mei finally arrives at this time of the year. It feels like the Overwatch family is getting together for the holidays. Winston and Tracer were both at the airport waiting eagerly for her to arrive. Since Overwatch has still got some privileges, they are allowed to land their private jump jet and wait for Mei at a secluded spot away from the public eyes and main arrivals section. They've already discussed with Mei where they would be and how to get to them. All that was left was for the guest of honor to arrive. That was Tracer's hardest challenge yet; she was not able to wait in place. With every plane that landed, she gets excited and blinks all around only to realize that it's not Mei's plane. Even though she knew exactly the time that plane would land, she still couldn't help keep it together. Winston, on the other hand, knows how to kill time and is sitting on some cargo boxes and reading a book about shield generation while munching on some bananas with his feet. Behind him, is a pile of Banana peels that he keeps adding new peels to. As he finishes one Banana, he opens one of the boxes and pulls out a new one to devour. With every plane that lands, a breeze of wind passes them that Winston simply enjoys. The weather wasn't too cold and the sun did help in keeping them warm.
"How are you so calm, Winston!?" Tracer asked as she nudged his shoulder.
"Hmmm. The plane doesn't land for another 15 minutes. Why not just have a banana while we enjoy the breeze?" He replied as another plane landed.
"Uggh. I can't keep waiting! Someone responded to our Recall! They are coming. And oh my! It's Christmas tonight. We can spend dinner together!" She said with an excited tone but immediately went still. "Oh no, we didn't shop for anything for Christmas! I was too busy preparing for a welcome home party I didn't think about getting..." She continued mumbling to herself.
Winston only laughed in response. It has been a long time since he saw Tracer this happy. Her excitement has always brought joy to the team. Winston hopes more people return to Overwatch and have this mood last a little longer.
Mei's plane was finally visible in the distance as its wheels touched the runway and landed safely. It took a turn at the end of the runway before finally reaching its parking position. The passengers were departing the plane onto the mobile passenger boarding stairs. A security guard was standing at the end of the steps directing the passengers to get on the bus. A few minutes later, the guard directed a passenger wearing a blue coat to the side and helped her onto a small vehicle. They drove toward the Overwatch hanger where Tracer and Winston were eagerly waiting. The passenger got out of the vehicle and got her backpack from the pack. She was still hidden from Tracer's eyes. When the truck moved away, Mei was standing there waving. She waved at them from a distance as she was a bit shy. Tracer, on the other hand, immediately ran towards Mei to greet her. Tracer thought that blinking over to her might spook Mei, since they had never met before.
Winston walked over greeting her and taking her backpack. At that instant, something flew out of the bag and dropped down by Mei's side.
"Hello snowball!" Mei said. "Everyone, this is Snowball-" She paused, afraid she would get laughed at if she said he is a friend.
"Hmmm... A friend of Mei is a friend of mine," Winston said with a smile.
Tracer giggled as she started directing Mei toward the hanger doors and the jet. She put a serious face on. "Come on everyone, we have begun boarding"
The Aurora is a small drop ship allowed to move around the city with airway clearance. The ship has two side thrusters and another main thruster at the back. It can be boarded from two sides and the interior has 8 seats in total. Each seat had a name on top of it, which seems to be from one of the final missions before Overwatch's fall. Morrison, Amari, Lindholm, Ziegler. Winston didn't have the heart to remove them. Each chair had a shelf that had some of the people's belongings. Some had pictures hung up of a birthday party while others, like Ana, had a picture of their family.
Since Tracer is a pilot, she was in the cockpit prepping the flight and requesting clearance. Mei stepped into the plane feeling like she does not belong. She didn't know which chair to pick. Winston noticed and guided her to the closest one next to the pilot seat. She noticed a group photo and picked it up. "You are a big team. You look happy." She looked around and was afraid to ask.
Winston put his hand out to take the photo. "We are happy you are here with us Mei." He turned to Tracer. "Captain, take us home."
"Roger that. This is your captain speaking, Lena Oxton. Please buckle in your seatbelts, put your seats in the upright position and stow all overhead baggage safely because we are clear for takeoff!"
The ground rumbled beneath them as the jet was in VTOL mode lifting off the ground before switching the main thrusters on and launching out of the hangar into the blue sky.
It wasn't too long before they reached the base, which had a special hangar on the rooftop. They got off the jet and made their way inside. The living area is decorated with Welcome home Mei Banners. On top of the tables are popcorn, snacks and many bananas for Winston. A tear came down Mei's eyes as she scanned the room. She thought about her friends who couldn't make it out of the base. They would have loved such a party and her delicious tea.
"Thank you, I really appreciate it," she said as she turned around to go to her bag that Winston was holding. "Would you like me to make my famous tea?"
"You mean the same tea that everyone spoke about in their mission logs? Of course!" Winston replied. Mei giggled in response and went ahead, pulled out her things and asked for directions to the kitchen.
The rest of the afternoonwas spent enjoying the tea, laughing, taking polaroids, and hanging out.Everyone seemed to enjoy their time. By sunset, they were doing some Karaokesongs. It was Lena's turn and Winston was clapping along for her. By the end ofthe song, they noticed that Mei was too quiet. She was asleep on the couch; shedid have a long journey to get here. Winston took a blanket from the side andcovered her to keep her warm. Lena and Winston spent Christmas dinner togetherand went to bed early as they were also exhausted too.
How does everyone else spend their Christmas?
Reinhardt and Brigitte spend their Christmas together and have sparring practice as they make their way to Winton's recall.
Mercy spends her time alone but bakes comfort bakery as she makes her way to Winston's recall too.
Genji spent Christmas with Kiriko enjoying the fireworks before answering the recall.
Hanzo makes his journey into finding a new meaning to his life.
Ana and Soldier spend their time chasing ghosts and Talon's trail.
Pharah spends some time with her dad in Canada.
McCree gets drunk in one of the bars on Christmas eve as he chases down the people Ana scouted.
Echo spends her time studying human behavior during the holiday season.
The notorious criminals "The Junkers" (RoadHog and Junkrat) continue their explosive rampage in Sydney.
Ashe and Bob spend Christmas in their mansion.
Widowmaker visits her husband and places his flower preference, a rose, on his grave.
Reyes ensures his family is doing well and that his son receives his anonymous gift.
As the world enjoys spending time with their family, Sombra takes the perfect opportunity to gather intel from all those distracted.
While things appear calm indoors, the world has become unstable again. London King's Row has become the first city to break out into multiple violent Omnic protests since the Null Sector Uprising a few years ago. There are countless casualties, mostly from the Omnic side. Lena and Winston plan on tackling this issue in the hopes of preventing another war.
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Credit to artists: Psd_psdgai, ahannon shankin, n33rx, wolveman, imsleepyzen, Akanelogics, Digital Bear Productions