Work Text:
—01:38 pm—
Winston has created a group!
Winston: if I have done this correctly then you should all now be a part of this text-group.
Winston: since you are all new to the base, I wanted to reach out and let you know that I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to come to Athena or me whenever you need help. And again, welcome to the team! :)
Zarya: Where is the Gym
D.Va: wheres the game room???
Pharah: are we all gonna have to sleep in those barracks?
Tracer: omg an overwatch group chat!!! I smell shenanigans ;)
Winston: Replying to: Where is the Gym
If you take a left from the canteen, you’ll find the training room which has some gym equipment.
Winston: Replying to: wheres the game room???
D.Va, we don’t have a game room. Sorry! :(
Winston: Replying to: are we all gonna have to sleep in those barracks?
For the time being, yes. The men’s and women’s barracks are both on the second floor. In the future, I hope that I can accommodate everyone with their own private living quarters. Apologies for any inconvenience!
D.Va: Replying to: D.va, we don’t have a game room. Sorry! :(
WOW
D.Va: // D.Va has left the chat. //
Winston: Oh no! If anyone is with D.Va, could you let her know that if she so desires, I can work on installing a game room to this base. Thank you.
D.Va: YAY!
D.VA: I didn’t actually leave lol
Reinhardt: gu
Brigitte: oh no…
Reinhardt: tag
Brigitte: bare with him guys, he’s not the best with phones
Brigitte: he is trying to say hello… I think???!
Brigitte: okay yeah I’m with him, he says hi everyone :)
Brigitte sent an image. Tap to view.
Tracer: Awh, the two of you are so cute
Baptiste: miss Lindholm, has anyone ever told you that you are as beautiful as you are courageous?
Brigitte: are you
Brigitte: hitting on me?
Brigitte: in a group chat with every overwatch agent? :’)
Baptiste: sure am. Why, is it not well received?
Pharah: he don’t got a clue
Tracer: I can’t this is too funny
Brigitte: not another word out of the both of you >:(
Brigitte: Replying to: sure am. Why, is it not well received?
Thanks, but sorry, not interested.
D.Va: L moment
Baptiste: nothing wrong with shooting my shot. Besides, there’s more fish in the sea.
Cassidy: now what in the hell is this?
Baptiste: ah Look, another fish in the sea
Pharah: yes please take the cowboy nobody else wants him
Mercy: Fareeha!
Pharah: sorry Angela
Tracer: whipped!!!!!!!
Lucio: while this chat is so active, I’d appreciate it if you’d all listen to my new album B)
D.va: not the shameless plug…
D.va: anyway, check me out twitch.tv/D.va
Reinhardt: I al a hyge fam!
Brigitte: “I am a huge fan”
Lucio: of????
Brigitte: D.Va
Lucio: damn!
Tracer: awhh don’t worry Lucio, me and Em love your stuff!
Lucio: happy to hear it :)
D.Va: replying to: “I am a huge fan”
Thanku mr Wilhelm!!! <3
D.Va: well since you guys don’t have a game room, do you at least have somewhere I could work on Tokki??? Took some heavy hits in Toronto </3
Baptiste: maybe if you hadn’t run off on your own so much…
D.Va: maybe if you knew how to aim at flying targets??
Baptiste: :c
Brigitte: Replying to: well since you guys don’t have a game room, do you at least have somewhere I could work on Tokki??? Took some heavy hits in Toronto </3
Yeah there’s a workshop on the west side of the base. Need me to show you where it is?
D.Va: yes please!!
Brigitte: okay where are you?
D.Va: good question….
D.Va Sent an image. Tap to view.
Brigitte: lol okay looks like youre in the boiler room.
Brigitte: stay there, I’ll come for you
Tracer: ayo you’ll do what now!??
Brigitte: ily Lena please jump off a cliff <33
D.Va: LMAOOO
Winston: I had hopped that this chat would be used in a professional manner… :(
---
Hana let out an audible laugh as she read though the last couple of messages shared on the group chat. She wasn’t quite sure what sort of things to expect when officially becoming an Overwatch agent, but gently roasting her colleagues over text was definitely not one of them.
Not only were the other agents pleasant to work with on the battle field, but they were also genuinely nice people. They treated her with respect and never once looked at her as though she were a child. Hana had feared that happening since she was still so young, but then again a couple of others weren’t so far off from her in age. Simply put, she quickly came to feel as though she belonged there. Now, she could be a hero to the whole world, not just Korea… Okay, that was a little bit daunting, but she had faith in not only herself but her new teammates as well.
