Taste of Normality
Watchpoint Gibraltar- The next morning
The sun began to rise over Gibraltar, cutting through the small number of clouds that were in the sky. The trees blew in the gentle breeze, while the birds chirped away happily. The forecast for today was clear weather, meaning most of the agents would be outside, preparing themselves for the upcoming mission.
As the sun continued to rise, Widow lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling as she was consumed by her thoughts. She was thinking over what Lena had told her the other night, wondering if she should even entertain the idea of another relationship.
Widow wasn't really the easiest person to get to know, Sombra was well aware of that and yet the two of them had become close friends. Sombra had saved her life and their friendship was something Widow didn't want to ruin. Yet, as she thought more and more, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something between them.
Widow knew it was possible she had developed feelings for Sombra. Talon had sent her on a few assassination missions where she ended up seducing women and it never really bothered her. Widow always had a suspicion that she was bisexual and that suspicion was confirmed when her memories returned, now knowing that she'd had a couple of brief flings before she met Gerard.
For Widow, there was a big difference between seducing someone and having romantic feelings for them. If she wanted to seduce someone, then all Widow had to do was flirt with her target, flutter her eyelashes and use her body in the right way and they'd end up caught in her web. However, Widow hadn't experienced anything romantic for years now, so she didn't really know where to start or how to proceed.
The main problem that bugged Widow though was that she had no idea if Sombra was remotely interested in her, or if she was even into women. Sombra had never really spoken about her life before Talon and her love life had never been mentioned at all. Perhaps Sombra preferred it that way but it didn't help Widow decided what she should do.
Eventually, Widow leaned up, throwing the covers off herself and walking into the bathroom. She still didn't wear any clothing while she slept, so Widow immediately turned the shower on and quickly stepped inside, letting the warm water run over her body.
One side effect of her conditioning failing was her tolerance to warm water. Originally, her cold skin meant that it was uncomfortable being in any sort of warm water. However, since then, her body had slowly been able to adapt and she was finding herself turning the temperature up each day. It may have sounded strange to anyone else but to her, it was another small step in her recovery, another step towards normality.
While in the shower, Widow thought back to the message Gerard had left her and what he had told her. He'd said that she should move on with her life and find someone that would take care of her. Thanks to Sombra, she'd begun to do just that. Sombra had done so much for her and it was clear that she cared about her. So Widow wondered if this was what Gerard meant? If Sombra was that person?
Despite everything, Widow couldn't help but feel guilty that she was even thinking about this. Her memories had only recently returned and despite what she told people, she missed Gerard. Yet, she also knew that, if he was here, he'd be right there, nudging her along. That was an image that made her smile. Gerard pushing her towards Sombra, insisting she tell her how she felt.
Widow soon turned off the flow of water, stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel. After she dried herself off and wrapped a towel around her body, she walked back into the main room, sitting on the edge of her bed as she found her hairdryer.
As she dried her hair, Widow continued to think over this matter. She knew she needed to speak to someone about this and while Lena would definitely listen, she didn't know the technical details about her conditioning. Therefore, she concluded that she needed to speak to Angela at some point.
Despite this, Widow also knew that she needed to be sure that she actually had feelings for Sombra. So, she decided to listen to Lena and try to do something normal with her. However, she had absolutely no idea what the two of them could do, without making Sombra slightly suspicious. Eventually, she stood up, placing the hairdryer down and walking over to the wardrobe. As she opened it and analysed the various items of clothing, an idea suddenly came to her.
She didn't have that much clothing inside, as the suitcase she had was packed by Sombra rather quickly. However, she knew it was a lot more than Sombra had, as she'd been in the same outfit for days now. Therefore, since she now had a reason to, why not try to convince her to go clothes shopping?
With a plan in her head, Widow got herself dressed, selecting a basic outfit of a pair of blue jeans with a short, grey top and then tied up her hair. Once she was ready, Widow left her quarters and made her way towards the mess hall, hoping she'd find Lena, Angela or Sombra there.
