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Always block your phone

Summary:

One group chat. Three women. Lots of panic attacks and awkward conversations.

Angela will learn the horrors of leaving her phone behind unprotected.

Notes:

Hello!
The idea for this fic came from a post by @LuckyLadyLily and my insomnia. I'm not going to say what was that post about because it would be spoiler. Sorta. Idk.

A big shout out to LuckyLadyLily for the inspiration, proof reading and giving me the courage to post it.

This is my first time writing a fic! Hope you like it.

Hey, @kinaesthetique! Look! I'm contributing for this canoe of a ship!

Chapter 1: That’s my code name on your screen

Chapter Text

This was supposed to be her relaxing day off.

Well, as relaxing as the head (and only) doctor for a group of vigilantes can be, but still!
She has mentally prepared to just spend the day catching up with her friends and only respond to emergency calls. Maybe work on some paperwork. Having a panic attack caused by a text message was not in her plans.

Angela has been pacing in her office for at least 5 minutes after reading a text she received and waiting for her reply, her phone silently judging her from her desk. She has no idea how to handle this.

She could lie, create an excuse or say it was a prank perfectly calculated. After all, if she can handle the media that swarmed her in her hospital after the recall was made, she can surely deal with her closest friends… or so she thought.

Realizing she is delaying the inevitable (and that it was quite rude to ghost her) she picks up her phone and re-reads the texts in the group chat that Fareeha created minutes ago. The group consisted of Fareeha, Satya and her. It didn’t have a name, so at first she thought it was just for going out for lunch with the two of them. She wonders if that’s the case in other reality.

Satya left the group a couple of seconds after Fareeha brought the main reason for the group. “ Smart move. And really smooth too .” Angela thought.

Sighing, Angela reads the last text and starts typing;

[Fareeha 11:35 AM] “I’m just… curious…”

[Angela 11:42 AM] “Well… about that...”

------- 

It was 07 Am on the clock when Angela arrived at the headquarters kitchen to prepare a good cup of coffee to finally wake her up. She has no doubt that someone has cursed her to be an early bird when she was born, no matter how exhausted she was the night before. Very slowly she started to prepare her and Satya’s breakfast.

Satya, on the other hand, was up and ready since 06 Am, something Vishkar made sure all their employees practiced and it stuck on her. Satya didn’t mind though. She enjoyed having the gym section practically empty for her to practice yoga in peace. Her schedule every morning was simple; yoga, shower and then breakfast with Angela. She followed it to the letter and it always amazed Angela how punctual she was.

While she was preparing their breakfast, Angela got a message from Satya. It wasn’t a direct message per se but from the group chat they created. They were the only group members and they have no plan on inviting anyone else.

The point of the group was… personal. For some, it would make no sense to have a group chat with only two participants but Satya and Angela decided it was the best for chatting only there about… a particular topic.

[Satya 07:10 AM] “Black tank top. Black shorts… leg day.”

This woke Angela up faster than coffee and didn’t waste a second.

[Angela 07:10 AM] “Pictures?”

[Satya 07:11 AM] “No, Angela. We discussed this. I don’t feel comfortable taking pictures and you shouldn’t be asking for them. I’m heading to the showers now.”

[Satya 07:11 AM] “…”

[Satya 07:11 AM] “Leg press…”

[Angela 07:12 AM] “I swear one day I will be able to corrupt you enough for you to take pictures”

She didn’t get an answer back. “ Damn Satya’s moral principles .” Angela thought with a smirk.

The group pretty much consisted in the two of them thirsting for Fareeha. Satya only wrote key words of her sightseeing, while Angela was more descriptive and detailed. A couple of times she shared some pictures she managed to discreetly take. This stopped after Satya let it clear how wrong it was and how uncomfortable it made her. In hindsight it was creepy so Angela deleted all those pictures.

However sometimes Satya’s words were too much to leave it only to the imagination. Angela was only a woman after all.

The group name was not subtle at all. It was crass even. It surprised Angela that not only Satya accepted it but also contributed to it.

I am really horny for Pharah right now… buff lady …”

The first part was Angela’s 48hs sleep deprived accidental message to Satya. The second part was Satya’s answer after 30 minutes of silence.

After an awkward and long talk, they finally came clean to each other. It felt nice to have someone to talk about this instead of bottling it up as usual. They also admitted that they would never do something about their crush on Fareeha. Something about work, schedules, responsibilities and so on… when in reality they were terrified of what could happen if they confessed to her. So they contented themselves with just having a sad but entertaining group chat.   

Just when Angela finished serving their breakfast, Satya entered the kitchen and joined her at one of the round tables. They enjoyed each other's company and their small talks, never talking about the contents of the group chat in the open. Sometime later Fareeha came in and joined them with a cup of coffee.

Breakfast was the best part of the day for all of them. Angela enjoyed having a moment of peace and idle chat, Satya always felt at ease with them and Fareeha just loved their company.

Fareeha is an easy going person, she has a friendly relationship with everyone in Overwatch but Angela and Satya were the company she always sought for. Angela was her old acquaintance and later best friend when they reunited again. Satya… she never thought she would end up becoming friends with the architect.

When Fareeha heard that an ex-employee of Vishkar was joining she had her reservations. However, the day Satya arrived and presented herself, Fareeha knew they would be alright. Her idealism and desire to help those who can’t help themselves made her feel close to the woman.

Fareeha and Satya were having a deep conversation while Angela was lost in her thoughts.

This is nice. No missions, no screams, no gunshots, no “I swear Luv, that wall wasn’t there when I blinked”. Only a relaxing day awaits me .” Angela thought while sipping her coffee. “ And this morning started so well! It has been a while since Fareeha joined us for breakfast. I wonder if she has a free schedule too .” Just at that moment Angela recalled what Satya’s wrote in the group. Unconsciously her eyes wandered to Fareeha’s lap. She changed her gym clothes and now was wearing a blue trouser that matched her blue T-shirt. Angela felt a little disappointed about not being able to check… “ Wait, what? ” Angela quickly averted her eyes and cleared her mind. “ I will NOT think about this with Fareeha present. It’s… it’s wrong! Just focus on breakfast, Angela. We are just three friends enjoying a healthy breakfast. Three friends which two have a big crush on the third…

While Angela tried to clear her head her eyes caught a glimpse of Fareeha’s biceps. Her T-shirt accentuated Fareeha’s muscles and Angela was appreciating every move she did. It took Fareeha a second time calling her name for Angela to realize her two friends were looking at her.

Angela’s panic and cup of coffee helped her to hide any possible blush. Quickly making eye contact,  Angela responded “Hm? Oh sorry, I was lost in thought. What were you saying Fareeha?” Satya fished for her phone and started typing.

“I was saying that today I will be leaving for an oversea mission. I won’t be around here for a couple of days and wanted to know if you needed anything from me before I go.” Fareeha said.

Before Angela could answer, her phone vibrated. Taking a quick look at Satya she saw the woman was no longer holding her device and was stoically looking at Angela. “Uh, no, Fareeha, thank you. I have the day off and I plan to take the best out of it, so I will be lazing around trying to do nothing.” Angela answered with a smile while quickly glancing at Satya who still looked like a marble statue. “ ok, what did you send me?” she thought.

“You? Lazing around? HA! Come on, Angela. We have known each other for decades and I never saw you “lazing” around. We both know that a day off is just paperwork day.” Fareeha said with a little laugh.

Finally Angela blushed a little. She hated to be predictable and was aware that her last days off ended up in her office working uninterrupted and sleeping on her desk.

“Well, then I guess that I will have to prove you wrong today.” Angela said with a smirk and haughty tone. Once again she caught Satya typing on her phone. “ I refuse to check the messages. I just know whatever she is writing will only make me blush harder. ” Angela thought, casting a quick glance at Satya.

“Well doctor, let me help you with that. I will do your dishes for you. And since I’m at it I will do yours too, Satya.” Fareeha said with a wink while getting up and starting to pick up the dishes.

Angela felt a little joy at seeing Satya blush this time.

Getting up, Satya said “I know you well enough to know that trying to change your mind is futile. So thank you, Fareeha.” Said woman just smiled and gathering the dishes walked to the sink.

“Now, if you excuse me, I will take my leave. There are several blueprints that I want to finish today.” With this Satya bid her farewells and left the kitchen.

Angela on the other hand refused to let this happen. “Now, Fareeha, a couple of dishes won’t ruin my day. You just take care of your cup and I will do the rest.” Angela said while walking to the sink.

“Ah ah, doctor, you once told me that taking a day off and letting others take charge from time to time was part of a healthy work life. It is time you follow your own advice” Fareeha leaned a little to the left to block Angela from the sink.

“Ugh, Fareeha just-“

“Nope!” Fareeha interrupted the doctor and didn’t budge. “If you want you can keep me company. Go and sit, rest those feet.” She said nodding with her head.

It was too early for this, Angela really didn’t want to argue on her day off, even if it was just a friendly banter with Fareeha. “Fine! But don’t request medical assistances if you cut yourself with… spoons.” Hearing Fareeha’s laugh really lifted Angela’s spirits.

With Fareeha distracted on the dishes, Angela checked her phone once she sat again.

[Satya 08:19 AM] “Careful, Angela. You’re ogling.”

[Satya 08:20 AM] “The water dispenser is just a few feet away from our position. It can help you with your thirst.” 

[Satya 08:20 AM] “Want me to get you a glass of water? You need to stay hydrated, Angela”

Angela’s face was burning. Looking up from her device she saw Fareeha’s back, still focusing on the dishes.