Hana then turned on her flashlight as to get a better look at the room she was in for it was rather dimly lit. She saw several boilers lined up against the walls with many pipes travelling between them. She was simply trying to return to the main room where Tokki was but got a little lost along the way.
She wasn’t too sure if she should wait outside in the corridor for that woman, Brigitte, to show up. However, before she could decide, the door to the boiler room gently swung open revealing a tall figure with auburn hair, hazel eyes and freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. Said features were illuminated buy the glow of her phone light which she shut off thereafter.
“I’m guessing you’re Brigitte…?” Hana sincerely hopped she had pronounced her name right, for the only times she had heard it audibly was over comms one or two times before.
“No, actually, I’m a Talon spy sent to kill you,” the woman smiled, stepping out of the doorway as to silently ask Hana to come out.
The pilot rolled her eyes at the joke, though the was a small smile on her lips. “Wow, can’t believe my tragic end is in the boiler room of watchpoint Gibraltar.”
As Hana stepped out of the small room, Brigitte let out a chuckle at her response. “Only joking. Yes, I’m Brigitte Lindholm, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The taller or the two reached out a hand before adding, “You need no introduction, but I wouldn’t mind one.”
Hana looked her up and down and was pleasantly surprised by what she had said. “Glad we’re on the same page,” she responded before shaking the hand outstretched to her. “I’m Hana Song, It’s nice to meet you too.”
Much like Hana, Brigitte was also no longer clad in her armour. Instead, she now wore a black crop top with red overalls. The brunette already suspected that Brigitte was muscular, but her attire really accentuated it to the point where, if it weren’t for the Swede’s lopsided smile, Hana would have been intimated by her. Her outfit also made the many freckles on the rest of her body visible as well as the cog-shaped tattoo on her shoulder which caught Hana’s interest.
“Did you leave Tokki in by the main entrance?” Brigitte asked, snapping Hana out of her stare fest while they strolled down the corridors.
Hana, a little taken aback buy the fact that the other woman knew the name of her mech, nodded, “Yeah I did.”
“How did you end up in the boiler room anyway?”
A little embarrassed, Hana shrugged her shoulders. “Not a clue.”
Brigitte smiled as she looked back at her. “This place is pretty confusing to navigate through. I think Winston’s gonna give everyone a tour once you’ve all settled in. You found the barracks okay?”
“Yes, Lena took me to them.” Hana honestly wasn’t too happy about having to share a room with so many people, especially since it meant she had no room to put her pc and monitor because obviously she brought them with her. So, they remained in the box she had brought them in which she placed at the foot of the bed that she had claimed.
That was probably the only downside to everything. Back in Busan, Hana had her own room where she could let loose and be herself. It appeared she would have find somewhere else in Gibraltar to do that.
Miraculously, Brigitte appeared to read her mind, making Hana assume that her disappointment was evident on her face. “I know sharing a room with everyone isn’t optimal, but it won’t be forever. Besides, the workshop is almost always empty, so if you wanna chill out in there then go for it!”
“Good to know. Maybe I’ll sleep there too. Passed out in the workshop back in the MEKA base once or twice ya know.”
At this, Brigitte suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked at Hana with a disapproving glare. “First rule of being my friend is that I will not allow you to overwork yourself. Nor will Angela, and believe me, her scolding is a lot worse than mine.”
Hana was genuinely stunned by this. It was supposed to be a light joke even though it was true, but Brigitte seemed like she really was concerned. Although, Hana was never good with serious conversations, hence she replied with a further joke; “First you say you’ll come for me and now you’re calling me your friend? Don’t you think you’re going a little too fast?”
Brigitte groaned, but it was evident that she found the pilot’s comment amusing. “Lena and Fareeha are already insufferable as is, I don’t need you making it worse.”
Picking up her pace so that she could walk alongside the Swede as opposed to behind her, Hana looked up at Brigitte with a mischievous grin, “Sorry, but I’ve always been the type to outdo others.”
“I’ll just ban you from the workshop.”
“You could certainly try.”
“Think you stand a chance against me shortie?”
“Hey!” Replied Hana, the smile on her lips making it difficult to feign offence. “I’m not short, you’re just stupidly tall!”
“Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you from all the way down there.”
”maybe you’re the insufferable one after all.”
They eventually stumbled upon her mech where Hana had left it previously. Without having a batter way too move it, she piloted it while Brigitte led her outside of the large doors and deeper into the cliff face that the watchpoint was situated inside. Since it was a little difficult to communicate in Tokki without comms, the journey was spent in silence.
