Chapter Text
After a restless night and a couple of hours of moping around in the morning, Angela finally dragged herself out of her room and slowly made her way to the kitchen. She first considered having breakfast in her room with whatever was left in her mini-fridge (a cereal bar, wine and water), but she had been cloistered there since yesterday and it wasn’t doing her any favors.
A change of scenery would help to clear her mind.... she hoped.
Also, Angela had skipped dinner last night and now she was hungry and thirsty. I clearly proved that to Fareeha yesterday… uugggghhhh. A complete breakfast was in order.
Or maybe just coffee… with vodka… forget the coffee. Angela was ready to throw her medical ethics out of the window and drink herself into oblivion if it meant she could erase yesterday’s events from her memories.
Once in the kitchen, Angela took a quick look around and noticed it was practically empty if it weren’t for Hana who was occupying a table alone, playing with a handle game and chewing something. A bubblegum she assumed.
By her looks, Angela guessed she had spent the night streaming. Those deep dark circles under her eyes were a big giveaway. The doctor would have chastised her if it wasn’t for the fact that she also had dark circles under her eyes, a product from staying awake the whole night anxiously pacing, mentally going through her chat with Fareeha.
Nevertheless, Angela found something to berate her (she couldn’t help herself, it was her duty as a doctor and the mamma bear of the team) and that was Hana’s eating habits, which consisted of junk food or skipping meals. By the lack of any trace of food on the table, Angela was sure she had skipped breakfast.
“Good morning, Hana.” she said with tired eyes and a tiny smile.
Hana paused her game, raised her eyes from the console to meet Angela’s and blew a bubble without popping it. Not greeting her back.
Hmph someone is in a cranky mood this morning . The doctor thought, crossing her arms. “Hana, is that bubblegum the only thing you’re having this morning? How many times do I need to explain to you the importance of a balanced breakfast to start the day?”
The mecha-pilot raised an eyebrow and popped her bubblegum. Then she trained her eyes on something to the doctor’s left.
Sensing that was the only answer she would get, Angela frowned and followed Hana’s gaze to see what was so interesting behind her. On the wall was the kitchen’s clock telling them that it was fifteen minutes before noon.
Angela blushed, realizing that she had wasted all the morning moping in her room. When she finally decided to get something to eat, Angela had never checked the time and just assumed that it was still morning.
“W-well, then, you should have a proper meal for lunch!” She said with her hands on her hips.
“K’” Hana responded while setting her eyes back on the game. There was a beat of silence before she added “whatcha having, doc?” knowing that the doctor never followed her own advice/orders.
Angela pressed her lips in a tight line, eyes twitching. She had to refrain from smacking Hana’s head and taking away her game. Oh you little… sassy… gremlin! I will enjoy it so much adding extra tests in her upcoming medical exam .
Without saying a word, Angela marched to the refrigerator and cabinets. Before she could look up for something to drink into stupor, she halted and glanced over her shoulder. Hana’s eyes were glued on her game, but Angela couldn’t risk being seen drinking by the pilot.
What example would I be giving? It’s already hell trying to get her to follow my advice, this would only make it worse. Ugh… why isn’t Mcree here instead? He has no moral ground to call me out.
Sighing, Angela just made a cup of coffee and leaned on the counter. After a minute, she heard Hana pausing the game and saw her staring at her. Eyes traveling between the cup of coffee and Angela. Hana then snorted and returned to her game. “Nice meal.” she said.
Angela took a long sip of her coffee to conceal her scowl. Yes, Winston. It’s extremely imperative that Hana takes all the vaccines against all the diseases known to mankind. Twice a week… in her butt.
Taking another big gulp and placing the cup on the counter, Angela cracked her neck and tilted her head backwards. Staring at the ceiling, she came to the conclusion that today was going to be another insufferable day.
She didn’t get any sleep last night, wasted all her morning, she still has a lot of papers to work on and on top of that, she still needed to deal with the mess she caused with Fareeha… and Satya.
Angela hadn’t spoken with the architect since yesterday’s morning disaster and she started to worry. Satya was a reserved person, and it took a great effort on her part to open up to Angela and express her feelings for their mutual friend. If Angela tells her what she wrote to Fareeha, she was sure Satya would never forgive her and close herself up again. How could Angela tell her that she threw her best friend under the bus in her desperate and delirious ramblings.
Angela’s train of thoughts was interrupted by a string of curses from Hana. Looking at the mecha-pilot, an idea came to Angela. Hmm she is young… a celebrity… probably dealt with this kind of situation in recent years… wait. Am I that desperate to seek counsel from a teen/young woman? It took her a second to recall her chat with Fareeha. Yes. Yes I am.
Having made her decision, Angela walked towards the table Hana was at and took a seat across from her.
“Hana, can I ask you a personal question?” Angela asked in a sweet tone. Hana didn’t bother to verbally answer, but at least had the decency to pause her game and look the doctor straight in her eyes.
Angela took this as a permission to continue; “I was wondering… being as popular as you are, you probably had dealt with your share of romantic relationships and crushes, right?”
There was a beat of silence before Hana responded with a simple “Yup.” It was clear she wasn’t planning to elaborate.
Angela’s eye twitched at Hana's lackluster answer but she pushed on. “And have you ever acted on those feelings?”
Another silence, another monotone and three letters answer. “Mhm.”
“I see, I see…” Was all that Angela could say to Hana’s bland statement. “...and, forgive me if I’m too nosey, are you in a relationship right now?”
For the love of god, say something more than a single word! Angela thought, hoping for a miracle. Getting a proper answer from Hana was like pulling teeth.
The pilot raised an eyebrow and after five seconds she simply said “Nope.”
Angela pressed her lips in a tight line and before she could launch herself over the table to strangle Hana, the pilot actually decided to demonstrate that her vocabulary consisted of more than three words. Unfortunately for the doctor, what came from Hana’s mouth wasn’t something she had expected to hear. “You’re not my type, Ziegler.” she deadpanned and unpaused her game.
Angela just closed her eyes and slowly massaged her temples. Ok, first; Ouch. Second; Is she trying to get a rise out of me? I’m her doctor! I can literally kill her and bring her back to life If I want!
Clearly this was the wrong approach, trying to get a fluent conversation with Hana was clearly impossible. After taking a long breath, Angela thought that maybe going to the point (without exposing herself) would get a better result. “Oh no, no. No no no no. Mein gott, Hana! Hahaha! That’s not what I was trying to say!” the doctor faked a laugh and the sweetest tone she could muster at the moment. “Besides, you aren’t my type either. You’re too young for me.”
“Yeah…” Hana said still too engrossed in her game. “You could be my grandma.”
That did it. Angela ran out of patience at Hana’s rudeness. She stretched over the table towards the pilot and flicked her forehead. “Ouch! Hey!” Hana yelled, massaging her forehead and scowling at the doctor.
“Mother, you meant mother. Actually, I could be your older sister. Anyway, no, I’m asking you this because… a friend is asking me for advice about… dealing with a series of unfortunate events with their love interest.” Well she wasn’t straight up lying. Satya was in this too so Angela could be talking about her. “And, this might shock you, but I’m not really… uhm… this is not exactly my area of expertise.”
“Oh no… I’m shocked.” Hana responded nonchalantly. “You just blew my mind. Color me surprised. I wonder why…”
She got two more flicks on her forehead for that. “Agh! Stop it!” the pilot said, trying to repel Angela’s attack. She finally put down her game and, with a small frown, listened attentively to the doctor.
“As I was saying, they asked me for advice and I thought that maybe you can help me… I mean help them… help me help them.” Nice save . “They’re in a pretty terrible situation and they could really use a hand.” Scratching the back of her neck, Angela averted her eyes from Hana’s. Hopefully Hana won’t ask for names and she can keep this anonymous. Now it’s only the matter of figuring out what to tell Hana without giving too much information. Should I tell her about the chat? No. That’s insane. Maybe I can tell her that their crush found out and that’s it, no need for details. Yes, keep it simple Angela .
“It’s Fareeha, isn’t it?” That caught Angela off guard, interrupting her thoughts. “Fareeha finally found out how desperate you’re for her, right?” Hana deadpanned.
Angela closed and opened her mouth quickly, words couldn’t seem to leave her throat, the tips of her ears burning. From her part, Hana didn’t say anything else, her face showing no emotions.
After a minute, Angela finally regained her composure and with a high pitch fake laugh she tried to deny the obvious “HAhaha What?! Fareeha?! Hahah Me?! Hahaha What?! Oh no, no no nononono. Oh god no! Hahaha Why would you say… that’s just… I have no feelings for Fareeha! That’s just crazy! Yes, she is my dearest friend but, love her? Haha that’s, that’s Hahaha Don’t be silly!” she lied through her teeth, eyes darting off to the side.
Hana didn’t react, she just patiently waited for the doctor to drop the facade. Angela’s delirious laugh died down after a while. Seeing the pilot unfazed, Angela took a breath and tried to calm down so she could keep lying without sounding like a deranged woman. “Hehe… ha… hum… ahem… No, Hana, this isn’t about me or Fareeha… you’re far off the mark. I’m talking about a friend… that you haven’t met.”
Angela finally glanced at Hana. The pilot was silently judging the doctor until she said “Sure… So what happened with Fareeha?”
Hunching over the table and placing her elbows on it, the doctor let out a loud groan “UUUuggghhh Mein gott, was it that obvious? How could you tell?” Angela asked, fingers tangled in her hair.