[Angela 08:25 AM] “Oh don’t you sass me, miss! It’s not my fault Fareeha has her body sculpted by the goddesses themselves!

[Angela 08:25 AM] “I have no idea how you can keep your eyes from wandering.”

Angela couldn’t help but smile at this. She was the only one to see Satya's sassy side and was happy that she felt comfortable enough to be like that around her.

[Satya 08:26 AM] Order, Angela. I keep my thoughts, desires and priorities in order.”

[Satya 08:26 AM] “Also I had my fill this morning.”

Angela let a little huff escape her lips. “ Now that’s not fair.” Angela thought while blushing harder at the imagines that started to form in her head.

Everything alright?” Fareeha asked looking over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh! Yes, yes, everything is alright.” That caught Angela out off guard. She quickly closed the message app and decided it would be for the best to read one of her many reports she needed to check. This would keep her mind busy.

“So, Fareeha, where are you going exactly? I’m sorry but my head was in another place during breakfast.”

“Ah, actually I didn’t say. I just told Satya I was leaving and asked you both if you needed something. I guess I sidetracked when I finally got your attention. You distract me, doctor.” Fareeha said with a short laugh. Angela, though, didn’t share the laugh and had her eyes burning holes on Fareeha’s back. She was praying that the woman didn’t turn around because if she was blushing due Satya’s tease then now she must look like a tomato.

She started mindlessly to slide her phone screen from one side to another, not doing anything in particular while thinking what she should say. “ God dammit, Fareeha. Flirting? Really? Are you trying to kill me? Wait, is she flirting? Was that flirt or just a friendly tease?”

None of the two said anything for a while. Angela was about to break the silence but a voice from the heavens interrupted her. Well, actually it was Athena from one of the kitchen’s speakers.

Athena : “ Dr. Ziegler, I apologize for interrupting your morning but two agents are in need of your services .”

Hearing Athena's voice while she was drowning in her own thoughts startled Angela, making her juggle with her phone until it fell on the table. “Whu, what? What? Ah! It’s ok Athena. Please tell me the situation and the gravity of such.”

Athena : “ … Both agents asked me to release as little information as possible… but for the sake of their wellbeing I will ignore that command. Agents Tracer and Mcree bet who could win in an arm wrestling match. Agent Tracer used her Chronal accelerator to blink and use that force to win the match. She did. Agent Tracer also dislocated agent Mcree’s shoulder, tripped with her chair and hit her face on the wall in the process.”

Fareeha stopped doing the dishes, didn’t move nor said anything. Angela just closed her eyes and started to count from 10 to -10. “ When the situation requires it, always go the extra mile. ” Emily told Angela regarding dealing with Lena’s antics. Emily usually goes up to -15.

Athena : “ I suggested reaching you immediately, Dr. Ziegler, but both agents asked (screamed) to not bother you on your day off. Next they spent 10 minutes cursing and screaming at each other. Agent Tracer mostly cursed herself.”

Both Angela and Fareeha were still speechless.

Athena : “ … my favorite is “Bloody ‘ell, I’m an absolute plonker!”

Angela sighed, hastily getting up and starting to head to the exit. “Ten minutes, right? Tell them to go to the infirmary, please. I’m heading there now. And Athena? I know your heart was in the right place, but next time ignore their request to not contact me… especially from those two agents.”

 

Athena : “ Understood. Sorry Dr. Ziegler, It won’t happen again.”

Angela was in automatic pilot, thinking already in what she needed to do. Before she leaves the kitchen, Fareeha says “Well… so much for a day off, uh?” Angela stopped in her tracks, for a second she forgot about Fareeha.

“Yes… unfortunately I’m bound to the Code of Medical Ethics, so leaving them to their own devices is not an option. Sorry Fareeha, I think I won't be able to keep you company… if I don’t see you before you leave, I wish you a safe and joyful trip.” She said with an already tired smile and slouched posture.

“And I hope you get to enjoy your day off eventually. See you around, Angela”. Fareeha gave her the same sad smile. Seeing her friend like this never sat well in her.

---- 

Fareeha returned to finish doing the dishes. After she was done, she started to mentally go through everything she needed to get ready before her deployment. Just when she was about to leave she heard Angela’s phone vibrating on the table. “ Oh, seems like she forgot her phone. I better take it to her before she adds it to her stress list ” Fareeha picked up the phone and saw it wasn’t locked. Also she saw she got a message from Satya… from a group called ““ I am really horny for Phar-“ 

Fareeha took a minute looking at the screen. Maybe it was a coincidence. Maybe that wasn’t her code name. After all, the group’s name wasn’t displayed completely… she debated opening the chat or just locking the phone. Her curiosity won and decided to open the chat.

It wasn’t a coincidence. The group name was pretty clear. And Satya messages only confirmed it.

[Satya 08:29 AM] “Is Fareeha doing the dishes one of your fantasies, Angela?”

[Satya 08:30 AM] “Sorry I jest.”

[Satya 08:45 AM] “Angela, are you there?”

[Satya 09:00 AM] “Did I overstep? I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Fareeha scrolled a little up and read the other interactions. She was glad that no one else was in the kitchen at that moment to see her whole face burn.

Deciding to just lock the phone and leaving it on the table, she left the premises and went directly to her room. Any thoughts about her deployment were replaced with what she read.

---

Angela finished her emergency call only an hour later. She made sure her friends were well attended… and spent a long time berating and grounding them. “We’re adults! You can’t ground us and send us to our rooms!” They said. “I will break your knees if you don’t stay there.” Angela responded. No one said anything else and each one went to their own space.

Angela plopped down on her desktop’s chair and stared at the ceiling for several minutes. When her neck started to hurt she decided a distraction was in order. She reached for her phone only to realize it was missing. She wanted to scream in frustration, but that thought died quickly when she recalled that the last time she used it was in the kitchen.

Sighing, she got up and made her way there. “Athena, do me a favor before I reach the kitchen. Can you check if my phone is there?” Angela asked while slowing her pace in case it was a waste of time heading there.

Athena : “ Yes, Dr. Ziegler. It’s still on the table where you were. Agent Pharah picked it up but left it there again after a minute and no one else visited the kitchen.”

Well, that’s weird. Maybe she didn’t have time to bring it to me .” Angela thought “Thanks, Athena.”

Angela found her phone exactly where she left it, well, drop it in this case. She unlocked it and saw she had several messages unread. The newest were from Satya and Lena.

[Lena 10:12 AM] “I’m sorry. :(”

I wonder if Emily receives the same message every time Lena messes up.”

Satya left messages in the group as well directly to her and a couple of missing calls. She decided to check the messages directed to her.

[Satya 10:05 AM] “Angela, I’m truly sorry for overstepping your boundaries. I cherish our friendship and I would do anything to keep it. If you feel you can’t forgive me… I understand. Please let me know your decision. Again, I’m deeply sorry.”

Oh no, Satya, what are you talking about?” Angela started to worry. She checked the group to see what she missed.

 

[Satya 09:30 AM] “Clearly I have ruined the dynamics of this group. I thought I finally understood how to talk in a relaxed and friendly manner but I’m far from it. Please, Angela, please forgive me.”

At this point Angela was almost running to Satya’s room “ oh Satya please, don’t close yourself up again ” She stopped on her tracks and decided to call her instead. From her texts she seems really stressed and maybe a face to face won’t help her to calm down.

At the second ring Satya answered

“Angela I’m so sor-“ “No, no, Satya, listen, there is nothing to apologize for, please. I need to apologize. There was an emergency and I forgot my phone in the kitchen. I should have paid attention and taken it with me so I wouldn’t have left you hanging. I’m really sorry, Satya. Please don’t berate yourself.”

A couple of seconds passed in silence in which Angela was holding her breath.  “Oh” Satya said followed by a sigh “I… I’m sorry, I overreacted then. I should have known better than jump to conclusions”

Angela released her breath “Don’t worry Satya, please. It was my fault for forgetting my phone. I just want you to know there is nothing you should apologize for… and no, Fareeha doing the dishes it’s not exactly a fantasy I ever thought about.” Angela hoped her lame attempt of humor would break the tension.

“I see… duly noted.” Unfortunately Satya didn’t find it funny.

There was another stretch of silence but Angela knew Satya only needed a moment to compose herself. “Satya, do you want me to call you in a couple of minutes? I can wait for your call if you prefer.” She offered.

“No… it’s ok. I’m fine. I just need… to unwind. Too many emotions at the same time.” Satya said “I was really scared when I saw you read my messages and didn’t answer for a long time. I thought you… ghosted me? Is that the correct term? In hindsight I should have known better than wait for an immediate answer”

“Yes that’s the correct term. I’m really sorry, after you told me you got your “fill” of Fareeha I had to close the chat to stop myself from acting like a fool in front of Fareeha.” Angela laughed a little at the memory.

“Oh, I thought my other comment upsetted you. According to the application you read the message I sent after” Satya now was confused.

“Hmm I might have seen them but not actually read them. Sorry. In any case, it was for the better. I don’t think I would have been able to stay in the same room with Fareeha after that.” Angela said with a smile. “Tell you what, why don’t we have lunch later and try to forget about all this? If you’re up for it, of course.”

“I would like that.” Satya felt more at ease after hearing this. “Thank you Angela. And… I really appreciate your friendship. I’m glad this was just a simple misunderstanding.”

“Me too. See you later, Satya” Once she hung up she released a large sigh. It wasn’t even noon and she has been through a roller coaster of emotions. She was drained and needed desperately to lay on her bed.