As she watched Brigitte walk in front of her with her hands in her pockets, Hana found that she was pleasantly surprised by the way the other woman was treating her. Usually, people would either put her on a pedestal so high to the point where she couldn’t speak, or they would talk down to her like a child who didn’t know better. Instead however, like the rest of the agents, Brigitte treated her like and equal. More than that actually, Brigitte treated her like a friend she had known for years rather than someone she had met physically just moments prior.
It was refreshing, Hana thought, being treated like a normal person. Because, at the end of the day, she still was just a nineteen year old girl.
Eventually, Brigitte had brought her to two large steel doors which opened upon the flick of a lever. It let out a large groan suggesting just how long it had been since it was in frequent use. When the doors had been pried open, it reveal a large room with many tools, both lightweight and industrial, lining the sides. It didn't appear to be quite as advance as the workshop back in Busan, in fact, there was something almost rustic about it, but in Hana's opinion that only made it cosy looking. Hana clambered out of her mech after stationing it in the middle of the room, the sunlight glistening on it through the open doors.
"Need a hand or should I leave you to it?" asked Brigitte.
Hana thought about it for a moment. Sure, she knew all that she needed to when it came to repairs on her mech, even without Dae-Hyun's help. However, she could probably do with some insight on navigating about the Gibraltar workshop. "I wouldn't mind the help."
Brigitte smiled at this, seemingly surprised that the pilot had asked for assistance. "Of course. So, what are you needing to do?"
"Well, the left fusion canon has drifted by about a few degrees, and nothing is coming out of one of the outlets, so I think I’ll have to do some rewiring. Not only that, but Tokki won't assume the inactive position even without power, so I'll have to fix up the compressors in the legs."
Brigitte nodded her head as she approached, gathering the equipment needed to carry out the aforementioned tasks. When she had acquired them all, Hana had already climbed to the top of her mech, causing Brigitte to look at her with an expression that read 'How the hell did you do that so quickly?'
With that, the two of them got to work. For the most part it was simply Brigitte handing her each tool that she required, or holding something in place, or fixing the overhead lights so that she could see better. Though, at one point, she did make a recommendation to Hana's methods, and when the pilot didn't quite understand just what it was she was telling her to do, she politely asked Hana if she could give it a go. Gingerly, Hana handed over the wire cutters and other various tools surrounding her and watched vigilantly as Brigitte stuck her hands into the inner workings of Tokki and, moments later, the projectile outlet which had been previously non-operational sparked back to life in half the time that it would have taken Hana to fix.
Brigitte then looked back at her with a triumphant smile and Hana let out a low whistle to articulate how impresses she was. "They don't call you the chief mechanic for nothing, huh?"
"I take a lot of pride in the work of my family's guild," she said while patting the tattoo on her shoulder. Ah, so it was an insignia.
"Anything else those hands of yours can do?" It was supposed to be a challenging request, but the unintentional inuendo made Hana falter on her next sentence, "Like, play video games, maybe?"
Brigitte quirked her brow and it was annoyingly obvious just how funny she found the polysemic nature of Hana's first question. "If you’re asking me to play with you sometime, then I'm not so sure."
"Awh, scared to take on the world's best? A lot of people are.”
“World’s best?” Brigitte echoed. “Is that why you lost your win streak on Apex the other night?”
Not suspecting that comment, Hana’s lips parted slightly in shock. “How did you know about that?”
“Reinhardt’s not the only fan of your streams, kanin.”
Though she couldn’t be too sure of what Brigitte had just called her in her native tongue, Hana had a feeling that it wasn’t negative. “How come you didn’t say anything earlier? Too embarrassed?”
“No, just didn’t wanna let it get to your head.”
Hana let out a scoff but wasn’t the least bit offended, she quite enjoyed how easily Brigitte was bouncing off of her despite her celebrity status. Would it be weird to say that, despite only being in Gibraltar for a few hours, Hana had already found the girl she wanted to be her ride or die?
“But I will say, it is pretty cool meeting you in person,” said Brigitte, now a little bashful as she began closing the panel that gave them access to the wiring of the fusion canon.
Hana found she didn’t quite have it in her to respond with a teasing remark at this. So, she instead smiled at the mechanic sincerely. “Thanks, I appreciate the support.”
Brigitte then returned her smile and the two began to work on the lower portion of Tokki, opening up more panels to figure out precisely just what the problem was. It was more or less the same from when they had worked on the fusion canon- Brigitte handed her equipment every so often and whatnot, their conversation relating directly too that task at hand and nothing more.
