"Pilar? Are you even listening to me?"
No. No she was not.
Pilar Fierro poked at her meal absentmindedly, her brown eyes half-lidded in boredom, fingers scritching at the short, buzzed hair on the side of her head. She'd not been listening to her mother, Maria Fierro, the entire time she had been speaking to her, going so far as to drown out the steady buzz of people completely as they ate their afternoon meals. Dark brown hair fell into her face, covering her eyes; she had not been the same since forced into Watchpoint Gibraltar against her will a month back, nor had she taken to being very social as long as she was there. There had not been a moment where she wasn't poked or prodded-how many times had Angela drawn blood, given her physical and mental examinations, to make sure she was in peak condition? It was likely at the behest of Maria, but it was not something she was unfamiliar with.
"Pilar?"
With a sigh, her empty eyes flickered toward her mother, a line creasing her brow as she frowned. With an aggressive stab, she impaled the piece of grilled chicken on her plate, bringing it to her lips and tearing a chunk out of the meat, slowly chewing as she watched her mother dully. Maria grew indignant, her nose wrinkling. She could tell her daughter was unhappy, but the irritation she had with Pilar, given her circumstances before they brought her into the base, far outweighed the worry she held for her daughter, at least for now.
"Sorry, mama," Pilar sighed, setting her fork down, clearly disinterested in where the conversation was about to go. "I've had about five shots already today, it's a bit hard to concentrate."
"Heh." Maria clasped her hands neatly before her, her food left untouched. "Speaking of, Angela told me all your tests came back clear," she continued, as though commenting on the weather. "You're perfectly healthy, and your mind-"
"Is perfectly sane, just like I told you," Pilar growled, cutting her off. Her patience was thin with the woman; since arriving, since Reinhardt dragged her into Gibraltar, Maria had an unnecessarily tight grip on Pilar, and the suffocating clench on everything she did was driving her mad. There was no reason for this idiocy, no reason for Maria to hover over adult daughter.
"Honestly, mama, you don't have to do this. I'm a grown-ass woman; I have my own life and you should just let me live it."
Maria winced at the bite in Pilar's words. She looked so much like her father, but she had the same fiery temper that Maria was famous for, in her youth, and even now in her older age. She was short, more so than Pilar, pear-shaped and chubby. Her eyes-the only feature she and Pilar shared-were a deep brown, and her hair was chin-length and glossy black, with a slight curl to her thick tresses. Flecks of gray were scattered here and there about her roots, and her skin was covered in lines from age, deep olive in complexion.
"Pilar, you know perfectly well why I had those tests run," she returned, eyes flashing dangerously. "Those men-"
"Were of no danger to you," Pilar interjected again, frustration growing.
Maria huffed, the knuckled of her neatly-folded hands beginning to turn white. For Pilar's sake, she tried to contain herself; after all, they were in the middle of the Watchpoint's mess hall, but when a fire burst before another, the entire place would burn down.
"Have you not read the reports?" Maria pressed, lowering her voice, closing her eyes. "What they've done?"
Pilar pinched the bridge of her nose, likewise trying to calm. "Mama, I don't need to explain myself. Had it not been for them-"
Suddenly, footsteps fast approached from behind, and Pilar glanced over her shoulder, raising a brow as Angela Ziegler drew nearer. While her features seemed perfectly content, even happy, Angela's eyes flashed in concern between Pilar and Maria. The tension between mother and daughter was thick enough to slice with a knife, and when Pilar glanced at the table behind her, Reinhardt seemed rather on edge as he watched she and her mother argue.
"Maria, Pilar," Angela said softly, greeting them both with a kind smile. In her hands was clutched a datapad of some sort, and she ran her finger along the surface, reading the contents on the screen.
"Doctor Ziegler," Maria returned with a nod, her clenching grip on her hands softening.
Bowing her head, her smile widened, her bright blue eyes fixing on Maria. "Do you mind if I borrow Pilar for a moment? I have some things I'd like to discuss with her."
Pilar sighed; she didn't need to look at Maria to see the dread cross her face, and she didn't need to say a word to know that she wanted to know exactly what it was that Angela needed her for. Love her mother as she might, Maria was a tad overbearing from time to time, and this was no exception. Running around with junkers, nearly murdered by Trueno, her arm turning on her...not to mention, the replacement built for her-the replacement that screamed junker-had Maria constantly fretting over the well-being of her daughter.
"About...?"
"Nothing of concern," Angela replied, nodding. "Just some tea, if it's not too much trouble. We have a few things to catch up on."
Pilar didn't give Maria an opportunity to respond. Not seconds later, she rose from her seat, taking her tray with her. "I'll talk to you later, mama," she said, offering her a grin. It was the least she could do to offer some peace between them, and honestly, Angela's offer for tea-whether or not that was what she was stealing Pilar away for-was enough to ease away her own tension at sitting with her mother for so long.
