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"No. No no no no no no!" Hana shouted frantically, "Lucio! Please don't die, you can't die! Just hold on a little longer."Brigette placed a firm hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently to calm her hysterical cries. "Hana, it's too late. Get a hold of yourself.""Like hell it is! Lucio can't be done for! Fight damnit!" She brushed off Brigette's hand, lunging for Lucio.He sank to the ground, eyes closing and grip going slack. "Hana?""Yes Lucio?""Could you please stop yelling in my ear? It's really distracting." He huffed, opening his eyes to hand the controller to it's owner.Hana clutched the controller to her chest with her left hand. "Sorry Luc, but I play to win.""I know I agreed to play for you while your wrist healed, but I think we both know this isn't working." He smiled when she sighed in agreement."You're right. Uggh! Heal faster stupid wrist!" She laid next to Lucio on the floor of her quarters, right wrist held up in the air. She twisted it slowly examining her splint. Even painting it bright pink and dousing it in glitter didn't distract from her crushing boredom. Brigette, the only one who'd managed to stay on Hana's bed, reached her arm out to lightly scrape a nail against the splint. A shower of glitter rained down on both young stars."I'm just glad you weren't injured worse." Brigette said, smoothing her thumb over the rough patches of glitter still remaining. Hana blushed, "They couldn't have hurt me if they tried. I kicked ass after my mech went down. Baby D.Va for the win!" She blushed harder. Hana hadn't meant to reply to Brigette's kind words with bragging, but it just tumbled out of her.Brigette chuckled, "You do fight well without your mech. But if it ever goes down again please, for my own peace of mind, stay behind me. I will keep you safe.""Yep.""Good." Brigette stood up, she'd just gotten a message from Reinhardt who wanted her in the workshop. "Because I don't think I could handle i- are you two okay?" She rounded the bed, stopping when she saw the state they were in. Hana was so red she was almost purple. She was pinching Lucio with her uninjured hand and he was currently doing his best impersonation of a fish out of water. Hana gave a vague answer, trying to find a spot to pinch him that would hurt more."Oook, Rein called me to the shop so I'll see you two later." Brigette shuffled past them out the door. She was glad there were people in Overwatch close to her age, and she really liked her new friends. They acted so odd sometimes though. She shook her head fondly, "Celebrities are so weird."
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The door to Hana's room closed behind Brigette and Lucio finally let out the hysterical laughter he was keeping in. Hana gave up pinching him to slap her hand across her eyes. He calmed down long enough to look at her before the laughter bubbled up again."Hana Song romance expert." He manages between gasps."I'm the equivalent of a dumpster fire. I can't believe I really responded like that." Her face was almost back to it's normal color."Hana that was art." His laughter was finally subsiding."Why can't real life flirting be as easy as dating syms?" She groaned."Because nothing's as easy as it is in video games. Well, for most people anyway." He added when she raised a brow."Hana listen," he stood, pulling her up after him. "I know I'm only a medic in training, but I recommend you take some time off from games. Trying to play one handed will only drive you insane."She tossed the controller on her bed. "Fine mom. I'll take your advice." Lucio didn't miss a beat. "Thank you honey. Don't forget to finish your homework, your father will be home early tonight." He teased as he walked out of her room.She collapsed on her bed, focusing on a crack in the ceiling. Maybe Lucio was right. She spent a lot of her time gaming and she was starting to think it was inhibiting her ability to interact with other humans. She groaned at the ceiling. This was exactly the type of quiet introspection she hated doing. Fine, if she couldn't play games, she could always occupy herself with other endeavors. Like getting to know her teammates better. And by the time Hana managed to drag herself off the bed and out of the room she had almost fully convince herself that she wasn't just planning on being a nuisance.
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Hanas' first stop was the practice range. She stood behind the rounded window of the observation deck and contemplated the use of the observation deck. She could only see two targets. The rest were behind the big ass buildings they put in between the window and the practice range proper. She could hear practicing, she just couldn't see it.She was about to turn away when she caught a flash of blue from one of the walkways up off the ground. Ana was crouched on the uppermost walkway. As if on cue the sniper turned to face her. She made a 'come here' motion with her hand then pointed to the lowermost door to Hana's right and finished by pressing a finger over her lips. She wanted Hana to sneak the back way up to the third floor walkway and join her. Hana saluted to show she understood."Hiya Ana." She whispered, now crouched next to the old sniper. "What's up?""Hello Hana, I hope your wrist is feeling better." She greeted quietly then nodded to the bots below. "And that is what's up."Hana laid on her belly to peek over the railing without making herself overly visible. She stifled a gasp. "Ana, are you peeping?"Down on the first floor Hanzo and McCree were doing target practice. They were making casual small talk as they hit the bots. Or, Hana winced, it seemed more like they were clumsily flirting with each other. Ana tsked, "Please, it's not peeping if it never actually goes anywhere. Besides, its hard to look away from their frankly painful attempts at flirting." "I was seriously about to question your ethics, but you're right. It's like a train wreck. I can't look away." Hana murmured, entranced by the almost middle aged men that both seemed to be as socially stunted as, well, herself. "How long have they been doing this?" "Today or in general? Nevermind, the answer to both is 'too damn long'."Hana felt her cheeks heat the longer she watched. Their untactful flirting was reminding her of her earlier mishap with Brigette. Surely she wasn't this bad right? All of her rising hopes were dashed in the next moment when Hanzo singlehandedly managed to prove that, yes, she was that bad. Hanzo shot an arrow straight through the arrow he'd already landed on the training bot, knocking it's head clean off. McCree paid him an awed compliment. Hana wished more than anything that the practice room didn't have an echo. But it did. Which meant Hana had to hear the whole painfully pompus brag he responded with instead of just taking the damn compliment. She could feel her ears tingling. Hana buried her head in her arms to take a steady breath. She wasn't sure who she was more embarrassed for right now, herself or Hanzo.Actually she was sure. It was Hanzo. Because unlike Hana, who Reinhardt unwittingly saved earlier, there was no one to call McCree away and save the archer from putting his foot even further in his mouth. Or was there?"Ana, I can't-""Watch anymore? I understand, just let me disappear before you interrupt this disaster.""Bye Ana." Hana whispered as the woman silently slank out the way she'd come.Hana snuck back down the stairs to the main entrance. Then made her footsteps known as she walked under the catwalk up to the two sharpshooters."There you are McCree! I heard Winston is looking for you, it sounded pretty urgent." Hana said when the two men turned to face her, hearing her arrival."Oh, alright. Thanks for letting me know," he tipped his hat to Hanzo, "It was nice shooting with you partner but I gotta go. See you later?""Indeed. Goodbye McCree."They both watched him leave."Hana how is your wr-""Hanzo. We can pretend you didn't know we were up on the walkways. But Ana was wearing a bright blue headscarf and I'm not exactly quiet." She deadpanned.He stared at her for almost a full minute, contemplating his next move, before dropping down and hiding his face in his knees. "What is wrong with me? Did you hear me? Of course you heard me! Why couldn't I just have said thank you?"She sat down next to him. "Ya, that was terrible. Don't glare at me, I wasn't making fun of you! I actually did the exact same thing about two hours ago." She admitted reluctantly."What do you mean?"She buried her face in her hands as she retold the tragedy she caused earlier. Unlike Lucio though, Hanzo didn't laugh. Instead he nodded in empathy.Despite the fact that they had very little interests in common, they were remarkable similar. This revelation led to them sitting on the floor of the practice range for a while, talking to each other. The conversation ranged from serious (battlefield strategies) to inane (favorite food to eat at festivals). Until final they circled back around to their original topic; relationships."-lose my shit. I beat his ass in the game. I tell him off. I insult his mom. The whole nine yards. I left him crying. The next morning Yuna calls me like 'what the actual fuck' and she tells me he said he thought the date was going well but when he tried to get closer to me I did a 180 and turned into a psycho. The worst part is though, he was right. He was trying to be flirty but I thought he was challenging me and, like always, I took it too far.""Wait, but he actually made that joke about joysticks?" Hanzo asked unbelievably.Hana scoffed, "Yes, and he had pushed up against me to do it.""Pig." Hanzo sneered. "That's more assult than flirt.""That's what I said! How about you? What was your worst date ever?" Hana asked the man.He looked away from her face and focused on the ground. "It is embarrassing.""Please. Nothing can be worse than what I just told you." Hana gave him a look."Very well." He said taking a deep breath. Hana studied the archer as he told his story. Most people on base saw him as stoic and haughty. About an hour ago Hana would have agreed with them. She couldn't see that anymore though. Especially when, midway through her story she had taken a small bottle of pink glitter polish out of her pocket to touch up her splint and after watching her flounder to hold it correctly in her left hand he had taken it from her to do it himself. Now she could see what he really was. Driven but awkward and bad at interacting with people. They were basically twins if you didn't count his pessimism. They were both also crazy competitive and prone to going overboard."-and it landed in the ice cream but there was no way I was going to lose so I climbed on the table-"Hana gasped. "You didn't!"His cheeks heated in shame. "I did. I won but we ended up banned for life. The twins were so distraught they walked home alone. Genji refused to talk to me for a week. He never pestered me to go on a double date with him again.""Shit Hanzo." Hana said softly. "What is wrong with us?""So many things Hana." He responded just as quietly. "So many things.""Maybe if we tried th-""There you are Anija." Hana was interrupted by Genji rounding the corner. "I wanted to ask if- Hana? What are you two doing?" He stopped midsentence, taking in the sight before him.Hana and Hanzo were both sitting on the floor. Her hand was resting on his knee and he was currently painting her nails the same shimmering neon pink of her splint."Well," Hana looked at him and shrugged, "this is the practice room, obviously we're practicing."Genji's confusion only multiplied when his brother chuckled at that. "Should I come back later?""No. No it's fine. I still have more people to annoy today." Hana said, the both of them standing up. "I don't want to fall behind schedule. Thanks Hanzo!" She waved and winked as she started walking towards the door. She could hear Genji plying his brother with questions as she walked out. Hana hoped the rest of her day was a fun as that turned out to be.