On her way to her room Angela thought of what Satya said about the messages. Something was off but she couldn’t put it together. She stopped on her tracks when an idea came to mind. “…no. No no no, it’s not possible. My phone was locked. It’s impossible that Fareeha saw those messages…” She kept walking, the chances were minimal, but what Satya and Athena said started to form a horrible possibility.

She was too tired for this. So when she got in her room she plopped on her bed and thought about taking a power nap to clear her mind… which transformed into an hour nap.

---

 Angela woke up with a start when she felt something in her hand vibrate. It was her phone. She fell asleep clutching her phone. After a second to orientate herself, she checked her screen and saw that she was invited to a group chat. It didn’t have a name and it was between Satya, Fareeha and her. “ hmmm maybe Fareeha wants to have lunch together before she leaves… ” She thought.

[Fareeha 11:10 AM] “ Hi”

[Satya 11:10 AM] “ Hello.”

[Angela 11:11 AM] “ Hi Fareeha. Still in the base? At what time are you leaving?”

[Fareeha 11:11 AM] “ Uhm, actually I left an hour ago”

[Fareeha 11:11 AM] “ Oh, then you’re missing us already? It makes sense. We’re really extraordinary and hard to forget people.”

Angela laughed at her own joke.

[Fareeha 11:11 AM] “ Well… sort of. I was thinking about you two for a while now. I don’t really know how to handle this delicately so I will cut the chase.”

[Satya 11:11 AM] “ That’s my kind of conversation”

 [Fareeha 11:12 AM] “This morning, Angela, you left your phone in the kitchen. I picked it up to bring it to you and saw it was unlocked. I couldn’t help but read an incoming message from… your group…”

What a silly nightmare this is. Today’s events really took a toll on me. This is clearly a dream because there is no way I’m reading this right now ” Angela's smile never left her face but her eyes started to look like plates.

[Fareeha 11:12 AM] “ “I’m horny for Pharah, buff lady” or something like that, right? Well… when I saw my code name, my curiosity took over and I read a couple of messages…”

[Fareeha 11:12 AM] “…” “I have questions”

 --- Satya left the group ---

Oh no. Oh nononononono this is really happening

--- Fareeha added Satya to the group ---

--- Satya left the group ---

[Fareeha 11:13 AM] “ Uhm… ok… Satya just blocked me. Angela could you check on her and that she is fine? Also, can you convince her to join the chat. I just want to talk. I’m not mad or anything.”

[Angela 11:13 AM] “ Sure! Justgivemeacoupleofminutes!”

Angela was trying to convince herself of not blocking her contact or throwing her phone as far away as possible.

After fifteen minutes of being in shock without moving, Angela finally snapped out of her stupor and tried to contact Satya. She didn’t manage to reach her and that worried her more than what just transpired. “Athena, could you tell me where Satya is right now?”

Athena : “ Agent Symmetra is talking with Winston about a possible deployment. I’m sorry but I can’t release more information until both parties allow me”

Oh… ok.” Angela had no idea what to think about that. She was not in a state to think straight actually. She just woke up, had a complicated morning and now this is not helping her to sort out any thought.

[Fareeha 11:30 AM] “… Any luck?”

“Breath Angela. Breath and answer.”

[Angela 11:30 AM] “She is not responding but Athena confirms that she is with Winston at the moment, so she is fine I take.”

[Fareeha 11:30 AM] “ Good! Good, good… good. I mean, I’m kinda worried that she is not responding but if Athena and Winston are with her I believe she is fine…”

[Angela 11:31 AM] “Yes. I hope that’s the case… I will check on her again after she finishes with Winston.”

[Fareeha 11:31 AM] “Oh cool, cool… Great. Let me know how it goes.”

[Angela 11:31 AM] “Will do.” “…” “Anything else?”

[Fareeha 11:31 AM] “Uhm… yes? About that group chat…”

[Angela 11:32 AM] “BE RIGHT BACK”

Angela was leaning on the wall. A thousand scenarios crossing her mind. None of them were good. After a couple of minutes she saw another message pop up.

[Fareeha 11:35 AM] “I’m just… curious…”

“” Relaxing day” my ass.”

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2: It's nothing personal, but I will avoid you for the rest of my life.

Summary:

Join Satya in her journey to self loath, panic and extreme evasive maneuvers!

Notes:

A Satya's POV chapter!

In this chapter I will try to show what goes through the architect's mind when under pressure.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

Satya was having an excellent morning so far. A relaxing and fruitful session of yoga (with the delightful addition of Fareeha’s training session across her), a refreshing breakfast with her friends and seeing Angela fluster, left her in high spirits.

And let’s not forget about that wink” she thought while color tinted her cheeks.

Satya headed to her workstation with a smile on her face, a rare sight on the serious architect and something Angela often managed to get out from her.

 

Their “secret” group chat started on a high note this morning and she felt proud of her teasing to Angela. Usually she would worry about these kinds of interactions, but she started to get a hang of it, receiving only positive responses from her friend.

Once she arrived into the workshop, she was greeted with Torbjörn’s noises coming from his workstation, which in any other day would have soured her mood. Not today, though. She was in such good humor that not even that bothered her… actually; it did, but only a little.

Adjusting her sound proof headset and taking a sit, Satya started to work on her blueprints and designs that needed revision. She got a message from Angela responding to her last string of teasing messages. Letting out a chuckle she sent a couple more quips before returning to work.

 

Her mind, however, wandered to Fareeha. Satya was really good at multitasking. Focusing on the task at hand while thinking about other projects or steps she needs to work on, was easy for her. Unfortunately when it came to Fareeha, her productivity plummeted drastically.

“A good and productive distraction if you ask me.” Angela commented about that predicament. And she had to agree to that. Usually she detested delaying her work and breaking her schedule, but thinking about Fareeha always improved her mood in the end.

I have no idea how you can keep your eyes from wandering.” Angela said in their group. Satya teased her a little more before putting her phone down.
Yes, her eyes won’t wander, especially not in front of Fareeha, but it didn’t mean her mind would follow suit.

 

While Angela was as subtle as a flying brick (a reference she never really understood but the meaning was explained to her) she, on the other hand, could hold a conversation with Fareeha keeping eye contact while appreciating the little details. Her soft and beautiful voice, the spark in her eyes when talking or listening to something of her interest, that breathtaking smile, her sense of justice, her… “I… I really am head over heels (as they say) for her, am I?” Satya thought and realized she has been just staring at a blueprint for a couple of minutes now.

Taking a deep breath and with a slight blush on her cheeks, Satya forced herself to get back to work.

Right now she was working on a personal project that Angela came with the idea a week ago after a mission.

 

---

 

They were on their way back to the base after a long field mission that dragged Angela outside her office. No one knew that by that time she had been avoiding sleep.
“You know… your turrets… your turrets should be able to cook.” Angela had said while staring at the ceiling of the Orca from where she was seated next to her.
Satya took a minute to absorb that. “Pardon?”

“Yes. Just imagine. You could regulate their power so we could use them as portable ovens or grills.” Angela said, slightly turning her head to look at her sideways.

“Picture this… we wouldn’t depend on only ration bars; we could cook anything, anywhere we want without the need of gas or electricity. Only on the self-reusable energy of the turrets. Or or or just think about how many barbecue fire hazards we would avoid with Lena… or me.”

Satya had to conceal her laugh behind her hand. “I have to admit that it sounds like it could have a practical use. Though, I don’t think we could give it a proper use during our field missions unless someone else carries a mini-fridge with supplies besides ration bars.”

“Semantics. You could teleport us to the base’s kitchen. Or to a market.” Angela mumbled half asleep as her eyes slowly closed. Satya decided to let her friend sleep and mentally started to draw a blueprint.

 

---

 

After that day, Satya worked to transform Angela’s idea into reality. It was silly, yes, but she wanted to surprise Angela with a present. She only hoped that she would like it.

After a couple of minutes she realized that Angela hadn’t messaged her back. She knew there was no need for an immediate answer but she couldn’t help herself from thinking that maybe she crossed a line, so Satya sent a message checking on her.

Unfortunately, after not receiving any answer for fifteen minutes, her mind went to a dark place.
Satya was no stranger to the intrusive thoughts that accompanied her since her childhood and, as years went by, she learnt how to recognize and deal with them.
However there were times that they overwhelmed her, such was this case.

It was bound to happen. Once again I’ve ruined a relationship. Why did I think that was the proper thing to say?” Satya furrowed her brows as those thoughts started to infiltrate her mind. “Angela has been too patient with me, probably out of courtesy. Surely she pretended to be my friend to avoid hurting me… No, that’s not something she would do… yet she would sacrifice her time for others even if she dislikes them, so perhaps…”

Instead of letting this continue, Satya forced herself to get back to the blueprints. She would handle this later.

That idea didn’t last long and after a while she sent a message apologizing to Angela.

 

---

 

After another 30 minutes of panic and no work progress, Satya checked her phone again. She saw her messages were read but no replies from Angela. “Why would she?” Her mind insisted on berating her as it has been for the last hour.
She composed and sent another apology hoping it would somehow fix the situation… “Or end our friendship.”

Satya tried to focus on her breathing to control her anxiety. She was doing a poor job since even Torbjörn was able to realize something was wrong when he walked past her workstation.

They usually didn’t see eye to eye. Most of the time their opinions clashed and ended in heated discussions that left her agitated. She would never understand why he refused to see the benefits of hard-light over his rustic designs and materials.

Nevertheless, she got used to the engineer’s presence and the rhythmic sounds coming from his station sometimes helped her to focus. Right now, however, she couldn’t handle the idea of talking to him and hoped he would continue his way. But luck was not on her side.