"I-uh, yes, Pilar," she replied, pursing her lips as she glanced at Angela skeptically. "Don't get into trouble."
Pilar rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She followed Angela, who led the way from the cafeteria, pausing only to clear her plate and drop the tray off to the omnics taking care of the kitchens. There was a door to their left, which slid open, allowing for the women to pass, and they entered a significantly darker corridor, one Pilar knew to lead toward the medical bays of the Watchpoint. Unconcerned, Pilar was familiar with the protocol; at least twice a week, she found herself being escorted down the hallway-namely by Maria-to Ziegler's office for a regular checkup. It was annoying, to say the very least, but Angela always offered pleasant company, and an opportunity to stretch her legs away from her confines.
"Thank you," Pilar murmured, knowing that they were safely out of earshot. "I've-"
"I know," Angela interjected, offering her a glance. "I don't need someone to tell me when the Fierros are in the same room together, Pilar. Reinhardt was getting antsy at the tension."
Pilar bit her lip, a tad shamefully. She and Maria were too much alike to be able to have a discussion without getting riled, and their flaming tempers often got the better of them, no matter how hard they tried. Beside her, Angela watched her closely, shaking her head in amusement.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of Pilar," she continued, a soft chuckle escaping her. "It's simply who you are. Both you and Maria have good intentions, I remember that well enough. You know she worries for you, after your…" she paused, brow furrowing. "Your misadventures."
"She's reminded me every day," Pilar sighed, following as Angela led them left down an adjoining hall. "I'm not meant to be here, Angela, I'm meant to be-"
"Out there, I know." They came to a halt before her office door, and Angela pursed her lips, turning to face Pilar, meeting her eyes. "I know you wish to go after your partner, Pilar. But with the current state of things, the breach in Overwatch intel at the hands of Talon, it isn't safe. Especially as Overwatch is still illegal."
Pilar's frustration grew, once again, but Angela's kind, albeit sad, expression had her calming. She knew the doctor was trying to offer her sympathies, and she knew that it was dangerous to try and recover Trueno with their help. After the Uprising, and their outlaw, Overwatch would suffer far more if they were caught, operating illegally.
A silence fell between them, and Angela touched her hand to Pilar's shoulder briefly, yet comfortingly, before sliding open her door, standing aside to let Pilar through.
When she had been in Blackwatch, Angela's personal office had merely been an unknown area, far away from prying eyes. Pilar had only stepped foot in it a handful of times before, and it was only after training alongside her father, to have a cup of tea and cool down, that she truly entered. It seemed so long ago, like a different time…
"Tea?"
Pilar started, having nearly forgotten why she was there. Behind her, Angela had set her datapad on one of the counters, fiddling with a teapot beside it. Beside the teapot, away from the datapad, there was a plethora of different teas to choose from, herbal and fruit alike, and Angela smiled at Pilar, gesturing to her collection. It was perfectly clear that it was Pilar's choice, and she strode to where the doctor stood, fingers of her mechanical limb sliding across the top of the tins.
While she browsed, she could feel Angela's eyes on the limb; the arm was clearly not of the best make-while it was in perfect working condition, and made with absolute precision, it was clunky and awkward, made of mismatched scrap metal and carved with the insignia of a smiley face, its eyes x'd-out. The metal was a loud, bright red, standing out spectacularly, and the contraption had none of the fancy gadgets her previous arm contained.
And Pilar loved it.
After a few moments, she picked the peppermint tea. It was what she and her father had drank with Angela years ago, and it was what she would drink with her now. Handing the tin to her, Pilar grinned and Angela nodded, gingerly taking it from her hand. There was still the uneasy glance at the arm, which caused Pilar to raise a brow, but the hesitation was replaced, not a second later, with her bright smile and gentle demeanor.
"Peppermint is good," Angela commented while Pilar eased herself into a chair, running her fingers through her chocolaty locks. "It does wonders to calm one, and if I remember correctly, your father…"
She suddenly stopped, her breath catching her throat, and Pilar glanced at her, nose wrinkling in confusion. Of course Angela knew Pablo Madera's current affiliations; they had been quite good friends, years ago. Even so, she knew how devastated Pilar had been when she realized her father's true identity, and since then Angela was very careful to mention Madera around her. Biting her lip, she shot Pilar an apologetic glance, and though she appeared impassive, there was a sadness in her eyes that Angela did not miss.
"I'm sorry-"
Pilar waved a dismissive hand, leaning backward in her seat. "Don't worry about it, Angela. We can't change what happened."
Angela nodded, fingers tapping against the countertop. "Of course, but we can still regret that he fell into the wrong hands."
"Yeah…" There was a heavy silence that fell upon the women, each avoiding the other's eyes, and Pilar folded her arms, fingers tapping against the metal of her mechanic bicep. From one tense room to another...this wasn't Angela's plan, but shit happens, she supposed.
