Stolen kiss
A/N: Happy birthday, badass empress-princess doctor Mercy!
Hope you like this little thing I wrote for you. I'm rusty af, so I'm sorry if this isn't up to my usual standards... I wouldn't know, it's been a while :P
Angela stopped at the door to her apartment and turned around to warn her friend. "I'm offering you a way out right before the doors of hell, in there it is…"
"A mess, you've implied it several times." Fareeha said.
"Oh no, my office is a mess, my apartment is… It's bad, it's really bad." Angela offered an apologetic smile. "If you decide to walk away as soon as I open this door, I will understand."
"Angie, please. I told you I'd help you with it, and I'm a woman of my word." Fareeha smiled reassuringly to her friend.
Angela let out a sigh and unlocked the door. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
The doctor opened the door and let Fareeha enter the apartment first. The engineer stopped in her tracks, looking around astonished and her only reaction was a word that slipped through her lips before she could stop herself. "Fuck."
Angela giggled at her friend's little outburst, especially because Fareeha didn't swear at all unless it was in the most special circumstances, and apparently Angela's apartment qualified as one.
Fareeha was standing in the middle of what she guessed was the living room. To her left was a couch big enough for four or five people, in front of her was a coffee table and to her right was a piece of furniture that may or may not have had a holo screen on top of it some time ago. On the far end of the apartment to her right was a kitchenette, and next to it to the left was a closed door that Fareeha assumed led to Angela's bedroom.
What made Fareeha swear was the fact that everything was covered in clothes and books and academic papers: the floor, the couch, the coffee table, half of the kitchenette… there was a bookshelf on the corner of the living room literally made of books. She turned to her friend and half asked, half whined. "Why?"
Angela was slightly embarrassed but she answered. "Since rejoining Overwatch, we've been traveling all over the world, I barely have time to live in my apartment, but you know that wherever we are, I'm always trying to make progress with my nanobiotechnolgy research. I come by some books, I print some papers because it's easier to read a hard copy than stare at a holo screen, and the clothes… I actually have no excuse for them. When I am exhausted, I just arrive home and toss them around."
"But we joined Overwatch only six months ago?" Fareeha looked at Angela in disbelief, at which the latter only shrugged. Yes, this disaster only took six months to happen. Fareeha returned her attention to the living room, scratching the back of her neck as she thought how was the best way to start sorting this out. "You owe me more than one dinner, Ziegler."
"You mean you'll stay and help?" Angela asked, surprised.
"Sure, who would I be if I abandon you to this." Fareeha gestured vaguely with her arm at the living room. "But I really doubt we will finish today, this will take all weekend."
Angela gave Fareeha a quick hug. "Thank you! I promise I will make it up to you."
Color rose to Fareeha's cheeks but she was confident that her dark complexion would hide it from Angela. "O-Ok, let's do this."
: : :
After hours of sorting through all of Angela's mess, both women were done for the day. They only took small breaks here and there, but they pushed hard to get the majority of the work finished today, which they did. Now they were sitting at the kitchenette's counter after devouring a large pizza, Angela drinking a cup of hot chocolate and Fareeha dozing off.
Fareeha blinked quickly a few times and stood up. "I should probably get going."
Angela finished her chocolate and put the cup on the counter. "Don't be silly, you're exhausted and you need to rest. The hotel isn't close and it's late." She stood up and grabbed Fareeha's hand, taking her to the living room. "You will stay the night. You can have the bed and I'll have the…" Angela trailed off. She saw that the boxes where they had been packing the books and the academic papers where on top and around the couch, the only other place to sleep. Angela's mood turned from cheerful to hesitant.
"What is it?" Fareeha asked before yawning.
"Actually, do you mind if we… if we share the bed?" Angela's voice was almost a whisper, but her friend listened to her clearly nonetheless.
Fareeha opened her eyes wide, her drowsiness disappearing in a second. She wanted to say 'I'd love to' but her brain stopped her from a possible disaster, after all she was sure that her crush on the doctor was not mutual. "I don't want to impose, I—"
"Nonsense." Angela turned around to look at her friend. "You're my best friend. I insist."
