Exposure
The morning briefing was long, as usual. Winston was incredibly thorough, covering the weekly schedule of everything and any concerns of Talon or Null Sector movement. ”Genji, I am assigning you to travel to Hanamura, Japan. You know the area best, and we have reports of suspected Talon movement there. Our contact will give you all of the details, but there’s been reports of them moving equipment into warehouses. Cassidy, you and Baptiste are headed to Brazil. We will discuss the details in a private briefing after this is over. Everyone else, we will be following our basic training schedule. Simulations start at 8 am tomorrow, and the schedule is posted for the teams this week. For now, you’re dismissed. Cassidy, Baptiste, pack a go bag and meet me here in an hour, ”Winston finished. As all the other members filed out, Hana approached Winston.
”Ms. Song, how’re you settling in?” Winston asked. Hana smiled very warmly. ”Very well, everyone here is so nice!” Hana said. Winston nodded his approval. ”Excellent, I’m very glad to hear you’re fitting in. Is there something I can help you with?” ”Actually,” Hana said, ”I was just wondering if you’d heard anything from MEKA? Have I been cleared for duty?” Winston’s warm smile faltered slightly. ”We are still ironing out the details sadly. They want to wait and gauge if there will be any repercussions for openly allying themselves with us. With Helix, even though Pharah is with us, it is much less obvious they are supporting us. But you are the poster girl of MEKA; there’s no hiding our alliance once you’re in the field. You are cleared to start training with us, though,” Winston offered. Hana tried to hide the disappointment as she nodded. ”I understand, thanks!” She said and headed out of the briefing room.
Brigitte was waiting for her in the hallway, along with a very loud Reinhardt aggravating Torbjorn. ”My old friend, do not think you can ever outdo me in training! A Crusader never turns away from a challenge!” Reinhardt announced loudly as Torbjorn chuckled. ”I guarantee Fareeha and I will beat your time in training tomorrow, no matter who you are partnered with,” the small man said. Reinhardt finally noticed Hana approaching and threw his arms open. ”Zere she is! Hana, you and I will be training together tomorrow! We must fight with glory, and make this old man choke on his words!” He said, putting his arm around Hana and gesturing grandly. Hana couldn’t help but chuckle.
”I never lose,” Hana said, crossing her arms and looking at Torbjorn. ”What’s the wager?” she asked. Reinhardt laughed loudly. ”Zhat’s ze spirit! Ze wager is the loser buys drinks on Friday!” He announces. ”I’m in,” Hana said, the D.Va persona easily coming out as she gives Brigitte a wink. She could have swore Brigitte’s cheeks turned slightly red as the two older men kept bickering back and forth. She walked over and bumped into Brigitte’s side. ”Have they cleared you for duty yet?” Brigitte asked. Hana sighed and shook her head.
Brigitte gave her a sympathetic smile in return. ”Hey, you’ll be going on missions in no time. Hopefully they clear you before anything big comes up,” she said. Hana nods her agreement, a grim expression on her face. It’s Brigitte’s turn to bump into her. ”Hey, cheer up. At least it gives us more time to hang out!” She said. Hana smiled. ”Yeah, that’s true. What did you want to do today?” Hana asked. Brigitte shrugged. ”I don’t know; what do you usually do when you have free time?” Brigitte asked. Hana hummed while she thought. ”Well, I usually work on Tokki, make sure she’s ready to kick Omnic butt. Me and Dae-Hyun run diagnostics on her and see if there’s any modifications we can make to increase performance. But we just maxed her out right before I left to come to Watchpoint. We watch really bad movies and tv shows, eat junk food and monitor for Gwishin. When it’s just me, I’ll do the occasional stream and play games, maybe record footage to send my editor to release a new video if I can’t stream. Do you want to play a video game?” Hana asked.
”Well, I-I ummm,” Brigitte started, turning red as she stumbled for words. Hana couldn’t help but giggle. ”What is it?” She asked. ”I am not good at video games,” Brigitte said very quietly, her face red with embarrassment. Hana laughed. ”You watch all my streams and content, and you don’t even play?” Hana asked. Brigitte’s face somehow found a way to get even more red; it was adorable. ”Don’t be embarrassed! I’ll tell you what; I have a few retro co op games we can play. Would you play with me if I teach you how?” Hana asked. Brigitte nodded. ”I’d love to,” she said.
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”Watch out!” Hana yelled, leaning to the side as if it would help her character dodge a hit on the television. They had pulled out Hana’s ancient Nintendo Switch and played an old Super Mario title. It wasn’t up to standards with most new video game graphics, but Hana loved the old school games. Brigitte jumped and managed to land on the head of the guardian of the castle they were in, beating the level. ”Yes!” the girls yelled in unison, standing up and throwing their hands in the air. This was the first castle Brigitte managed to defeat the boss. They both laughed at their reaction, Hana sitting back down on the edge of the bed. Brigitte sat her controller down on the bed and stretched. ”I have to take a bathroom break,” she said, walking across the room. Hana pulled out her phone to text Dae-Hyun while she waited. She heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on after a moment. Hana got a little worried when Brigitte took a really long time to wash her hands, the water seeming to run for a few minutes. ”You okay?” Hana called.
”Uh, yeah, sorry!” Brigitte called as Hana heard the water turn off. Brigitte walked back to the bed and sat back down next to Hana, but she seemed worried. ”You sure you’re okay?” Hana asked. Brigitte didn’t respond at first, looking at the controller in her hand instead. She finally looked up and Hana knew what happened. ”You looked in the drawer under the sink, didn’t you?” Hana asked, the blood rushing from her face. Brigitte nodded, her eyes searching over Hana’s face. It was Hana’s turn to look down at her controller. ”Please don’t tell anyone about it, I can’t risk being reprimanded or removed from duty. There’s too much at stake on what I’m doing here. If you want to go, I won’t blame you,” Hana said, afraid to look up.