Though the older of the two had only really said one nice thing during the time that they had spent together, Hana could just feel that the Brigitte was impossibly kindhearted. This was because, not only did Hana excel when it came to reading situations, she also developed a talent for reading people. It was how she discerned when she needed to begin to distance herself from the creepier fans when they saw her in public. Right now though, this ability was telling her that she had nothing to fear around Brigitte. There was something protective about the other woman, something that made Hana feel safe even in this new environment with strangers surrounding her on all sides. And well, Hana had to admit, with a face as gorgeous as that, Brigitte was awfully nice to look at.
That last thought brough her mind to something that had previously been said in the group chat. “So…” she began. “Why the lack of interest in the hunk-of-a-man Baptiste? Already got a boyfriend?”
“Personal questions already? And you said that I was the one who was going too fast.”
“You don’t have to answer if you-“
“I’m not into men,” she said without missing a beat, and in that moment, Hana’s brain reiterated Brigitte’s beauty. “Lena and Fareeha know, but I’m not adamant to tell others just yet.”
“You seemed pretty adamant to tell me,” grinned Hana, intentionally being obvious with how she looked the other woman up and down.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself kanin. I only told you because I know that an interest in women is something we both have in common.”
Ah, that was true. Not too long ago Hana had openly come out as bisexual on stream. Now she could unapologetically express her attraction to the female characters in the games that she played. Characters which, now that she thought about it, were decently similar to Brigitte- tall, muscular, smart, could totally crush her. maybe she had a type, and maybe Brigitte ticked all those boxes.
“Whatever you say,” Hana said with a shrug before they resumed their work. However, she quickly found that she didn’t like the silence that settled between them, and thus she asked, “You’re not really a stranger to Overwatch, are you?”
“You mean how my dad was a former agent?” Hana nodded. “Yes, Lena, Angela, Winston and Rein all watched me grow up. Papa would even sometimes bring me to the headquarters when my mom was to busy with my seven other siblings.”
“Seven?!”
Brigitte chuckled at just how loudly she had spoken. “That’s right, I’m the youngest of them all. Wherever I went I was always the youngest, the one ‘not quite ready for the big leagues, but not anymore.”
Brigitte looked at Hana as she said that. However, her tone indicated that the mechanic did not mean to say ‘I’m not the youngest anymore because you are,’ but rather, “I'm still young, but I'm not alone anymore.’ And it made Hana’s heart warm.
The two continued their work while their conversation continued to flow back and forth. Brigitte disclosed information about herself which Hana did not know such as the names of all her cats and photos to go with, the fact that she and Reinhardt weren’t actually biologically related which surprised the pilot, and how her favourite food was apple pie. In turn, Hana talked about herself and hopped the information that she gave consisted of things that the mechanic did not know about her (Privacy did not exist when you are in the public eye so much) so, she told the mechanic that she too loved cats, the fact that she had never dated anyone before, and that the most ribs she had ever broken at once was four. Brigitte was very concerned at that last part to say to the least.
Hana also talked about her closest friend Dae-Hyun. “I should introduce you to him,” said she. “He takes care of my mech back home.”
“If that’s true he must have lots of experience.”
“Yeah! He... hey!” she pouted. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying it is no secret that you put Tokki through the wringer. I’d prefer you and your mech to stay in one piece from now on.”
“Woah, are you worried about me or something? Little cringe Brigitte I can’t lie…”
“Just thinking of your career. You need that pretty face of yours for photoshoots, right?”
Hana was rendered speechless for a short while after Brigitte had called her pretty. Hana knew it to be true of course, but hearing it from another woman who was just as if not more stunning brought a flush to her cheeks.
Soon after, Tokki was fully operational and working as intended which Hana confirmed by running diagnostics. She was incredibly impressed by Brigitte’s skills and, though the Swede did not want her to, Hana knew her mech would be in safe hands should she damage it once again.
With all their hard work, alongside the sun beaming down on them, Hana was absolutely boiling. She had since discarded the jacket that she was previously wearing but that now did very little to cool her down. It was evident that Brigitte too felt the burn of the sun, for she had pulled the straps of her overalls off of her shoulders so that they now rested by her waist. Hana had stared a bit too long at the abs now on display.
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Hana exclaimed, “God, does this place not have aircon?”
“There’s a hose over there to cool yourself down with if you want,” said Brigitte as she nodded her head in the direction of one of the walls where a coiled-up hose connected to a faucet could be found.