It was a few minutes before either of them stirred; the rumbling of boiling water in Angela's electric kettle drew them both from their thoughts, and quickly, she poured hot water into each of the teacups, steeping the leaves in the boiling liquid. Placing each of the cups on a saucer, she set them on a tray with sugar and sweets-which she had prepared in the silence-and walked them over to Pilar, setting the tray on her desk, leaning against it casually.
"If you don't mind," Angela said, handing Pilar her tea, glancing at the limb again. "I would like to discuss the matter of your arm."
Pilar raised a skeptical brow, taking the tea from her hand. "What about it? It runs fine, you know that as well as I do."
Angela nodded. "Of course, but it is the manner of make. While it runs, the technology within it is rather outdated; we could easily fit you with a new one, on the same lines as your previous."
Pilar sighed, bowing her head. How many times had she told her mother, the mechanics, everyone, the kind of power Talon possessed? The hacker, Sombra, had abilities she'd never seen before, and it had been the greatest risk to her life in her 'adventures', and yet Overwatch didn't seem to take that into account when they offered Pilar a new limb.
"I appreciate the thought, Angela, I really do. But I've told you, I've told everyone, that we can't afford that kind of technology attached to us when Talon has the best hacker in the world on their side." She paused, glancing at her arm, eyes fixing on the smiley-face insignia carved upon it. "This works just as well as my other, without the tech to get hacked."
Angela pursed her lips, glancing at her tea and removing the ball within that held the leaves. "I didn't mean to denounce its power as a functioning limb, Pilar," she said. "I merely wished to extend the offer; I know Maria expressed her interests in crafting you a new one, but ultimately, it is your choice. And I know...I know it holds sentimental value for you. I could not ask you to part with it."
"I...thank you." Pilar didn't have much to say, but what she did, she said in earnest. The smile that lit Angela's face was infectious, spreading even to Pilar's lips, and she fished the tea ball out of her cup as well, setting it aside, and reached for the sugar on the tray to add a pinch to her drink. "Mama hasn't been as supportive as I would have liked since I showed up. It's been a strain on us both."
"I'm not surprised," she replied. "Maria has been stressed since she received your first call with, ah, Fawkes. And then you show up, covered in ash and scraps and an arm that's not your own, along with notorious criminals. You can't blame her."
"I know," Pilar said softly, pausing only to take a sip. The mintiness of the tea flooded over her immediately, easing her tensions. "And I don't blame her. I'd just like her to loosen her grip on me, Angela. I'm a grown woman, I know what I'm doing." Another pause. "And I have to save Trueno, if no one else will."
Angela frowned, brows knitting together. "I don't know what I can tell you, Pilar," she said sadly. "We need to retrieve Trueno, I know we do. But until further notice, we can't operate until we know what Talon plans."
Pilar shook her head, rising to her feet, and set her tea down. Angela had not expected Pilar up so quickly, and nearly jumped when suddenly she was face-to-face with her. Pilar placed her hands on either of Angela's arms, fingers clenching, and stress and fear pervaded her features, dark brown eyes pleading with bright, blue hues.
"Then let me go, Angela. I have the coordinates to where he is, and we can't afford to let them unlock what he has in his memories."
Her jaw clenched, eyes still fixed on Angela's, and she truly felt for Pilar's plight. "You know, as well as I, that I do not have the authorization to let you go, Pilar. Winston is the de-facto leader of this organization now, only he can tell you so." She raised her right hand, tea still in her left, and rested it against Pilar's forearm in a supportive gesture. "And Maria...Pilar, she will know exactly where you go, the moment you leave Gibraltar. And to whom you will go."
Pilar bowed her head, letting her arms fall to her side. "I know. It's frustrating, you know. I feel so suffocated here; I can't do what I need to do. And I can't do a thing without mama hovering over me."
"I may not be able to help you leave Gibraltar, Pilar. But I'm happy to keep you company when you need it."
Pilar said nothing, slumping back into her seat and reaching for her tea again. Taking a sip, she concentrated on the flavor, letting the coolness of the peppermint wash over her. How long was she to be prisoner here? Angela may have been supportive of her endeavors, at least for the time being, but she could sense the disapproval when it came to returned to those she ventured with, the friends that would happily annihilate anything that would stand in their way.
The junker who would tear down Gibraltar to get to her.
"Thank you, Angela. I think I'll take you up on that offer."
"I'm happy to hear it," Angela replied, taking a sip of her tea. "You're strained, and you need a friendly face here."
"You don't say," Pilar chuckled bitterly. "Be that as it may, I have to warn you." She paused, glancing up at Angela, who watched her curiously. "If I don't get out anytime soon, they'll be breaking their way in to get to me."