“Doc, I’m GLAD I can be the bearer of bad news, everyone and their mothers knew about your feelings for her.”
Angela banged her head on the table. “Everyone?”
“Athena?” Hana asked the A.I. just to prove her point.
Athena: “Yes, everyone.”
“LOL I think the only one who didn’t get the memo was Fareeha herself.” Hana then unpaused her game since Angela was busy hiding her face on the table. “It was kinda cringe, y’know? Seeing you drooling every time Fareeha entered a room was fun the first couple of times but after that? Yikes.”
Angela raised her head from the table and frowned at Hana. “For fuck sake Hana! Do you realize that I’m the only doctor in this base? I can literally make your life hell!”
“WOW! Salty much? Isn't there a rule against swearing when you’re a doctor? And in front of an influenceable young mind like mine! You’re giving a terrible example, doc.”
Anglea kicked her under the table. “씨발놈!!” the pilot screamed, dropping her console on the table when she crouched to grab her shin.
“Hana Song, you really are testing my patience! Ok, yes! It’s true! Now, are you going to help me or not?!”
“Ugh! With what?! Cat is out of the bag, congrats, now go have dinner with her, talk it out and eat each other out. I don’t know! Sheez.” Hana retorted while massaging her leg.
Angela’s cheeks turned about four shades pinker “It’s not… It’s not that simple. I told you I needed help didn’t I? I messed up. You don’t exactly learn how not to be an awkward disaster at medical school.”
Sighing, Hana grabbed her game from the table, paused it and put it down again. “Fine. Tell me the dits. What’s the problem? It was how you confessed? Or was Fareeha who did it first?”
“Uhm.. no. No one confessed actually. I wasn’t planning to do it anytime soon, it’s just that Fareeha found out when she read my…” Shit, I can’t tell her about the chat, I won’t hear the end of it. “My diary.”
Hana snorted “What are you? Twelve?” that earned her another kick under the table. “ACK! Stop attacking me! What kind of doctor are you!”
“The one that can cut off your arms and sew them again. Save those remarks for yourself. As I was saying, she found out and messaged us.”
“Us?” The pilot raised an eyebrow at that.
Shitshitshitshitshit Angela mentally kicked herself at her slip up. “Me. I meant me. Sometimes I use the royal we.” Hana squinted her eyes but let it pass. “Anyway,” Angela continued without skipping a beat. “Fareeha messaged me and we chatted about it.”
“No. Really. Are you twelve?” Hana seriously asked. Before Angela could react, the pilot jumped away from the table, avoiding another attack, throwing her chair in the process. “I mean, chatted? As, text messages? Wow, cringe. I would have called her at least. Shit, not even my generation confesses through texts. That’s sad. You’re a sad woman, Ziegler.”
Angela was fuming, she stared at Hana with fury. Hana, seeing her imminent doom, decided to placate the doctor; “Ok ok, I’m sorry! I’m JK! No more remarks, I swear.” She raised her hands as a sign of surrender. Slowly she picked up her chair and sat back. “Go on, just tell me what’s the problem already.”
“Sigh… well, she wanted to confirm if what she read was true and I didn’t see the point in denying it. So, I confessed my feelings for her. However… I may have panicked when I did it… and I’m sure she thinks I’m a basket-case now, probably she is preparing a restraining order. It was so bad. In any case, she wants to have a face to face to talk about it, since I mostly end up confusing her.” The doctor finished, resting her head on the table. “And the worst? She didn’t outright confirm it, but I’m sure she doesn't feel the same for me.”
Hana could have mocked Angela saying that she already proved to be a basket-case a long time ago but decided to cut her some slack “Well, that’s a good sign. She wants to talk it out, like any reasonable and responsible adult that doesn’t go to a 19 y/o streamer for love advice.” Well, she tried. “Which means that whatever you said wasn’t a big deal… That’s what you wanted from me? Reassurance? Ok.” Hana stretched over the table to pat Angela’s head. “There there. Everything is fine.” Then she sat back and unpaused her game.
“If only I had my Caduceus staff with me… I could kill and revive you so many times, Hana. So many. No, I don’t need your reassurance. I need to know how to deal with this when the time comes without making a fool of myself… again.” Angela raised her head to look at Hana.
“Ok, first you need to stop thinking about the What ifs, and start focusing on the now.” Hana said, rolling her eyes “The deed is done, you screwed it up as you said, stop thinking about it and continue with your life. When the day comes then you’ll be able to talk to her without looking like a crazy old hag. GG EZ, problem solved.”
“Easier said than done. How could I look at her face after what I wrote? If you were in my shoes, what would you say to her?”
“I dunno. Hi?” Hana said, shrugging. “What did you tell her? It can’t be that bad, come on, give me something to work on.”
Angela resigned herself and stopped caring about her image in front of the pilot “I called her a Goddess. An Oasis to quench my thirst. Among other things.”
Smirking, the pilot snorted. “WTF Angela. Way to not look desperate. If I were Fareeha I would have blocked you, taken a screenshot from that chat and posted it on the forums as a guide for my fans under the title; “ How not to confess and talk to your crush” or “How not to be a thirsty simp.” ”
Angela wanted to punch her face so much. Resting her head against the table she begged. “Hana, please. PLEASE can you be useful? Just… some pointers that I could use when I talk with Fareeha, anything.”
“Nah, those are levels of cringe that neither I nor my followers ever reached. You’re an academic doctor, in that big brain of yours surely you’ll find what to say.”
The doctor closed her tired eyes and whispered “A migraine. That’s all I got from you, a migraine and depleting the little boost of energy that coffee gave me.”
“Hey, look at the bright side; at least you got this out of your chest. Don’t you feel better now that you talked about it with someone?”
“No, not really.” replied an exhausted Angela.
“Yeah, me neither. Thanks for ruining my lunch break, doc.”
—
Angela marched back to her room. She could still hear the profanities from a certain pilot coming from the kitchen after the doctor grabbed their console and smashed it against the wall. Wait… I should tell her to not go around telling everybody… fuck it… I need to get some sleep. Focus on the now, like she said. Well, now I want to pass out on my bed.
~
Fareeha woke up with the sun and, like any other day, started her morning routine; She stretched until her joints popped, did a little cardio and some push ups, took a shower and left her small hotel’s room to get some breakfast. After that, she got ready to depart to the rendezvous point.
The city council had been kind enough to rent a place for her squad, a hotel that was located only a couple of minutes away from where they left the ship. She wasn’t used to spending the nights in hotels during her deployments, preferring to stay in the ship or improvising shelters if the situation required it, but she didn’t complain about these arrangements. She only hoped the new recruits wouldn’t think this was typical during missions.
Still, she couldn’t let all her team rest at the same time so she came with a schedule for who would stay at the ship and who would rest at the hotel, switching every night. Those who did the heavy lifting that day would spend the night at the hotel, then they would switch their tasks and night arrangements with their companions, that way everyone would have a fair treatment.
The first two nights Fareeha had spent them in the ship, ready to act in case of an emergency and also supervising her team, making sure the arrangements worked.
Fortunately everything was calming down and their presence there was mostly a reassurance for the citizens than anything else. They still provided help to the authorities and kept patrolling, but there wasn’t much to do.
Fareeha contemplated the idea of making sure they were no longer needed and returning to base so the rookies could rest and celebrate that they successfully completed their first mission. That said, it also meant that she would have to face Angela and discuss their feelings… that she still wasn’t sure what hers were. Does she feel the same for Angela? Should she reject her? What would happen to their friendship if she did that? In fact, what will happen to them now that Angela's feelings are in the open? Can they return to the same dynamics?
And Satya… She didn’t speak with her yet but the same questions applied and, knowing the architect, if Fareeha couldn’t work this out before talking with her it would end in a catastrophe.
What scared Fareeha more than anything was losing them as friends. Yes, they are all adults, they can talk this out and with time probably move on, but it would never be the same. She felt like a teenager again. Scared to lose the only close people she has in her life.
Once she arrived at the ship and made sure everything was on schedule, Fareeha picked up her phone.
After the chat with Emily and Lena, Fareeha didn’t check her phone again for two days. If something urgent had happened, Winston would have contacted her through the comms. That way she could ignore her phone and focus on her work. Well, now work was almost over and she had a lot of free time.
Unsurprisingly there were no new messages from the group she created with Angela and Satya; actually it was only Angela and her, Satya left before they could talk.
Emily and Lena’s group had a lot of messages waiting for her, and Lena even sent her a lot of private messages, probably asking where she was.
Fareeha decided to check Lena first. She was right, the first barrage of messages was Lena asking if she was still there and apologizing. Fareeha kept scrolling seeing the same messages until she started to see pictures of possums. Lena stopped apologizing so she could send hundreds of pictures of possums. Her now favorite animal it seems.
Rolling her eyes, Fareeha closed the chat.
Emily hadn’t sent her any private message. She was considerate enough to not spam her like Lena.
Fareeha then opened the group chat. She was confused to see that all the messages from Lena, after she laughed her ass off, had been deleted. After 20 or so messages, Emily finally showed up.
[Emily] “Oh god. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m back now.”
[Emily] “It’s just, god Fareeha, you took me by surprise! Please tell me you’re pulling my leg.”
[Emily] “I can’t believe Angela came up with that name.”
After that, Lena sent another barrage of messages that were deleted.
[Emily] “Lena! Stop it!”
More messages. It seemed that for every Emily’s message, Lena would send four more in response.