 

“Hey! Vaswani!  Something wrong?” Honestly, Torbjörn just asked as courtesy. He really didn’t want to get involved in whatever the architect was doing.

“…no” Satya quietly responded. Her eyes were fixed on her drawing board and her shoulders were tense.

Ugh… Ingrid would kill me if I walk away from this.” Torbjörn played with the idea of leaving her be but reluctantly approached the architect. “Sigh. Alright, spit it out kid. I know I’m not your best choice for a talk but I’m the only one you have right now. So out with it.”

While Satya didn’t appreciate his tone and crude approach, she was in need of a distraction from her own thoughts and maybe venting would help, even if it was with the engineer.
“I… I think I’ve ruined my relationship with Angela. I don’t think she will forgive me… less speak to me again.” Satya refused to move her eyes from the board.

“Huh? How’s that? I have seen Angela deal with a lot of crap from every single person in Overwatch and never hold a grudge on anybody.” Torbjörn said while stroking his beard. He couldn’t recall a time where Angela would just cut someone from her life… Well, O'Deorain was the exception.

“Tsk. This is different.” Satya stood up and finally looked at Torbjörn, a scowl on her face. “I don’t have the seniority the rest of the agents have nor the familial bond all of you share. I’m obviously an outsider”

“ Also… I have crossed the line and insulted her on a personal level.” She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Torbjörn would never admit it but he felt a pang of sympathy for the architect.
“An outsider? Kid, you have been pestering me for a year now! Ugh, look, I don’t know or WANT to know what happened between you two. But one thing I know is that the doc is forgiving to a fault. Have you talked to her?”

“…no, I hadn’t received any text back from her.” Satya said while grabbing her phone.

“I meant if you talked with her. Not texts! You don’t fix anything just sending messages back and forth!” He exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air

“Well, it’s not easy for me.” Satya said agitated. “And why do you care? I don’t recall you ever showing interest in my affairs aside for antagonizing me.” She cringed the moment the words left her mouth. She should know better than berate someone who was lending an ear.

“Hey! I’m trying to help here!” Torbjörn said frustrated. “And don’t flatter yourself. I’m more concerned about Angela than for you.”

There was a moment of silence after their outburst. Satya felt miserable. “I’m worried about her too. It’s only logical that he is worried for Angela and not me. She is much more important than I am.” Satya thought, returning her gaze back to the drawing board.

After both of them regained their composure, Satya broke the silence.

“Sorry for my outburst… it was uncalled for. It’s just that I… I don’t think I can handle that.” She said.

Taking a deep breath, Torbjörn said “Listen, I hate myself for saying this but I have seen you in the battlefield, Vaswani. I have seen you charge head first against those tin cans to rise shields and cover us. I know how you defected from that brainwashing company and have been fixing their mess. What I’m trying to say is… sigh… you have more guts and heart than most of the new recruits I saw during the golden age of Overwatch. If you can handle all that, you can handle talking to a friend that you clearly care for. And yes, I assure you Angela is still your friend. The doctor is too nice for her own good sometimes.”

God please let this hell be over” he silently wished.

Satya was stunned. She never thought anything of that was worth mentioning. For her it was her duty and a responsibility, not something to praise. Her creations and designs, on the other hand, were something she truly felt proud of.
Hearing this from Torbjörn, of all people, surprised her.

“… I don’t know what to say.” She told him.

“Good. Don’t say anything.” Torbjörn said.

“But… you’re right.” Satya felt she broke a law of nature for saying that out loud. “I’m overthinking this. Thank you.”   

“Now now, don’t let that go to that big head of yours. Just talk to Angela and stop your self-pity party.” Were Torbjörn's parting words.

 

Well, that was rude. I don’t have a big head and this is clearly not a party.” Satya thought while watching Torbjörn leave but she couldn’t feel angry at him. It was hard to admit, but his words actually helped Satya to calm herself and keep the dark thoughts at bay.
After a couple of minutes, Satya took a deep breath and called Angela… but got no answer.

It’s ok. She isn’t avoiding you. She must be busy.” She reassured herself and decided to ask Athena for Angela’s whereabouts.

Athena informed her about the emergency. Athena also decided not going into details to protect the little dignity the agents still had.

“Of course, I should have thought about that in the first place. Thank you, Athena.” She said while taking a sit. “She is too nice for her own good.” Satya recalled Torbjörn’s words. “Yes. Yes she is.” She thought with a smile.

With a clear mind and emotions in check, she returned to her project.

 

---

 

Satya lost track of time while playing and trying different designs with her hard-light and was startled when her phone got an incoming call. She answered immediately without looking at the caller id, hoping it was Angela and not anyone else. Otherwise she would have to apologize for apologizing.

Yes, she felt a lot better after talking with the engineer but she still felt responsible for what was happening. She truly was scared about ruining their friendship.

Satya didn’t expect for Angela to sound distressed or to apologize. The morning turned into a roller coaster of emotions for the architect. In a short span of time she felt; fear, panic, self loath, relief, panic again and now confusion with some happiness creeping slowly.

It was all a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that Satya took out of proportion. She felt like a fool, but focused on the good news that there was never something to fear.

After everything was clarified, they agreed to get lunch together later and ended the call.
She knew that she wouldn’t be able to get back to work after the call, so she decided to retire to her room after cleaning her desk and board. She needed to vent, and this time she needed something more than talking.

After making some space in her room, which only took her a minute thanks to her minimalist lifestyle and that most of her furniture were made of hard-light, Satya finally ribbon danced her frustrations away. Of all the possible ways to stim, she found out that dancing not only helped to center her, but also improved her control of hard-light. So she did just that. Danced with a hard-light ribbon to her heart's content and cleared her mind of all that has transpired in only a few hours.

 


 

Once relaxed, Satya rearranged her room and took a quick shower before heading to the lounge. She planned on killing some time there before her lunch with Angela; she finally started to feel like everything was back to normal and looked forward to the rest of the day.
That’s it, if she hasn’t been invited to a group chat with Fareeha and Angela. “Now this is a pleasant surprise.” She thought without knowing what awaited her.

Something that frustrated Satya to no end was when her body acted without her consent. This time, however, she couldn’t be more grateful.
They have been caught. Fareeha found out about their group and now she was confronting them. The second she read the message, she left the group. “Oh… I didn’t mean to do that.” Satya thought while she tried to process what was happening. Once again, Fareeha added her to the group and, just as fast, her fingers moved on their own leaving the group and blocking Fareeha.

… Interesting.”  Satya slowly put down her phone and sat there without moving or looking at anything in particular.

For a couple of minutes only static sounds could be heard from Satya’s head. Losing Angela’s friendship, as horrible as it sounds, was something she could deal with time (just a few decades) since it wasn’t her first time she was abandoned or lost someone. But exposing her true feelings for her friend? That was uncharted territory she was not ready to explore.
When she finally came to her senses she wondered what to do. “Work” was the only word that sprang to her mind. Slowly she got up and headed to the command center where she expected to find Winston.

On her way there she felt her phone vibrate and saw that Angela was calling her. “Ah… I forgot that I’m not alone in this.” Satya said while staring at her phone… it took her 10 seconds to turn it off and create a teleport to the command center.

 


 

Winston was having a good morning. It would have been better if it wasn’t for the incident Athena reported about Lena and Mcree. “Hmph, I guess I will need Angela´s approval before I assign them a mission.”  He though while reclining on his tire. Winston spent his morning organizing the week deployments. So far, he had sent Pharah and a group of new recruits to Morocco.

They got reports about a small attack from Null Sector that miraculously the local authorities and citizens managed to fight back. Overwatch offered to send reinforcements to clear any remaining attackers and for recon. The government accepted it immediately.
And they weren’t the only ones. Once the word spread about Overwatch’s return, Winston and Athena received an immense number of Intel, reports and requests to join from around the globe. Finally, the world started to accept Overwatch again.
Of course he wished they didn’t need them, but he couldn’t help himself to feel proud of their resurgence.

Winston stretched and grabbed his second jar of peanut butter of the day, got comfy on his tire and started to scroll through reports with his back feet. He was not prepared for a flash of light and the sound of space and time ripping open.

He would need to replace the keyboard after crushing it due how hard he gripped it after being startled and didn’t want to think about the time it would take to clean the peanut butter off his fur from the jar he flattened with his hand.

Slowly turning around Winston saw Satya staring at him with a blank face and hands folded in front.

“Uh… Good morning Miss Vaswani! Heh heh, you caught me by surprise.” He said while getting off his tire, avoiding laying his peanut butter hand on the ground.

“…” Satya didn’t say anything nor show any reaction. Winston thought he was looking at a perfect sculpted statue of Satya.

“Uhm… Miss Vaswani?” He tried again.

Satya blinked, coming down to earth. “Good morning, Winston.” She said with a little bow.

Raising an eyebrow, Winston responded “Yes… uh…Good morning. Is everything alright, Miss Vaswani?”

“…yes. Everything… is…” Satya didn’t finish her sentence and just kept staring at him.

 

He had dealt with Talon forces, the Omnic crisis and even went toe to toe with the Reaper in the past… but nothing prepared him for being under the architect’s scrutinizing eyes. “Huh… so this is what Lena meant with 'She can stare into your soul.'

A moment of silence passed between them until Satya broke it. “Winston, is there any assignment or project that requires my skills? Preferably one that needs total and uninterrupted isolation for the next week?”

