The days were starting to get longer, a sure sign that summer was coming. And Simone had never felt more useless. She hadn't had any useful visions that could have answered the questions everyone had about the incoming war. She hadn't had any luck with Gabriel either. Every morning he stopped by, but he never came more than a few steps through her door, and he never stayed to help groom her wings. He still allowed her to visit him in his office, and she frequently had tea there while he worked; he still stayed so distant.
Jack and Gabriel collaborated to create a war council, trusted advisors and leaders from each species from both lands holding seats. Once again she was asked to be the advisor, a position that would keep her far from any real danger. She protested, of course, feeling as if they were only trying to pacify her with the position. She was the go-between, between the two lands, at least until they could all meet up together. And Zenyatta and Satya were part of the council, so she had a few friendly faces to speak with. They were walking together through the halls, Simone with a tired smile on her face as she tried showing interest in what they were talking about. She came to a sudden halt, bracing herself with a hand to the wall.
Bright colors swirled in her vision, and firelight cracked. Tiny bells chimed from her ankles every time she twirled with the beat of the drum. Excitement bubbled from her through in the form of laughter and she twirled faster. The firelight burned brighter, and drums and bells sounded louder. Across the firelight, she saw Gabriel. A big grin took over her face and butterflies filled her stomach. She was in front of him, and he held out a hand to her. She laughed at the familiarity of it and happily placed her hand in his. With a twirl, she was against his chest, his arm around her lower back as he dipped her slowly. One arm wound around his neck and the other reached up to his mask. Fingers pushed it up slightly, and she saw dark skin and even darker facial hair. She wanted to push it further up, to reveal more.
Inhaling sharply, a smile pulled at the corners of her lips as she came back from her vision. Blinking rapidly she focused on very concerned faces surrounding her.
"Uhm..." She pulled herself inward, grabbing onto her braid.
"Are you alright?" Zenyatta asked, hands hovering around her shoulders as if wanting to comfort her.
"It's okay, it was just a vision. I'm perfectly alright." Simone tried to reassure them.
"You stopped breathing. Is that normal." Gabriel's rough voice sounded directly behind her. She turned slightly, looking up at him. He was incredibly close, a blush burned up her neck to her cheeks.
"I've been told I do that, yes. But it's only for a moment, no harm is done."
"What was the vision about?" Satya asked, as calm as ever. Eyes bright, Simone clapped her hands together excitedly.
"When is the festival?" She asked.
"Festival?" Satya puzzled at the sudden question.
"The Mid-Summer's Festival?" Gabriel asked.
"I guess the name is self-explanatory then." Simone chuckled.
"You had a vision about the festival? Is something bad going to happen?" Zenyatta asked.
"Not all of my visions predict bad events. I saw the colors and the bonfires. I heard the drums." Biting her lower lip she gave a tiny shrug of her shoulder.
"I was dancing." She finished. Zenyatta gave a serene smile.
"Then it promises to be a very enjoyable festival this year." He and Satya started walking again, slowly as they waited for Simone to join them.
"Do you dance?" Simone asked Gabriel, voice soft so the others wouldn't overhear.
"No." He stated simply.
"I have a feeling that you would be very good at it." She gave him a coy smile and followed the others down the hall, no longer feeling as down as before. Her vision might not have been much use to the Councils, but it certainly showed her that Gabriel and her were going to grow closer.
She tried to suppress a giggle, but it escaped. Satya gave her a smirk.
"Flirting with your bondmate?" She raised a groomed brow. Simone flushed heavily, looking over her shoulder at Gabriel still standing in the hall.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She tried denying.
"Isn't it good?" Simone asked. She had brought a new tea blend, one that Zenyatta had recommended.
"It is different. But it certainly is delicious." Ana agreed. Simone was spending some quality time with her old friends and colleagues; Gabriel and Jack in the council room arguing about something trivial. Angela and Mei also agreed, thoroughly enjoying the new drink.
"It's so fruity!" Mei commented, taking another sip.
"You would be surprised with how many different types of things grow on trees out there." Simone chuckled. Reinhart's booming voice rang through the garden as he joined in on the discussion in the other room.
"It's good that you can visit. It's been, what 3 or 4 months since you left? We don't get to visit very long when you come over for meetings." Angela said. Simone sighed happily.