When she arrived, Widow realised that she was one of the first people up, as the mess hall was basically empty. However, out of the three people here, one of them just so happened to be Lena. She soon spotted Widow and waved her over to join her.
"Morning luv." Lena said, full of energy. "How are ya?"
"Good, thank you." Widow replied, sitting herself opposite the Brit. "How are you?"
"I'm great thanks." Lena said, as she took a sip of her coffee. "So, any plans for today?"
"Actually yes. I thought over what you said last night and you're right, I should do something normal with Sombra."
"Great. I guess you thought of something then?"
"Oui. I only have a small amount of clothes and I've not seen Sombra dressed in anything else since we got here. So I thought clothes shopping."
"Not a bad idea. In fact, why not ask her now?"
Lena motioned her cup towards the entrance and Widow turned around, seeing that Sombra had just walked in. The hacker made her way over, as a few more agents entered the mess hall.
"Hey you two." Sombra said, sitting herself next to Widow. "What's for breakfast?"
"No idea." Lena replied. "Torb and Brigitte are cooking something, so I left them to it."
Just then, Reinhardt walked up to the kitchen, peering inside to make a joke.
"What are you two doing then? Upgrading the kitchen?"
"No, just repairing one of the fridges after you walked into it yesterday." Torb quickly returned, gaining some laughs from the few other agents present. They all wouldn't be that surprised if the two were actually upgrading something in the kitchen. After all, since the two had united, they'd come up with all sorts of upgrades for everyone's equipment. Why wouldn't they start upgrading the other items around the base as well?
"It shouldn't have been in the way then." Reinhardt replied, as she grabbed two cups of coffee and walked out of the kitchen, sitting down next to McCree and giving one to him.
Once Reinhardt had sat down, the three women continued their original conversation.
"So, what's the plan for today?" Sombra asked.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something." Widow said.
"Sure. What's up?"
Widow made sure to keep her cool. "I was planning on going shopping today, since I want to have some more clothes to wear and I wondered if you'd come along?"
Sombra raised an eyebrow. "Why me? Why not Lena?"
"You've already picked clothing for me once before, so you probably know what works for me. Also, I've not seen you wearing anything except your one outfit since we arrived. So maybe it'll give you the chance to find something for yourself." Widow did her best to hide her true motives, though she was unsure if Sombra fully bought it.
"You just need someone to pay for everything and you thought of me, didn't you?" Sombra replied, clearly joking.
"Well... maybe I did."
Sombra chuckled. "Yeah, I'll come along. You're completely right, I have nothing else to wear, so it'll give me a chance to find something. Besides, it'll be nice to get out of the base for a bit." She turned to Lena. "Would Morrison be okay with this?"
"Don't see why not. I'll check with the big guy."
Lena placed her hands around her mouth, shouting to the gorilla, who had just entered the mess hall. "OI, WINSTON! Got a sec?"
Winston walked over to the table, saying hello to McCree and Reinhardt as he passed by them. "Morning Lena. What's the matter?"
"Is it okay if these two go into town today? They want to go shopping."
Winston shrugged. "I don't see why not. I'll have to run it by Ana first but I'm sure she'll agree."
"Wait. What about Morrison?" Lena asked, slightly confused why he didn't mention him.
"He left on a dropship with Zen and Zarya earlier this morning. Ana and I are in charge until he's back. He said he's collecting Fareeha's equipment, while the other two are being deployed on two different missions."
Lena slowly nodded. "Bit odd for him to go, ain't it?"
"He said he'd sort it. In any case, unless I say otherwise, the two of you are free to go out today if you wish." He said, motioning to Widow and Sombra.
"Thank you Winston." Widow said, as he smiled at her before heading off towards the kitchen. "It's settled then. Day out in the town."
"Looking forward to it."