[Emily] “No. You’ll stop this instance.”
[Emily] “I don’t care that she is your friend. You’ll make her stop talking to us and she needs help!”
Lena’s “ This message was deleted ” attacks again.
[Emily] “Lena Oxton, you better stop right now or you can sleep on the couch tonight!”
This time Lena only sent one message that, like the others, was deleted.
[Emily] “Haud yer weesht!”
[Emily] “Ya know wot? Yer aff yer heid. Ya’re banned from this chat!”
Oh, right. Emily is Scottish. Seems like her Scottishness flourishes when she is angry . Fareeha still had to use a translator. Yup. She’s angry alright. If that’s how she texts angry I don't want to be in Lena’s shoes when she gives her an earful . After that it seemed that Lena finally got the point across and stopped texting. Emily’s next message was an hour apart from her last.
[Emily] “Sorry for all that Fareeha. I see that you hadn’t read the chat yet, so hopefully when you get back ALL THOSE MESSAGES WILL BE DELETED BY THEN. RIGHT LENA?”
[Emily] “In any case, you didn’t miss much. And again, I’m sorry for laughing. When you’re ready and if you forgive us, we… I’ll be here to lend an ear.”
Fareeha smiled at that. It was good to know that even if she ghosted them for two days, they still were willingly to help her. At least Emily was. Probably Lena if she could calm herself down. She decided to write them back.
[Fareeha] “Good morning guys. Sorry I disappeared.”
[Fareeha] “And no, I didn’t read the messages so don’t worry Emily. And I’m sure Lena just had been joking and nothing was ill-intentioned. Go easy on her, Emily. Not too much tho.”
It was too early in the morning, so she didn’t expect any answer soon. However, Emily surprised her shortly after.
[Emily] “Good morning Fareeha! I’m so glad to read you again.”
[Emily] “I was worried sick! I’m so sorry for what happened. Lena is truly sorry too.”
[Emily] “She will apologize to you the next time she sees you… I forbid her to text you for the time being.”
[Fareeha] “Oh, uhm, that’s a little extreme. It’s not necessary Emily.”
[Emily] “Nope. Bless your heart, Fareeha, but you didn’t read what she wrote.”
[Emily] “Also, I thought that at least she had been apologizing to you privately… until I took a peek at her phone and saw pictures of possums.”
Ah, she must be thinking that that was all Lena had been doing.
[Fareeha] “No no, don’t get it wrong. She apologized and asked me where I was from the beginning. She just sent the pictures way after that.”
[Fareeha] “She probably had been trying to cheer me up since…”
[Fareeha] “Possums… I love possums. Favorite animal since childhood.”
I hate lying. But this is for Lena.
[Emily] “... more than, say, falcons?”
Crap crap crap crap
[Fareeha] “Possums are so… majestic.”
[Emily] “...”
[Fareeha] “...”
[Emily] “Right…”
[Emily] “I see what you're doing and I’ll consider giving back Lena’s text privileges.”
[Fareeha] “Oh god, thank you”
[Emily] “Mhm, I know you’re reading this, Lena, so be sure to thank her too when you apologize.”
[Emily] “So, Fareeha. Do you still want to talk or…”
[Fareeha] “Yeah, absolutely. I managed to keep my mind busy with work but now I’m driving myself crazy thinking of all the possibilities.”
[Emily] “Hm ok, you need to stop doing that. I know it sounds hard, but you can’t foresee the future so stop racking your brain with that.”
[Emily] “You know Angela. You both grew up together so one thing I can say for sure is that nothing bad can come out of this.”
[Fareeha] “Uhm… this could change or ruin our relationship, Emily.”
[Emily] “Nope! You honestly think that a lifetime of friendship can be undone just like that? Besides, it was most likely to happen. Sometimes long term friendships can develop into something more.”
[Emily] “But if nothing comes out of it, then you’ll continue to be friends, trust me on this. And maybe you both could try again in the future… or not!”
[Emily] “My point is, it will not ruin your relationship with Angela.”
[Fareeha] “This sounds too optimistic.”
[Emily] “Because it is. In summary; Stop thinking about what could be and the negatives. You won’t lose Angela’s friendship. I know it. Just like I knew about hers and Satya's feelings.”
[Emily] “Speaking of which… Satya… uhm… I’m sorry, I don’t know her well enough to guarantee that everything will be alright. Lena gave me a general idea of her personality but I think only you can answer that.”
[Fareeha] “Well… thanks for the positivity. I needed to hear that. And yeah, Satya… She’s amazing but sometimes she makes it really hard to tell what she’s feeling. Now that you mention it, I’m more worried about her now.”
[Fareeha] “I hadn’t talked with Satya yet, and honestly I can’t imagine how that will go.”
[Fareeha] “I mean,I almost couldn’t recognize Angela when we chatted. She acted so strange, never seen her like this.”
[Fareeha] “Satya on the other hand just blocked me. So I can only expect the worst.”
[Fareeha] “And that’s it. One thing is chatting and another is being face to face. How can I talk with Angela after seeing this side of her? How will I reach Satya if she doesn’t want me to?”
[Emily] “Well… Angela probably is in the same boat as you only that… much worse? I mean, from what I see, you’re confused on what to do but overall calm.”
[Emily] “Angela is just in panic mode since she wasn’t ready for this to happen. Which takes me to my next point; You're still not sure how you feel about them, right?”
[Fareeha] “…Yup.”
[Emily] “Well, you don’t need to have an answer to that when you talk to her. I know that sounds bad but this isn’t something that has to be rushed. Be yourself, even if Angela panics, just act like you always do when you’re with her. That will put her at ease.”
[Emily] “And then, just tell her the truth. You need time to sort out your feelings. You both have been friends for years. She will understand.”
Hmm Emily is being too positive about this. She has no idea how Angela reacted when I talked to her… oh well, I’ll take whatever I can get. Stop worrying, be myself, calm Angela and tell her nothing will change between us and that I need time to sort out if we can be something more… yeah easier said than done. Fareeha appreciated Emily’s plan but she made it sound too easy to actually work.
[Fareeha] “Ok, thanks. I will keep it in mind. I will try to not think too much about it”
[Emily] “You can do it Fareeha! Believe in yourself and in Angela. Nothing bad will happen.”
[Emily] “Now, about Satya… like I said, I don't really know her, but from what you and Lena told me, she seems like the type of person that needs a “Yes or No” answer immediately.”
[Emily] “If you talk with her before you sort out your feelings, I fear she would take that bad.”
[Fareeha] “Fuck, that’s a good point.”
[Fareeha] “Satya is really sweet and easy to talk to… if she feels comfortable around someone. I had seen her freeze up at reunions or conversations that made her uneasy. And sometimes she can be really insecure of herself.”
[Fareeha] “I mean, she blocked me the second I told her I knew. I doubt she would want to see me anytime soon.”
[Emily] “Well, you both work together, it’s only a matter of time before you two cross paths again.”
[Fareeha] “And then what? If I don’t have a proper answer to her feelings, what should I do?”
[Emily] “Hmm, is it possible that she flees before you can say anything?”
[Fareeha] “…Probably.”
[Emily] “That’s when you tackle her.”
[Fareeha] “...”
[Emily] “I’m joking.”
[Fareeha] “Haha, I know. Besides that wouldn’t work. She could teleport herself away… Oh god she truly would teleport herself away.”
[Emily] “What?”
[Fareeha] “Satya can construct teleports instantly, it helps us to get away from dangerous situations in the battlefield… and it has helped her to get out of arguments with persons she finds annoying.”
[Fareeha] “Several times I had found Torbjörn or Lucio arguing with no one until they realized that Satya had left in the middle of their rant.”
[Emily] “Hahaha Oh I wish I could do the same. She has my full support to keep doing it.”
[Fareeha] “Yeah well, it won’t be funny when she does it to me.”
[Emily] “Right.”
[Fareeha] “So…”
[Emily] “So…”
[Fareeha] “Any advice?”
[Emily] “I’m thinking.”
[Emily] “Mmhh… … Sorry Fareeha, I don’t have much to offer. The best I can tell you is: 1) Sort out your feelings before talking to her. Whether you reciprocate her feelings or not, I guess she will take it better than if you’re indecisive.
[Emily] “And if the worse comes to happen; 2) Don’t run away or avoid her if you see her... even if you don't have an answer to her feelings. If she is as insecure as you said, then it is possible she takes that as her fault. In any case, let her flee from you?”
[Emily] “Yes, yes, do that. If she sees you and runs away, don’t chase her. Let her come to you when she is ready… like when you try to feed a deer.”
[Fareeha] “So... don't talk to her until I have an answer to her feelings, but avoid her if I encounter her even without an answer?
[Emily] “I'm sorry, I know it sounds contradictory but I can't think of anything else."
[Fareeha] “It's ok, don't worry. I really appreciate your help, Emily. I mean it. I think that for now I will focus on myself before talking to any them.”
Last time I did that, Overwatch disbanded. Hopefully nothing will explode at the base during my self-discovery time.
[Emily] “Well, I actually think that you should talk with Angela as soon as you can. But you do you.”
[Fareeha] “I will think about it, but no promises.”
[Fareeha] “Ok guys, I need to start working. Thanks again, It was nice to talk about this with someone. I feel better knowing I have you guys.”
[Emily] “ Anytime! We’re here to help. If you ever need someone to talk to, just let us know :-)”
[Tracer possum mother] “Bye Fari! Good luck!”