Hana looked at her incredulously, but nothing in Brigitte’s expression suggested that she was joking. So, she approached the faucet uncertainly before twisting the knob and waiting a second. Moments later, water began pouring out of the spout which Hana then cupped with her hands and rubbed along her arms and forehead.
Then, a rather mischievous idea popped in her brain. Hana switched the faucet off and in the most innocent voice that she could muster she said, “Hey Brigitte? I switched it on but nothing’s coming out.”
More than happy to help, Brigitte walked over and took the hose from Hana’s hands before inspecting the spout to see if there was some sort of blockage. Then, the pilot switched it back on, causing water to spray in the mechanic’s face.
Brigitte let out a yelp and dropped the hose in her shock. “You little!” she gasped, but thankfully it appeared as though she herself found Hana’s little prank just as hilarious as she did.
By now, the shorter of the two had grasped her stomach while she almost doubled over in laughter. However, the sounds of her enjoyment quickly ceased when Brigitte picked the hose back up and pointed it in her direction. Unfortunately, Hana did not move away in time, thus half of her body was drenched in water which caused her to squeal.
“Ahh chuwo!” she exclaimed, but it didn’t end there. Brigitte then began chasing her around the workshop with the hose in hand, their laughter mingling in the air. However, Hana was a strategist, and lived by the phrase, ‘if I go, you go with me’ so, she got as close to Brigitte as possible which caused the Swede to soak the both of them.
Minutes later, the two had called a truce and laid on the ground next to one another while they caught their breaths.
“You’re not half bad Lindholm,” said Hana with a content smile on her face.
“Yeah?” Brigitte questioned, turning her head so that she could look the pilot in her eyes. “Well you’re all bad.” Hana snickered and gave her a light nudge.
The sun was beginning to set, and so the sky that was once blue began to turn orange and Hana enjoyed the way it reflected in Brigitte’s eyes.
“How would you rate your climbing skills?” Brigitte asked suddenly, causing Hana to furrow her brows.
“Pretty good, why?”
“I wanna show you something.”
And that was how, after cleaning up the mess that they had made and closing up the workshop, Hana found herself atop the cliff that the watchpoint was built in and around. It wasn’t a dangerous climb so to speak. The base itself almost reached the peak of the cliff so, after taking the stairs to the roof, they simply had to pull themselves over the remaining distance. However, Hana did struggle a little, so Brigitte lifted her up by the waist, a feeling which made her stomach turn in the best way possible.
Beautiful didn’t even begin to describe what Hana saw, and that was talking about the view for once, not Brigitte. On one side was the vast expanse of the ocean which the sun got closer and closer to as it crossed the now pink sky. On the opposite side was the skyline, Hana now had a full view of the city of Gibraltar. She wondered if she could spot any arcades from all the way up there.
“Woah… How did you find this place?” She asked, turning to Brigitte who was already looking at her.
“Was doing some work on the satellites when I caught sight of it. Thought the view could be inspirational and it was.”
“Inspirational for what?”
Upon hearing her question, Brigitte’s cheeks turned red, and she looked away. “I’ll tell you some other time,” she explained, moving over to sit against a large rock where she let out a tired sigh. “This place is also nice to just get away from things. I love Lena and Fareeha, but they can be a bit much sometimes.”
Hana chuckled and sat next to her, “And you don’t think that I am?”
“Oh, you absolutely are too much, but the good kind.”
“I’ll take that,” she replied.
A silenced fell between them, but it was a comfortable one. Together they sat and watched as the sky grew darker and the lights of the city grew brighter, and Hana couldn’t help but think how all the shimmering stars were a lot like the freckles on Brigitte’s face.
In that moment, Hana felt like she could say anything, so she did, “I was kinda nervous to join Overwatch ya know.”
“Really?”
“Mhm, having the weight of the whole world on your shoulders is a lot but… the feeling of saving people is something you can’t describe.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t bragged about the way you saved Lucio. He told me all about it by the way.”
“Well, I’m not as full of myself as some people are,” she smirked.
“You really are as beautiful as you are courageous.”
Hana did not mean to say that out loud, and so both of their cheeks flushed deeply when those words left her lips.
Though Brigitte tried to give off an air of confidence, the slight stammer in her voice made it clear just how much of an impact Hana’s comment had on her. “Are you hitting on me, miss Song?”
The notion to what had been said on the group chat made Hana smile. “Sure am. Why, is it not well received?”
The mechanic looked back at her with an expression the pilot had never seen before. Brigitte looked at her almost dreamily with the way that her face softened. “It is, I’m very much interested.”