Egypt- The Temple of Anubis- 12:20
The area hadn't been the same since Talon attacked. People were still on edge, worried about another potential attack, yet they had little choice but to be defiant. Since the UN had begun talking about the Petras Act, opinion on Overwatch had begun to shift. Here was a prime example. Throughout the area, people often discussed whether Overwatch were a good thing and if they should be reassembled. Most of the time, it was clear that the answer was yes.
The Temple of Anubis wasn't much different. Helix Security were on high alert and had been ever since Fareeha was taken. Morale wasn't much better. Most, if not all of the guards knew Fareeha, so her absence was unusual, especially due to the circumstances. The security forces didn't know why Talon had taken her, assuming that it was for her access to the facility. No one knew that the real reason was due to her links to Overwatch.
Right now though, everyone had their jobs to do. So they carried on, keeping their eyes open for any unusual activity. Fortunately, there hadn't been anything out of the ordinary and so some of the guards were able to go on their usual break. However, while most went to the on site break room for their lunch, one guard had a different idea, heading towards the locker room.
It wasn't agaisnt any rules to do this. In fact, the guards were allowed to do whatever during their break, so long as they didn't disrupt anyone else and remained on location, so that they could respond to any incident. However, this guard was planning to do something that likely would land him in a lot of trouble if he was found out.
He entered the locker room with a large duffel bag and did a discreet check of the area to confirm that he was alone. Once satisfied, he walked over to a locker that had been subject to a high amount of attention recently. The locker of Fareeha Amari.
He placed the bag down and looked left and then right one more time, before pulling out a small flick knife, pushing it between the door and below the lock. Despite the fact it was Helix, the lockers were surprisingly easy to open, requiring only a small amount of leverage to make the lock release. It was common knowledge that one of the guards had lost her key and simply used a knife to open it daily. Helix really needed to upgrade the lockers to be more secure. Then again, the room was quite far back in the facility and if the Temple was under attack, why would anyone be after the lockers?
Once the locker was unlocked, the guard opened the door and reached inside, pulling out Fareeha's armour and placing it inside the duffel bag. Once he had the armour, the guard closed the locker and locked it back up using his knife. Next was her weapon, stored a few steps away. The weapon racks were more secured and couldn't be opened by simply using a knife. Fortunately, the guard, like everyone else that used this room, had the key to open this door.
Once he had her weapon, the guard locked the weapon rack back up and placed the rocket launcher inside the duffel bag. With a couple of rounds already inside, the guard sealed up the bag and picked it up, making his way out of the locker room.
Now the guard cautiously made his way through the facility, keeping himself out of sight of any cameras and other guards, as he headed towards the entrance. He'd previously agreed to go for a coffee run for everyone and even though it was technically against Helix policy, the coffee shop was pretty close buy, so no one really cared.
The guard made it to the entrance and managed to get it without being spotted. Now outside, he quickly made his way towards an alleyway, just a short distance away from the facility and ironically near the coffee shop. He made his way down the darkened alley, until he met a figure, standing in the darkness. If he didn't have his red visor on, no one would be able to tell it was Soldier 76.
"You have what I asked for?" Soldier said, as the guard came to a stop in front of him.
The guard placed the duffel bag down. "It's all in there. Her armour and weapon. Even threw in a couple of rounds for good measure."
Soldier walked forward, picking up the bag before stepping back again.
"Remember our deal. I've done my part, so I want to know where she is."
"She's currently with Overwatch." Morrison replied, giving the information he'd agreed to provide to the guard. "That's why she needs this. She's helping them."
"Don't you mean us? You must be working with them if you're collecting her armour."
Morrison stared at the guard. "That's not part of our agreement. Fareeha's safe. That's all you get to know."
Morrison turned and began walking down the alley, hoping to get back to the dropship without being seen. Yet, he wasn't able to get far before he was stopped suddenly.
"You know, I thought you were supposed to be dead commander."
Morrison stopped suddenly, slowly turning his head to the guard, who had his arms folded. "Excuse me?"