“Uh… hum, there’s nothing that I can think of at the moment.” He said while walking to grab something to wipe his hand.

Satya was proud of how well she was handling herself but her anxiety started to creep in. “Are you sure? Is there no need for a new extension of the base? Maybe an underground bunker? Where I could live till the end of time?” She asked while whispering the last part.

“Haha, no improvements needed! The Lindholms and you did an excellent job putting the base back together. And it looks better than ever! In fact, I don’t think I have thanked you enough for…”

“Winston. Focus!” He was taken aback by her interruption, and Satya mentally scolded herself. “Sorry. But I need something to occupy my mind on. Anything.” She said in a soft voice.

Winston wasn’t sure why Satya was so desperate for a mission, but decided to play along. “Well… I don’t have anything for the base, but we received reports from cities that were attacked by Null Sector in Portugal. Most of them pushed the forces out, but left a lot of collateral damage behind. They could use your help rebuilding their homes.” He told her.

“Oh… Actually…” She thought it was a terrible idea. She didn’t feel like traveling to open spaces.

 

Athena: “I’m sorry for interrupting, agent Symmetra, but it seems Dr. Ziegler is trying to reach you.”

 

Travelling was an excellent idea. Satya has left Angela to fend for herself alone and probably she was trying to drag her back.. She realized that she could try to avoid Angela for a while, but sooner or later the doctor would find her in the base… surely to scold her and convince her to come clean to Fareeha.

Satya already dealt with one panic attack; she couldn’t handle another one. So running away from her problems for a period of time and coming back with a plan, sounded like the best course of action.
Why am I considering this? I’m such a horrible friend. Not only I abandoned her but now I’m thinking about escaping. But… I can’t, I can’t, I just CAN’T do this. Angela must be so disappointed in me and Fareeha… oh no, she must be thinking I’m some kind of deviant!” She worried herself while idly chewing her bottom lip.

Winston saw that Satya was in some kind of internal turmoil and decided to intervene for her sake. “Athena, please tell Angela we’re in a meeting. Thank you.”

 

Athena: “Of course, Winston.”

 

“Miss Vaswani? Is there something troubling you?” He asked.

After another moment of silence, Satya finally made up her mind. “Surely Angela will understand, right?” She tried to convince herself. “I appreciate your concern, Winston, but there is nothing to worry about.” Satya lied. “Now, you mentioned my skills could be of use somewhere else?”

“Uhm, alright. Yes, if you’re ok I can schedule a transport to th-“ Winston said while typing on another keyboard with his sticky hands.

“Today?” Satya interrupted.

“Uh? Well… yes? I mean, yes of course I can arrange that. We have a couple of small carriers available so we can prepare one for this afternoon.” He said.

“I would prefer it if it could be as soon as possible.” Satya said quickly.

Winston raised an eyebrow at this. The whole situation started to worry him. “Hmmm with this short notice the best I can do is get it ready by…” he made some calculations “the next hour. Miss Vaswani this is-“

“Winston.” Satya interrupted him one more time and took a deep breath “I know this is unorthodox and you’re in your right to question me but I assure you this is nothing serious or dangerous. It’s only a personal matter and I beg you not to pry.” she said in a calmer voice.

After nodding slowly, Winston said “I see. Well, I’ll take your word Miss Vaswani. I suggest you start getting ready for the trip; Athena will inform you when the carrier is ready. And don’t hesitate to contact me if I can help you with anything else.”

“Will do. Thank you, Winston, I truly appreciate this.” With this, Satya bid her farewell and left the command center.

 

She kept her phone off, fearing a possible call from Angela and also walked a little faster, fearing crossing paths with her. In fact, she was in no state to cross anyone.

She just needed to reach her room, lock her door, focus on getting ready and scream in her pillow for the next hour.
So it wasn’t a surprise that when she saw Brigitte waving her hand and coming her way on the hallway, Satya created a teleport to her room and disappeared in thin air.
Brigitte stopped on her tracks with her hand still up “… I knew I should have taken a shower this morning” she said while dropping her head.

 

 


 

 

Satya had managed to compose herself by the time her transport was ready. She was currently seated and waiting for the pilot to finish their checks before taking off. Winston had assigned her three new recruits in case she needed help and they were currently accommodating in their seats.

She had a plan; work on the needs of the people and the architectural requirements of the city. Working would help to clear her mind and hopefully come with an idea on how to make it up to Angela and apologize.
Regarding Fareeha… well, she supposed that Angela would share her experience and work from there “that’s it, if she ever forgives me after I backstabbed her… No, enough, I don’t have time for negative thoughts.” Satya looked at her hands and started to play with hard-light to occupy her mind.

She allowed her mind to wander one last time to her predicament: “I wonder how Angela is handling this.”

 

 


 

 

[Angela] “Have you seen yourself in a mirror lately, Fareeha? You must realize that you have a killer body.”

 

WHY?!! WHY I SAID THAT?! WHY I KEEP PRESSING SEND BEFORE READING WHAT I’M WRITING?!!!” Angela thought while shaking her phone. For the last 15 minutes she has been throwing gasoline to the dumpster fire of a conversation.

 

[Fareeha] “I do??”

[Angela] “Haha please, everyone can see it.”

[Fareeha] “EVERYONE?!”

[Angela] “I mean, yeah sure. Besides, this is normal, Fareeha.”

[Angela] “Friends check out other friends.”

[Angela] “I’m sure that Satya and I aren’t the only ones with this kind of groups.”

 

SATYA WHERE ARE YOU? SATYA PLEASE STOP ME!!! TELEPORT ME TO THE MOON BASE!!!”

 

[Fareeha] “I… what?”

[Angela] “Surely you do the same.”

[Fareeha] “No?”

[Angela] “Are you asking me?”

[Fareeha] “No? I mean, no I just… I just don’t know where you’re going with this.”

 

Me neither but do you see me stopping, Fareeha? No. I keep digging my own grave” Angela thought after taking a sit to avoid collapsing

 

[Angela] “What I’m saying is that you shouldn’t think too much into it.”

[Angela] “Come on, you can’t tell me that you never checked out some of our friends.”

[Fareeha] “No, not really… I don’t think so?”

[Angela] “Oh really? Not even Satya? You’ve to admit that she is rather beautiful.”

 

“ATHENA! QUICK! CUT ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BASE!!”

Athena: “No.”

“SCHEISSE!!!”

 

[Fareeha] “I don’t know? Maybe? I never saw her in that way. I… Angela, I now have more questions than before.

[Angela] “hahaha”

[Angela] “HAHahajskjshasskHa lol lol lololol”

[Fareeha] “...”

[Fareeha] “Angela?”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Angela was sure she would get a headache for mentally screaming that much.

Head butting her phone didn’t help either.

 


 

“Surely much better than me.” Satya thought while flying away from her problems.

 

Notes:

Next chapter will be from Pharah's POV!
The plot will start moving forward or I will die trying, I swear.

This time I have a list of bulletpoints... yes, I have been winging it since the beginning and after 8k words I realized that writing down a plan actually helps.

Found any typos? Should I leave more space between lines for easier reading? Did the pace feel like a draggggggg? Let me know!
All feedback is welcome.
Thanks for reading!!! ♥

Chapter 3: When in doubt, (don’t) call Tracer!

Summary:

Fareeha is a professional and she has everything under control.

Notes:

Oh hey, look! An update! And it took me only... 7 months.
...
...
...
Thank god my life doesn't depend on this.

There was a section that I got stuck and I ended up modifying and cutting it like 10 times until I finally settled with what we got... and I'm still not 100% happy with the result.

But hey! I wrote another fic while I was working on this. Because, why torture myself with one fic when I can do it with two?

Here you go: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35052616

Hope you like this chapter and sorry for the wait. Oh and a big thanks to my friend for proofreading this mess!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

Fareeha’s morning has been… peculiar, for lack of a better word.

After her usual gym routine and a fulfilling breakfast with her friends, she had planned to review her deployment’s itinerary one last time before departing… but that idea was absolutely demolished the moment she accidentally read Angela’s phone.

She never in her life expected to find out that her best friends have been “admiring” her in a group chat and she REALLY didn’t expect Angela to be so blunt about it.

[Fareeha] “I’m just… curious…”

[Angela] “Well… about that...”

[Angela] “Look, Fareeha, I’ll be honest with you. Yes, we’ve been… complimenting you for some time now, there’s no point hiding it. We’re all grown women, correct?”

[Fareeha] “…Yes, last time I checked, yes we are.”

[Angela] “Exactly and as such let’s not dance around the subject. Satya and I have eyes, Fareeha. You are a very desirable woman.”


"I'm what?" Fareeha thought while trying to conceal her deep blush.

By the time she gathered enough courage to open a group chat and confront her friends, Fareeha was already on her way to Morocco with the rest of the new recruits and as their captain she had an image to keep up. The composed, sharp and immutable captain of Overwatch.

Right now, Angela was making it really hard to act as such.

[Angela] “I can’t speak for Satya… well actually, yes I can.” 

[Angela] “We had a long conversation about this and we both came to the conclusion that we needed to share notes.”

[Fareeha] “Share notes? What notes?? Notes??? What????”

[Angela] “Oh well, you know… I don’t know how much you read from our group, but we like to register our encounters and observations of you.”

[Fareeha] “I… don’t know how to feel about this.”

[Angela] “Come on, Fareeha! Imagine like we’re birding!”

[Fareeha] “…”

[Angela] “Do you get it?”

[Fareeha] “Yes.”

[Angela] “Because your armor resembles a falcon.”

[Fareeha] “I got it, Angela.”