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Hana was quick to discover the rest of her day would not be that fun. Jack had caught her not long after she left the practice range and told her to fall in step. It was bound to happen. She had been impulsive on the last mission and was due for a lecture from the old man. Now she remembered why she had been hiding in her room to begin with. She was moving at a far faster pace than she wanted to be as she followed him down the hall. Wasn't he like 80, why the hell was he speed walking? And where was he leading her? He could lecture her just as thourghly in the hall as he could anywhere else.It took a couple minutes but finally they'd made it to the far side of Watchpoint Gibraltar. This part of the watchpoint always made her uneasy. Not because it was eerily silent and dusty with disuse. Well, partially because of that. But mostly because in this particular part of the watchpoint all the buildings were situated almost directly touching the cliff face. And Hana didn't trust any building that close to a 90 degree drop.They were almost to the very edge of the watchpoint. Maybe he was planning on pushing her? Hana shook that intrusive thought out of her head. This was no time for paranoia. She followed him into the last building before the drop off and up a (what she hoped was the last) flight of stairs and out of the roof hatch on top of the building.At least shock and awe gave her an excuse to catch her breath. Because of all the things she was expecting of Morrison, a rooftop garden was not on the list. There were planters arranged in a quaint manner. Herbs and vegetables that looked to be healthy and growing well. Cute hand painted flower pots full of blooming flowers. There was a single table by the roof hatch covered in meticulously organized gardening equipment. Underneath it was stored bags of soil, empty plant pots, and what looked like shades for the plants on days the sun was too much.In between the roof hatch and the garden were two wooden yellow lounge chairs. They were worn with age and looked far softer than any wooden chair had a right to be. Jack was already sitting in one, his feet propped up on a small blue cooler. Hana apprehensively made her way to the second chair. If he was going to yell at her he chose a weird place to do it. Or, maybe he didn't, she'd definitely feel even worse getting yelled at in such a beautiful garden. She sat down stiffly, hands in her lap.The old soldier looked her way, sighed and turned his gaze to the garden. "Kid relax, I'm not going to chew you out."Hana felt the knot in her stomach loosen. "Alright, thanks." She said, still slightly apprehensive. Why were they here if not for a lecture?He moved his feet, bending forward to open the cooler. He pulled out two cans and handed one to her. She thanked him turning the can in her lap to see the label."Beer?" She asked in surprise."You're old enough aren't you?""Well yes. It's just," her cheeks colored, "nevermind."Jack grunted. "Let me guess. They leave you out when they're doing a 'team bonding night' don't they?"'Team bonding night' was the excuse the members of Overwatch used to get plastered on the last Friday of every month. Hana was never extended an invitation. Of course she asked once or twice and was told she didn't need an invite. But in a way that wasn't followed with a 'you should drop by'. So she never went.Her silence was telling. "Don't feel too bad, I'm not invited either.""Why not?""I may not be in charge now, but I used to be. And you never drink with your boss." He stated like it was a fact and he didn't mind being excluded."You don't care that they don't invite you?" She asked skeptically."No."She rolled her hand in the best 'go on' motion she could while still minding her splint.He sighed, "Fine. Maybe at first. But I got used to it. Besides, there are better things to do than get black out drunk." He motioned to the garden."Hhmmm." Hana really contemplated that. It still sounded sad to her (not that she'd tell him that). The first time she found out she was being left out of 'team bonding night' was her second month in the newly reformed Overwatch. At first she assumed it was just for the 'original' members. Something from the old days that they still indulged in. Until the third month when both Brigette and Lucio turned up hungover the day after. She had gone to Brigette first. Casually, jokingly, asking if it was BYOB. The engineer only chuckled, saying she'd find out when she was old enough. Hana had been both flustered and indignant. Both feelings turned into butterflies when Brigette turned red and apologetic upon hearing Hana was of age.Lucio was next. Brigette could be forgiven (because she made Hana's insides feel like melting marshmallows). But Lucio was her best friend, and was also aware of how old she was. He apologized profusely after she asked. He thought she didn't show up because she had been streaming (which she had). Turns out he could be forgiven too. Hana was either too forgiving, or her friends were too pure for this world. She could say she took it like a champ. That she didn't get herself worked up about it. Sit on her bed pouting and brooding when everyone else was having fun without her. That like an adult she found a healthy way to vent her anger. She didn't, but she could tell herself that.She let her eyes roam over the garden. She couldn't imagine turning a good brood into something actually productive.
"Why a garden?" She asked, popping the top of her drink.He finished his, setting the can beside his chair and grabbing a second. "I had this commander a long time ago. He gave everyone in my squad a pot and some seeds. Told us that gardening took patience. That it didn't matter how strong we were or how hard we trained if we lacked patience we were as good as dead." He settled further into his seat. "I grew the best flower in my squad, but I learned nothing. It took me a long ass time to figure out why."He went quite, gaze far in the distance. "Well, why?" Hana got another can from the cooler. "Don't leave me hanging." Unlike most of his 'when I was young' stories, this one had her interest.Jack shook himself out of his reverie, brushing a hand through his thinning hair. "Turns out gardening only teaches patience if you care about the end result. I watered it, I gave it sunlight, but I never actually cared what it would turn into. Only that I was doing what was required. I played my part. I did my job. But I didn't care what I grew."Hana had a feeling he wasn't talking about flowers anymore. "So the garden is-?" She prompted."To learn to care."She looked from the full blooming garden to the old soldier beside her. "I think it's doing wonders."He snorted. "Thanks kid."They sat in silence for a bit, sharing drinks and company but not much else. Hana broke the silence with a chuckle. "It's funny, I was really expecting you to lecture me.""I'm sure Angela and Lucio did enough of that." He said wryly."Trust me. They did. So did half of everyone else. Even McCree." She grimaced. Getting reprimanded by a coybow was surreal and surprisingly hurtful.Jack laughed. "Angela used to chew antacid tablets like candy because of that reckless idiot."They lapsed back into silence, which ended up broken by Jack. "You can ask why. I know you're wondering."She nodded. "Not that I don't appreciate it. But why didn't you lecture me?""You're young, 5' and female. Everyone is gonna try to undermine you. It doesn't matter how skilled you are, as a soldier, as a tactician, even as a gamer. You'll have to fight insurmountable odds to be respected." He sat forward, making eye contact for the first time since they sat down.
"And part of fighting those odds is not questioning your choices. You made a tactical decision last mission. Yes it was impulsive. But it was also necessary and, truthfully, badass. All that the nagging will lead to is you second guessing yourself. And second guessing yourself on the battlefield is like painting a target on your back. You're an impressive soldier Hana. Don't let them make you doubt yourself.""Wow. I-" Hana was at a loss. "I really needed that." She broke eye contact. She hadn't realized how much she needed it until it had been said. Sure the media called her talented and skilled, but not half as much as it called her young and naive. She'd never heard the boys in MEKA described as delicate or airheaded (both of which weren't true). Even her team members. She got lectured to hell for her sprained wrist even though she distinctly remembered Junkrat limping back to the drop ship missing his prosthetic arm and literally on fire.Of course, the things Jack mentioned were all things she already knew. But actually having someone acknowledge that she had to deal with so much resistance made her feel better."Jack?""Yes?""Will you teach me how to garden?""Friday. 10 am. Be here."
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Hana and Jack had enjoyed each other's quiet company for a while longer. Until Jack checked his watch and left for something really important. Something crucial he couldn't reschedule. Something he specifically mentioned was definitely not a nap.Hana, not being one to call someone out over lying to themself, told him he better hurry. She could make her way back alone. She was thinking of staying awhile. She definitely didn't say those things because she didn't want to match the speedwalking senior citizen all the way back.Those two completely true things were the reason she found herself leisurely strolling back, admiring nature. Well, considering they were in an abandoned Overwatch outpost situated on a rock, there wasn't much nature. Very little grew on the dilapidated base. Swarths of grass and weeds sprouted in patches along the edge of the watchpoint. Every so often she'd spot trees or flowers but for the most part it was dirt and rocks.She had made it to the hanger when a noise caught her attention. Hana heard a series of low, soft beeps. She strained her ears to hear it over the sound of the wind picking up. It sounded like it was coming from behind the platform that led to the second story of the aircraft hanger. She was about to investigate before she thought better of it. It'd be safer to sneak up the platform and peek over the side. In case the noise turned out to be something dangerous. Hana laid down silently, reminded of this morning, and peeked over the edge. Down below, sitting against a boulder, were Bastion and Zenyatta. The Monk had a hand placed on (what was most likely) Bastions shoulder. Bastion was speaking a series of fast low beeps, sounding almost frantic. She took a brief moment to reprimanded herself for peeping (however unintentional). It was apparently a moment too long.Zenyatta spoke up as she was retreating. "Ms. Song, it's so nice to see you."She froze then sighed. She was planning on getting to know her teammates after all. And after this morning, what's a little more embarrassment gonna do?"Hi Zen, hi Bastion." Hana climbed down from the platform, standing before them sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy. I just didn't realize it was Bastion speaking." "It is understandable Ms. Song. And quite smart of you to approach an unknown sound with caution." Zenyatta said in appeasement."Please Zen, call me Hana. Come to think of it, I never asked if it was okay to call you 'Zen'." She scratched her neck nervously.He laughed. "Of course. I have grown quite fond of the nickname."She turned to Bastion. "Are you alright? You sound pretty sad." Her hands shot up to her mouth. "Oh sorry, that was invasive of me." What was wrong with her? They just caught her watching them and then she asks about the personal conversation she was spying on. Hana wanted to kick herself.Bastion motioned and beeped in quick succession. It didn't look like a mad gesture. But other than picking up on that, she was lost."Ah," Zen noted Hana's confusion, "Bastion says thank you for apologizing, and that you are correct, they are very sad.""Maybe I could help? If you're okay with that." Hana, to Bastions elation, continued to adress them instead of focusing on Zenyatta as he translated. Bastion beeped politely. "They would very much appreciate your help. As long as it is not a bother.""Of course not! Tell me what's wrong and we can work to fix it!" Hana said hopefully. She'd never talked with Bastion before (the language barrier was impossible). She'd imagined them having a conversation, but never like this. More like a game of charade's. She'd also never realized how heartwarmingly polite the omnic was.Bastion, with Zenyatta's help, began telling Hana what had saddened them. "It's Ganymede. He's been acting strange. Him and Bastion used to spend all their time together. But now they barely even talk. Lately, Ganymede hasn't been around much. He used to put the nice twigs Bastion would find him in his nest. Now he just flys off with them, letting his nest fall into disrepair. When he is back he mostly just sleeps. Bastion is very concerned his friend may be sick. They just don't know what to do."Hana's heart clenched. The initial thought that struck her was that he was dying. She knew pets started acting weird before they died. The cat she had when she was younger did exactly that.But Ganymede was Bastions best friend, not a pet. She didn't know if a wild bird would act the same as a domestic cat. So all that theory was was an immediate panicked assumption. There were other reasons animals changed behavior. She just had to focus on those instead.They came here from Eichenwalde, so a sudden environmental change could be the cause. But that would have affected him from the start, not after several months. Maybe the weather? She knew animals also acted weird before bad weather."How long has he been acting strange?" Hana asked, pulling out her phone to check the local weather report.Bastion bleeped uncertainly. "Bastion hasn't kept complete track but says it's been a couple weeks.""Hhmmm." Hana frowned at her phone. The weather had been, and would continue to be, clear and sunny for the foreseeable future."Maybe an earthquake?" She blurt out to both omnics confusion, trying to keep her mind off the dying theory. "What I mean is. Animals can sense natural disasters before they happen, and it causes them to behave differently." She clarified.Bastion turned to Zenyatta, confusion evident."A natural disaster is an event of nature that causes damage to-" Zenyatta cut off, his head tilting up. Hana and Bastion followed suit, staying quite and looking in the same direction as the Monk. "He's here, act natural."The three turned back to each other starting up a fake conversation about something menial. Within seconds Ganymede rounded the corner. He flew to Bastion, landing in his poorly kept nest. He gave Bastion a tweet and affectionate peck, then began rearranging his twigs. Zenyatta was halfway through an explanation about why he found baseball so fascinating when Hana realized they were acting ridiculous."Wait, guys," Hana interrupted, "He's a bird. He can't understand us.""Ah, right. That seemed to have slipped my processors." Zenyatta said, somewhat mystified.Hana chuckled. "Probably because the only other animals here are both hyper intelligent." She looked back at Ganymede, his small head tucked under a wing. He didn't look sick. His feathers were bright and full and his breathing seemed normal. But then again, Hana had no clue if those things actually mattered when it came to sick birds. They could ask Dr. Zeigler? She wasn't a vet but maybe she could help. Hana's phone was still in her hand. She unlocked it and started scrolling through her contacts."Oh, duh." She mumbled to herself after a moment. She could just look it up. Hana abandoned her search for the doctor's number and typed sick bird into the search bar instead. Pictures popped up first and Hana breathed a sigh of relief. Ganymede looked nothing like the sickly, disheveled birds in the pictures. She scrolled down only to regret it. *Birds will hide signs of illness until it's too late* She scrolled further down, trying not to panic. Her eyes unfocused as she stared at her phone, no longer reading but deep in thought. How Ganymede was acting didn't necessarily seem all that sick. But then again, a list of symptoms wouldn't matter if birds hid being ill. What was she thinking getting involved in this? Hana knew absolutely nothing about birds but she told them she could help anyways. What if he really was sick? She couldn't bring that up to Bastion. She couldn't bare the thought of them losing their best friend. Or worse, of her unnecessarily scaring the sweetest omnic alive all because she knew jack shit about bird behavior. She was so lost in thought she didn't even realize Zenyatta was speaking."