"I know. I've missed you all. But time just seems to pass so quickly when you don't notice it."
"At least you seem happy." Mei smiled.
"I am." Simone chewed her bottom lip. "Honestly... some days are hard. I wish I could be more helpful to everyone, and I'm just not. There are sometimes I feel a little useless sitting around drinking tea." She confessed, her hands twisting at her skirt.
"Oh, sweetheart." Ana patted her shoulder warmly.
"There is so much pressure on your shoulders, it's not fair to you."
"You shouldn't worry so much. We are all here to support you." Angela agreed. Mei looked at her quizzically before adding her opinion.
"You can't force yourself to have visions. You are only adding stress into your life. And being newly bonded probably isn't helping."
"No," Simone disagreed. "Gabriel… He's been very patient. He can be a little aloof, at times, but he's not cruel about it. It's a new situation for both of us, and we are both getting used to it. I've been trying to spend more time with him. I'm just beating myself up over not being very helpful"
"He can be so scary though." Mei frowned. Simone chuckled, glad to be finished with such a depressing topic. And glad that her friends understood and supported her.
"Only when he wants to be, but there are times..." She hid a giggle behind her hand.
"Like, he thought Jack and I were a couple." The others laughed.
"He was jealous, and he will deny it; but he threw a tantrum."
"Jealously is a good sign, right?" Angela asked.
"It might be. But when Jack is concerned, who knows." Ana teased.
"Anything else?" Mei prompted her.
"I spend a lot of time with him in his office. We don't really talk, but he doesn't mind me there when he works. And…" She hesitated, her voice getting quiet as she twisted her skirt nervously.
"I… may have asked him… to help groom my wings." A blush started on her cheeks.
"Oh, my!" Angela broke into a big smile.
"So scandalous." Ana teased. The women laughed as Simone's blush grew.
"He hasn't yet!" She quickly clarified.
"Yes, but you extended the offer. And he must know how important that is to you." Mei chuckled.
"Why hasn't he?" Ana wondered aloud.
"He hasn't exactly told me." Simone sighed, taking another drink from her cup.
"You should ask him!" Angela told her.
"I've already offered it to him, I can't just demand an answer as to why he won't."
"Why not?" Ana asked pointedly. Simone groaned lightly, covering her eyes with her hands.
"It's embarrassing!" She whined. The other three women laughed at her obvious discomfort in a good-natured way. Their laughter was interrupted as the arguments from the council room spilled into the garden.
"Are you done gossiping?" Gabriel growled, tired of talking with Jack and the others.
"Yes!" Simone jumped up, a little relieved to be rescued from the teasing. She said her goodbyes and everyone got a quick departing hug as Gabriel led her from the building.
"Jack liked the idea of rebuilding the ruins to be a marketplace." He told her.
"Really?" She asked excitedly.
"He did once he found out it was your idea." He gave her a sideways glance. She laughed.
"Is he willing to help build?"
"He better be." Gabriel complained as they stepped through her portal together.
"I'm glad to see you two getting along." He scoffed, low in his throat. Amelie came up to them, all tall and tight-lipped, she gave Simone an uninterested glare before turning to Gabriel.
"The junkers have created a problem in the forge. Torbjorn is waiting there for you."
Gabriel headed out, and Simone went to follow but Amelie sneered down at her.
"There is no need for you to go." Simone hugged herself, wanting to hide away from her cold gaze. Instead, she tilted her chin up.
"I don't believe you're the one to decide that." She brushed past the dark elf and followed after Gabriel. Heart in her throat, she couldn't believe she had talked back to the stoic woman. Gabriel was watching her. Simone shrugged guiltily.
"I think she hates me." Gabriel let out an honest to god chuckle that surprised Simone. It was short and it sounded as if he hadn't done it in a very long time.
"She hates everyone." She pulled her braid and turned her head into her shoulder, hiding a smile.
They made their way to just outside the trees, where a huge forge set burning, heating the whole area. She had never ventured out this far, so she was anxious to look around. Torbjorn was screaming at two others, one huge man with tusks and one tall skinny man whose hair was actually on fire. As Torbjorn yelled at them he picked up scraps and shards of metal that seemed to have been strewn around the blacksmith yard.