[Angela] “Birdwatching, Fareeha, we’re only birdwatching.”

Honestly, Fareeha thought this was some kind of joke. Angela, none the wiser, could have convinced her it was a prank if only she’d have tried. However, that was not the case and Fareeha realized that this was really happening.

[Fareeha] “I’m not gonna lie, that’s... unsettling.”

[Angela] “Don’t say that! You’re making us sound like creeps. Rude.”

[Fareeha] “Sorry.”

Wait, why am I apologizing? It’s true.” Fareeha thought, raising an eyebrow.

[Angela] “Also, it’s not right to peep into someone else’s phone.”

[Fareeha] “Yeah, I’m actually sorry about that.”

And I regret doing it.”

[Angela] “You’re forgiven. I’m glad we cleared this out. Water under the bridge. How’s the trip going?”

[Fareeha] “Angela?”

[Angela] “Yes?”

[Fareeha] “Don’t change the subject.”

[Angela] “as6jhwquienija wdkmsao31dwuq ndi uwdi xb6j ke cjdwjc”

[Angela] “…”

[Angela] “Right. Sorry.”

[Fareeha] “Aaaare you ok there??”

[Angela] “Yes, yes, don’t worry. I just tried to strangle my phone.”

[Angela] “Anyways, back to… this. Look, Satya and I are in our respective late twenties and early thirties.”

[Fareeha] “Early thirties, Angela?”

[Angela] “Again, rude.”

[Angela] “As I was saying, we are also both single. Incredible, I know.”

[Angela] “Well, we have needs.”

Oh no.” Fareeha knew she needed to stop her friend from keeping writing.

[Fareeha] “…wait. Angela, wait! Don’t say anything you’ll regret!”

[Angela] “And, pardon my vocabulary, we’re thirsty Fareeha. Horny, if you want to be crass. We’re thirsty and you’re like an Oasis in the desert.”

It was too late. Fareeha had to put down her phone and rest her forehead on her palm. “Oh god. Angela, what are you saying? Why are you writing this? ” She shook her head and let out a long sigh.

She could feel the stares of the recruits, probably wondering what ailed her. At this point she didn’t care. She would worry about her image after they landed.

 


 

Angela wasn’t faring well either.

“Mein goooooooott. What am I saying? Why am I writing this?! Satya will have my hide if she reads this conversation.” She said while staring at the ceiling. Her arms went limp, it was a miracle she was still holding her phone. “At least she left the group chat. Hopefully she will never find out.”

With a sigh, Angela got back to her phone. “Ok. Ok. Okokokok. I can still salvage this. Focus, Angela! Focus! I have survived hundreds of missions thanks to my quick thinking. This is nothing!” She said with renewed vigor. “I only need to be more careful with what I send.”

[Angela] “Can you blame us? Of course not, after all we’re only humans… and you are a Goddess.”

Send.

Angela slowly put her phone down one more time. “This is it. This is how I die. I can feel the aneurysm developing.”

 


 

Fareeha knew that after this she wouldn’t be able to see Angela in the same way again.

Years of getting to know Angela didn’t prepare her for this side of her friend.

Maybe she didn’t know her as well as she thought.

In Fareeha’s mind, Angela was the pinnacle of professional behavior and decorum. Of course, like her friend said, she was only human and much more than just her profession. Something she learnt through the years of working together.

 

Truth be told, their relationship had a rocky start. She barely had time to get to know her when she was growing up and it was later during their adulthood that they started to really know each other.

The first time they met, when Fareeha was just a kid, she had mixed feelings towards the good doctor. At first, she thought Angela was a little haughty, acting so serious and using those big medical terms she didn’t understand, but it was probably Fareeha’s jealousy talking back then.

Not only was the young woman already working for Overwatch as the head of medical research, but Fareeha’s mother, Ana, took a liking to Angela and seemed more interested in spending time with her than with her own daughter. Also, it didn’t help that more often than not Fareeha ended up under Angela’s care while her mother was out on a mission.

It did get better the day Fareeha found out that the Doctor was designing a prototype suit that would allow her to participate on field missions and provide medical assistance instead of being stuck at the base.

Judging Angela by her frail figure, Fareeha never thought she would be interested in a more active role in Overwatch. Well… besides all the medical research she was doing. From that moment she saw Angela in a new light.

It took a while, thanks to Angela’s busy schedule, but during the years they managed to get a little closer. Only to end up drifting apart when Fareeha left to join the army and Overwatch disbanded during her absence.

After that, she cut all contact with the organization and the people involved, and Angela became a distant memory.

It was thanks to the recall that Fareeha and Angela met again. This time both of them were no longer awkward teenagers, slowly they started to rekindle and get to know each other again. They realized they had a great synergy on the field, and when they weren’t on missions they started to spend more time together, quickly enjoying each other's company.

Yet, under Fareeha’s eyes, Angela was still a venerable doctor. A more relaxed and amusing Doctor than she remembered, but never this… whatever this is.

Shaking her head out of her memories, Fareeha decided to call it quits for now. If this kept going, she would only end up getting distracted from the mission. Also she was worried about Angela’s – and hers – sanity. After the "goddess" comment, the good Doctor made even less sense to Fareeha and in the end it was clear that Angela was descending into madness.

[Fareeha] “Angela, look, we’re about to land” a lie, but a harmless one. “I think we need to talk about this once I return.”

[Fareeha] “So… uhm… talk to you later?”

She didn’t get a response from her; the message has been seen but no reply from her. Fareeha took the silence as an agreement and pocked her phone in her armor. “…what the hell am I supposed to do now?”

 


 

The city’s authorities were already waiting for them when they arrived at the landing zone. Once they got out of the ship, Fareeha approached them presenting herself and her team. By this time she was in full captain mode which meant that her mind was focused on the mission and not on… whatever was going on with Angela and Satya.

After getting a full report of the current situation, she turned to the team and addressed the new recruits; “Ok, form up everybody! Here’s the plan; Alpha team, you’ll aid the authorities and emergency teams to clear the debris and search for anyone who could be injured. Fly low.”

“Bravo team, you’ll be on reconnaissance duty. Fly high at the coordinates I’m sending you now. Search for any building that might have been overlooked, pay special attention to any smoke sighting. Report to Alpha for any finding.”

“Charlie team, you’re with me. We’ll cover a wider area for reconnaissance; focus on any sight of Null Sector. Reach the border of the cities and circle back. We’ll be patrolling the city. If you find any Null Sector, do not engage alone. This goes for everyone, report immediately, keep track of them at a safe distance until you have back up.

I know some of you have combat experience, but we don’t know how many of them are out there, if any, nor if they have regrouped.”

“Any questions?” Everyone shook their heads. “Ok then, move out!” With that, the team saluted her and took off.

Fareeha watched them go, fastened her helmet and after taking a deep breath she also took off into the skies.

 


 

A couple of hours passed until Fareeha finally allowed herself some respite. The city had done a great job defending themselves against Null Sector and thankfully there weren’t casualties, only a few families were found trapped in their houses due to the rubble but miraculously without any major injuries.

Fareeha hovered above the city, scanning for any disruption, and paying attention to her visor reports from the team. Seeing that everything was in order, Fareeha retracted her visor and let the cool air wash over her face. She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and exhaled. The sound of the wind and the jets from her armor offered a calming white sound.

She let her mind wander back to Angela and Satya, and once again her shoulders tensed. Yes, she told her friend that they would properly discuss this face to face once she gets back to the base… but honestly, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. Her chat with Angela only made things worse, now she had more questions than answers and was not prepared to have that conversation.

Fareeha couldn’t do this by herself. She needed someone to talk about this. Thing is, her options were limited. Beside Angela and Satya, she trusted only a small group of people who could provide a solid advice… and wouldn’t divulge her personal life, probably.

The first name that came to her mind was Ana, her supposedly dead estranged mother.

To be honest she stopped calling Ana her mother the moment Fareeha received a letter from her a year or so ago informing that, in fact, she wasn’t dead.

She lost her right to carry that title after abandoning me for chasing her dreams as a vigilante.” she told herself after reading the letter. Fareeha had mourned her mother. She had carried the weight of a loss as a young adult and couldn’t help but to resent Ana for that.

However she thought that maybe Ana could provide some insight about the situation with her “wisdom of old age” and all that. Then again, replying to Ana's letter after a year of silence with “Hello Ana. Glad you’re not dead. Hey, do you remember Angela? Turns out she is “horny” for me. Any advice on what I should do?” may not be the best way to start a conversation. So she discarded her.

Next on her list was Mcree... but he gossips worse than an old lady.

Maybe Zarya… no, the Olympic weightlifter is a good friend and great gym buddy but she would tease her instead of help her. Probably would never let her live this down.

She thought about Brigitte. Another good friend but like Fareeha, she is completely inexperienced in the field of relationships. Fareeha could picture both of them staring blankly at a wall going nowhere.

And so that means that her last resort was… Lena. She is the only one in a stable relationship after all. Actually Lena was the middle man; she needed to reach Emily, her girlfriend. She was the grounded one in their relationship.

Fareeha met Emily a couple of times and while they didn’t have long and deep conversations, she could tell the woman was the one wearing the pants in the house and the one keeping Lena’s antics in check. Still, she couldn’t just contact her out of the blue and ask for advice before talking to Lena first. Also, she didn't have her number.

Involving Lena in this was inviting disaster but she was out of options.