"I'm former Overwatch. After it was disbanded, I ended up working for Helix, along with a couple of other guys. Even after all these years, I still recognise the voice of Jack Morrison. You know, a lot of the former Overwatch soldiers still talk to each other, some even thought of rejoining when the recall went out."
Morrison remained still, staring at the guard in front of him. Now that he thought about it, he did recognise the guard, yet he couldn't quite place where from. However, Morrison never addressed the matter, instead focusing on another detail.
"Why didn't anyone else respond to it then?"
"Well, for starters it wasn't really addressed to us. It went out to the agents, not the soldiers. The main reason though was because it was Winston. No offence to him, he's brilliant. The problem is that he just doesn't have the same authority... Add on the fact that Overwatch action is illegal and people just didn't see it working. Perhaps now, if there was another recall, more people would respond."
"Why? What's different now?"
"The state of the world. Talon's a big problem, they treaten the entire planet..."
"Someone always threatens the planet. Doesn't mater who they are. While opinion has changed, Overwatch action is still illegal. So, why would anyone listen this time?"
"People know Overwatch is there to help. That'll make people respond even with the Petras Act in place. Hell, if Tracer did the second recall I think people would listen. She may not have been part of the leadership but she was the poster girl of Overwatch. People looked up to her and frankly they still do. People would listen to what she has to say."
"Huh." Morrison didn't say anything else, turning to walk away. However, the guard spoke up one more time.
"You know what I think will really get people to listen though?"
"What?"
"If someone like Jack Morrison gave an order for Overwatch to reassemble. If he did, then I think old veterans and new recruits alike would rush to help."
Morrison didn't reply, instead just walking down the alley and disappearing out of sight. That guard had given him food for thought. Overwatch couldn't continue to fight Talon alone and even though the UN was talking about the Petras Act, it wasn't quick enough. Maybe it was time for them to call in reinforcements.
Gibraltar- One hour later
Sombra was always taken back by how well Widow could hide her identity. Right now, the two of them were walking through town and Widow looked complete different. Even her eyes were different, the contact lenses making them brown instead of gold.
This wasn't the first time she'd seen Widow like this though. The two had been on several missions for Talon where they'd hidden their identity. However, the two had never been on a day out together like this before. It was a new experience for both of them.
To be honest, the two were still slightly surprised that they had been let out of the base without anyone escorting them around. At the very least, they expected Lena to be accompanying them. However, Athena confirmed that the two were being let off base without any conditions. Even so, they still considered that someone was watching them.
"So, see anywhere that interests you?" Sombra asked, as the two of them walked further into the centre of town.
"Not yet. If Lena was correct, there's a place just around the corner." Widow replied, remembering a conversation Lena and her had just before they left.
"What exactly are you looking for then? More casual clothes? New dress?"
"I'm not exactly sure. I think more clothing in general. Though a new dress or two would definitely be a good idea. What about you? Any idea what you're looking for?"
"Not really." Sombra admitted. "I'm not great at all this fashion stuff to be honest. I kinda just grab whatever and make it work."
Widow raised an eyebrow. "Really? You seemed to do a pretty good job with what you picked for me beforehand."
"I took stuff from your wardrobe. How could I go wrong?"
"Perhaps. Though, that bikini wasn't mine and it did look pretty good on me."
Sombra sighed, going slightly red faced. "I'm never hearing the end of that, am I?"
Widow laughed. "No, never."
"I was joking when I put that in."
"Of course you were."
Widow chuckled at Sombra's discomfort. She really didn't mind however, glad to see Widow laughing and enjoying herself. After another few minutes of walking, the two arrived at the first store. It was a large department store, with a number of people coming and going from it. The two stepped inside and Widow quickly noticed a leather jacket.
"That was what, five seconds?" Sombra joked, as the two walked over to the jacket.
"What can I say. I have an eye for clothing."