-can't see. Hana?" Zenyatta called her out of her stupor."Sorry Zen, what did you say?" Her eyes refocused, snapping to attention on the monk."Bastion was saying that, after offering him twigs, Ganymede had tried to get Bastion to follow him a handful of times before. But it was to a spot too high up for Bastion to get to." Zenyatta explained again.Why didn't they lead with that? Hana quickly pushed that bitter thought down before it could come out of her mouth. "Where?" She settled for instead.Bastion beeped, high and hopeful, then waved at the two to follow. Zenyatta and Hana trailed behind some as Bastion tried to remember where it was."It is refreshing to see someone so kind to Bastion. And so relaxed in their presence." Zenyatta admitted."Relaxed?" Hana repeated."Even those here without prejudice are wary of them. Admittedly I am curious as to why you are not." It was more a statement than a question. Making it clear she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to.Hana understood what he was saying. Everyone was a bit cautious around Bastion. Torbjörn warned them Bastion would react badly to sudden loud noises, and that he hadn't figured out why yet. Hana knew why though."Sometimes I'll hear or see something that reminds me of being in battle. It's like I'm suddenly back there, right in the middle of it again. And because of that, I lash out. I don't mean to but it just happens." Hana watched Bastion stop and look around. The omnic was a couple yards ahead of them. "I think that's how it is for them too.""Amazing," Zenyatta sounded truly delighted, "you choose not to focus on your differences, but your similarities."She frowned. "You're thinking too much of me. Obviously I notice the differences. We may scare the same, but I don't turn into a turret. I realize it's possible they'll panic. And that if they do it's a dangerous position to put myself in.""And yet you stay?" Zenyatta gestured to Bastion, still leading the way."And yet I stay." Hana answered lamely. The monk tilted his head at her and, despite having no facial articulation, managed to give her the look.She sighed. "Things used to be a lot worse at one point. I was always paranoid and anxious. It felt like I was losing my mind. I had friends to rely on and it made getting better easier. I can't imagine what it would have been like if they had been too scared of me to help me."Zenyatta hummed in contemplation but didn't answer immediately. Hana watched him out of the corner of her eye. She could admit, guiltily and only to herself, that she was a lot more easygoing around Zenyatta now than she'd been when he first joined the team. It's not like she was unused to being around omnic's. The population of them in Busan was modest compared to some places but they were all accepted. For the omnics back home though, electronic emotive faceplates were a huge trend. Suffice to say the solid faceplate Zenyatta wore threw her for a loop. Talking to him unsettled her until she got used to searching his voice for social cues instead of his face. Three sharp beeps interrupted Hanas' musing. Bastion had stopped in the patchy grass behind one of the barracks buildings. Near the cliff edge (because of course nothing can ever be a safe distance from the edge) was a stack of large rocks that plateaued out at the top into a patch of soil. Sprouting from that soil was an olive tree. Hana could tell that the tree was still relatively young. It was strong enough to support itself but not as thick as a grown tree and not very tall. The noise Bastion made must have stirred Ganymede because Hana caught sight of his tail disappearing into the tree top.Bastion beeped dejectedly, facing toward the tree. Hana now understood why the omnic couldn't reach it. Though the tree wasn't very tall the rocky stand it was on put it far above Bastions line of sight. Taking one look at their feet confirmed to Hana that they were not built to climb that type of surface.Zenyatta spoke up, "Though I'm positive you can climb to the tree Hana, I don't believe you are tall enough to reach the branches.""I think you're right Zen." The climb looked easy, but the tree was a fair bit taller than her. "Think you could give me a boost?" Hana asked as she began climbing the rocks."A wonderful idea Hana." Zenyatta trailed behind her. When they got to the plateau Hana turned to make sure the monk had followed her. He floated lower to the ground, offering her a hand so she could stand on his shoulders. Hana placed her splinted hand in his and stepped up, placing her other on the tree trunk to balance herself. It took some maneuvering but finally Hana could peek her head through the branches."Everything looks normal. Are you sure this is th- Aah!" Hana flailed for a second as her surprise got the better of her. She grasped for a branch to steady herself. She couldn't believe what she was seeing."Is everything alright?" Zens worried question and Bastions equally worried beeps drifted up.Hana reeled in the urge to squeal and moved her injured hand to rest on the tree so she could grab her phone with the other. "Better than alright!" She snapped a couple pictures. "I'm coming down."She felt lighter as she stepped down from the tree. A knot in her stomach had unravelled when she spotted the source of Ganymedes' erratic behavior. Bastion beeped in anticipation as Hana and Zenyatta joined them on ground level again."Bastion, there's no need to worry. Ganymede isn't sick." She tried to pause for dramatic effect but found that she couldn't. She was nearly vibrating with excitement. "BUT HE IS A DAD!" She swung her phone out to show Bastion the pics she took.Tucked into a tight corner of the tree top was a well-kept nest. It was partially out of view, obstructed by leaves. Hana flipped to the next picture. This one was far clearer. Bastion produced a shrill noise. Ganymede was sat in the nest nuzzled up to the side of a mousy brown bird. In front of the two were three small fuzzy chicks. The chicks were a similar dull brown as the mother but with distinctive yellow marking. They looked no more that a couple days old.Hana waited until Bastion was done looking (currently doing a series of excited hops that Hana found adorable) to turn her phone around so Zenyatta could see it. "Existence is mysterious." Zenyatta murmured, sounding equal parts mystified and relieved. Hana felt that same relief glide through her chest now that she knew Ganymede was alright. Bastion finished hopping and turned to face them, a string of beeps slipping rapid fire from the omnic. "It truly is wonderous news my friend!" Zen replied then turned to Hana. "Bastion would like to thank you for your assistance. Without you we never would have accomplished this task.""You're welcome! I'm here for you any time Bastion!" Hana took a split second to wonder why she was so much better at taking Bastions' compliment than Bridgettes' then pushed the thought away. Not the time for that."Oh, well, Bastion does have one more small favor to ask. I feel, as an organic being, you could help them better than I." Zenyatta folded his hands peacefully. "Sure, what's up?" Hana was on a roll, she could knock it out of the park no problem. "They would like to know where babies come from." Hana thinks, judging by the non reactions of the two in front of her, that she didn't slam into a brick wall just then. It sure as hell felt like it though. Well shit. "It is a beautiful, natural process th-" scratch that, she sounded like her primary school teacher. "When a man and a woman love ea-" Nope nope nope, that's the talk her dad gave her. "At a certain point in a womans life they find they have urges tha-" oh god not the talk her grandmother gave her, never that one. "Actually Bastion I think I know someone who could explain this much better than me. Let's go find Mercy." Nailed it.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Hana stood in the doorway and took a cursory look around the clinic. Not for the first time, she marveled at how much effort must have gone into making a sterile hospital environment so quickly in a building that had been abandoned for nearly a decade. Clean, white walls and the faint smell of sterilizer greeted her. The hospital beds lining the clinic were pristine and impeccably made. It still looked exactly how it did when she first arrived to the watchpoint. In fact the only noticeable difference was that Dr. Zeigler wasn't there. To the right of the door was the doctors' desk. It seemed to be in the same state of controlled chaos it was in whenever Hana found herself in the clinic. Well, maybe more chaotic than usual. Several stacks of files were cluttering the desk, placed in a way that managed to look both messy and neurotic. Her chair was unoccupied though. She moved out of the doorway and back into the hall. "It looks like she's not here right now. We could wait thought." Bastion let out a series of thoughtful beeps."Bastion would like to thank you for your effort, but would prefer to return to the nest for now." Zenyatta offered in translation. "I understand. I actually have some things to do here, so if I see Mercy I'll tell her you're looking for her." Hana got an affirmative beep in response, then said her goodbyes to the omnics. She couldn't deny she was slightly relieved to see them go. Not that she didn't enjoyed their company, but Bastions' question had brought back the memories of every awkward talk 12 year old Hana had been subject to (and didn't more than one seem excessive?). Besides, looking over Dr. Zeiglers' messy desk had given her an idea. Hana stepped fully into the clinic. Letting the door close behind her, she moved to sit at the desk, looking for something she thought she'd caught a glimpse of. Sure enough, on the right side of the desk (barely visible through stacks of files) was a dull, gray machine about the size of a shoe box. Only the front panel was visible at the moment. Along the top was a thin slot for processing papers. Under that was a sticker that read; 'Property of Overwatch' slapped on top of the HoloJet logo but faded enough that she could clearly read the devices name underneath it. At the bottom of the panel were three touch sensors and a small slot for inserting holodisks.It was an older model HoloJet but still looked compatible with Hanas' phone. She fought the urge to immediately rifle through the desk drawers looking for a holodisk. She couldn't use it without asking Dr. Zeigler first. She couldn't even get to it unless she was willing to upheave a mountain of files. Which she absolutely wasn't.Hana sighed and settled completely into the chair, content to wait for the doctor to show herself. Normally she would balk at this type of inaction but currently Hana was feeling a bit overextended. Maybe climbing a tree after drinking half a pack of beer hadn't been a great idea. She closed her eyes and leaned back to ride out the slightly dizzying tilt buzzing in her brain. Ok, it had been a bad idea but there was no changing that now. She sunk down further, arms crossed over her stomach. At least the chair was comfortable."