What followed next was a string of scottish curses from Emily. Aaaalright. I have to remember to never anger Emily .
—
Another shift, another uneventful day. Which meant it was time to go back to the base, debrief, rest and get ready for the next deployment.. or find a way to not do that. While Emily’s words of support weren’t exactly mind opening, Fareeha took her advice of not thinking about the what ifs and focus on sorting out her feelings. But for that she needed time. Time she won’t get if she gets back to the base where most likely will face Angela.
Just talk to her like any other day. Yeah, easier said than done . She thought.
No, she will delay that until she has at least a minimal idea of what she wants. However, she couldn’t keep the rookies on the current deployment doing almost next to nothing. The job here was done, and they deserved a break. Sending them back home and staying was an option, but being idle at the city didn’t appeal to her.
Maybe I could go on a solo mission. Fareeha thought and after some musing she contacted Winston.
“Captain Amari! Good day!” Winston’s booming voice resonated in her helmet’s comms “I’ve been reading your reports. Excellent job! I’m glad the city is safe.”
“Thanks Winston. The team did great for their first mission. Also the city did a good job defending themselves.”
“That’s great! Now, how can I help you, captain?”
“Well, since everything is under control here, I was wondering if there is any other deployment available for me.”
“Uh so soon? Excuse me, Pharah, I don’t want to question your leadership but don’t you think you’re pushing the new recruits a little too far? I mean, I know from your and the city’s reports that the job wasn’t too demanding, but sending them to a new mission right away seems a little… uh… harsh.”
“Oh, no Winston, haha I’m not planning on overworking the rookies. They did an excellent job and they deserve a rest. I won’t push them too hard… yet.” She said playfully. “I was talking about a solo mission or any deployment that could use my help.”
“Oh, uh, are you sure? Fareeha, you don’t need to overexert yourself.” Winston still felt hesitant with the idea; he only dropped the code-name protocol when he was worried.
“Don’t worry Winston, I can take it. Besides, like you had read this was a breeze. I still need to burn out some energy.”
“Uhm… well, if you insist, give me a moment.” Winston started to look into his schedule and the current deployments. After a second he came up with something. “Ok, there is another city in a similar situation. A small force of Null Sector attacked and the authorities managed to repel them. The damage is significantly minor compared to your location so I only sent a small group to assist. If you want, I can send a transport to pick you up in a couple of hours.”
“Sounds great, Winston. I will prepare for the departure of the rookies back to the base in the meantime.”
“Understood. Thank you, Captain Amari. Overwatch is proud to have you as our captain.”
“So serious. No need to be that formal with me Winston. Ok I’m going now. Thanks Winston, talk to you later.”
And so Fareeha started to tie up any loose ends and inform her team of her departure.
—
After finishing talking with the authorities, Fareeha gathered up the team to inform them about the next steps. All the recruits offered their assistance on her new deployment . Ha, so eager. They remind me of myself during my first missions… and actual ones. Huh, maybe I do overwork myself.
Fareeha thanked them but told them that it wasn’t necessary and that they deserved a break to celebrate their first successful mission. They reluctantly reseeded, but some insisted. Rolling her eyes, Fareeha checked with Winston the small transport capacity that was on its way to pick her up. There was room for three more passengers, so she picked the most persistent cadets to accompany her and that was that.
The Orca departed with the rest of the team while the four who stood behind checked the report of their new deployment. The rookies were a little disappointed to see that it was much of the same or even less, but their captain reminded them that Overwatch's purpose is to help in any way necessary, not only combat. They felt a little embarrassed but Fareeha didn’t blame them for wanting something with more action. Damn, she was ten times worse during her first years.
Their transport arrived on point. They all bid their farewells to the locals and parted to their new destination.
—
During the flight Fareeha took this moment of peace to reflect on herself. First she focused on her feelings for Angela, her childhood friend, then stranger, then best friend. She always felt a strong connection to the doctor, but couldn’t tell if those feelings were platonic or not. She tried to picture them in any romantic situation… which was harder than she thought since she didn’t have any experience with that. Most of her past “relationships” were one night stands at best.
Well, she could use some scenarios from the lovecoms that Lena made her watch from time to time. All of them were cheesy. Almost embarrassing… but they did their work. In some scenarios she pictured herself with the doctor, the tips of her ears flashed a bright red. So… that has to mean something, right? She kept picturing them in those scenarios… until her mind reached steamy ones, making her face crimson red. Ok… I better not go there.
Sighing, Fareeha rested her head on the back of the seat and tried to drop this exercise for later.
—
This time when they arrived, instead of the local authorities they were received by some team members that were already there and debriefed them. Nothing serious, no emergencies, only… support work. Great. The rookies started to regret insisting on coming here instead of returning to celebrate with the rest.
Well, this is a good way for them to learn that not all the missions will be exciting.
Fareeha informed her team that she would reach the local authorities to let their presence known, in the meantime she gave each of the rookies their task for the day. Once that was done, everyone saluted and departed to their duties.
There was a lot of rubble around the city. No casualties but a lot of damage to properties. She walked among the scrumbles, her weapon at the ready but with a relaxed posture. This sector had been patrolled already and nothing was found, so she was double checking only. She took this opportunity to let her mind wander..
She was practically daydreaming at this point, barely paying attention to her surroundings (which her professional side chided her for) and that’s why she didn’t see the blue lights coming from her right, scanning the infrastructures like it was creating blueprints. What caught her attention tho, was someone’s humming. Fareeha glanced to her right and, with a double take, stopped dead in her tracks.
Her face went pale. There, in the middle of the street, taking notes and focusing on her hard light projectors, Satya Vaswani, aka Symmetra, was doing her magic fixing the collapsed buildings.
Well, not fixing perse. She was writing the blueprints for the future reconstruction with hardlight once the ruble had been dealt off.
Fareeha recalled Emily’s words. Her face appeared to float around Fareeha’s head: Sort out your feelings before talking to her. It kept floating and repeating that like a chant and then Lena’s face joined. Did you know possums have names? Jill, Jack and Joeys.
Your feelings…
Jill… Jack… fluffy bastard.
Ok, Emily said that it would be better to avoid her until I have a straight answer, but she is right there… this must be like a signal or something right? Squaring her shoulders, Fareeha turned to Satya’s direction. The architect still unaware of her presence.
No time like the present. Fareeha took long strides to her friend. The first step was easy, the second she felt some discomfort, the third panic settled in and she couldn’t give another step. Oh… oh no. This is what Angela felt? Emily's words resonated in her head and the idea of pushing Satya away due her lack of a clear answer was killing her. Now she was worried to act like Angela did and, knowing the architect, it would end in a disaster.
While Fareeha stood there with a cascade of horrible possibilities crossing her mind, Satya finished taking notes and started to review them, turning slowly to where Fareeha stood.
Survival instincts kicked in and Fareeha entered fight or flight mode and immediately dove for cover behind some rubble. It seems like her body knew what to do before she could think about it. Why am I hiding?! Did she see me? If she finds me hiding it will be worse! I need to show myself! Fareeha tried to get up but her body wouldn’t allow it.
Angela’s strange behavior now made sense. She couldn’t blame the doctor for the embarrassing chat they had, because now, Fareeha's actions when meeting her friend was to hide like a coward.
Satya slowly walked towards Fareeha’s direction. Still going through her notes, but it was only a matter of time until the architect could see her friend perched behind the rubble. Fareeha silently prayed for a miracle that could get her slip away without being noticed but she knew she was royally screwed. However, the world decided to give Fareeha some respite.
Flying towards her, one rookie descended from the skies and landed a few feet away from her captain. The rookie raised an eyebrow at Fareeha's position, and before she could question her, Satya spoke.
When Satya saw the figure descend, she tensed and feared it would be Fareeha, but that feeling dissipated quickly once she saw the armor they were wearing was different from her friend and also had a lithe physique compared to her. “Greetings. I haven’t been informed that the Raptora’s team had been assigned to this settlement.” Satya went straight to the point. Does that mean Fareeha is here as well? An uneasy feeling started to creep in.
The rookie closed her mouth before she could ask her captain what she was doing and moved her eyes to the architect. “Uhm, hello. Yes I’m part of the team and we have been assigned just now. We completed our task on our previous deployment and now we’re here to help.” While talking to the architect, the rookie kept glancing back and forth between Satya and Fareeha.
Fareeha’s eyes were wide as saucers, desperately shaking her head hoping the message was clear: “DON’T TELL HER I’M HERE.”
The rookie didn’t understand what was going on so she opted to keep quiet. Satya mulled what to say next and after a beat she asked “How many of you had been sent here?”
Once again Fareeha shook her head fervently. “Uuhhh… it’s just… me and two others. This is our first mission. Well second if we count our previous deployment.”
“Two teammates and me. Grammar, please.” Satya corrected her, turning up her nose. The rookie just raised an eyebrow at that.
Fareeha let her head slowly rest on the pile of rubble sighing silently. She gave the rookie a thumbs up. It’s decided, she is my favorite. I’ll make sure to give her a rise after this.
“So… it’s only you. I see.” Satya said. Fareeha could swear she almost sounded relieved. “I wasn’t informed about this new addition to our plans. I’ll have to remind my team to do better next time.” Satya turned around, giving the rookie her back and started to walk away. “In any case, while your presence is appreciated, I assure you that I've got everything under control. Proceed to assist the rest of the team. You’re dismissed.” Satya ordered.