Widow tried on the jacket, gaining an approving nod from Sombra, before taking it off and carrying it. The two continued to browse through the store, Widow picking up a number of items. Even Sombra picked up an odd thing here and there.
Eventually, the two ended up in a section of the store with a number of dresses. Widow began searching for something that spoke to her. As she searched, her eyes were drawn to a small, purple dress. She slowly stepped over, picking it up and analysing it.
"That isn't going to fit you." Sombra said, as she once again joined Widow.
"You're right, it won't. It'll fit you though."
"Excuse me?" Sombra asked, not expecting Widow to pick out something for her.
"You heard me. I think this will look good on you, purple is your colour after all. You should try it on."
Sombra blinked, taking the dress from Widow. "Um... okay."
Widow smiled, stepping towards a couple of longer dresses. She ended up stuck between two, a blue one and a black one. In the end, she turned to Sombra.
"Pick one."
"This one for me or you?"
"Me."
Sombra thought for a second. "Try the Black one. I don't think the blue will work that well."
Widow looked back at the blue dress. "You might have a point. Black it is."
With a large selection of clothing between them, the two made their way to the changing rooms, both taking a separate booth. Sombra started with the clothing she had picked out, trying each item one at a time. Once she was satisfied that they would do, she turned her attention to the dress.
She slid into the dress with ease and looked in the mirror, turning herself to see how it looked from all angles. Sombra couldn't help but admit that Widow had picked well. The dress looked amazing on her and the purple worked extremely well, actually matching with her hair. It was a tighter fit than she was used to and she took note of how it curved with her body, rather than sitting loose on her. However, she couldn't deny that she liked it. If anything, she liked it more than the red one she wore to Maximilian's casino back when she worked for Talon.
After looking at herself in the dress for a few more moments, Sombra took it off and changed back into her original clothing. Widow was still in the changing room, yet this didn't suprise Sombra. After all, she had more clothing to try on than she did.
Widow meanwhile had separated her clothing into two groups. Items she liked and items she didn't. The group of items she liked was far larger than the other, which was only a pair of trousers at this moment. After trying on another jacket, she decided it wasn't really her and placed it with the trousers. She then turned her attention to the dress.
Once the dress was on, Widow smiled as she admired it. She'd worn many dresses in her life, both before and during her time at Talon. This one called to her though, something about it agreeing with her. She decided in moments that she was getting it.
Once dressed in her original clothing, Widow emerged from the changing room, stopping to place the jacket and the pair of trousers on the nearby hanger. A shop assistant walked over shortly after, taking to two discarded items and hurrying away to put them back on display.
"How was the dress?" Widow asked Sombra, as they began to walk towards the till.
"Pretty good actually. It's a lot shorter and a much tighter fit than I'm used to but I liked it."
"That's the reason I picked it. I've seen you in a few dresses but they were all long and lose fitting. I was curious to see how you looked in a shorter one."
"Well, I won't deny that I look good in it. Then again, I'd probably look good in anything purple."
Widow chuckled, as the two reached the till and Sombra paid on a card. Sombra had a number of bank cards, all of which were used for day to day transactions. She never had a problem when it came to money, as bank systems were easy for her to manipulate.
"How much money do you actually have?" Widow asked, as the price became apparent. It wasn't cheap, to say the least.
"Being the world's best hacker has its advantages." Sombra whispered, winking at Widow when the cashier wasn't looking.
Once they'd paid, Widow picked up her two bags and Sombra picked up her one and they made their way outside, stopping so Widow could check her makeup was still okay. Fortunately, her identity was still hidden and so she only applied a little more lipstick.
"So, is there anywhere else you want to go?" Sombra asked, once Widow placed the lipstick away in her bag.
"There's a couple more places that Lena recommended, though I'm not in any rush. Want to grab something to eat?"
"Sure. Anywhere in mind?"
"Not really."