Sighing, Fareeha resolved to just bite the bullet and ask them for help tomorrow. For now she just decided to drop the subject and went back to patrolling while checking on her team. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

 


 

The next day, thankfully, was a slow day. All the heavy lifting was done the day before; her team kept helping the authorities and public services, as well as patrolling the city making sure everything was alright. However, Fareeha kept procrastinating her call with Lena. By noon, she lost track of the rounds she did around the city finding nothing worth her time and after checking on her team for the tenth time, she decided to take a break.

She spent a long time trying to come up with the best way to approach the subject delicately so Lena wouldn’t freak out. She couldn’t think of anything. Fareeha would have to make it up on the fly.

She took out her phone and texted Lena;

 

[Fareeha] “Hey Lena.”

[Lena] “Fari!!! HOw aRe ya luv?! How’s the mission going? U ok? Need support? Have you had lunch yet? How’s the weather there? OH! Did you encounter any Null Sector forces? How’s the squad doing? Did you know possums have names? Jill, Jack and Joeys. Wicked, uh?”

Off to a good start… I barely greeted her and she already barraged me with questions.” Thought Fareeha grimacing.

[Fareeha] “Everything is fine, Lena. Situation is under control. The rookies are doing a great job and no sight of Null Sector fortunately.”

[Fareeha] “… and no, I had no idea they have names.”

[Lena] “I want one.”

[Fareeha] “A possum?”

[Lena] “yah”

[Fareeha] “Ok?”

[Lena] “Pretty sure I can convince Em. “Hey Em, look at this fluffy bastard. Her name is Jill''"

[Lena] “Yeah, the name will do it.”

[Fareeha] “Uhm… I guess?”

[Lena] “Fari, what’s the contact name you have for me on your phone?”

[Fareeha] “It’s Lena, just Lena. Why?”

[Lena] “Change my contact name to “Tracer possum mother” and send me a pic.”

[Fareeha] “What?”

[Lena] “Do it, Fari. For me. For Jill.”

 

And Fareeha did just that. She changed the contact name and sent her a screenshot. Why? She didn’t know. “Is this what madness feels like? ” No more than 5 seconds later Fareeha received a text from Lena with a picture attached. Lena changed her contact name to “Pharah possum auntie”

Yes… this is madness.”

 

[Tracer possum mother] “Yay!”

[Tracer possum mother] “So! Whatcha need Fari?”

[Fareeha] “I wanted to talk to you. Are you at the base?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Nope! I’m back at home. Winston didn’t have any assignment for me and since Angie gave me the ok to leave I went straight home.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Btw, Angie was acting pretty weird. I’m sure she didn’t even know it was me who asked her if I could leave.”

[Fareeha] “OK, that’s good. I need your advice about something private and it’s better that you’re away from the base.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Wow! Color me intrigued! Sure, luv. Wanna call me?”

[Fareeha] “Uhm… actually I prefer that we continue like this. It… helps me to gather my thoughts.”

 

In reality Fareeha had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to get any word in if she let Lena do the talking.

 

[Tracer possum mother] “Sure! So what’s on your mind?”

[Fareeha] “Ok, first of all, you have to promise me that this stays between us.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Blimey! Distrustful much?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Don’t worry luv, whatever it is stays between you and me.”

“I better keep it simple until I convince Lena to bring Emily.” Fareeha thought.

[Fareeha] “Thanks Lena… without going into details, I found out someone has been checking me out”

[Tracer possum mother] “This stays between you, me and Emily.”

[Fareeha] “I knew it.” 

Well… that was easy.

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh come on, Fari! I can’t keep this from the missus!”

[Fareeha] “It’s ok, it’s ok. Actually I was about to ask you if Emily could join the chat.”

[Fareeha] “Not that I don’t trust your advice, but I would like her opinion as well. You know… your thoughts as a couple.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Hmmm yeah, that makes sense. Do you have her contact or want me to send it to you?”

[Fareeha] “Thanks Lena. Yes, send it to me and I will open a group chat.”

 

Once she received Emily’s contact, Fareeha created a group chat with the two of them. She tried to delay the inevitable by taking a quick glance at her visor to check on her team, so far everything was ok.

Ok. No turning back now. I’m not sure how I can approach this without sharing too much. Hopefully they won’t ask too many questions… and I won’t tarnish Angela and Satya’s image too much.”

Taking one long breath, Fareeha greeted the couple;

 

[Fareeha] “Hey guys. Thanks for your time.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Hiya! Again!”

[Emily] “Hi Fareeha! It’s been a while. How’ve you been?”

[Fareeha] “I’ve been great. Thanks for asking. What about you?”

[Emily] “Oh you know, keeping up with the T-rrrracer, as she says sometimes. Never a dull moment with her.”

[Fareeha] “I can imagine.”

[Tracer possum mother] “ENOUGH PLEASANTRIES! EM YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS!”

[Emily] “LENA! Don’t be rude! It’s been almost a year since the last time we spoke. I need to do some small talk to catch up. Otherwise I will look like a total stranger to her.”

[Fareeha] “Haha it's ok, Emily.”

[Fareeha] “Lena talks about you all the time.”

[Emily] “Oh, only good things I hope.”

[Fareeha] “Of course. And always with a love-struck look on her face.”

[Emily] “Aw Lena ♥ ♥ ♥”

 

Fareeha got a private message from Lena;

 

[Tracer possum mother] “yessssssss”

[Tracer possum mother] “Keep it up Fari! Win me some good ‘ol girlfriend points! :3”

 

Fareeha rolled her eyes and switched back to the group;

 

[Tracer possum mother] “;) ;) ♥”

[Emily] “Well, Lena talks about you and the rest of Overwatch too. I almost feel like we’re family already haha”

[Fareeha] “haha I presume good things too, right?”

[Emily] “…”

[Fareeha] “…”

[Emily] “…sure.”

 

Another private message from Lena;

 

[Tracer possum mother] “I only say how amazing you are! Truly!”

 

[Emily] “Anyway… Lena said that you needed our help with something.”

[Fareeha] “Yes. It’s a personal matter and I would really appreciate it if you could keep everything we say in this chat only.”

[Emily] “Of course Fareeha don’t worry.”

[Fareeha] “Lena already proved she couldn’t.”

[Emily] “I’m not surprised.”

[Tracer possum mother] “HEY! You told me you wanted Emily anyways!”

[Fareeha] “Yeah, I’m just messing with you.”

[Fareeha] “Emily, to be honest, I thought that since you’re an outside party you could provide an unbiased opinion.”

[Emily] “Oh, sure I can try. I’ll do my best.”

[Fareeha] “Thank you. Now, this is not easy for me to say. But recently I found out that a friend has… uhm… feelings for me.” 

Well, that or they're just horny like Angela said. Hopefully Lena and Emily will be able to tell.”

[Emily] “That’s great Fareeha! But… I take you’re not too happy about it if you need to discuss it with us.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Btw you didn’t tell me who is it! Spill it out!”

[Emily] “Hush, Lena.”

[Fareeha] “I’m getting there. And Emily, it’s not like I’m not happy. It’s just… this is the first time something like this has happened to me and honestly I still don’t know how to feel about it or if I feel the same.”

[Emily] “Ah I see, you’re just confused about this unexpected development and want us to help you sort it out.”

[Fareeha] “Yeah, pretty much.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Cool cool coolcoolcool. Now who is it? Is someone I know????”

 

Fareeha sighed knowing that keeping them in the dark wouldn’t help. Lena was close to Angela and knew Satya to some extent, so if she wanted real advice instead of a generic one she would need to come clean. However, she will keep Satya out of the conversation for now. First she needed to see how they would react about Angela.

 

[Fareeha] “Ok. I need you to stay calm, Lena. Try not to barrage me with messages.”

[Tracer possum mother] “No promises! Now shoot!”

[Fareeha] “… It’s Angela. Seems like Angela has feelings for me or at least that’s what I get from our last chat.”

[Tracer possum mother] “…”

[Emily] “…”

[Tracer possum mother] “…”

[Emily] “…”

[Fareeha] “Oooook? I’m not sure what this means. At least you’re taking it better than I predicted.”

[Tracer possum mother] “FUCK!”

[Fareeha] “???”

[Emily] “I’ll cash in my 50 pounds now, if you will.”

[Fareeha] “What?”

[Tracer possum mother] “NO! WAIT! FAri DIid NAgi aked u ou????”

[Fareeha] “… what?”

[Emily] “Calm down, Lena, you’re shaking.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Did Angie ask you out????”

[Fareeha] “Uhm, no, no she didn’t. She kinda confessed… not on her own volition tho.”

[Tracer possum mother] “AH HA! It doesn't count EM!”

[Emily] “Drats…”

[Fareeha] “Wait, you made a bet?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Weeeeell yeah. We did. We bet who would ask out whom first.”

[Fareeha] “Then that means that you knew Angela is attracted to me?”

[Emily] “Well, it was pretty obvious.”

[Emily] “I could see how Angela was looking at you during the few holiday parties I joined. She was, well, IS smitten.”

[Fareeha] “Oh. Wow. I… I never noticed.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Sometimes you’re dense as a rock, Fari.”

[Emily] “Lena!”

[Tracer possum mother] “:P”

[Fareeha] “I… ok this is a lot to take.”

[Emily] “Is it?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Wait... don’t YOU have feelings for Angie?”

[Fareeha] “I’m… not sure. I never saw her in that way and I’m trying to figure it out.”

[Emily] “Hmmm that’s unexpected.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Yeah, I was almost sure you both were on the same page but too scared to give the first step.”

[Fareeha] “That’s news for me.”

[Emily] “Anyway, back on topic. Fareeha, you said that you chatted about this with Angela? Did she confess over a chat?”