Angela was using an authoritative tone, the one everyone in Overwatch knew as the doctor voice. This meant that Fareeha had lost the fight already. The latter just gulped and muttered softly. "Ok."
The doctor beamed and took Fareeha to her bedroom. "Don't worry, I have a big bed and I don't hog the sheets."
Fareeha had already seen Angela's bedroom —she had to go through it to reach the bathroom— but she hadn't paid much attention to it aside from the fact that it wasn't a war zone like the rest of the apartment, focused as she was on helping Angela. She now noticed that indeed Angela's bed was huge, which for some reason disappointed her a little.
Angela opened a drawer of the dresser by the bed and pulled out some colorful clothes. She handed them to Fareeha. "I don't think they are long enough for you, but I'm sure they will at least fit you."
Fareeha took the clothes and realized that they were pajamas… ducklings print pajamas. She couldn't help but smile at Angela's taste in clothing. "Thank—" Fareeha's mouth went dry as she looked how Angela removed the hair tie from her head, letting her hair fall loose.
"I'm going to brush my hair in the bathroom." Angela brushed her hair with her fingers a few times to get rid of a few knots. "So change your clothes and go to bed. I won't take long but you shouldn't worry about me, what you need is a good night sleep." Angela smiled before heading to the bathroom, leaving a flustered Fareeha standing in the middle of the room.
After a few seconds Fareeha managed to think again and heeded her friend's advice. She undressed until she was left only wearing panties, a bra and a white tank top. She put on only the PJ's pants and looked herself in the mirror hanging on the bathroom's door. The pants were short for her but aside from that they were very comfortable and Fareeha could only snicker at Angela's choice for sleepwear.
She folded neatly her clothes and put them on top of the dresser, then she laid down on one side of the bed. A moment later panic rose inside her. How was she going to be able to sleep with Angela by her side?
: : :
Angela finished brushing her hair and exited the bathroom. "Did the pajamas fit you?" She asked when she saw Fareeha lying down on the bed, but when the latter didn't answer, Angela realized that her friend was sound asleep.
She sat down beside her and caressed her cheek. "You look so peaceful right now." Fareeha didn't stir by Angela's words or touch, which meant that she was out cold, the day's work had really exhausted her. Angela contemplated her friend for a while, adoration in her eyes. "I promise I won't be so shy next time." She leaned down and placed a kiss on the corner of her mouth, all the while blushing a bright red.
Making sure that Fareeha was indeed asleep, Angela let out a deep sigh and stood up. She still needed to change into her sleepwear and brush her teeth before joining Fareeha in bed.
: : :
When Fareeha woke up, she did so feeling fully rested. She stretched and that's when she felt an arm around her waist, trying to pull her to her right. She turned her head and suddenly remembered that she didn't stay at the hotel last night. Angela was sleeping on her side, her hair covering half of her face, her right arm casually placed on top of Fareeha's stomach.
Fareeha would have freaked out a little bit if not for the fact that Angela was still sleeping. Instead, she enjoyed their shared warmth and let her mind wander over how their bodies would fit perfectly if they were to sleep closer to each other. It was a nice thought, one Fareeha entertained until Angela woke up a few minutes later, removing her arm and apparently oblivious that she had side hugged Fareeha in the middle of the night.
"Good morning, Angie." Fareeha said with fondness.
"Morning." Angela sat up, yawned and looked at Fareeha, a smile forming on her lips. "Hope you slept well."
"I did. I wasn't expecting to fall asleep like that, but I guess I may have overexerted myself a little yesterday." Fareeha shrugged.
"Well, thanks to you we are almost finished." Angela left the bed and stretched, giving Fareeha a better view of her pajamas.
Fareeha snorted. "You must really like ducklings." She gestured at her pajamas.
Angela looked at her and then turned her attention to herself. "They are really cute, don't you think so?"