Sombra opened her computer, turning her back so no one could see her and found a map of the area. Widow walked behind her, looking over her shoulder at the map. There were a good selection of restaurants and bars in the area, so they weren't short on choice.
"What about that place?" Widow said, pointing to a restaurant that was nearby. Sombra clicked on the location and a number of positive reviews appeared.
"Seems pretty good according to this. Might as well check it out."
The two began to head towards the restaurant. They spoke about various things along the way but Widow decided she wanted to do a little digging.
"Olivia, mind if I ask you something... personal?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"When you told me about your life, you said that you had no one who loved you... What did you mean?"
Sombra took a deep breath. "Well, there's the obvious one, I had no family to care for me. I didn't really have any friends either, or at least anyone who stuck around long enough to call a friend. You're the first person I've ever opened up to about my life and the only person I've ever considered a real friend."
"What about... relationships. Has there ever been anyone..?"
"No. I've never let anyone get that close to me. Sure people have flirted with me in bars before but I never really payed any attention."
Widow lowered her head. "I'm sorry Olivia."
"Don't worry about it. It's all in the past now."
Sombra didn't say anything but she was very suspicious why Widow had asked this. As she wondered about it, she started to connect the dots. Widow had asked her to come clothes shopping with her and now she was asking about her love life...
"Wait." Sombra thought to herself. "Is she... interested in me?"
In all honesty, Sombra had thought about this subject before, quite some time ago. Back when they were at Talon, she'd considered the idea of her and Widow in a relationship but had dismissed it almost immediately. She was somewhat drunk at the time and frankly, she was still emotionless. Nothing would have happened.
Now though things were different. Firstly, both of them were no longer with Talon and Widow was a very different person. The two trusted each other and now that she thought about it, she couldn't help but admit Widow was attractive.
However, Sombra didn't really know how she felt. Widow was the only person she'd let this close to her before and she was the only person she trusted enough to talk about her past with. Sombra didn't even know if she was into women, though such a topic had never really come up before. Then there was the fact that Widow's memories had just returned. Even if a relationship between them could work, was it right to bring this up with her now?
"Olivia?"
Sombra snapped out of her thoughts, realising that they'd arrived at their destination. "Yeah? Sorry, I was in a world of my own."
"Everything okay?" Widow asked, slightly concerned.
"Yeah. I was just wondering what Gabe's planning." Sombra replied, thinking of an excuse. "He's still working with Talon so I don't know where we stand..."
"I'm sure he has his reasons for staying. Whatever he's planning though, I think we'll find out soon enough... Now, shall we go inside?"
"Yeah, we look a bit strange just standing out here."
Watchpoint Gibraltar
While Widow and Sombra went for lunch, Morrison arrived back at the watchpoint, stepping out of the dropship as it landed at the hanger. He picked up the duffel bag containing Fareeha's equipment and began walking towards Winston's lab, which had become the makeshift command centre for Overwatch.
He made it about half way there before he bumped into Fareeha, who was heading towards the mess hall. Angela was with her and Morrison guessed that the two had met up before heading to find something to eat.
"Fareeha, I have something for you."
Morrison passed the bag over to her and she unzipped it, confirming that it was indeed her armour, along with her rocket launcher.
"Yep, this is my stuff all right. Thanks for getting it for me."
"Not a problem." Morrison gave them a short nod, before continuing on towards the lab. Once he arrived, he found Winston and Ana inside, both looking over the intel that Zen had begun sending them from Numbani.
"Anything to report?" He asked, taking off his visor as he walked over to the screen.
"Zenyatta has been providing us with his recon of the area but he has yet to locate Efi or Orisa." Winston replied. "He also said that there's no sign of Talon at the moment, so we still have time to prepare."
"Good. Anything from Zarya?"
"No. She hasn't contacted us since she arrived in Russia. Katya Volskaya's still away on business but she is due to return some time tomorrow."