Fareeha scrunched her eyebrows. Satya had a higher rank over the rookie but that didn’t mean she could order them around like they were her lackeys. I’ll have to talk about this with her later… that is, if she ever talks to me again.
“Uhm… okay.” The rookie was taken aback by Satya dismissing her. “I just wanted to talk to my…” another quick glance to her captain. “My… I just wanted to introduce myself Ms. Vaswa-”
“Symmetra. While on the field you’ll use our code names. You’ll remember to follow protocol. Don’t forget that.” Satya stopped walking and turned to look over her shoulder.
“Right! Sorry!” The rookie said, straightening her posture. Wow… what a bitch .
Oh come on, Satya. Don’t be rude . Fareeha thought.
“Agent Symmetra, just wanted to let you know we’re here and, uh, see if you need help?” The rookie wondered if her captain was hiding from the architect so she wouldn’t have to deal with her personality. If that was the case, she couldn’t blame her.
“Thank you, but I prefer to work alone. And as I had said, everything is in order in this sector. We already performed the daily reconnaissance and, beside buildings needing repairs, there is nothing else. Please, do as you will but not here.” Satya said, starting to get irritated. She flinched after the words came out of her mouth. She knew she was being harsh and she usually wasn’t (most of the time) with her teammates. Especially new recruits. But she couldn’t help herself. Her fright at thinking that Fareeha was here left her shaken. That and knowing her plans had a sudden modification without being notified put her in a sour mood.
“Rrrright… ok… roger that. Well, we have your team’s comm frequency so we will contact you if we encounter any problem.” The rookie told her while rolling her eyes. “I will leave now.” She only got a simple nod from the architect.
Huffing, the rookie turned to her captain and gave her a nod and then flew away.
Fareeha sighed and after a couple of seconds she peaked over the rubble. Satya was walking in the opposite direction which gave her an opportunity to scurry away without being noticed.
Satya, none the wiser, didn’t even hear the rubble that fell from Fareeha departure. She was focused on adding new tasks to her already long task list:
- Remind the team to keep me updated of any sudden change of plans in our mission. (High priority)
- Apologize to the Raptora’s team. (TBD. Low priority)
Once Fareeha was sure she was far away to not be noticed, flew away thinking what she needed to do to keep the architect aware of her presence. “Ok, I just need to avoid Satya for the next couple of days. It won’t be that hard… I just need to tell my team to not tell her I’m here. That’s it. Simple.”
—
Turns out, it wasn’t that simple. Once she told her team, they asked why and Fareeha had to half assed an answer that left two confused recruits and one that thought she knew the real reason; That architect is a bitch and our captain doesn’t want to deal with her. Understandable .
Then she realized that some of Satya’s team already saw her and so she needed to convince them to not snitch her out. Which was difficult because they were all over the city. So Fareeha’s plan of patrolling and helping the city turned into a mission of her team to search each of Satya’s team and convince them.
By some miracle, Satya hadn’t been informed yet by her teammates. Something told Fareeha that they didn’t want to disturb her during her shift fearing a scolding, and she was pretty sure that was the case.
After that, Fareeha had to memorize Satya’s itinerary and avoid patrolling the same area. “Just a couple of days living in paranoia. Easy peasy. Patrol the city looking for any Null Sector forces and any wild Satya appearances. Yup, nothing to worry or stress about.”
—
Days went by and the task of both teams had been completed. Fareeha never crossed paths with her friend thanks to avoiding her like a paria. She felt terrible for doing that, but it was for the best.
Now it was time to come back and Fareeha had a plan. She would let Satya and her team return to the base first, and then she would do the same after some hours. She knew she was only delaying the inevitable, but what was she supposed to do? At least this way she wouldn’t cross her friend in their departure nor when they landed.
Alas, life had given her enough miraculous and lucky moments; it was time to balance things out. That’s why when she went to her transport after Satya’s left, she not only found that her team was missing, but she also found that the only passenger was the person she had been avoiding the last couple of days.
Turns out that since the ship Satya came was big enough to carry hers and Fareeha’s team, the architect instructed them to board the transport so all of them could return to the base at the same time. She did that so she could have the other ship for herself and no one else.
So to Fareeha’s horror, she found the architect sitting in one of the passenger seats next to a window. Oh… no… Maybe… maybe she didn’t see me. Before she could flee, Fareeha saw that, indeed, the architect saw her. Satya’s eyes were reflected on the window, and she was staring holes in Fareeha.
The architect's posture was rigid. Almost looked like a statue. She never turned to look at her friend, she just kept staring at her through the window’s reflection.
Oh shit. Oh shit. Shit shit shit Fareeha panicked internally.
Don’t flee, that would make her feel worse. Emily’s words echoed in her head.
Ok… no turning back… oh god what I’m supposed to say?
“H-hi Satya. Fancy meeting you here.” The architect didn’t react to Fareeha’s greetings. “Uh... sorry I missed you during our days here. I was… uhm… too busy with our task and the team. You know how it is.” She lied, knowing very well that Satya could see through her lies. She only hoped her friend wouldn’t be offended by this.
Satya only nodded slowly.
Silence stretched between them. Fareeha started to sweat. Taking a deep breath, she decided to sit next to her friend.
Satya, no longer being able to watch Fareeha on the window’s reflection, opted to look forward.
Fareeha drummed her fingers on her knee, thinking what to say next. “So… I saw your handy work. Amazing, as always.”
A beat of silence before Satya responded. “Thanks.”
“… what about the new recruits? Did they perform to your expectations?”
“Yes.”
Fareeha could tell that her friend was forcing her answers out. Her body language screamed nervousness. Nodding decided to request help.
“Uhm excuse me, I need to… I need to make a call.”
She got up and power walked to the back of the ship. Quickly she grabbed her phone and texted Emily and Lena.
[Fareeha] “I NEED HELP. ASAP. FROM BOTH OF YOU”
[Fareeha] “Good day, btw.”
[Tracer possum mother] “…Em?”
[Emily] “Sigh… ok you are no longer grounded. I give you back your texting privileges in this group.”
[Tracer possum mother] “GASP! ♥ ♥ ♥ :3”
[Tracer possum mother] “So, what’s up luv?”
[Fareeha] “I’m with Satya. In a ship. Only the two of us. I didn’t prepare myself as you suggested Emily and now I’m panicking because I feel I will screw it up not matter what I do or say.”
[Emily] “Oh… oh darn.”
[Fareeha] “And everything feels wrong and we’re about to depart, and we will travel the whole trip in awkward silence and oh god help.”
[Tracer possum mother] “I’m at the base Fari! Want me to pick you up? I can take one of the carriers!”
[Emily] “No, Lena. I think it will make it worse if she suddenly leaves Satya behind.”
[Tracer possum mother] “Oh no no no. I can pick them both, the carrier is big enough so they can hide away from each other. Plenty of space for freaking out in peace.”
[Emily] “Speaking from experience?.”
[Tracer possum mother] “Perhaps.”
[Emily] “Oh honey, what happened?”
[Fareeha] “Guys? Can you focus on my panic first?”
[Emily] “Right! Sorry. Ok. Tell us the situation. What did you two talk about so far?
[Fareeha] “Practically nothing. Satya barely said two words and she seems so tense.”
[Tracer possum mother] “That bad uh?”
[Fareeha] “Well...”
Fareeha sneaked back to the passenger’s area and saw that Satya hadn’t changed her posture since she came in. Without being noticed she took a quick photo.
[Emily] “Uhm, a picture wasn’t necessary but wow… she is at the edge of her seat.”
[Tracer possum mother] “Yeah… I bet I could lift her and she would be in the same position.”
[Fareeha] “Yup. And I’m not doing better.”
[Emily] “Ok, we… uh… maybe… shiet…fock”
[Tracer possum mother] “I agree, excellent idea Em.”
[Emily] “:‑|”
[Emily] ”Fari… I honestly can’t think of anything. Satya is a mystery to me”
[Tracer possum mother] “Yeah me neither.”
Fareeha huffed, deep down she knew this would be pointless but she was desperate.
[Fareeha] “its ok. Thanks anyways.”
[Emily] “Wish you luck, Fari! Just… be yourself and… give her space, let her talk.”
[Tracer possum mother] “Yeah, best of luck Fari.”
Sighing she pocketed her phone and returned to her seat. Delaying this any longer could only make the situation worse.
—
It’s been 30 agonizing minutes in silence, only interrupted by the pilot informing them they will be departing soon. Fareeha's leg bounced restless, she kept stealing glances at her friend. Satya, on her part, didn’t move at all, which worried Fareeha a lot. Being still for that long can’t be good for her muscles.
Fareeha let the silence settle for a couple of more minutes until she couldn’t take it any longer. “Saty… look, I know that this must be uncomfor -“
“Fareeha.” This has been the first time her friend addressed her since she got into the ship. “I know we have a matter to discuss… but for the time being, I’m not ready for it. If it’s not too much to ask, could we postpone it until-“
“YES, ABSOLUTELY!” Fareeha cringed at her overenthusiastic answer. Shit, I answered too quickly, I hope she doesn’t take that bad.
Satya did, in fact, feel a little hurt. She thought Fareeha wanted nothing to do with her and that’s why she was so quick to jump at the opportunity to dismiss her.
“I mean… I know… I…“ Fareeha sighed, scratching the back of her head and averting her eyes from the architect “I get you. To be completely honest with you, Saty, I’m still trying to get my head around this. It’s not like everyday you find out your friends had been… checking you out.” She dared a glance at her friend and saw Satya flinch at the comment. “And I don’t want to force you to talk about it. I'd rather wait until we’re both ready. Also, I would prefer if Angela was present too.”
