It was not uncommon to find the kitchen lights on after midnight. Some of the gathered agents were late sleepers, and would be damned if they hit the sack before 2am. Some had a tendency to ponder deep thoughts in the dark of night, especially after a mission, and needed a warm mug of comfort before resting. Some just had screwed up sleep cycles and liked to munch on something before they wrestled sleep into submission.
Angela fell into the last category. But Hana fit into none. The girl was content to stay in her room, working out her frustrations and hang-ups by killing countless virtual enemies, and yelling the occasional cuss word that echoed down the corridor. She had a vivacious and perky personality, but preferred to keep to herself regarding more personal matters. That was why Angela was surprised to find Hana sitting at the dining table alone, working her way through a small tub of ice cream without the usual energy she buzzed with.
"No games tonight?" Angela asked, tossing an affectionate smile at the girl, who looked up with the spoon still in her mouth.
"Don't feel like it," Hana replied through the ice cream.
"Hm. Are you feeling alright?" she teased, fishing a teabag from the open box on the counter. "Hana Song, professional and devoted gamer, doesn't feel like playing a game?"
Hana groaned loudly before shoving another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Angela quickly poured the hot water for her chamomile tea and made her way over to the table. Up close, the girl did look rather depressed. Her mouth was downturned even while she devoured a favourite dessert.
"What's wrong, my dear?" Angela sat beside the girl. "You look down."
"It's nothing," she mumbled.
Angela snorted involuntarily. "You sound like Fareeha. 'It's nothing'," she imitated the Egyptian's accent as best she could. It was a failure, obviously. She was not very good at impressions. But it did put a small smile on Hana's face, so that was a plus.
"She would say 'it's nothing' even when all her ribs have pierced through her lungs."
"Seriously?"
"Well, she did say that once when her shin bone was sticking out of her leg." Angela shrugged, despite revisiting the memory. They had been on an undercover mission, armed with only concealed weapons. It took all of Angela's might to hold the woman down before she sprinted after the target on the damaged leg.
"Ugh. Gross."
"I know." Angela took a sip of her tea as Hana returned to her ice cream. A glance at the tub said it was banana flavour with chocolate chunks. She hoped for the girl's sake that it was not Winston's.
"Want some?" Hana noticed her eyes lingering on the tub, and pushed it towards her.
"No, thank you." Angela pushed it back, before throwing her arm around the girl. "So, you haven't told me. What is this 'nothing' that's bothering you so?"
Black eyes flitted towards her, then dropped back down. She could feel Hana's shoulders tense as she squirmed in her seat. Her foot tapped out a short nervous rhythm on the floor before she took a deep breath, straightening her back. Hana shifted on her chair so that she faced Angela proper, fixing the doctor with a scrutinising stare. Her cheeks, which were turning more sun-kissed from all the time spent on missions, started to redden.
"Do you love Fareeha?"
That took her by surprise. Angela narrowed her eyes, trying to fathom Hana's intent.
"What?"
"Not a difficult question," Hana said. "Unless you don't…"
"No!" Surprised at her sudden outburst, Angela took a breath.
"I mean, no. It's not true that I don't. I do. I love her very much."
"How do you know?"
Angela stared back at Hana's questioning gaze, not understanding where this was going. How did she know? No, there was a more important question.
"Why do you even want to know? I can practically hear you start gagging the moment we enter a room together."
"Just answer the question first." Hana's voice was steady, with intent. She knew what she was doing. So Angela decided to humour her.
"Well, I…" Angela trailed off, hands waving futilely when she realised her mind was blank. "I…Um."
"Uh oh," Hana sang, impish grin forming on her lips. "Have we found a 'nothing' that we'd like to talk about?"
She shot a glare which did nothing to shake Hana's grin from her face.
"I just need time to articulate it," Angela said, ignoring the girl's patronising hum. "I… I like everything about her. The way she moves. The way she speaks. Laughs. The way she doesn't hesitate to put herself in danger to protect others. Not the aftermath though, because I have to clean it up," Angela clarified, snapping out of her distant gaze for a second to see Hana nod.
"I love how she looks at me. How she holds me." Her breath hitched a little as her thoughts turned to things Hana would surely not appreciate hearing. "I love it when she puts her hand under my–"
"Alright! Stop right there!" Hana cut in, holding a hand up. "Don't start getting horny in front of me, thank you very much."
Biting down a smile at her successful ploy, Angela continued, "In all seriousness, Hana. I'd give everything, and do anything for her. And she would do the same for me." She turned towards the girl, resting an elbow on the table.
"Now, why did you want to know? Don't tell me you…have a thing for Fare–?"
"What? No!" A look of absolute disgust swept across Hana's face, so intense that Angela might have considered being offended. "Even the notion!"