"Are you sure it was a good idea to send Zarya alone?" Ana asked Morrison, remembering what they had learnt from the Talon board meeting. "If Reyes turns up, she's going to struggle against him."
"I asked if she wanted backup but she was adamant she'd handle it herself. No prizes for guessing why. We just have to hope that if a fight breaks out, she can handle it. Anything else I should know about?"
"Actually, there is one other thing. Amelie asked if she and Sombra could go into town earlier today. I didn't see anything wrong with it, so I let them." Ana said, as Winston turned back to the screen, reading through Zen's intel further.
"Is anyone with them or are they on their own?"
"They're alone." Morrison went to object, yet Ana anticipated this, interrupting him before he could get a word out. "Before you say anything, yes I know what I'm doing. Amelie needs to feel some normality and giving her some freedom will help her adapt to life outside of Talon. She won't feel trusted if were constantly following her..."
"I understand Ana. As long as you think it's okay, I trust your judgement."
Ana smiled, glad that Morrison trusted her, even if he didn't fully agree.
Later that evening
For the rest of the day, the agents at the base went about preparing for the upcoming fight. With her equipment now here, Fareeha had also joined in, training alongside Reinhardt and Brigitte. Torbjorn had also taken a sample of her rocket launcher ammo, knowing her could easily duplicate it.
The only exceptions were Widow and Sombra, who were only just returning to the base. After they'd sat and eaten lunch, the two had continued their shopping trip. Widow was carrying a large number of bags and now had a good selection of clothing, as well as a few accessories. She was feeling quite pleased with herself.
Sombra on the other hand didn't have nearly as much stuff as Widow, though she'd still bought some clothing for herself, along with some makeup and a few other items she'd seen. The day out had left her with something to think about however. She'd determined that Widow was up to something, though she still didn't know if she was actually interested in her, or if she was just overthinking the situation. Sombra didn't want to just ask though. She liked having Widow as a friend and still wasn't exactly sure if there was something more between them.
"Thank you Olivia, for coming along today." Widow said, as they approached the gate to the base. They did one final check to make sure they weren't being followed, before continuing towards the buildings in front of them.
"No problem." Sombra replied, smiling at Widow as she spoke. "We've never really had the chance to just get out and do something normal before. It was nice. We should do it again sometime."
"I'd like that."
They continued to walk into the base, passing by McCree, who tipped his hat as they passed, along with Genji and Hanzo, who were busy talking with him.
"Good evening Amelie and Sombra. I hope you've had a good day." Athena said, once the two stepped inside the building which held their personal quarters.
"We did, thank you Athena." Widow replied. "Could you tell Lena I'm back?"
"At once Amelie."
Sombra looked towards Widow sceptically.
"She said she wanted to see what I bought. Said it would give her ideas, since I'm apparently good with fashion." Widow explained, rolling her eyes as she did so.
Sombra chuckled. "She isn't wrong though. Anyway, I'm going to go put this stuff in my room and then grab something from the mess hall. See you later."
Sombra left Widow's quarters, taking the very short walk to her own, which was only down the hall. As soon as she entered, her computer bleeped, signalling that it had found something of interest. Sombra placed down her bags and opened her computer up, seeing what the notification was.
Sombra's back door into Talon's system was still active and she was slightly surprised that Talon hadn't found it yet. They knew what her methods were and, if they had any sense, would be checking their systems over for any sign of her. Therefore, she'd set up her equipment to keep copying any new files that appeared, as well as flag anything that was of particular interest.
There were a few documents that had been flagged. She could tell that one was a communication between Talon and a third party, though the entire thing was written in some code that Sombra didn't immediately recognise. In fact, all of the documents were written in this same code and her computer couldn't match it to one of Talon's original codes. Clearly, they'd changed to a new code, likely a countermeasure to her intrusion software.
Sombra wasn't too worried however, knowing that she could crack it with a little work. On top of that, in the unlikely event that she couldn't, Athena would likely be able to help her. With nothing else planned for today, Sombra set her computer to begin decrypting the code and then made her way towards the mess hall.