Satya sighed in relief and let out a meekly “thank you.” After that Satya decided to play with her light constructs, something she usually did when she felt nervous or uncomfortable.
Fareeha just nodded and rested her head on the back of her seat and closed her eyes for a minute. Her cellphone vibrated and a notification told her that Lena and Em sent her messages on their group. After some deliberation, she turned off the cellphone. Now was not the time to chat with them. It would only make her more nervous than she already was and the idea of Satya accidentally finding out that they were talking about her (oh the irony) would only make it worse.
And so they departed. In an awkward, palpable silence. The tension was so thick they could physically cut it with a knife.
They spent hours in silence; Satya doing her best playing with her hardlight and trying to ignore the presence of her companion, all the time thinking she was being incredibly rude. Fareeha sometimes tried to say something, but only ended up opening and closing her mouth like a fish and giving up after a while.
Both ground up women that had no idea how to deal with this and felt like teenagers. They shared one thought in common during the whole trip; I’m pathetic.
~
It has been days since Angela’s downfall to madness. And she has to admit she has been doing great. What she won’t admit (at least not to her face) is that Hana’s attempt of advice actually worked.
After she woke up from passing out of sheer exhaustion, she threw herself at her work and stopped thinking about the whole ordeal.
That’s it, after chanting excessively “Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, no need to worry now, just work, don’t think about, remember to eat, don’t think about …” for hours. It had been borderline insane but it worked.
So Angela spent the next few days with her head at work. Ignoring completely what happened the last day and the involvement of a certain captain and architect. Because that didn’t happen. That was a glimpse Angela had from an alternative reality. It was just a nightmare. No. Less than a nightmare. It was nothing, because nothing happened.
And thanks to that deluded train of thoughts, Angela managed to make progress at work, get some well-deserved sleep and got back to a (almost) healthy diet, improving her mood greatly.
From time to time she crossed paths with Hana at the halls. The pilot watched Angela with some despise and confusion at her peppy attitude, a far cry from how she encountered the doctor days ago.
However, the day when Angela had to come down from her cloud and confront reality finally came when she was informed of Fareeha’s team return. For fifteen minutes she was a ball of anxiety waiting at the hangar for the dropship to arrive.
The report said that no one had received any injuries but still Angela wanted to be there to check on the new recruits and… well… Fareeha. She knew it was only a matter of time, but she had managed to live the last days in blissful ignorance and now it was time to deal with reality.
Hana, for some reason, was there with her waiting for the team to arrive. Though, she didn’t look concerned or interested. It was like she didn’t care at all with her deadpan expression and chewing gum. Something was up and Angela didn’t like it.
To the doctor's surprise, only a number of recruits descended from the drop ship. Fareeha and others were missing. Panic settled in Angela and not for the reason she had been dealing with these days. She feared that something happened to Fareeha and the rest of the team so she quickly marched towards the new recruits for answers.
Thankfully they informed her that Fareeha and other three members were dispatched to another mission, and that nothing had happened. Everyone was alright.
Angela sighed in relief, thanking the recruits and ushering them to her medical station in the hangar for a quick check. While leading the team to her post, Angela realized that Hana was gone. Strange.
—
After the last recruit had been dismissed, Angela slumped on her seat. Anxiety finally leaving her body. This was great news. Everyone was ok. Fareeha was safe and, better yet, away from the base. Not that she enjoyed the idea of her friend being on another mission with the risk of being injured, but it was a good thing that she just got more time before dealing with the upcoming catastrophe.
So, once again she went through the routine of forgetting what had transpired between her friends and focused on her work, pretending everything was fine.
From time to time she checked her phone for any message from her friends. She could pretend that everything was normal as much as she liked but that didn’t mean she wasn’t concerned for both of them.
Satya had vanished for days, her status said she was working and she should not be interrupted unless it was an emergency. Angela knew her well enough to not contact her during her schedule and also, didn’t want to push her to deal with this situation. So, even if it fueled her worries, she would refrain from contacting her and wait for Satya to reach her out.
Fareeha was a completely different story. She knew she was fine and that they agreed to talk face to face instead over the phone and yet Angela still wanted to check on her. The only thing that stopped her was that it was very possible she would make a fool of herself once again.
The only thing she could do for now was waiting for her friends to reappear, whenever that would be.
—
Another couple of days passed, and still no news from her friends. Athena kept her updated that they were safe and healthy, reassuring Angela.
One morning she was informed about another team was returning shortly from another mission. She didn’t bother asking whom, just how many were returning, what was the mission about and if there was anyone requiring urgent treatment. Once she got her answers, Angela went to the hangar to wait for their arrival. Not bothering to know who exactly was returning was Angela's greatest mistake… beside her chat with Fareeha.
Again, the doctor was accompanied by Hana at the hangar’s medical station. And for some reason Lena was there too.
Hana looked the other day. Deadpan, not showing any emotion, eyes glued on her phone. Which was strange since the pilot was much more lively than what the doctor had been dealing with lately. Maybe it was because she wasn’t a morning person. That begs the question; why was she up in the morning waiting for the arrivals? Whatever the reason, the mecha-pilot was, once again, in a sour mood it seemed.
Is she still mad at me for justifiably breaking her game? Mmhh, maybe I should buy her a new one… maybe. However, why is she here? Is she waiting for one of the recruits? Whatever the reason, Angela shrugged it off and focused on her other companion.
Seeing Lena there ready to receive the new recruits wasn’t something unheard off. She always made sure to make everyone feel welcomed and congratulate them for their first missions. However, what was strange was how fidgety she currently was, which was more than usual.
Lena had been bouncing on the balls of her feet since she got there, checking her phone every minute or so. She kept stealing glances at Angela (which didn’t go unnoticed by the doctor) and when their eyes met, she would force a smile.
It was starting to worry the doctor. Lena would talk her ear off any other day but now she was practically mute. Could it be that she knows the recruits and is worried for them? Is someone there a relative to Emily? Angela tried to come up with reasons for what was causing the time-traveler to act like this.
When Athena informed them that the ship was minutes away, Angela and her two companions left the medical station and went to the helipad to wait for the arrival.
The ship landed, and a minute later, the team started to descend. Once again, when Angela saw the Raptora’s armor, a peak of anxiety shot into the doctor, which was placated after realizing that Fareeha wasn’t there with them. However, that was replaced with concern. Until that time, she had forgotten her friends were still away. Where is she? Did she go on another mission?... And where IS Satya? their whereabouts crossed her mind, but decided to worry about that later. She trusted Athena would update her if something had happened to them.
Angela approached the recruits and after a quick triage, led them to her station for a checkup. Lena just friendly greeted them and congratulated them for their first mission. Promising them to take them out for a pint to celebrate, this earned a cheer from them.
Hana, on her part, seemed disappointed for whatever reason. She greeted and congratulated them, not with the same enthusiasm as Lena, but more cheerful than she had been so far. Like Lena, she made some chit chat with them while they waited their turn for the examination.
—
After a while, only two other recruits were left and by that time Lena was already pacing from one side to the other, Hana almost left but after taking a look at Lena, decided to stay. She suspected that Lena knew something and for the time being she would hang with them.
Soon after, Athena announced the next drop-ship arrival. “Oh. Another one? Well, I’m almost done here. I better get ready for the next group.” Angela said finishing her report of the last agent. The doctor, too distracted with her reports on the recruits, didn’t entertain the idea of who could be arriving, she only expected more recruits.
Also, she didn’t realize how Lena had abruptly stopped dead on her tracks, eyes widening. Hana, however, did. Confirming her suspicions about Lena knowing something.
The trio then waited near the helipad for the last drop-ship arrival. Angela was completely oblivious of the passengers, while Lena checked her phone constantly. Hana squinting her eyes towards the time-traveler.
Finally, the drop-ship arrived and lowered the ramp so the passengers could disembark. Angela waited patiently. Lena, waited anxiously. Hana, had a hunch of who was disembarking and smirked.
As soon as Fareeha stepped out of the platform, the good doctor felt her whole body tense and her legs felt like jelly. Shock painted on her face.
Fareeha was also surprised. She didn’t know why it never occurred to her that Angela, the head doctor of the organization, wouldn’t be present to receive the new recruits after their first mission. She had expected a group of field medics instead.
Lena gave Fareeha a small wave with an apologetic smile. She had sent her a message telling her that the doctor would be receiving them but her messages went unread.
Hana just kept staring at Angela with a big smile on her face. Angela wanted to strangle that smile out of her but was too busy being frozen in place.
Fareeha walked towards them, and to Angela’s increasing horror, she didn’t come alone. Satya started to descend from the ship. Unlike her friends, Satya didn’t show any sign of concern or surprise. That didn’t mean that she was unfazed by Angela's presence, it meant that she was an expert at concealing her feelings.
When Fareeha reached the other three, with Satya only a few steps behind her, she stood in silence for a minute or so. No one dared to say anything.
Finally she built up her nerve to break the silence. I already spent hours flying in tense silence; I can’t take any more of this “Hi Angela.” She greeted and nodded to the doctor, who forced a smile and only nodded back. “Lena” another nod, “Hana?” instead of nodding she tilted her head at the mecha-pilot. She was a little confused at seeing Hana there; it was too early in the morning (at least for her standards).