"Then what?"
Hana hesitated. "Promise this will stay between us."
"Of course."
"There's this…" She lost steam, dragging one hand down her slowly reddening face. "God, this is so embarrassing. Okay." Hana took a deep breath and leant forward.
"There's this girl. That I knew from school. And I–, I really…kinda…like her. Like, like like. You know?" She paused to ensure Angela was following and received a nod. "Even after I joined the military, we kept talking to each other. Chats and things. Sometimes she'd even watch my streams. And, ah…"
She rubbed the back of her neck, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Promise you'll keep to this yourself?"
"Yes."
"And try not to…scold me?"
That gave Angela pause. "Did you do something, Hana?"
"I've…kinda been…talking to her. Even after joining Overwatch."
"Please tell me you're joking," Angela said, feeling her heart drop when Hana shook her head. "Hana, you know we can't afford to let anyone know we're active!"
"I know! I haven't told her anything!" She matched Angela's rapid whispering. "She thinks I'm away on some personal vacation. That's it! I swear!"
"You do know if anyone wanted to, they could track your location down, right?"
"Athena's got that covered. She's managed to mask the…whatever that has our location. I had to beg her to do it."
"And she kept it a secret? Even from Winston?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't even know she could do that." Angela leaned back into her chair, processing Hana's confession. She took another sip from her now-lukewarm tea, pushing down the hundred concerns that had arisen. Honestly, she expected better from the girl, but…
Angela turned back to Hana, who still looked downcast – now with a dash of shame – and decided to leave it for later. The fact that she's managed to keep the communications a secret for so long without incident, meant Athena had them covered. She hoped so, anyway.
"Alright. So you've been talking to her," Angela continued, returning to normal volume. "I'll assume there is a problem?"
"Well…no. Not really. Not with her anyway," Hana sighed, jabbing her spoon idly into the ice cream and eating another mouthful. "She's on holiday with her family, so we've not talked for almost a week. And I'm thinking of not talking to her again."
"Isn't that a bit sudden?"
"Yeah. But you know." She shrugged. "It's not gonna work out. I'm stuck here like some hermit and she's out there, surrounded by all the other fish in the sea." Then she slumped forward onto the table, resting her head in the crook of her elbow.
"God, but I miss her so much…" came the muffled whine.
Angela patted the girl on the back as she stewed in her own emotions. Part of her wanted to laugh. When she returned to Gibraltar, she never expected to deal with a 19-year-old's still undeveloped love life.
"Does she know how you feel?" Angela probed gently.
"I think so," Hana groaned, turning her head to look up at the blonde. Angela felt relief when she saw the girl's eyes were still dry. "On my last day of school before joining the military, I kissed her."
"Ooh."
"Don't 'ooh' me. I kissed her and she didn't say anything. She's been acting like nothing happened. Still a nice person to me, though. You know what?" Hana sprang up in her seat suddenly. "Fuck it. This isn't worth my time. I'm just gonna stop talking to her."
"That may be the best course of action, actually," Angela said, running a hand down her head. Hana did not smack her hand off as she usually did, only fixed her with a tired gaze. "Both for you, and for her."
Leaning her head against the back of her chair, Hana sighed. "I know. And so, the shitty week continues," she said in a mock-narrator voice.
Angela smiled. Even when down, the girl tried her best to be flippant. She drummed her fingers on the table, watching Hana attack the remaining ice cream.
"Hana," she said. "Fareeha and I are going to have dinner together tomo– I mean, tonight. Would you like to join us?"
"What?" Hana laughed. "And play third wheel in your date? Come on!" She shoved Angela's shoulder playfully.
"Well, it's not a date date. Fareeha's been feeling down about Sochi, so I want to take her out, make her feel better. You were on that mission too, weren't you?"
"Yeah. It was shit."
The third mission they had that ended with civilian casualties. This time, the death toll was almost double the last. Zarya was the most affected, jaw clamped and throwing herself into a never-ending gym routine until Angela staged an intervention. Fareeha practically seized Torbjörn's maintenance duties around the base, to quote the man's complaints, and Angela had scarcely seen her shadow since the team left med bay. Only by ambushing Fareeha when she returned to her room did Angela manage to secure this dinner.
"So join us. Who knows, it could be fun. Even take your mind off your troubles."
Hana stared at her, sucking on her bottom lip.
"Did I mention you'll get free food?"
"Oh, fine. But please promise me you won't be gross? Overly-gross?"
"I'll try."