Meanwhile, Lena had made her way to Widow's quarters, knowing that she was still inside. As she reached the door, she couldn't resist knocking a small tune.
"Come in."
Lena stepped inside, gently closing the door behind her.
"Hey luv. How was your day out?"
"It was good, thank you."
"Have you had chance to think about... you know?"
"...Oui, I have. I enjoyed today and Sombra did as well. I managed to get her to open up to me again. She doesn't do that easily..."
"She clearly trusts you then." Lena added. "So... has spending some time with her helped you work out how you feel?"
Widow stood and thought hard over it. "I... I'm not sure... Lena, how did you know... With Emily..?"
Lena stepped forward and took ahold of Widow's hands. "I listened to my heart and it told me exactly what I needed to hear. So listen to yours now... what's it saying? How do you feel around Sombra?"
Widow breathed in heavily. "I feel... safe around her. I'm able to be myself around her. I can open up and talk to her and she'll stop and listen, no matter what it is... She's a close friend, probably one of the closest I've had my entire life... She understands me... She makes me feel..."
Widow stopped, struggling to think of the right word.
"She makes you feel..?" Lena asked, seeing that Widow was struggling. Eventually, after a short silence, Widow found the word she was looking for.
"She makes me feel alive. More alive than I've felt in a long time."
Lena smiled at Widow. "Then there's your answer."
Widow slowly nodded, the reality of what she just said finally hitting her. She couldn't deny it anymore.
She was attracted to Sombra.
"What should I do now then?"
"Well, since you know how you feel, you should probably talk to Sombra about it. She could very well feel the same way. Has she given away anything which suggests she's interested in you?"
"I don't think so. I don't see her giving anything like that away easily."
"That's okay. People can be pretty good at hiding how they really feel. What I'd say is when you feel that the time's right, talk to her about this. I'm sure she'll understand."
Widow slowly nodded again. "Okay. When the time is right, I'll talk to her. Thank you Lena."
"Anytime Amelie. Now, I was just about to go grab something from the mess. I think Morrison and DVa were about to have a game in there, which I have to see. You wanna come along?"
"I'm not too hungry at the moment. I think I'll pack this stuff away first. So I'll catch up with you later?"
"Sure thing. See you later."
As Lena said her goodbyes and left the room, Widow found herself smiling, finally glad that she understood her feelings. Now the question was if Sombra felt the same way.
A few minutes later, Lena was back outside and had noticed Angela standing against the wall. She was wearing a beautiful short, black dress and she'd left her hair down. Lena guessed that she was was waiting for Fareeha.
"Hey luv." Lena said, as she blinked over to her friend. "All ready for your first date then?"
"I hope so. I was unsure if I should have left my hair down or tie it up though."
"Leave it down. It looks good that way."
Just then, Fareeha appeared from around the corner, wearing a dark blue dress that was slightly longer than Angela's.
"You look beautiful Ang." Fareeha said, as the two women kissed.
"Thank you. You look stunning as well Faree."
"You both look great." Lena said, interrupting them before they could say anything else. "Now, get going lovebirds. Go have a good time, you deserve it."
Fareeha and Angela linked arms, beginning to walk out of the base and towards the town. As they walked, Angela turned back briefly. "See you later Lena."
Lena responded by giving the two her classic salute. "Have fun you two."
Authors note
Hey everyone.
So I have a couple of things to say. Firstly, sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. It's taken longer than I wanted to write this but it's finally here. I've actually split this chapter into two, as I thought it was getting way too large compared to the others. So the next one will pick up where this one left off.
Secondly, the prequel story is finished :D
I thought I needed to write it, as it allowed me to clarify the events that happened before this story. Safe to say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, so feel free to check it out if you want to :)
Otherwise, thank you once again for reading and for the comments you've left. It means a lot to see people enjoying the story.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and see you next time :)