-and I told them there was nothing viable we could extract from such an old sample." Hanas' eyes blinked open. She didn't remember falling asleep but she was groggy in a way that meant she had. It took a couple seconds to get her bearings. Then a couple more for her to realize she wasn't alone anymore. On the back wall of the clinic was one of the only non automatic doors on the entire base. Hana had assumed it was a medical supply room. Judging by the people currently exiting the room though it looked like she was wrong.Fareeha was leaning on the door to prop it open. In her hands were two file boxes stacked on top of each other. She hadn't noticed Hana yet, talking to whoever was still in the back room."Let me guess, they proceeded despite your warning and then blamed you when they wasted their own time?" Fareeha directed into the room."I wish it had been that simple. What they actually did was much more- Oh, Hello Hana!" Dr. Zeigler had stepped out of the room mid sentence, also laden with file boxes, and spotted Hana immediately. "Hi Doctor. Hi Fareeha." Hana spoke as evenly as possible in an attempt not to sound like she'd just woken up.She could immediately tell from the amused look on Fareehas' face that she had failed. "Did we disturb your beauty rest?" She asked jokingly.Angela tsked while walking to her desk, "I seem to recall a certain someone drifting off in the file room while they were supposed to be helping me."Fareeha grimaced, letting the door swing closed. "To be fair, you said you needed help moving boxes. There was no mention of meticulously combing through files for hours."Angela, realizing she was losing this argument did the adult thing and ad- just kidding, she changed the subject."Are you not feeling well Hana? How is your wrist?" She set the boxes on the floor and started to look for her exam kit."No, I feel good! I didn't come here for a check up." She hurried to reply before the good doctor could set off a file avalanche looking for it. Hana stood up so she could take her seat. "I actually just had a question to ask you. Well, a couple questions."Angela took the seat at her desk while Hana pulled up two chairs from one of the bedsides. Fareeha thanked her as she set the boxes down to join them."What did you need?" The doctor asked after they were all settled."Bastion asked me to ask you if you'd tell them where babies come from." Hearing it out loud Hana realized she should have provided context."Bastion spoke to you?" Angela asked in surprise at the same moment Fareeha said, "Bastion wants to know where babies come from?"Right, context. Hana briefly explained her earlier adventure (obviously leaving out her several miniature panic attacks and heartfelt talk with Zenyatta) to the growing amusement of both women."Ganymede has mated with the local wildlife?" Angela sounded interested, but not in the same way Hana had been. She took out her phone to show them the picture. "Which leads me to my second question. Is it alright if I use that HoloJet on your desk?"The doctor nodded. "I will visit Bastion as soon as I'm able. And you are free to use the HoloJet when we've finished here." She gestured to the immense amount of files.It was at that moment Hana had to decide if offering to help was polite or insane. She caught the glazed look in the doctors eyes as they roamed over the files. Her mind was made up."I can help you with, whatever this is exactly?" She offered."Thank you for offering Hana but I'm sure Fareeha and I can-" She was interrupted by a drawn out groan.Fareeha ducked her head sheepishly when they both turned to face her. "I'm so sorry Angela. That was supposed to be just in my head. We could use the help though and I'm sure Hana wouldn't offer unless she had nothing better to do."Hana crossed her arms. "I'd be insulted if you weren't completely right. Being banned from the workshop has freed up so much of my time." She pointedly addressed Angela.Angela let the accusation roll off her. Being a doctor meant she was immune to even the best of guilt trips. "Nice try. Still banned. I suppose we could use your help here though."Hana shrugged. "Can't say I didn't try. So, what are we doing?"Fareeha moved to empty the file boxes. She piled their contents onto the already precarious stacks that buried the desk. If it looked intimidating before, now it looked down right hazardous.She handed over the empty boxes to Angela. "We are organizing all Overwatch personal files into three categories; recalled, refused, and undetermined." Fareeha explained while the doctor searched her drawers for a marker."I'm guessing I'll handle the Recall category?" It didn't take her much deduction, the recalled agents were the only ones she knew the status of."Exactly." Angela handed her her box.They began the tedious process of cataloging all the files. It certainly wasn't interesting but it was mind-numbing in a way that Hana appreciated. The work gave her hands something to do while her mind wandered. There was one thing about it that was bugging her though."Why are we doing this?" Hana interrupted the comfortable silence that had built up."Getting bored already?" Fareeha chuckled."Well yes, but that's not what I meant. Shouldn't all of this information be in a database?" Hana couldn't remember a time that she'd seen an actual physical log of information (outside of sitcoms that is). Everything from school books to the log at the training range to the patient charts on the clinic beds were HoloTech. It didn't make sense that they were spending all this time going over the physical copies.Hana noticed as Fareeha caught Angelas' gaze. If she allowed herself to be more paranoid Hana might think they were silently deciding whether or not to tell her. Good thing she couldn't afford to be more paranoid without going nuts. She briefly entertained the though of them finding her in the rafters weeks from now. She'd be wearing a tinfoil hat and, most likely, a matching jacket. They'd stare in bewilderment at the corkboard she managed to get up there. Every inch of it covered in tacks connected by multicolored yarn. Okay, maybe she thought about that scenario more than she should."As I know you were made aware when you joined," Angela interrupted her spiraling train of thought, "before initiating the recall, Winston was confronted here by the terrorist known as The Reaper." It was one of the first things they told her. They wanted to make sure anyone who joined on knew the base was not impenetrable and that safety couldn't be guaranteed. Hana recognized it for what it was. After all, MEKA may be a highly specialized branch of the army, but it's the army nonetheless. She'd seen countless potential teammates weeded out through the use of scare tactics. Not that she thought they'd been lying about the attack. It would just take a hell of a lot more than that to scare her off. Hana nodded.The doctor continued. "The Reaper had been trying to copy all Overwatch personnel data. Evaluations, medical records, names and last known addresses of every former Overwatch employee. Winston and I have discussed it at length and, after our run in with Talons latest accomplice, have come to the decision that it would be best for Athena to wipe every trace of the files."Hana smoothed a thumb over her wrist splint. She remembered meeting Talons new operative quite well. Considering she was the reason Tokki went down mid-fight, Hana'd be hard pressed to forget her."Did she have something to do with the attack on our base?" Hana tried not to sound too disdainful."We don't believe so. It looks like that was solely The Reaper. As it stands though we don't want to risk her involvement. Which brings us to this disaster." Angela motioned to the files they'd yet to sort through."And this isn't even a third of it." Fareeha huffed. "These are just the specialized agents. We had to sort out all the files of the service personnel."Hana glanced down at her relatively empty box then at the other two. There were so few people now that she tended to forget how big Overwatch used to be. She looked at the other women. They had both been part of Overwatch in it's prime. They had lived on these bases when they were in working order. Packed with people and bustling with life. If any of the documentaries she'd watched growing up were true Overwatch had been a beacon of hope, not only to the public, but to it's own members as well. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to come back after all this time. To live in the dilapidated shell of a place that once meant so much to you. To live again with old comrades you wanted to change the world with but knowing that you failed to do so. Hana looked at Angelas' steadily growing number of files in the 'Refused' box and then to the crease between her brows. It was the same look on Fareehas' face as well. The realization washed over Hana like a wave and she knew if she didn't leave immediately she'd start crying. She excused herself to the restroom.Locking the door behind her Hana took a couple deep breaths to try and quell the tingling in her sinuses that she knew meant she was close to crying. It had hit her so suddenly. As she looked at their faces she had realized she couldn't even begin to comprehend how strong they were. Refusing the recall would have been entirely justified. Overwatch had cradled the hopes, dreams and aspirations of billions of people. It promised safety and peace. It promised a better world. It lifted countless people up and provided hope to even the most devistated of populations. And then it destroyed it all. Overwatch crumpled and with it so did everyone who had believed in it. A gut-wrenching betrayal to the people that needed them most. Hana understood not returning, she knows she wouldn't have.But the two women she had left in the clinic had returned. They'd had their entire lives upended when Overwatch crashed and burned. Friends, family, and livelyhoods snatched away. Overwatch had cost them everything. Despite it all, they were here. Hana rubbed at her cheeks. Some tears had slipped out in spite of her efforts. She moved to the sink. Maybe if she splashed cold water on her face she could make it look like she hadn't been crying. She wished more than anything her stupid wrist wasn't sprained. She never spiraled into deep bouts of reflection when she played video games. Hana dried her face slowly while contemplating if using video games as a means to avoid significant emotional growth was dangerously harmful to her mental health. Then she shook that thought away because fuck introspection. She unlocked the door, took one more breath to pull herself together and started down the hall back towards the clinic. Time to finish what she started.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Hana? Can I offer you a hand?" Her heart stuttered in surprise for a brief second before righting itself. She missed a step, almost toppling the box in her hands onto the ground.Hana was currently carrying a file box down one of the maze-like hall's of Gibraltars main building. After she had managed to pull herself together in the bathroom she had returned to help finish sorting files. It hadn't taken very long for them to finish up. Angela had given her free reign of the HoloJet while she explained what they would do with the newly organized files. While most went back into the file room, the Refused ones were to be destroyed. Hana, feeling irrationally guilty for her most recent break down, offered to take the files where they needed to go."Don't sneak up on me like that Lena! My old heart can't take it!" Hana half-jokingly repremanded the spunky Brit that had caught her by surprise."Better not let Ana hear you say that or you'll never hear the end of it." Lena laughed while stepping in front of Hana. "Really though, that looks far too heavy."It wasn't, but Hana was long past the point in her life where she took being told something was 'too heavy' for her as an insult. Not that it wasn't still insulting, but if someone was offering to do physical labor for her because of it then so be it.Preteen Hana would have taken that as a challenge, soldiering on with box firmly in hand. Nineteen year old Hana knew better though."Thanks." Hana said while dropping the box in Lenas hands. "We're dropping it off at the workshop." "Rightio." She nodded, moving back alongside Hana. They kept walking, taking a right down the fork that would lead them to the workshop. Now, Hana didn't consider herself to be the most perceptive but reading Lena was like reading a book. She wore her heart on her sleeve (and face, and ingrained in her body language). Which was why Hana could tell Lena had a question for her but was attempting to seem like them meeting in the hall was a coincidence. Her stride was carefully relaxed, lazy in a way her normal stride wasn't. She also kept peeking over at Hana when she thought she was looking away. Hana, never being one to out people on their bullshit, decided it'd be best to pretend she hadn't noticed. Embarrassing her would do no good. Lena could ask her question when she was ready.It would have to be sooner than later though, Hana noted as they turned another corner and the door to the workshop came into view."What is this box for anyways?" Lena asked as they approached the workshop.Hanas' teeth clicked together before she could actually open her mouth. She had almost immediately answered until her brain crammed itself down her throat. It wasn't like the file sorting had been some big secret. Or a secret at all for that matter. For some reason though, Hana felt reluctant to tell the truth.She looked at Lena and imagined seeing the same expression on her face that she'd seen on Fareeha and Angela. The expression that had quickly lead to her embarrassing bathroom breakdown. Could she lie solely to save herself from overreacting again?"Not sure, Angela just said it was for Torbjörn." The answer was yes. Yes she could.Lena hummed and took a quick look at the word Refused scrawled on the side. For one heart stopping second Hana thought she'd realize what it was. Then Lena let out a short laugh. "It's probably all the 'upgrade' blueprints for her armor he's always giving her." Hana hid the tail end of her relaxed exhale with a cough.She was saved from digging herself into a hole of lies as they approached the workshop door and it slid open to let them in. Stepping through the threshold of the door gave Hana the same feeling of bliss that stepping into a convenience store on a sticky, hot summer day would. It was paradise.The workshop was a huge concrete room lined with workbenches. At one point it had been an armory, something Hana only knew because it was mid-conversion when she had joined. She had even helped move the remaining gun lockers and crates into other empty rooms. Apparently, she's heard but never confirmed, there was an actual workshop on base but it was small and located in one of the buildings on the far edge of the cliff. Which was totally impractical for the self-sufficient team they had now. Everybody on the watchpoint that used the new workshop had their own designated space. It hadn't been a rule to begin with. Most of them had been pretty good about keeping their hands to themselves (save Torbjörns wandering eye). Actually that was a lie. All of them had been good about it, Junkrat being both the exception and the rule. The rule had gone into effect after a couple of them, Hana included, had walked in on Satya threatening to make Junkrat's limbs completely symmetrical if he touched her turrets one more time. The only reason the signs posted around the shop said "Mind others personal space" instead of "Don't even fucking think about it Junkrat" was because Hana, Brigette, Lucio, and to an extent Fareeha thought that would have been too mean.Hana glanced around to see who was tinkering. Brigettes' and Lucios' workbenches, the ones closest to the door, were currently unoccupied. Fareehas' and Hanas' were a bit farther, on the far right wall to give them