[Tracer possum mother] “And what do you mean it wasn’t on her own volition?”

[Fareeha] “Well… truth is I first found out on my own and then I texted her to clarify.”

[Emily] “Hmmm would you mind to elaborate?”

[Fareeha] “Sigh.”

[Fareeha] “Ok, one morning Angela forgot her phone on the kitchen’s table and I saw a message talking about me. I took a look and, well, found out.”

[Fareeha] “After that I had to leave for a mission so during the flight I texted her and we “talked” about it. I didn’t call her because I didn’t trust myself talking.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Blimey! Fari you don’t go around snooping in someone else's phone!”

[Fareeha] “I know I know. I apologized to her.”

[Emily] “Wait, you said it was a message? She was texting someone about her feelings for you?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh hey, yeah, good point. Who was she talking to? And what did the message say?”

[Tracer possum mother] “The details are not important but boy, am I curious.”

[Emily] “I have to side with Lena here. I really want to know that.”

 

Crap. Me and my big mouth, I should have kept it short. Well, this a disaster already, might as well just go all in.” Fareeha thought.

 

[Fareeha] “Ok, cards on the table. I saw a message pop up on her phone. It was from a group chat that she had with Satya. Yes, she was texting Satya.”

[Tracer possum mother] “WHAT?! SATYA?!”

[Emily] “Who is Satya?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh you’ve met her. Long black hair, golden eyes that can pierce through your soul, looks like she is about to murder you…”

[Fareeha] “Hey! Don’t say that. Satya is really sweet if you bother to talk to her.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Ok ok, fair. She just scares me sometimes.”

[Emily] “Is she an architect?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Yeah!”

[Emily] “Ah yes we spoke once at a party. I forgot her name. She seems nice. ”

[Tracer possum mother] “Sooooo Angie is confiding in Satya about her crush? Yah, ok, that makes sense. I don’t know why I was surprised. They’re really close.”

[Fareeha] “Mhm… well… that’s not all.”

[Emily] “Oh?”

[Fareeha] “It seems – it SEEMS – that Satya also has feelings for me.”

[Tracer possum mother] “!!!”

[Emily] “…”

[Tracer possum mother] “FUCK!!!”

[Fareeha] “Oh god, now what?”

[Emily] “Pay up, Lena. 200 pounds thank you very much.”

[Fareeha] “You bet on that too?!”

[Tracer possum mother] “WAIT! You said that “SEEMS” like it. So it’s not confirmed, Em. I ain’t paying.”

[Fareeha] “Well… Angela confirmed it but I didn’t speak with Satya directly.”

[Emily] “I take that as a victory. Pay up.”

[Tracer possum mother] “UUUuuuuggggggghhhhh”

[Emily] “Gee, Fareeha. How come your mom lets you have two girlfriends?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Haskjhashaksshakja”

[Fareeha] “She is dead. I can do whatever I want.”

[Tracer possum mother] “LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL”

[Emily] “Oh god, I’m so so sorry Fareeha! I didn’t mean to joke about that!”

[Fareeha] “It’s ok, Emily. I’m just messing with you. ;)”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh I LIKE this Fareeha. You need to joke more often, Fari.”

[Fareeha] “No promises.”

[Fareeha] “Now… care to explain why you bet on that too and HOW DID YOU KNOW?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh I had no idea. Em told me after the party.”

[Emily] “Yes, well, I had my suspicions. Like I said, I only spoke with her once at that party, but when we were talking she kept glancing at you. Later at dinner, while I don’t share the same harsh view of her as Lena does, I saw how her stoic demeanor changed every time you spoke with her.”

[Emily] “So I had the tiniest feeling that there was something there. I went all or nothing and bet Lena that she had feelings for you. And I was right. I’m so proud of myself.”

 

Fareeha had to hold her head in her hands. How come everyone else could tell what's going on but she, self-proclaimed sharpest soldier in Overwatch, couldn’t see what was in front of her?

 

[Tracer possum mother] “Wow Fari. Now I get why you wanted to talk to us.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Two of your friends want you. That’s bonkers.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Who knew Satya was able to develop feelings?”

[Fareeha] “Stop it.”

[Emily] “Yes Lena. That’s uncalled for. What’s with you today?”

[Tracer possum mother] “Sorry! Sorry. Sorry Fari. Sorry Em. Yeah I’m being a jerk. Sorry.”

[Fareeha] “…”

[Emily] “Moving on, this is the first time I heard about a situation like this but I will do my best to advise you the best I can.”

[Fareeha] “Thanks Emily.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh wait, I just noticed something. You said it was a group chat. Does that mean there is someone else crushing on you? OH MY GOSH FARI YOU DEVIL LEAVE SOME WOMEN FOR THE REST!”

[Emily] “Excuse me?”

[Tracer possum mother] “I’m joking! But answer the question, Fari.”

[Fareeha] “No, no it’s just them. They use that group for “talking” about me.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oohohoho they’re thirsty!”  

[Fareeha] “I didn’t dig too much, when I saw what they were saying I stopped it and left it there.”

[Emily] “What were they saying?”

[Fareeha] “I'd rather not say.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Does the group have a name? You can’t have a group without a name. That’s boring. Like this one. Name this group Fari.”

 

Lie. Lie. Lie . ” Fareeha’s instincts told her to not reveal that small detail. They knew too much already and enough to understand the situation. It was not necessary to go down that path.

 

[Fareeha] “... yes.” 

Alas, she couldn't go against her nature.

[Emily] “… which is?”

[Fareeha] “I'd rather not say.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oh come on! You can’t say yes and then not tell us! You know I won’t stop until you say it.”

[Fareeha] “…I hate you.”

[Tracer possum mother] “U ♥ me”

[Fareeha] “…”

[Fareeha] “The name is… “I am horny for Pharah right now… buff lady…””

 

Fareeha cringed after writing the group’s name, still not used at what she was reading.

Silence. Neither Lena nor Emily responded after that for what felt like an eternity when in reality it was only two minutes.

And then, what was bound to happen happened.

[Tracer possum mother] “IAHIUHIAUHWJKIHASIUDHAJSHAKSJHAKJSHAIKJS”

[Tracer possum mother] “JKAGKAGKAHKAHAKHAKHAHHAAKHAHAJAKHAKAHAKHAHAK”

[Tracer possum mother] “OHGODHAJAHKAHAKHAKHAKHA”

[Tracer possum mother] “YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHAKHAKHAKHAKHA HAHKAHAKH THOSEBLOODYBASTARDSHJAHJAKHAKHAK”

 

Fareeha rolled her eyes. Yes, this is what she expected and feared from Lena. This continued for at least twenty more messages. “I better let her tire out before I try talking again. At least Emily it’s taking it better.

 

[Tracer possum mother] “OH I LOVE THEM! YESSSSSSSSS! THIS IS SO GOOD!”

[Tracer possum mother] “THEY ARE THIIIIIIIRSTY FARI!! SO SO BLOODY THIRSTY!”

[Fareeha] “sigh… Angela said something along those lines.”

[Tracer possum mother] “U BETTER SEND ME THAT CHAT WITH HER”

[Fareeha] “What? Of course not! Look, you know too much already and I better get sound advice from you.”

[Fareeha] “At least Emily is taking this seriously.”

[Tracer possum mother] “Oooh no, Fari! EM IS DYING! It’s been a while since I heard her laugh so hard! She laughed, cried, and choked! I think she is dead!”

[Tracer possum mother] “Em is dead, Fari! You owe me a girlfriend!”

[Tracer possum mother] “You have two to spare now! LOLOLOLOLOLOL”

 

A mistake. This was a mistake. Everything is a mistake. I should have never joined Overwatch” Fareeha pocketed her phone and took flight back to patrol. She just exposed her two best friends and what did she get for that? Emily dying from laughter and a hyperactive Lena ready to tease her till the end of her days. “Beautiful.”

 

Notes:

I could say that "next chapter is coming soon!" but that would be a vile lie. HOWEVER, I won't delay this for another 7 months... maybe 10.

Chapter 4: Pro Tip: Stop panicking

Summary:

Angela seeks advice. Goes as well as expected.

Fareeha finally gets advice. It could have been better.

Satya doesn't need advice.

Lena loves Emily and vice versa.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

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] “ :-( “

 

Notes:

... so, yeah. Another 7 months to get this chapter out. And is 15k words long because writing any meaningful or coherent setting in less than 2k words is impossible for me.

Could have been shorter? Probably.
Could have been cut in several chapters? Of course, but that would mean that I knew how to write the beginning and end of each chapter and connect them together. Which I don't. Hence; 15k words.

Btw, half of this chapter was part of the previous one, but at that moment I said "nah, it's getting too long."
And now look at me... posting this monstrosity. Also the name of this chapter was "Chapter 3 part 2: Fareeha Electric Boogaloo"

I won't make any promise about posting new chapters faster. That would be a lie. Chapters will come out whenever I can convince myself that they are good enough to publish.
At this rate, Blizzard will announce Overwatch 3 by the time I finish this fic.

Bye everyone! And thanks (and sorry) for reading!

Chapter 5: This chapter is a lie!

Summary:

Still alive and kicking.

Notes:

Don't worry (or do) this fic may look abandoned but it isn't, I assure you. I've been working on my other two fics and focused only on them, ignoring this one like a neglectful parent. But no more! Kinda!

So, until I finish the next chapter, here's a quick sketch of our three useless heroines reacting to their world crashing and burning.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Notes:

If you can't see the picture then Ao3 owes me a refund.