“Hi Fari! Hi Satya!” Lena greeted cheerfully “So good to see ya! How…how was your flight?” she pretended to be their first contact since her departure, just to avoid feeding the other two’s paranoia.
“Yeah Amari… so GOOD to have you back” Hana said without taking her eyes from Angela and with a devilish smile. However she did turn to address Satya with a genuine smile. “Hi Satya! Welcome back!” Besides Fareeha and Angela, Hana had been one of the few agents that tried to get close to the architect. One would think their personalities would clash with each other, but something about being stripped from their childhood brought them closer. That and the fact that Hana was set on beating Satya at least once at chess and many other board games.
Satya returned the greeting with a small smile and a nod. She did the same gesture towards Lena and Angela, but kept her gaze on the doctor with a blank expression.
Angela, sweating bullets, just kept making eye contact with Fareeha, she couldn’t muster the courage to look at Satya’s soul piercing stare.
Fareeha tried to keep things normal. “The flight was smooth. Nothing remarkable. And before you ask, the mission was a success… both of them. Right, Satya?” She turned to the architect, hoping to entice her to speak.
To her disappointment, Satya only moved her gaze from Angela to her and gave a simple nod before setting her eyes back on the doctor.
A veil of silence fell over them. Well… so much for not making them uncomfortable Fareeha thought. Hana open her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Lena. “Aham, Uhum, yup. That's great! Oooohhh! Look at the time! Hana, we need to go to… uuuhh… that place for that thing!” she said quickly, “you can tell me aaaall about it later! See ya!” She thought that giving them privacy would be better than seeing them turn into statues.
Before Hana could protest, Lena was already dragging her out of the hangar bay by her wrist. “Wh-wha?! HEY! No! Tracer! You don’t understand, I can’t miss this! Come on!” screeched the mecha-pilot trying to free herself from Lena to no avail.
That left the three of them completely alone in the hangar, well, there still were the pilots and mechanics doing their jobs but were too busy to pay any mind to the three women being sucked in a blackhole of desperation.
Fareeha cleared her throat and tried again to break the silence. “So… Ange-“ she was interrupted by a strangely overexcited doctor.
“RIGHT!” Angela exclaimed, clapping her hands forcefully together. The sudden noise made Satya flinch. “Check up time! Please follow me.” Without waiting for their response, she started walking in long strides towards the nurse station. “Now, now; I know you’re both veterans but we have protocols to follow. You don’t want to break protocol right? Of course not.”
Fareeha stood in place, stunned. Stealing a glance at Satya, saw her friend saying something under her breath that she didn’t catch, casting her eyes on the ground. Cracking her neck, Fareeha braced herself and followed Angela after a couple of seconds. She heard Satya doing the same, a few feet behind her.
—
It was clear that Angela was only delaying the inevitable, but Fareeha couldn’t blame her. Nothing went as she planned, and while she has been praised for her quick thinking and action on the battlefield, this was out of her league by miles.
She watched Angela preparing the files for both of them and the necessary equipment. She started the triage, took their vitals, swift and professional, no signs of her anxiety or panic on her face. This was the Angela Fareeha knew.
Fareeha started to relax the more she answered the routine questions and, to her relief, saw that so did Satya, without that clip in her tone and the tension on her shoulders visibly leaving. A familiar ground was all they needed to feel their lives getting back to normal.
They had a small chit-chat about the weather, the cities they were in and so on. When everything was said and done, Angela finished taking her notes and put down the clipboard on her desk. She looked up and saw her two friends sitting on the opposite side looking back. There was a beat of silence before she said; “Well. All shows that you two are in perfect condition. And, so you know, your teams were also in excellent shape. This speaks volumes of your leadership.”
“Thanks, Angie. They did a great job out there. Followed my orders diligently, showed initiative and respect for the authorities. They have great synergy. The future of Overwatch looks promising if this is the kind of recruits that keep signing up. What do you think, Saty?
“Yes. Their performance was adequate. There was only one small issue with their communication skills” she side glanced Fareeha “but nothing to worry about. I will inform Winston of their performance and to keep them in mind for future deployments that require hardlight architects. Under my supervision, of course. They showed promising results, but they still have a long way to go if they want to be at my level.”
“I don’t think anyone can be at your level, Saty.”
“Precisely. That’s why they need to train more.”
Yes, this is exactly what Fareeha needed. Just the three of them having a normal conversation like any other day. Maybe Emily was right. Maybe she had been worrying about this encounter unnecessarily. Nothing would change their dynamic and friendship. The tension she felt since she boarded the drop-ship with Satya, finally started to leave her body.
And seeing Angela relax on her chair told her she felt the same way.
“Well, I’m glad that you two are back safe and sound… Now, I won’t take more of your time. I’m sure you both are tired after being away for so long, so… you can go now. Take a relaxing bath and go to sleep.” Angela tried to dispatch them with a gentle smile and making shoo gestures with her hands.
It was tempting. It was really tempting for Fareeha to pretend like there was nothing to talk about. After all, Satya told her she wasn’t ready and sure as hell Fareeha wasn’t either. But… what other opportunities can they have like this? The three of them together and alone, finally some normalcy in their lives thanks to this simple checkup routine and with no other obligations that could interrupt them.
Fareeha debated her options; rip the bandage off or keep postponing it. She looked at Angela; the doctor busying herself typing something in her datapad. Glancing at her right, she saw Satya looking downwards at her hands. Fidgeting with hardlight.
No one made any movement for leaving. Tension started to creep back into Fareeha and, after a minute, she decided to bite the bullet and just be done with it. The longer she waited, the harder it would be to have a somehow decent conversation.
“Angela…” she started and stopped when her friend’s face drastically transformed from pleasant to horror. Her eyes silently pleading to not continue. But Fareeha wouldn’t show her mercy. heh
“Uhm, Angela look…” once again she was interrupted, but this time by Satya’s hand on her forearm. Unlike the doctor, Satya’s face didn’t betray her emotions, but her eyes radiating warmth.
“Fareeha, I understand your logic. I can see why you think this is the ideal moment to deal… with this affair. With our convoluted schedules, finding a window where we all are available for more than one hour seems almost impossible. But… I’m sure we’ll find a way to accommodate.” She told Fareeha while patting her arm. “Besides, if you recall our conversation, I expressed my feelings about this; I’m not ready for having this discussion yet.” She then looked at Angela. ”And if I’m reading Angela’s expression correctly, she isn’t either. Forgive me, if I’m mistaken and speak for you.” Angela just fervently nodded, so Satya continued. “It had been several days of hard work and stressful events, we just got back and I think following Angela’s advice is the right course of action. With a few days to decompress we could try again and have a proper conversation, like adults and not…” she took a breath and slowly exhaled. “…hormonal teenagers.”
Fareeha and Angela exchanged a quick look. Clearing her throat, Fareeha agreed. “Yeah. You’re right, Saty. It had been a very emotional few days. Focusing on my mission didn’t give me much time to prepare for this.” This was, to some extent, a lie. She thought she would be able to handle the situation once she got back, but it only took one encounter with Satya to lose all her confidence. “So, probably it’s for the best to sleep on it now that we’re back and then try again.” She gave Satya a smile and then turned to Angela. “Angie?”
The doctor was snapped out of her thoughts after hearing her name. “Uh? PLEASE! I mean. Yes. Of course, that’s a good idea. A great idea in fact. Now that you’re back, I can stop worrying about your whereabouts, finish my already due reports and work on being more… rational for our next reunion.” She gave Fareeha an apologetic look. The captain's expression didn’t change, but her cheeks turned about four shades pink recalling their conversation. “This is an exceptional idea, Satya. Time for ourselves, that’s what we need. Sleep on it. Yes. Let’s sleep on it. Now. Right now. You can use the stretch beds here. Do you need sleeping pills? If you are having problems sleeping, I can give you sleeping pills. As your doctor I recommend you take sleeping pills even if you don’t.” Angela said she would work on being more rational, that didn’t mean she would do it right now.
Satya politely shook her head, a more amicable approach than Fareeha mutely looking at Angela with increasing worry and confusion on her face. “It won’t be necessary, but I appreciate your concern, Angela. Now, since our checkup is done and we all agreed to clear our heads before we arrange another meeting to discuss this matter, I will take my leave.” With that Satya got up and made a little bow to Angela and Fareeha. Her two friends just returned the bow without a word.
Before stepping outside, Satya stopped and turned around. She opened her mouth to say something but closed quickly, eyes refusing to meet her friends. It took her a couple of seconds, debating if it was appropriate to make a request in this situation. “If you don’t mind, and if you think it won’t be too difficult to do so, I would like to continue having our breakfast and get together whenever we can. Not to discuss this topic, but just for the fact that I deeply enjoy our time together and I would hate to miss it for this”.
This surprised her friends, they didn’t think about that during the whole ordeal. Fareeha was the first to agree. “Of course, Saty. Yes, I would love to. We need some normalcy in our lives after all. I wouldn’t have it another way.” Also, I don’t think we can avoid each other forever in the base .
“Oh but absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it for anything, I’m always looking forward to our breakfast together. I would love to keep doing them and avoid this topic altogether. In fact, maybe with time we all have a laugh at this and forget that anything happened! Hahaha…” Angela kicked herself mentally when her friends didn’t show any signs of getting her joke. “Haha…ha… *cough* Yes, Satya, I’m looking forward to our usual breakfasts.”
With a warm smile, Satya thanked them and left. Both friends stayed quiet for a while until they exhaled a breath they didn’t know were holding. Slumping on the chairs both silently thanked Satya’s rational mind. Clearly, the only one with a brain cell of the group and maturity to deal with this.