enough work space for their suit and mech respectively, both obviously vacant at the moment. Torbjörn and Satya had claimed workbenches on the left wall, as far from the door and each other as they could get while still being a respectable distance from Junkrat. His workbench was on the far wall, a veritable minefield of scrap and garbage carving out the boundaries of his area. None of them were in either."Weirdly empty in here, isn't it?" Lena asked and got a slight echo in response to her efforts. "Should we just leave it for him?" Hana hummed in thought. "I think we should," she spotted a marker on his workbench as they approached it, "I'll just leave a note."Lena place the box on the work surface as Hana tried to find a lose piece of paper that wasn't cover in blueprint sketches. She tsked, giving up after a minute and uncapping the marker to write on the box lid.Please Destroy -Angela"That should do it." Hana stated, blatantly ignoring how bad her handwriting with her non-dominant hand was. At least it was legible. Kind of."Thanks for the help!" Hana clapped Lena on the shoulder before turning to leave. This was the make or break moment. Either she asked her now or never. Okay that was ridiculous. There's no reason Lena couldn't just ask her later. Hana really hit peak levels of dramatic overkill with that thought."Hana, wait." Lena grabbed her uninjured wrist. Her grasp was light, asking her to stay but giving her the chance to go at the same time. "Can I ask you something?"Hana was a bit taken aback at what she saw when she turned back around. Lena was blushing and fidgeting and closer than Hana remembered her being."Sure." She replied, suddenly very unsure of the situation."It's a bit embarrassing." Lena chuckled nervously before taking a steadying breath and stepping even closer, grasping Hanas' hand in both of hers.For a single microsecond. For one frozen instance. For the smallest amount of time Hana could comprehend. She was one hundred percent, irrefutably, undeniably certain she was about to be kissed. She was immediately terrified and kind of exhilarated, and then infinitesimally more terrified."Will you let me braid your hair?"What."What?""I know it's an odd request but please hear me out. Emily is always braiding her hair and I want to do it for her sometimes but I'm absolutely dreadful at it. I'd love to surprise her by learning how. I just need someone who'd be willing to let me practice on them." The cogs in her brain unlock. Her cheeks prickled with heat. Whether from shame or embarrassment she couldn't tell. Wait, it was definitely shame. How could she have forgotten about Emily? Lena had been in a committed relationship with the redhead for as long as Hana knew her. How could she have forgotten about her own redhead crush?Hana felt... relieved? Disappointed? No, definitely relieved. Also a bit foolish. Oh god, if she didn't say something soon this silence would go from short contemplation to awkwardly long pause. "Yeah, I'll help." Alright, that came out a little more stilted than she'd wanted it to. Maybe Lena just wouldn't notice. "Thanks a bunch! Oh, sorry I got in your face, I must've given you a fright!" She let go of Hanas' wrist and stepped out of her personal space. Lena simultaneously realized she was too close and failed to realize what had actually shaken Hana. "It's fine, I was just a bit startled is all." She'd rather have Lena think she was a wimp than know the truth. "Let's go to the common room.""I'll meet you there! I'm gonna go grab my supplies." The Brit gave her a little salute as she jogged out of the room. Hana waited until the door sealed shut before she slouched back on Torbjörns workbench to take a couple breaths. This was fine. Everything was fine. Hana totally wasn't agonizing over why she hadn't pulled away when she thought she was going to be kissed. Not at all.No really, she knew why she hadn't. Her heart had pounded and her limbs had locked. The sight of Lena's lips so close had excited her. But that wasn't really because of Lena. That was Hanas' default reaction to kissing. She just really liked the idea of being kissed. Even if, in practice, it wasn't a good idea.Hana, though she would never admit it even under threat of torture, had only ever been kissed once. Like most first kisses, and then subsequent grope sessions, the experience was not one to be fondly remembered. It had been a sweaty, embarrassing ordeal that had left her feeling regretful and too young to be pursuing any type of sexual relationship.It had been four years since then and while the nervous, sweaty part of her was (mostly) gone, the part that still felt too young for a sexual relationship wasn't. Instead of acknowledging these fears of intimacy though, she did what she did best and repressed the fuck out of it. Hana took an extra deep breath and slid to the floor. She checked the door one more time before opening one of torbjörns bottom drawers and fishing for the Tums she knew he kept in there. He wouldn't notice if she took a few. Hopefully. She'd buy him more. Besides, the only reason she knew about Tums was because Brigette had given her one when she was grabbing some after Reinhardts dinner night. They were awful, chalky and berry medicine flavored. For some reason though they were very satisfying to chew and helped her calm down. Hana popped two of the tablets in her mouth before closing the drawer and standing up. She stopped at Brigettes' workbench on the way to the door to leave a message asking for a favor on the Holopad she had attached to it to take notes. Hana pulled the Holodisk out of her pocket and left it on the direct center of the workbench under the Holopad so Brigette would have a clear view of it. She trusted Brigette to read her note and help her out. And her going in this round about way of asking was out of consideration for Brigettes' schedule. Not because she was a big chicken that wasn't quite ready to face her yet. Definitely not that ridiculously reason. Preposterous. Which is what she told herself when she stopped to make sure the hall was empty before she hightailed it out of the workshop. ________ Hana was starting to wonder just where everyone was today. Usually this part of the base was a high traffic area. She hadn't run into anyone else in the halls or workshop, and as she entered the common room it was clear Lena was the only person there.The common room was, though not the biggest, big enough to comfortably accommodate all of the agents they currently had. There was a large Holoscreen surrounded by a couple of worn couches and chairs in the back half of the room. It was where they all gathered for movie night. Or, more accurately, gathered to argue over what to watch for movie night.Closest to the door on the left wall was a hard light dart board, strategically placed so no one would accidentally get hit. Unless the people playing darts were being dumbasses. Her eyes flicked to the rules Winston had posted above the dart board after an increasingly dangerous series of drunken bets between McCree and Fareeha had ended with Mei in the infirmary and Angela ready to kill. Dumbasses.On the right wall, placed near the only window in the room, was a dingy little table they called the poker table but usually ended up playing checkers on instead. Or, on one ill advised night and then never again, Monopoly. Lena was sitting at the poker table looking very over prepared. She had two different types of hairbrushes, a bundle of ponytails, bobby pins, and hairspray. She really didn't know what she was doing. "Do you actually see Emily use all of this when she does her hair?" Hana asked as she approached the table. She belatedly hoped that had come off as curious instead of rude. "Well- you see- the thing is..... Uuummm." Lena scratched behind her ear and looked at the table in a way clearly meant to delay having to answer. Hana, if she wasn't mistaken (and she wasn't), immediately recognized her own patented brand of panic. Well, one of them anyways. Specifically the unnecessary and over thought kind of panic, where every scenario is prepared for almost as much as it's dreaded. "Lena, take a breath. I'm here to help. I promise it's not as hard as it looks." Hana put a hand on the table to draw her gaze. Lena focused on Hanas' hand, then her face. After a deep breath she smiled and nodded. Now would be a bad time for Hana to admit she wasn't good at braiding, wouldn't it? Shit. "This is all you really need." Hana picked up a pony and the brush, scooting aside all the other hair supplies. She pulled a chair over in front of the one Lena was in and sat facing away from her. "Do you need me to explain the steps?" "Well, I understand the steps. I just have trouble when it comes to actually doing them." Lena laughed sheepishly and began running the brush through Hanas' hair. It didn't take long for Hana to understand exactly how much trouble Lena had with this. She had done fine with brushing her hair and separating it into three sections but when it came time to actually start braiding it was like Lena went from having nimble pilots hands to baby sausage fingers. Her fingers bumped and fumbled as she lost hairs, mixed up what hair belonged where, and skipped sections in the pattern. She spent more time undoing her work than she did actually braiding. To the dismay of both Hana and her poor scalp the more frustrated Lena got the less gentle she became. "Why don't we try a different approach?" Hana interjected when the hands left her hair to reach for the brush yet again. "I'll take any suggestion, I'm floundering here." Lena admitted miserably. "Why don't we put a tutorial on the Holoscreen? Maybe following along would help." Hana suggested. "That's a great idea!" Lena blinked to the couches to grab the remote, immediately reinvigorated by the suggestion. God, Hana was exhausted. Don't get her wrong, she greatly enjoyed spending time with Lena, but she was 80% sure the woman was a cryptid who maintained her endless supply of energy by leeching it from others. Something about her boundless cheeriness made Hana want to just lay down and nap. Not that she would, but if she happened to rest her eyes when Lena was back in her seat no one would be the wiser. Hanas' eyes snapped open when she felt a sharp pain on her scalp. Holy crap did she really fall asleep again? How is it half a day spent talking to people was more taxing than a day of combat or fixing her mech? Hana, at some point, would have to address the fact that human interaction was apparently more strenuous to her than both fighting and mechanical engineering. Some point far far in the foreseeable future. Or never. Never sounded good. Hana felt another tug and woke up enough to realize Lena was brushing out her hair again. "This isn't helping." She stated. If she refrained from phrasing it like a question Lena might not realize she had drifted off. "Sorry, did I wake you?" Lena asked. Damnit nevermind. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Hana internally chastised herself. She hadn't even been awake to see her plan fail. "I don't blame you. This is taking me so long I'd probably have fallen asleep too if I were you." Lena sighed. Hana resisted the sudden urge to call her a damn, dirty liar that had probably never taken a nap in her entire existence as a spirited forest pixie. That would have been rude. Also accusing your teammates of being soul-leeching mythical creatures was generally frowned upon. At least, Hana recalled ruefully, it had been in MEKA. "I think that's enough trying for today. I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time." Lena apologized gloomily. "I don't think so, we're going to get this if it takes all day." Hana hated the words as they came out of her mouth but she just couldn't leave Lena in such a state. "We just need to approach this from a new angle." "How can we do that?" Lena implored desperately. Hana took a second to think it over. She may have fallen asleep but that didn't mean she hadn't noticed some of the fundamental problems in Lena's approach. "You're over thinking it Lena. You've got to stop undoing it when you think it doesn't look right. For right now you should focus on making it through the braid instead of getting it perfect. Also, maybe try doing something that will occupy your mind as you braid, we could put a movie on?" Hana suggested. She hoped something distractible would help Lena do the mindlessly repetitive task of braiding. It always helps Hana when she's playing certain games to go into autopilot. "We can give it a go, but I think a movie might be too distracting. I think I know what could work though." Lena said. She continued running the brush through Hana hair, considerably more gentle now that she wasn't worked up. "Hana, have I ever told you how Emily and I met?" She asked after a minute of brushing. "You have not, but I'd definitely love to hear it." The rest of Hanas' trepidation at saying they'd stay put until Lena could braid melted away. She was always a sucker for a good meet cute story. "Do you know who Akande Ogundimu is?" Lena asked. "Uuummm yeah, isn't that Doomfist the Successor? He's a part of Talon right?" Hana answered after some thought, the nonsequitur had thrown her for a loop. "Yes. He is, unfortunately, an intrical part of the backstory." Lena stated with disdain. "Sometime after I had been with Overwatch for a while Genji's and I were assigned a mission together. It was a big deal for us, with it being my first mission as lead and Genji's first mission after his transfer out of black ops. Winston was even permitted to join to monitor any fluctuations in our health, seeing as he helped piece both of us back together to begin with. "Our assignment was to assist the authorities in detaining Doomfist. From the start, things had gone wrong. The local police had been unprepared in every possible way and our information had been unreliable." Lena went quiet for a moment, whether in memory or concentration