There were few things in life more beautiful than the sight before her, Angela decided. The moment she heard Angela's footsteps, Fareeha spun around, a wide smile adorning her lips when their eyes met. She swept Angela into her arms, answering the unspoken greeting with a fervent kiss. Angela's body tingled at Fareeha's ferocity, clutching onto her shoulders and parting her lips. Moaning into Fareeha's mouth as the woman's tongue slid against hers, she arched her back as eager hands roamed her body, feeling her warm flesh through the thin sweater. It was all she could do to hang onto Fareeha and not fall to her knees. Although falling to her knees would not be such a bad idea after all…
All too soon, Fareeha pulled away, smiling at the whine that escaped Angela's throat. She ran a hand through loose blonde hair, granting one last kiss on moist lips before parting again.
"That'll have to last us through dinner," Fareeha said. "Nothing gross, remember?"
"You're making me regret asking her out," Angela replied. She ran one hand down a well-developed bicep, appreciating the way the sleeve hugged it just so.
"It's only for dinner." Fareeha's eyes followed the pale hand as it slid onto her forearm, exposed by the sleeve folded to her elbows. "We'll have the rest of the night to ourselves. And the next morning, if you're up to it."
"Promises, promises." Angela's lips curved in a coy smile. She played with a button on Fareeha's vest, leaning in for another kiss.
"We haven't even left the garage yet, you shits!"
They broke apart at the sound of Hana's exasperated voice, turning to the girl with unapologetic grins on their faces. Hana plodded over to them, the beginnings of regret already hanging over her.
"Hey Hana," Fareeha greeted her.
"Hey Captain." She slapped Fareeha's outstretched hand in a resounding high-five. "Try not to gross the kid out before we get the food, huh?"
"You're hardly a kid," Angela said as they climbed into the car.
"Compared to you hags, I am a kid."
Angela scoffed. "The tongue on this child. Shall we let her sit on the roadside while we toss her leftovers as punishment?"
"I say we just confiscate her computer," Fareeha said with a straight face, clearing the car out of the garage.
"Hey hey! No one touches my baby!"
"Did you really just ask if I'm old enough to drink alcohol?" Hana said in a low tone when the waiter left, leaning over to Fareeha. "I literally kill people for a living, and you just asked if I'm of age?!"
"I'm sorry, alright?" Fareeha said. "It's just reflex. Besides, you don't look like a drinker."
"Well, neither does Angie. But that doesn't stop her from drinking up all the wine back at base!"
"Excuse you, Hana," Angela cut in, finally done with hiding her smile behind a glass of water. "I look every inch a wine drinker."
"Yeah, speaking as a regular patient, that doesn't really instill confidence."
"Then you can patch yourself up next time," Angela snipped back smoothly, lifting the glass to her lips.
"Please." Hana rolled her eyes. "As if you can stop yourself from fussing over us when we return from a mission."
"It is my job, Hana. Besides, if I let you have your way, you'd probably use one of your soft drinks to disinfect your wounds."
Fareeha snorted, covering her mouth reflexively when Hana glared at her. "And she'd use her chips to staunch the bleeding," she said through parted fingers.
The waiter showed up just before Hana could retort, both women laughing silently into their hands as he served their drinks.
"Not fair," the Korean complained when the waiter left. "You're ganging up on me."
"We're only ganging up on you because we love you," Fareeha said in her best imitation of a motherly voice.
"Yeah right." Hana took a long pull on her straw, clearing a quarter of her soda as they got absorbed in their drinks. She tapped idly on the table when the silence continued.
Angela studied the girl discreetly, glad that she seemed to have recovered from their early-morning tête-à-tête. She did not need an emotional burden when she suffered enough physically. Watching Hana limp into the med bay, bleeding and bruised all over, was one of the hardest parts of her job. So young, and already putting her life on the line for the sake of the world. It was good that she had garnered a respectable amount of fame from her time as a gamer and mech pilot. Angela had seen too many heroes reduced to a footnote or just another name on the list, never to be remembered for their acts of valour. To have that happen to Hana would be a shame.
"What're you looking at?"
Angela jumped, realising she had not been that discreet after all. She hastily drew up an excuse, aware that both Hana and Fareeha's eyes were upon her.
"I was just thinking how pretty you look without face paint." She smiled, reaching out to touch the girl's cheek.
"War paint," Hana corrected her, eyes brightening at the appetisers being placed on the table. Her hand shot towards the basket of chips, grappling a few onto her plate.
Angela turned her attention back to Fareeha, who dug into the salad they ordered. Sliding her foot out of her heel, she brushed across the other woman's ankle, feeling it jerk in surprise.
"You look pretty too, habibti," Angela said, winking at Fareeha when she looked up.
"And you look prettier, Liebling."