"...what you've done. You stay away from my scrap! You have your own!"
"Is there a problem?" Gabriel asked them, already aware that there was one.
"These Junkers need to keep away from my good scrap. I can't get anything done with them stealing and blowin up the place all the time." Torbjorn waved an angry finger at the dou.
"You keep all the good stuff!" The skinny one whined. Gabriel growled in frustration as the two parties argued over who was at fault. Simone was peeking around, staying out of the dispute when she was a giant pot-bellied boar lying down munching on some roots. Her eyes got huge and her hands practically itched to pet it. She walked over to it.
"What a cutie." She clicked her tongue to get its attention.
"His name is Patchi." The large man said, having left the others to solve the problem.
"He's amazing. I've never seen one get so big." She knelt next to it and gave its head a little scratch. She laughed as it gobbled up the attention.
"Magic. Some of the animals get big here." He explained, setting heavily on the other side of the boar.
"Mako. Call me Hog." He said simply.
"I'm Simone." She introduced herself. He nodded.
"Know who you are." She patted Patchi on the head.
"You work at the forge with Torbjorn?" Mako nodded again. She was used to silence on the other side of the conversation.
"What kind of stuff do you make?" He grabbed a huge spiked hook from his belt and let her see it. It was well crafted, and she was sure it was just as effective at intimidation as it was as doing its job. Gears turned in her head and she came up with an idea. Simone bit her lower lip and looked over at Gabriel. He was still distracted. Plucking up the courage she lowered her voice.
"Gabriel asked you to make armor and weapons, right. Could you make some for me?" Mako gave her a once over and then looked back at her bond mate.
"Why?" Simone blew out a sigh.
"They want me to sit on the sidelines and wait. But I would rather be prepared then sitting scared." Mako gave it some thought before nodding.
"I'll see what we can do."
"Promise not to tell Torbjorn. He'll just tell Gabriel and put a stop to it." The large man laughed.
"No problem."
"Whatcha doing over there, Hoggy?" The thin man hobbled over, throwing himself to lay over Patchi's back. Torbjorn was shaking a fist, obviously still wanting to tell him off. Simone sent Gabriel a little finger wave, leaning away from Patchi to keep from being singed by the lanky man's hair.
"Jamison." Mako grunted, "Be careful."
"We're keeping secrets." Simone smiled. Jamison cackled with laughter. Mako elbowed him and he almost fell off the pig. So he mimed locking his lips, smiling maniacally.
"I won't tell a soul." Gabriel and Torbjorn were heading over so Simone put an end to the conversation.
"I'll stop by tomorrow so we can talk more about it."
"Something entertaining?" Gabriel asked. Simone stood, brushing her hands off on her skirt.
"Just Patchi here. Isn't he just adorable? I think I want one." Torbjorn gave a wave of dismissal.
"Useless animal." A growl rumbled from Mako's chest; he didn't like his pet being made fun of.
"That thing would never fit up the stairs." Gabriel reasoned with her. Simone felt her face fall, a little disappointed.
"Pick something smaller." At his words, Simone's eyes jumped up to him.
"Oh!" Jamison jumped up.
"How about a giant sloth? You can use it like a hammock and nap on it."
"Absolutely not!" Gabriel growled. Simone laughed and Jamie kept throwing out suggestions, each more absurd than the last. After the suggestion of a jungle boa, Gabriel had enough.
"I'm leaving." Gabriel turned on his heel and started walking away. She gave Patchi one last pat on the head and followed after the sulking man. She waved to the three others over her shoulder as she caught up to him.
"No giant animals." He warned her.
"Some of them sounded fun." She protested jokingly.
"You're already a handful. I don't need you riding off on the back of an animal." Her hand reached out, lightly pulling at his sleeve. Bottom lip between her teeth she looked up at him, a light flush growing on her cheeks.
"You should know by now, Gabriel, I won't run away from you." Gabriel tensed under her touch. For a silent moment, he just looked down on her. Then he dissolved into smoke, quickly slinking away. Simone gave a disappointed sigh and pulled her braid over her shoulder. Maybe she came on too strongly? The flush on her cheeks grew hot and she hid the red behind her hands, embarrassed. She had a crush on her bond mate.