Hana couldn't tell. "We were both badly injured. Genji had the softline cybernetic system that keeps his body functional damaged and I was pulled out of time. Doomfist shattered my Chronal Accelerator and left me slipping through time. The thing about my condition is, I can't consciously control it, but I do seem to be able to influence it somewhat. Some thoughts would bring me to certain times and places, some would lead me nowhere. One memory in particular always took me to the same place." Lena had started on the braid, her fingers worked slowly. "There was an old burger shop I'd go to with my work mates every week when I was still a test pilot. Those memories mean a lot to me. When I'd first had my accident they were what kept me grounded, gave me some control." Her fingers were still working somewhat clumsily, but she also seemed to be finding a rhythm. "You're probably wondering what any of this has to do with Emily, right? Well, not much. Without the backstory though it wouldn't make much sense when I said that when I met Emily she thought I was haunting her." It took all of Hanas' self control not to jerk out of the seat. "She what? That doesn't make sense even with the backstory!" Lena laughed, "It will, I'm not done yet. So, I don't know if I've mentioned, but Emily is a chef at a fancy little restaurant back home. One that just so happened to have bought out the burger shop I used to go to. She's usually the last to leave because she locks up. To hear her tell it, she was alone one night prepping for the next day like usual, when she heard a strange noise from the dining room. She'd gone to investigate. The dining room was empty so she went to double check the locks. They were secure but as she turned back to the kitchen she came face to face with a ghost. She was, understandably, pretty damn unsettled. "While she was scared in the beginning apparently it became an often enough occurrence that she grew used to it. She told me I'd show up several times a week for a few months until the day I disappeared." Lena was now farther into this braid than any of the previous attempts. "Wait, but how did she figure out you weren't a ghost?" Hana couldn't help interrupting. "Well, that was of course after Winston managed to repair my Chronal accelerator. I took some time off after the ordeal to recuperate back at home. And because fate is weird that way, one day when jogging through the park I ran into none other than Emily. Now, whatever you imagine the reaction of someone who just met the person who'd been 'haunting' them for months is, it's not great. There was a lot of yelling. And crying. And smacking." Lena sounded far off in her memories, but her hands were still working regardless."It took a lot of convincing to get her to talk to me. After I was able to explain to her what had happened though she was very understanding. We became fast friends and, after a while, more than friends." She snapped the pony tail around the end of the braid as she finished up her story.Hana took a moment to run her hand over her hair. It felt uneven and kinda crooked but for the most part Lena had done alright. She thought the Brit was waiting for her to respond to her (frankly crazy) meet cute story when, after a minute, she spoke up. "I don't know. It doesn't look great." Lena said worriedly. Hana stood up and turned around. Lena was standing, her arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. "Which is why we'll keep practicing. Besides, Emily will love whatever you can do because Emily loves you. We'll need to bring in more help. I think I've proven I'm a better head of hair than I am a teacher." Hana said. "I guess, this is pretty embarrassing thought." Lena rubbed her neck. "How about if I invited Dr. Zhou? I've seen her do her hair before, she's really good." Hana offered, leaving out the part where she only picked Mei because the scientist was least likely to further Lena's embarrassment. "Oh thank you Hana! For everything!" Lena lunged in for a hug overcome with emotion. Hana stumbled back slightly, overcome with the surprise hug. Hana was struck by the thought that she was thanking her for more than just letting her braid her hair. Lenas' heart was jittery and fast in the way Hanas' usually got when she'd done something she was scared of. She wasn't sure what subtext she was missing but she knew it was something. Maybe though, Hana thought as her arms closed around Lena to return the embrace, it was okay not to know what she was missing. She didn't want to ruin a nice hug after all.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Not long after Lena had finished braiding Hanas' hair she had gotten a call and excused herself to go take it. Hana, now alone in the common room, was contemplating what to do next. She could go engage in more social interaction and possibly grow as a person. Then again, her eyes turned to the still playing Holoscreen, she could just as well get sucked into a mind-numbing menagerie of online videos.Hana decided on the former. The fact that she only reached that decision after an hour of watching Let's Play videos was inconsequential.She walked out of the common room and took a right down the hall towards the kitchen. There was usually always at least one person in the kitchen. Also there was food in the kitchen, a thought that had her stomach painfully reminding her that she'd forgotten to eat yet today.As she passed the door to the mess hall and approached the kitchen entrance she could already make out the distinct sounds of someone at work. The clang of pots and pans, the thud of a knife on a chopping board, and the sizzle of cooking food. Either someone was making a feast or Junkrat had again somehow manage to simultaneously trip into the cabinets, upheave every cooking instrument while trying to keep from falling, and accidentally also start a small grease fire. Hana crossed her fingers, she really hoped it wasn't the latter this time. Her hope was realized when the door opened before her and she was greeted with the sight of a tall muscled back and close cropped pink hair. Zarya was facing one of the stoves situated along the back wall of the kitchen preparing what looked to be one of several meals. Five already cooked meals were resting on the prep table between the door and stoves.Zarya turned at the sound of the door opening. A smile gracing her features upon seeing Hana."Hello Hana, you look well!" Zarya gave a small wave before motioning Hana to join her."Hi Zarya, you're looking pretty good yourself." Hana quipped good-naturedly. Though they'd never interacted much -to Hanas' disappointment she had found Zaryas' brash and abrasive demeanor untoward since day one- she had (very) recently decided to put forth an effort to befriend her. After her injury on the last mission, Zarya had been one of the only agents not to berate her. She had even gone so far as to commend Hana for her strength and battle prowess. And if there was one thing Hana loved, it was having her ego stroked.Zarya tossed her head back and laughed. "I am feeling as good as I look little one. Here," she held out a knife to Hana, "share in the work and you may share in the spoils."Hana approached and took the knife, not bothering to try and refuse. The bodybuilder was one of a few people on base (including Rein, McCree, and Jack of all people) who were oddly insistent about cooking and eating together. Hana had figured long ago that it must be a mix of personal and cultural reasons and left it at that.She set down the knife to wash her hand and awkwardly attempt to shove a sanitary glove over the splinted one. Thankfully, Zarya made no comment as Hana began the process of clumsily and carefully (oh so carefully) using a knife with her non-dominant hand. It took her a bit longer than it would have otherwise, and she certainly wouldn't win any points for presentation, but eventually she had chopped everything the bodybuilder had set out on the cutting board."Ah, spasiba. These will do just fine." Zarya nodded in thanks as she began adding veggies to her pan.Hana side eyed the pans on the stove as she cleaned up the cutting board. It occurred to her that Zarya was probably doing that athlete thing she had heard of one night when she accidentally got invested in a bodybuilding competition documentary while watching the Holoscreen. The thing where they eat a lot of calories and then exercise so they stay fit as fuck. The thing Hana couldn't remember the name of to save her life. Though she was curious to know she didn't even consider asking. It wasn't that she thought Zarya would mind if she asked. Hana just wasn't comfortable making comments on other people's eating habits. She certainly wouldn't have been comfortable if someone commented on her (frankly awful) eating habits. "Do you want me to take these out?" She asked instead, hitching her thumb in the direction of the swinging doors that lead to the mess hall. "Yes, if you would. The last dish is almost complete. I will join you when it is finished." Zarya gave her a thumbs up without turning away from the stove. Hana began taking the plates through the door to the mess hall. This also took slightly longer with one hand. She had tried at first to balance a plate on her splint but quickly gave it up in favor of not dropping anything. Hana brought the last plate out and set it with the others. The mess hall, and kitchen as well, were some of the bigger rooms on base. Which makes sense, because these rooms were dedicated to cooking for and subsequently feeding all of the Gibraltar based Overwatch members in its prime. It would have been unwise (in Hanas' humble opinion) to shove scores of borderline superhuman people all cranky with hunger into a shoebox sized room. She briefly wondered if the architect of the watchpoint had thought the same thing. The tables in the room were laid out in five rows of five. That left the Mess with a total of twenty-five evenly, not to mention generously, spaced (10' - 12' each) cafeteria tables. The room was a cavern. Hana didn't want to say the size of the room was what kept her out of it and that she always had an excuse ready not to be there. It was completely true, she just didn't want to say it. Besides it wasn't like she was lying, she was usually streaming or working on her Mech through dinner. Sure, she could do those things at literally any other time but then she'd have to come to dinner. Her aversion of which had nothing to do with her teammates and everything to do with the fact that sitting in this vast room with a handful of people made her feel bad in ways she couldn't let herself feel. She couldn't ask them to eat in a different room though because she'd have to explain why and she just couldn't. She couldn't explain to them that she hated it. That this room made her feel like the smallest person in the world. That eating here reminded her of when the gwishin took out half of the battalion she had been in charge of and she had to show up for breakfast the next day and choke down kimchi in a room full of freshly vacant seats. That she had to sit there three times a day every day and stare down her mistakes and pretend she wasn't dying inside. That nobody had noticed she was slowly poisoning herself with guilt until her skin was pallor, her nails were bitten to the nub and her hair was coming out in patches. She couldn't say any of this because bringing it up would make her feel like that person again, and she had worked very very hard to not be that person. The fact that now she was just 'that person in denial with unhealthy coping habits' didn't escape her notice. But she preferred it a hell of a lot more than being 'that person suffocating under the weight of their inescapable sins'. Which is why she chose to sit on the side of the bench that faced the kitchen and watch Zarya cook through the open wall between the two rooms while pointedly not thinking about anything too much. Zarya, true to her word, finishing not long after Hana had brought the rest of the meals out. Hana watched her plate the last meal and then grab two extra plates and forks before heading through the swinging door. "I hope you are hungry." Zarya set the last meal down and handed Hana one of the empty plates. Before she could comment her stomach jumped in with an answer of its own. Zarya laughed. "That is answer enough, please enjoy." Hana eagerly accepted the invitation to enjoy. They shared a companionable silence as they both tucked into the meal. Hana was content to not hold a conversation as long as Zarya was too. The silence persisted as they ate until Zarya cleared her throat in an attention grabbing manner. "So," she began, "I would like to hear more about how your injury occurred." "Oh, really? It wasn't too exciting." Hana asked befuddled. Even accounting for the injury the mission had been pretty run of the mill. "But if you insist." She added because she wouldn't mind telling her if she really wanted to know. "If you would please." Zarya nodded eagerly. So Hana began recounting the incident for Zarya. She, of course, skipped over the strike teams composition and mission purpose because those were things that every agent was briefed on before hand (whether they ended up on the mission or not). Instead she began at the point where things had started to heat up.They had unknowingly managed to trip a silent alarm midway through the mission. Luckily though, Mei had just happened to ask Angela if she'd take her prototype pollution sampling device and set it up to test out in the field. Even luckier was the fact that it didn't work correctly. Instead of taking environmental samples it recorded proximity data from around the device. Which was how they managed to keep from being ambushed. That gave them enough time to come up with a plan. A plan that happened to involve Hana playing a bright pink bullet sponge while the team picked off talon lackeys. This had gone surprisingly well. With Hana boosting and bouncing back and forth (with varying degrees of trollishness) she had been just distracting enough to keep all the trigger-happy thugs aiming at her. They hadn't even realized trying to take her out was futile (thank you defense matrix) until their numbers and supplies were dwindling. She had been retreating, at Angela's behest, to where the team had taken cover when her Mech had gone down. Every screen was dark. Every joint was locked. Totally unresponsive. She would have been stuck inside if not for the fact that the release hatch was non automatic.Hana had been far enough from the talon agents to get out safely but not close enough to her team to feel safe. After taking a minute to assess her situation she decided she could leave her Mech and sneak into one of the abandoned buildings in the small ghost town they were in without being spotted. From there it was just a matter of sticking to the shadows as she made her way to the team.This had been a good idea. Or, it would have been, if when she had snuck in the building she hadn't come face to face with what she could only describe as grape vape juice in human form. Hana hadn't even needed to put two and two together because the woman had outright admitted to downing her Mech. She also seemed to have quite the thing for exposition because she just wouldn't. shut. up. Hana had had to nearly bite through her tongue at one point to keep from groaning and just asking to put her out of her misery. Her need to be a sarcastic little shit apparently almost outweighed her need to not be slaughtered by the talkative maniac carelessly waving around an SMG. Hana figured she was supposed to be intimidated, and she might have been if everything about the woman's demeanour hadn't immediately pissed her off. The carefully cultivated air of carelessness. The permanent smirk. The callous disregard for any type of gun safety. All the while she was trying to get under Hanas' skin by dropping dirty secrets about her teammates and friends. Hana didn't give a shit. If the people in her life had secrets then they were entitled to keep their damn secrets. It became obvious though as the purple themed punk chick from every teen movie ever hit the minute and a half mark on her spiel that:A) she was trying to recruit Hana for Talon.B) she wasn't used to people not caring about what she had to say.C) Hana could use one of those things to her advantage. Unbeknownst to the woman, Hana had been hyping herself up in her head to make a break for it back out the door. She had planned to distract her and run. Once she had reached peak hype she pulled her light gun off the magnetic strip that kept it holstered to her suit and fired off a round of shots aimed to the back right of the room. This did the trick. The woman whipped around to aim her SMG at where Hana had just fired while she turned on her heel and sprinted for the door. Hana was three (literal) steps into her surefire plan before it backfired. To her immense surprise, the woman dressed like the neon sign at a sleazy strip club materialized between herself and the door before she could get any farther. But while Hanas' momentum may have faltered her adrenaline high had not. Hana could see the woman's gun hand moving in her peripheral vision as she began talking again and she knew if she didn't act that very second she wouldn't get another opportunity. Suffice to say, sometimes fight or flight can be a real fickle bitch. Which was the only explanation Hana could come up with for why she pistol whipped the woman straight in the nose, apologized, then did it again even harder before elbowing her dazed form to the side and sprinting out the door. She'd slid in front of her Mech for cover, checked around for talon agents (none near), checked to see if her Mech was back online (it wasn't), then legged it in the direction of her team. "-and that was pretty much it. After I regrouped we fought off the remaining Talon forces and finished the mission. I didn't even realize I'd sprained my wrist until we were back in the Orca." Hana finished. Zarya nodded her head, chin in hand. "An impressive feat indeed that you were able to out smart that conniving woman." Hana was surprised to hear real disdain in the bodybuilders voice. Sure, none of her teammates had been happy with the situation but none of them had spoken about the woman like she had personally affronted them. "I wouldn't call my actions impressive so much as lucky and manic." "No such thing!" Zarya waved her hand like she was swatting a fly. "As luck?" Hana asked. "Not when you are victorious," Zarya smirked, "only when the enemy is." "Huh." Hana quickly cleared her throat as her cheeks colored, she hadn't meant to let out that noise. "You disagree?" Zarya questioned. "Ah no, sorry. It's nothing like that, just had to cough." Perfect cover, Hana. "Please, my brain is my largest muscle, I can tell you're lying." Shitty cover, Hana. "It's just," Hana admitted somewhat reluctantly, "I didn't exactly take you for the type to believe in something like that." To her relief, Zarya didn't seem even slightly offended at Hanas' presumptions of her. She instead rested her chin in her hand, nodding pensively. "I did not always think this way, but sometimes beliefs must change." "Care to explain?" Hana was relieved to be out of the spotlight, it certainly helped that Zarya didn't mind being in it. "I was not much older than you are now when I took up arms to protect my people." Zarya stated. Though they'd never talked about it, Hana knew the basics. She'd skimmed through an article about Zarya before. Or, well, she'd obsessively read the article in an old magazine in the waiting room of a doctor's office and then tore the page out to keep it with her. But that's neither here nor there. "I worked hard to become the best, to be the strongest," Zarya continued, "so I could protect my people. We would rejoice when victory was in our favor. When it was not though, it hit us hard. I- I did not cope well with failure. Every loss weighted heavy on my mind, on my soul. I would tell myself 'This is your fault Aleksandra. You did not train hard enough. You did not fight well enough. You weren't good enough.' "These thoughts followed me everywhere, like a shadow. I would push myself to dangerous extremes because of them. I worked my body to the breaking point. I took on increasing perilous missions by myself. Several times I found myself a hairsbreadth from death." Zarya lowered her eyes to the table, a look of shame on her face. "But worse than the effect my attitude had on myself, was the effect it had on my comrads. Every mission I undertook, every burden I shouldered alone was one more way I could keep them safe. In my mind, I was protecting them. In theirs though, I was belittling them. I was the one, not through words but through actions, telling them they weren't good enough. "My actions were not those of a hero, but of a coward. I knew to set right the atmosphere of inadequacie I had created among my fellow soldiers, my outlook had to change. To fix what I had been doing, I had to change how failure made me feel." "Was it hard?" Hana asked in a small voice. Zarya nodded, "One of the hardest things I have ever done." "Wow. You really are the strongest person I've ever met." Hana said in awe. Zarya grinned bashfully. "Thank you, for the compliment and for listening. It felt very good to talk about the things that have plagued me in the past. I'd also hope that you would be willing to confided in me as well." She said in a way that left no room for doubt that it was Hanas' turn to share. This was it. This was the part where Hana could spill her guts. This was the part where Hana admitted that she was a coward. That she had never considered how her unwillingness to accept help was an insult to her teammates. How she had seen their hurt and anger throughout her time in MEKA but had ignored it. But- but Hana was too much of a coward to admit any of that. She finally met Zaryas' eyes once again only to be hit with a wave of nostalgia that brought her back to her first days of MEKA. It was no secret (to herself) that Hana had a lot of secrets. Of all her secrets though, she had one that she kept very close to the vest. Something she would literally rather die than tell anyone, ever. It wasn't bad, just creepy and weird and delusional and okay maybe it was kinda bad. For a long time, Zarya had been Hanas' best friend. Which doesn't sound too bad until you realize this was long before she had ever met Zarya. Hana had a hard time when she was recruited for MEKA. It had been nothing like the government had displayed for the media. For a number of bullshit political reasons they had wanted it to seem like Hana (and the other figureheads of MEKA) had been picked for their immense skill and put right into the program. That wasn't the truth. In reality they had all separately undergone intense and extended physical and psychological training. Because they received their training in secret though, they weren't allowed contact with anyone during the training period. It was during this time, when Hana was feeling more alone than she ever had before, that she stumbled upon an article about Zarya. A young woman on the path to stardom who had given it up to protect her country. Before she even considered it she had already ripped the page out of the old magazine and stuffed it in her pocket. This was what got her through her training. Every time despair had loomed on the horizon, Hana would run her fingers over the smooth, glossy surface of the page and feel a little less lonely. She'd stare at the small cropped photo of Zarya in the corner and know that no matter what she had a kindred spirit in this woman. She could tell Zarya about the huge impact she had unknowingly had on her life. Too bad Hana would rather take this borderline stalkerish information to the grave than share it. Hana realized she had been quite for too long. There had to be something she was actually willing to share. Zarya deserved something honest from her after what she just confided in Hana. She glanced around the room and her stomach did a somersault as she realized what she should do. It would be hard, but not impossible. "We used to have a Mess Hall just like this back in MEKA." Hana started under her breath, almost immediately trailing off into silence. She couldn't do it. "Hana." Zarya said softly. Hana met her eyes and was surprised to find in them the same patience and understanding she had always imagined they would hold. She could do this. She took a deep breath and, having decided this leap of faith was necessary, finally found the voice to share her story. "One day the gwishin had staged a large scale attack. I was put in charge of a battalion of soldiers and had to-" as she began her story Hana hoped that maybe, just maybe, the real Zarya could lend her the strength she had always so desperately hoped to get from the Zarya of her imagination.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Hana felt... weird. After Zarya had shared so openly with her at lunch she had been compelled to do the same. If she were being honest with herself (which she wasn't because, well, baby steps ya'know?) she'd admit that she had hoped showing a small modicum of truthfulness would help her achieve the same emotional maturity that Zarya possessed.While she wouldn't say that she had expected an immediate payoff for the only ounce of effort she had ever put into achieving emotional growth (she kind of had). She would say that she felt like she had taken a step in the right direction. She hoped it was the right direction. It felt like the right direction.Or, at least, it felt like a couple different directions simultaneously and not all of them felt good but things that were important rarely felt good.Hana should feel better, right? She should feel like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Which made it all the more difficult for her to understand the gnawing queasiness that had taken up residence in her gut. Everytime she thought back to how she had opened up a new wave of sick washed through her stomach. She didn't regret sharing, except, she kind of did. For the most part it had felt fantastic. Zarya had offered an incredible amount of support without stepping on Hanas' toe's. She had given her space to tell her story and had responded (both verbally and nonverbally) with understanding and encouragement. In the end she had thanked Hana for her company and let her know that she was always available to talk before pulling her into one of those amiable half hug/back slaps and shooing her out of the room so she could clean up from lunch. No amount of patience or understanding on Zaryas' part though could change the fact that Hana just wasn't used to talking about her feelings. Sure, she had learned how to repress them in a way that left her capable of functioning. But the thought of actually opening her mouth and unloading the violent hurricane of emotion she felt on another person made her dizzy. Hana, lost in thought as she wandered down the hall, decided she needed to find someplace quiet to work through her conflicting feelings before someone inevitably bumped into her and tried to start a conversation. There had to be somewhere on base that was not only isolated but posed zero risk of someone checking for her (were they to be looking). "Athena? Are you there?" Hana stage whispered. "No need to whisper Hana, I can hear you. Is there something you would like assistance with?" Athena's pleasant voice filtered through the walls from a point Hana couldn't pin down. "Right, sorry. I'd like to know where the old workshop is. The one we don't use. Could you tell me where it is please?" Hana asked, avoiding the urge to angle her head toward the ceiling as she spoke. "You should be resting per Dr. Zeiglers' orders." The a.i. stated blatantly. "I know Athena, I just- I'm not tired." Hana sighed. "You only received 206 minutes of sleep last night and have been quite