Her pronunciation was now perfect, after repeating it in Angela's ear a hundred times. Fareeha had started to pick up the few pet names Angela often used, surprising the blonde when it first rolled clumsily off her tongue. Then as she began familiarising herself with the words, Angela decided to return the favour, picking up more Arabic to drop on her girlfriend. She was rather proud of the progress she made – before this, she only recognised the sound of 'where's the fucking doctor?'.
Maybe she should start adding a few more choice German phrases into Fareeha's dictionary. 'You look beautiful today' would be a nice one. Or 'examine me, doctor'. Perhaps 'kiss me'? Or maybe just a 'please'.
A shrewd smile formed on her lips as her plan started to take shape. Angela held Fareeha's gaze, foot moving slowly from her ankle and up her leg. Fareeha gave her an amused look, and turned towards the window without even a twitch on her face. She's getting better at this game, Angela thought, pushing her foot a little forward, accepting the challenge.
"Angie."
"Yes?"
"Wrong leg."
There was a sharp thud when her knee slammed into the table, shaking their drinks and food like an earthquake. More than a few curious stares from nearby tables fell upon them as Angela bent forward, hissing in pain. Fareeha and Hana's hands grabbed onto her arms at the same time, both ladies asking if she was okay.
"Yes, yes," Angela said through clenched teeth, giving them a pained smile. She straightened herself, all thoughts about her knee dissipating when she remembered what she had just done.
"I'm so sorry, Hana. I swear, I didn't know–"
"It's fine." Hana wove her hand nonchalantly, wearing not a single trace of distaste that Angela expected to see. Instead, an indulgent smirk, as one would give a friend who was being an idiot.
"Did I miss something?" Fareeha asked, frowning at the two women.
"No," Angela replied quickly. "Eat your salad."
After the…accident, Angela stuffed her foot back into her heel, and put on her best behaviour for the rest of the dinner. It earned a few occasional glances from Fareeha, who noticed the lack of her usual advances. All it took was a subtle nod towards Hana, who was wolfing down her burger and fries, and Fareeha smiled in understanding. Even though she only understood half of it. And Angela was never going to explain the rest. Ever.
She tightened her hold on Fareeha's elbow, trying to will the embarrassing memory out of existence. At least they were walking back to quarters now. It meant she could scream about her indiscretion into her pillows soon.
"Are you alright?" Fareeha asked, smiling at Angela's rapid nod. "I'm actually proud of you today. You didn't try anything at all."
"We had company," she replied quietly, warmth gathering around her collar.
"Never stopped you before," Fareeha teased, giving Angela a peck on the cheek.
"There's a first time for everything, as they say."
Angela dropped her gaze to Hana, who halted abruptly in front of them, turning around with an almost bashful expression on her face.
"Hana?" Fareeha said, coming to a stop.
"I just wanted to say…thanks. For the dinner."
"You're welcome, Hana." Angela bent down to kiss the top of her head, and was surprised when she felt two slim arms circle around her for a hug. She returned the favour, feeling Hana tighten her hold slightly before releasing her.
"What, no hug for me?" Fareeha said. "Or do I have to buy you dinner too?"
"Yeah," Hana replied, swooping into the woman's arms anyway. They looked like they were trying to squeeze the air out of each other. "I'll put this one on credit."
"Can't wait to pay." Fareeha smiled as the girl let go, stepping backwards.
"Well. I'm gonna head to the kitchen first so…yeah. Bye. Good night!" With that, she practically ran down the corridor, rounding the corner before Angela could say 'be careful'.
Letting out a breath, Angela hooked her hand around Fareeha's elbow again, steering them towards her room.
"Are you ever going to tell me why you invited her to our date?"
"No," Angela replied. "Doctor-patient confidentiality, remember?"
Fareeha chuckled, waiting as Angela opened the door. "You're just hogging all the gossip for yourself."
"Sweetie." Angela hooked two fingers into Fareeha's vest, tugging her into the room. "You should be glad. Otherwise our colleagues would know more about you than they ever should."
"Oh?" Fareeha's voice lowered into a smooth yet dangerous timbre, sending a thrill down Angela's spine. Closing the door felt like she had caged herself in with an animal. "What would they know, exactly?"
She placed a hand on Fareeha's chest as the woman leaned in, stopping her just before their lips touched. Step-by-step, Angela guided Fareeha backwards, eyes locked in smouldering tension, until the back of her legs hit the couch. Fareeha was more than capable of resisting the force of her push, but she fell back onto the couch anyway, with a smirk on her face. The knowledge gave Angela a warm rush of power, and a subtle ache of tenderness, as she prowled over the woman.
"Guess."
A/N: "habibti" = my love
A totally self-indulgent chapter. I just wanted the gamer daughter to spend time with her wine mom and bird mom.
Gay kudos to you if you spot the small reference to another gay thing.