“Well… that’s that.” Fareeha said with a smile.
“Yes, this has gone way better than I expected. Let me level with you, Fari… I was not prepared for our encounter and I had been a bundle of nerves after we chatted. That, by the way, it’s not how I usually speak and uhm… I’m deeply sor-”
Fareeha raised a hand to preemptively silence Angela’s string of apologies. “It’s ok. We won’t talk about it now, remember? And, trust me, I wasn’t doing any better. I thought I was ready but after seeing Satya, I realized I was wholly unprepared to deal with this. I kinda understood how you felt when we talked.”
“Ha… well it’s good to know I’m not the only one having a crisis.” Angela said.
“Yeah…”
“So…”
Before they end up in the “I have no idea what to say now” zone, Fareeha took the initiative to end their meeting “Well, this was a good, uh, talk. I’m going now. I need to take my Raptora to the armory, unpack and debrief. And a shower sounds good too. So… See you around, Angie. Thanks for the checkup.” Fareeha stood up and with a short salute, walked away.
“Wait!” Angela said, stopping her from leaving. “I just wanted to say that… that I’m glad that we’re on speaking terms. I-I was really worried that I ruined our relationship once again.”
Fareeha smiled at this. “Yeah, me too. I was worried about the same.”
“Great minds think alike, right?”
“Haha more like panic alike. Anyways, we survived the fall of Overwatch soooo I think we can rest assured this won’t affect our relationship.”
They shared a smile and Fareeha finally left. Angela slouched on her chair, sighing. She felt like all her energy had left her body and, thankfully, also all the tension from her shoulders.
I’m so silly. All these days worrying about nothing. It’s Saty and Fari. They don’t have a bad bone in them. Hopefully our mornings won’t change at all.
Both women felt more at ease after their reunion. In hindsight, they shouldn’t have made a big deal of this. While both women kept going on with their business, they couldn’t help a thought creep in their minds; Satya sees us as horny and irrational teenagers.
Angela and Fareeha let out a loud groan in unison.
~
[T-Racer] “Em!”
[T-Racer] “Em! Emi! Emily!
[T-Racer] “EeeeeemmmmmmmmmmmmMMMmmMMM emilyemilyemily!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Hi honey! How are you?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Are Fareeha and Satya back? Did they talk to Angela? How did it go?”
[T-Racer] “:3 <3 Luv u <3 :3”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “:o =^-^= I luv u 2”
[T-Racer] “ (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄ “
[T-Racer] “Send nudes.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “>:(“
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “So… any news?”
[T-Racer] “OH RIGHT!”
[T-Racer] “yeh yeh yeh. So yeah, this morning I was with Angie waiting for Satya and Fari. Angie didn’t know they were coming and I didn’t tell her because… wait, why didn’t I tell her? :-?”
[T-Racer] “I think I had a good reason”
[T-Racer] “…meh”
[T-Racer] “Anyways! We were waiting for them, right?, and when they finally landed. Oh boy.”
[T-Racer] “I've never seen Angela so tense in my life.”
[T-Racer] “Or Fareeha.”
[T-Racer] “Or Satya… scratch that. She always looks tense.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Focus.”
[T-Racer] “yeh yeh yeh, So they are standing there not moving a muscle and I’m standing next to a statue that resembles Angela.”
[T-Racer] “The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Which is not a good idea because the last time I pulled out a knife close to Fareeha she subdued me.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Wot?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “A Knife? You pulled out a knife at Fareeha?”
[T-Racer] “Pffft, of course not! I just tried to make a point of how tense the situation was by mimicking I could cut it.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “…why”
[T-Racer] “ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Can’t remember. I only know it was a good idea until it wasn’t”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “ …”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “… back to topic, please.”
[T-Racer] “right!”
[T-Racer] “ok, so we’re all standing there. No one moved or said anything. It was a standoff, like those western movies Mcree likes so much. But awkward instead of exciting.”
[T-Racer] “Then, FINALLY, they decided to get close.”
[T-Racer] “and there we were. All together staring at each other. Three useless lesbians and me.”
[T-Racer] “Oh! Wait! Hana was there too.”
[T-Racer] “Wait. What was Hana doing there?”
[T-Racer] “It was too early for her. Well, it was almost noon. She usually is still asleep by then. Wait, why can she sleep in and I have to get up at 06 when I’m at the base? Winston you twat.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Focus.”
[T-Racer] “Sorry! Soooo we only exchanged some greetings and that was it.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “What.”
[T-Racer] “Yup! Not another word! I was dying there, Em! I was expecting something! Drama! Confessions of love! Profanities! Anything!”
[T-Racer] “Anyway… after what felt like an eternity, I left. I mean, nothing was happening and I realized that I wasn’t doing them any good by being there. U know. Private moment and all that.”
[T-Racer] “Soooo I took Hana and left.”
[T-Racer] “Btw, for someone so small Hana can put up a fight!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “ I’m pretty sure she is slightly taller than you.”
[T-Racer] “It was really hard to dragged her out of there”
[T-Racer] “Em don’t shame me.”
[T-Racer] “As I was saying, she didn’t want to leave. I don’t know why… suspicious.”
[T-Racer] “In any case, she bit me.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “What?”
[T-Racer] “Yeh, she bit my arm… maybe I should get tested for rabies.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Ok ok, before you side track, that was it? They greeted each other and you left? Well, that’s disappointing.”
[T-Racer] “Em I need you to come to the base and kiss it better”
[T-Racer] “EEeeeeem don’t interrupt me!”
[T-Racer] “But yeah, that sums up pretty well.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Bummer.”
[T-Racer] “HOWEVER!”
[T-Racer] “And I expect a lot of praises for this”
[T-Racer] “Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii got the footage of the three of them at the medical post!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “wait what?”
[T-Racer] “Yeah, seems like Angela forgot to tell Athena to activate the Doctor-patient confidentiality protocol and so it was recorded.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “but… isn’t that invading their privacy?”
[T-Racer] “Blimey! That was exactly what Athena told me!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “… and yet, she acceded to give you the footage?”
[T-Racer] “well… y’know I can be really persuasive.”
~
“Athena!! Athena!! Hey! Listen! Athena!! Athena!! Athena!! Hey!! Athena!! Listen! Athena!! Athena!! Hey!”
For the last 30 minutes Lena had been saying the A.I. 's name, nonstop, running around the base so she wouldn’t be cut off the rooms coms, with the hopes of convincing them to grant her access to the hangar medical bay’s cameras.
It was at that moment that Athena understood why the Null Sector was trying to eradicate the human race. And the A.I. felt tempted to join forces. But refrained just for the sake of Winston.
~
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “I wonder if an A.I. can develop headaches.”
[T-Racer] “Why?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “No reason.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Ok… I can’t judge you for invading their privacy… because I want to know what happened.”
[T-Racer] “HA! Moral ambiguity rules!”
[T-Racer] “Ok, so, what I saw… really pissed me off.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “ :o “
[T-Racer] “I mean, they acted like nothing was going on! Angela examined them; they answered all her questions, chatted like any other day... It felt like all that Fari told us was just a big act! An intricate and unnecessary complicated prank!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Didn't it occur to you that perhaps the three most professional agents you know were, in fact, taking their job seriously and just following protocol?”
[T-Racer] “… well, yeah, but where’s the fun in that?”
[T-Racer] “I almost went to Fareeha and gave her a piece of my mind. That’s it, until Satya spoke.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Oh the enigmatic Satya.”
[T-Racer] “Yeah, enigmatic and clearly the most likely to wear the pants in the relationship.”
[T-Racer] “If they get together.”
[T-Racer] “No. Scratch that. WHEN they get together. This is happening and I will make sure of it.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Oook, we’ll talk about that later.”
[T-Racer] “?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Don’t worry, please continue.”
[T-Racer] “Well, long story short; She told Fari to shut her trap before she gives Angela a heart attack. And that they should have breakfast.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “???”
[T-Racer] “Ok ok she didn’t say that. She told them that they ought to take their time instead of rushing for answers and not let this ruin what they have.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Hm”
[T-Racer] “yeh”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “And they all agreed on it?”
[T-Racer] “Yup. Angie and Fari are on board with the idea. Satya made them realize that maybe, MAYBE, they were overreacting.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Interesting… I honestly thought that, of the three, Fareeha would have been the one bringing reason on the table.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “This shows how little I know Satya. I hope next time I can talk with her more.”
[T-Racer] “Em?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Yeah?”
[T-Racer] “When we met, was I as bad as them?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “ …what do you mean?”
[T-Racer] “Y’know. Like panicking at the idea of talking to you and stuff.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “…”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “…”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “No”
[T-Racer] “ :-? “
[T-Racer] “I feel like you’re hiding something but I remember to be real smooth.”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “God bless your selective memory.”
[T-Racer] “Hey!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Don’t worry, I love everything about you. Even your faults.”
[T-Racer] “D’aw”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Your many many faults.”
[T-Racer] “Hey!”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “:p Just kidding, hon.”
[T-Racer] “:3 luv u”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “luv u 2”
[T-Racer] “ :D :D :D <3 <3”
[T-Racer] “Ok, gotta run. TTYL”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “Have a good day hon! And thanks for keeping me updated.”
[T-Racer] “Em?”
[♥ ♥ EM ♥ ♥ ] “I won’t send you nudes.”
[T-Racer] “ :-( “