"Yes, they are." Fareeha left the bed too. "We can finish today, but I need to do a quick run to the hotel and get a shower and a change of clothes. I can also grab us breakfast on my way back, what do you think?" Fareeha made that last suggestion remembering there was nothing to eat in the apartment.
"Sounds good." Angela answered.
Fareeha grabbed her clothes and made her way to the bathroom. "Let me change and I'll go do all that."
"Take your time." Angela replied as she headed for the kitchenette.
After using the bathroom and changing her clothes, Fareeha was ready to go to the hotel. She exited the bathroom and licked her lips, freezing on the spot. She licked her lips again and there was no mistake. Fareeha recalled the previous evening and even though she was tired then, she did remember she only had pizza and chamomile tea for dinner.
She left the bedroom and found Angela preparing some hot chocolate for herself. Then everything made sense and she almost said 'fuck'. "I-I-I… I'm going to… to the hotel now." Fareeha said.
"Sure. Are you feeling ok? You seem a little distracted." Angela said, taking a sip of her cup.
"Yeah, yes, yeah! Just still a little sleepy." Fareeha avoided carefully the boxes that crossed her path. "I won't take lips— long! I won't take long." And she left the apartment.
Fareeha made her way fast downstairs while she once again licked her lips, this time as if she were a child trying to taste all the ice cream that they had unintentionally spread all around their mouth. Even though the taste was fading, Fareeha was sure it was chocolate.
: : :
Almost an hour later, Fareeha returned to Angela's apartment with bread rolls for breakfast.
Fareeha was sure that when she was asleep Angela had kissed her, and given the amount of chocolate she tasted on the corner of her lips, she was also sure that the kiss was deliberately placed there, it wasn't an accident. Now the only problem was that she didn't know what to do next, so she kept helping Angela just like the day before.
They chatted as they usually did, but this time Fareeha was paying extra attention to everything Angela did, and she noticed a few things: whenever she made Angela laugh, the sound would be a little bit livelier than when she laughed with someone else. And the way she looked at her… Fareeha wasn't sure but she guessed it was adoration? Was that how she looked at Angie? And if so, how come they hadn't realized how the other one felt for them?
But there was also doubt in Fareeha's mind. What if her crush got so bad she started imagining all these things? What if it was her brain giving her false hope? Lost in thought, she groaned internally when Angela interrupted her musings.
"This is the last one!" Angela cheered, closing the box and taping it. She turned to Fareeha. "I know I've asked much of you and I know we have to take these boxes to the warehouse later, but can you help me with one last thing?"
"Sure, what is it?" Fareeha asked.
"You probably noticed that I have too many clothes." Angela said apologetically.
"Just enough to cover all of your apartment." Fareeha replied with a grin.
"Yes, exactly that. Can you help me decide which clothes I keep and which ones I donate? Everything's in my room and it will be fast."
"No problem."
They went to the bedroom and Fareeha saw that there were two boxes on the floor, both marked with big bold letters. One said KEEP and the other one DONATE.
Angela made her way to the mountain of clothes that were on her bed to start choosing what to keep when she heard Fareeha's muffled voice. "Do you want to keep this?"
Angela turned around and saw Fareeha sitting on the floor, the KEEP box covering her head and upper body. The doctor couldn't help but laugh. She made her way towards her friend and lifted the box, revealing a smiling Fareeha. "Of course I want to keep you, but you don't have to go in the box." She mirrored her friend's smile.
Fareeha realized that Angela was a little too close to her, but she didn't mind. Instead she lifted her arm, caressing her friend's face, choosing to stop doubting herself. Angela didn't move away from the touch, but confusion crossed her face. "Fareeha?"
Fareeha leaned closer and stole a kiss from Angela, a kiss that caught her by surprise, judging by her stiff body and the sharp inhale of breath.
After a few seconds, Angela kissed Fareeha back.
A/N: If you are one of my readers and I disappointed you with the lack of closure in Korrasami week, I promise I'm still working on it, I haven't given up on that last chapter.