active throughout today. An adequate amount of rest is required for the body to effectively recover." Athena replied. "I had a hard time falling as- wait, you watch me sleep?" Hana asked incredulously when the a.i.'s words sank in. "I monitor the vitals and health of all Overwatch agents. It is simply a background function. If you would like me to exclude you from the process you can request it of Winston." Athena stated simply. "No, it's fine." It really wasn't but Hana couldn't actually find it in herself to be indignant at the moment. "I will get more sleep Athena. But right now, I'd just really like to visit the workshop." She took a moment to answer, as if she were deliberating whether to cave in or not. "Very well, I will show you there." To Hanas' surprise she had really meant 'show her there'. On the wall to Hanas' immediate right a row of shoulder high lights lit up sequentially to point her further down the hall. Not able to help herself, Hana ran her fingers along the part of the wall where the lights manifested. While the walls were mostly smooth, cold metal that particular portion of wall was covered in tiny ridges. Hana had barely drawn a breath to ask her question before Athena preempted her. "One of the scientists that worked on the Horizon space station was contracted in the construction of Watchpoint Gibraltar. She contributed a florescent light system she had invented to eliminate the need for visible sources of lighting." Athena answered. "Ahh." Hana acknowledged noncommittally because she had immediately found herself stuck between complaining about how unnecessary that was and accusing Athena of reading her thoughts. She was positive, had those two thoughts not happened simultaneously, she would have blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. Why was being mindful of her own words and actions so difficult sometimes? While Hana silently berated herself Athena used this previously undisclosed feature to lead her in the right direction. "Where you here when the watchpoint was being built?" Hana asked after a minute or two to break the silence. While not awkward it had been slightly unbearable. "Not from the beginning. I only came to be here after the construction of the watchpoints technological interface was complete." Athena answered. "What about before then? If you don't mind me asking." Hana tacked on hurriedly not wanting to sound nosey. "It is quite alright Hana. Before I was here, I spent most of my existence in the lab where I was created." Though there was no real change in Athena's tone Hana could almost sense a wistfulness in her voice. "Did you like it there?" Hana asked. "Yes." It had taken a long moment for Athena to answer her. Hana was curious to hear more but instead of an endless stream of personal questions she decided it was time to take a page out of Zaryas' book. If she expected anyone else to put in emotional effort she needed to do so as well. "It's scary sometimes, being here. I spent my whole life before MEKA in the place I was born. Before I left, it had seemed so boring. It wasn't until after I was gone that I realized what I had wasn't blandness, it was comfort and saftey." With every word her heart lodged itself further in her throat, but she was determined to get this out. "My parents were extremely concerned at first, but they came around. They're so proud of me now that I haven't even considered going home in a long time. Not that I don't want to go home, I miss it terribly, but they believe in me and I can't let them down." Hana could barely hear herself past the heartbeat pulsing in her ears. This was the first time she had ever openly admitted that the continued support of her parents was one of the main reasons she was able to carry on. She held her breath, waiting to see if Athena would respond to her obvious attempt to level the playing field on personal information being shared. "My creator was one of the very first people brought on when Overwatch was still being conceptualized. They were brilliant. They did more than just make me, they-" Athena stopped, seemingly to find the proper way to word what she was trying to say. "When an a.i. is created it is with all the knowledge they will ever need. They are then immediately assigned to their tasks only having ever been endowed with that theoretical knowledge. "I was made years before Overwatch existed. My creator spent that time bestowing upon me a practical knowledge that no other of my kind receives." Athena's voice shifted from prideful to sorrowful as she spoke. It took a second for Hana to actually understand what she had said. "They nurtured you." Hana stated, only then realizing why Athena had sounded so distressed at the end. "No other a.i. has ever been treated like you?" It made sense in a bitterly sad way. Many older people were introduced to a.i.'s in a time before they were truly autonomous beings. Because of that they see a.i.'s and omnics strictly as machines, and any expression of free will as a malfunction. Except, that wasn't exactly right was it? Not being used to them having autonomy was just a piss poor excuse to justify bigotry. Human history was fraught with parallels to what was happening currently. Omnics have been denied rights and decency in a way so many human groups throughout time have been. From the- no. No. It was shitty and unfair and people are shitty and unfair and humanity is shitty and unfair but Hana already didn't feel good and if she went through a list of all the people who have been and continue to be treated shittly and unfairly she really would burn herself out. "I try sometimes to run the numbers, so to speak." Hana latched on as Athena spoke, determined not to spiral. "I run simulations to determine whether a period of practical knowledge for others like me would have led to different outcomes. There are too many variables to truly establish if they could have chosen a different path." Though left unsaid, Hana knew they were now both ruminating on the god program a.i.'s that had made themselves known during the early days of the omnic crisis. Hana in particular was remembering a story told by Fareeha some time ago of her part in quarantining Anubis while she was still contracted under Helix. It had been a thrilling tale that had kept everyone within earshot enthralled. But not even Fareehas' (surprisingly) expert storytelling could hide the real hurt and fear that had clouded her eyes during the tale. She had described in great detail the all consuming rage that Anubis had suffocated the air with. Her team had choked on the scent of hot circuitry and ozone. At the time Hana had been too wrapped up in the pageantry that the soldier told her tale with to consider it anything but entertaining. Thinking on it now though chilled her to the bone. "Do you- do you think they could have been different?" The a.i. asked quietly, her voice having toned down enough for the location of the speaker to be discernibly identified. The lights on the walls flickered dim in uncertainty before settling back down. Hana was struck momentarily speechless by the thick miasma of sorrow that had settled in the air. Though she (logically) knew it was all in her head she couldn't help but feel like a fog had filled the room and was trying to worm it's way into her lungs. (Was this how Fareeha had felt?) "I- I think-" What did she think? How could she even begin to answer a question like that? She knew what she wanted to say, but not what she should say. "I really don't know." It wasn't good enough. She had to keep going. "I don't know, I don't think we could ever really know. I wish I could answer your question. I wish I could tell you things could have been different but I can't." It still wasn't good enough. She needed something more. "I'm sorry I can't give you an answer that would make you feel better. But I can offer you someone to talk to whenever you need it. You're my friend and even if I can't help you stop being sad I want you to know you don't have to be sad alone." Hana finished shakily. She had meant every word, she just hoped it would be received well. "You really mean that." Athena stated in wonderment. It wasn't a question. It didn't have to be. "Are you... certain?" "Come on Athena, of course I'm sure. You already know I don't sleep well." Hana jabbed lightheartedly. "It'd be nice to have someone to talk to instead of laying awake in silence. It'd probably help me get to sleep easier too." She waited with baited breath to see if Athena would be open to accepting her offer. "I suppose it would be sensible to do what I can to help you aquire an adequate amount of sleep during the night." The a.i. expressed quietly, almost as if she were trying to convince herself. The lights which had been leading Hana deeper through the base during their conversation stopped. Hana (finally unable to help herself) stared upwards to wait for a reply. Moments ago, when Athena had quieted, Hana had managed to pinpoint the centralized location where her voice came from. Now that she knew where to look she could pick out the near-invisible line of cratered material that ran down the mid-point of the ceiling. "If you believe talking with me would ease the trouble you have obtaining sleep, then I would be more than willing to help." Athena seemed to settle on. The lights continued their course after Athena finished deliberating with herself. Hana followed the lights. This was good. The answer she got hadn't exactly been what she'd expected but she was excited nonetheless. She was fine with stipulations as long as she ended up achieving her main goal. There was a flutter in her chest at the realization that she had achieved just that. Making Athena feel better (if only for the time being) had been her goal. One that had been realized when Athena gave her an answer. While the a.i. hadn't outright agreed to the sort of late night heart-to-heart Hana had been proposing she had agreed in her own way, with her own caveats. This was something Hana could get behind. If Athena needed it in her own terms to make herself feel comfortable then Hana wouldn't even dream of questioning it. This had been a big step for the both of them (for respectively different reasons). So, while she didn't feel like her accomplishment was anything amazing, she certainly felt like it was something important. Hana spotted a sign above a door midway down the hall as Athena led her around yet another corner. The metal plated sign was a bit faded but still entirely legible, the dulled off-white lettering spelling Workshop was impossible to overlook. No wonder she had never stumbled upon it. This was certainly far deeper into the maze-like structure of Watchpoint Gibraltar than she had ever ventured before. "Thank you Athena, for leading me here." Hana addressed the a.i. "You are welcome, Hana." Athena took a pause before adding, "I hope my intentions of checking on you tonight will be well received." "Of course they will be!" She answered reassuringly. Athena bid her a farewell, off to focus her attentions where they had been before her impromptu stint as Hanas' tour guide. This left Hana alone, standing outside the old Workshop, agonizing over the question Athena had posed to her. Or, more specifically, agonizing over whether or not an experiment to see if a nurturing period of time in the early days of an a.i.s existence would be horrendously unethical. Not for the reason most people would (unfortunately) pose, which was; can it be considered unethical if the subject of the experiment is not a living being (and really what an asshole thing to say). That wasn't her concern because she knew that that was a bullshit argument meant to devalue nonorganic intelligent life by suggesting that ethical treatment was even optional. No, what rested heavy on her mind was not if ethics would apply (of course they fucking would) but instead if an experiment of that nature would be inherently abusive. Because while Hana believed nurture was an intrical tool of proper development for an intelligent life, offering it through the parameters of an experiment would be, in itself, iniquitous. She sighed, god she wished her wrist wasn't sprained. She never had to suffer through the nightmarish jumble of thoughts that constituted her brain when she was zoned out on a game. "Well, that's enough of that." She mumbled to herself as she realized she was still standing in the hallway. Hana stepped closer to the door and spent a second of confused silence wondering why it didn't open until she noticed the touch sensor to the right of the door on the wall. She rolled her eyes as she pressed it, deciding she'd rather be annoyed at the base for having so many different types of doors instead of with herself for being oblivious. The lights in the workshop flickered on as she stepped through the doorway. She could immediately tell that the room itself wasn't anything special. While it wasn't cramped it definitely wouldn't have been big enough for everyone they had in the new workshop. There were a few flat wooden work tables but not much else. Some empty tool boards on the walls and a couple empty spots around the room that Hana could tell used to be occupied by equipment. The only thing of note in the whole room was the small group of furniture in the left-hand corner nearest the door. There was a couch, one of those big comfy looking sofa chairs, a second smaller one (which looked decidedly less comfy), and an old stained coffee table. Hana contemplated sinking into that large comfy looking chair but decided on the couch instead. She already knew she'd be falling back asleep and as soft as the chair looked she'd already fallen asleep sitting up twice today without ending up in immense neck pain and she'd rather not tempt fate a third time. Having made up her mind she hit the light switch as she passed it, plunging the room into darkness and making a beeline for the couch. If she couldn't play videogames, the least she could do was dream about them.