”I’m not going anywhere, Hana,” Brigitte said. After a moment of silence, Brigitte scooted closer to Hana until their thighs touched, and gently took the controller from her hand. Tears were forming in Hana’s eyes as Brigitte wrapped her hand around hers. ”Hey,” Brigitte said, reaching up to tilt Hana’s face to look up at her. Hana dragged her eyes up to meet hers, scared of what they’d find. Brigitte gave Hana a sad smile as the tears rolled down Hana’s face. ”I would never turn my back on a friend who needed me. I care about you a lot, Hana. I know we’ve only known each other a few days, but I can’t think of anything I want to do except be around you,” Brigitte said. She pulled Hana into a tight hug, the smaller girl melting into Brigitte’s arms and crying.
”I-I don’t d-do it often,” Hana said, sobbing against Brigitte’s shoulder. Brigitte shushed her, rubbing her back soothingly. ”We can talk in a minute Kanin, just worry about breathing for now. I’ve got you,” Brigitte said. Hana buried her face in Brigitte’s shirt and tried to steady her breathing. She was so scared that she would scare Brigitte off. Once her breathing steadied and the tears stopped falling, she pulled back away from Brigitte some to look up at her. Brigitte radiated comfort, wearing the oversized cat hoodie Hana had gotten her. Hana sniffled and wiped her nose. ”S-sorry for messing up your hoodie,” she said. Brigitte laughed softly. ”Don’t worry about it, this is a magic hoodie. It is both comfortable and comforting, so that’s what it’s for. Plus a pretty great person got it for me,” Brigitte said. Hana giggled. ”I disagree, but it is a very nice hoodie. It looks great on you,” Hana said. Brigitte’s face turned very serious. ”You are a great person. There’s no questioning that. Everything you’ve done to help people, the joy you bring to your viewers and everyone around you, you really are absolutely amazing. I hate that you don’t see that,” Brigitte said. Hana looked back down at her lap.
”I just, I don’t know. Everything gets to me. I always struggled with my self image, and after I lost Appa, it really took a turn for the worst. And when I was drafted into the MEKA program, I thought it might be my way to avenge him. Or at least save some people and make my life mean something. But it’s like, no matter what I do, I never feel like enough. It’s like I could never be good enough,” Hana said, fidgeting her hands in her lap. Brigitte entwined their fingers and Hana looked back up at her. ”I understand,” Brigitte said. Brigitte looked down at their entwined fingers and Hana definitely noticed a blush there this time. ”I-I mean, I don’t like fully understand, because I’ve never had to walk in your shoes. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been for you, Hana. But that’s a testament of your strength, and how amazing you are. Even with all those thoughts in your head, you still try to help people, or make them smile, and that’s what makes you so amazing. I really hope one day you’ll see that too.” Brigitte said.
”In the mean time, I’ll be here to tell you how amazing you are. And if you have bad dreams, I’ll be there to hold you and remind you of where you are, and that you’re safe and very much wanted. I’ll always be here,” Brigitte said. Hana searched her eyes for a moment. Brigitte blushed, but didn’t look away. ”You were going to find out eventually,” Hana said, holding eye contact, ”but I’m not D.Va. D.Va is some badass who doesn’t let anything bother her; it’s a mask, just an online persona. Hana isn’t nearly as strong or confident, and thinks very little of herself. I’m a disappointment, and I still wouldn’t be upset if you walked away now.” Brigitte’s eyes wrinkled as she gave Hana a small smile. ”Well I guess I’ll just have to remind Hana of how strong and amazing she really is, and how not disappointing,” Brigitte said. Hana just stared for another few seconds.
”You really aren’t disgusted by me,” Hana said, almost in disbelief. Brigitte shook her head. ”Nope; a little worried, but definitely not disgusted,” she said. ”I really do mean what I said. Ever since I met you, all I want to do is be around you. You’re so amazing, and it makes me sad knowing you don’t see it yet. I’m guessing your dreams are flashbacks?” Brigitte asked. Hana nodded. ”Anytime you have a bad dream, my door is unlocked. Feel free to come crawl in bed with me anytime,” Brigitte said, before turning a deep red. ”I-I mean, to comfort you. Or if you want to cuddle. Y-you know, as-” Brigitte said, but Hana cut her off midsentence by giving her a soft kiss on the lips. Brigitte stayed completely still, so Hana started to pull away. As her lips started to leave Brigitte’s, Brigitte pulled her back, kissing her hard on the mouth. Hana wrapped her arms around Brigitte’s neck and deepened it, causing Brigitte to moan and pull Hana closer.
Brigitte leaned back and pulled Hana on top of her, each of them devouring the others’ lips. They kissed like that for a few minutes before breaking apart for air. Hana smiled down at Brigitte, still in her arms. Brigitte was blushing as she giggled, making the most beautiful sound Hana had ever heard. ”I’ve wanted to do that since I met you,” Hana admitted. Brigitte giggled again, turning a deeper red. ”Really? Me too! I just didn’t think you’d ever want someone so... plain, I guess? Boring?” she said. It was Hana’s turn to get upset. You are anything but plain or boring. You’re the kindest, smartest, funniest person I’ve ever met. When I’m near you, everything else fades away,” Hana said. She kissed the Swede again, but this time softer, more gentle. ”Umm,” Brigitte started, ”would you like to go out on a date with me? I mean, when you’re not busy with training and-” ”Yes,” Hana said, laughing, ”I would love to go on a date with you. But I do have one question. What did you call me earlier?”
Brigitte blushed. ”Oh, Kanin? It’s Swedish for bunny. I know you love bunnies, and, I don’t know. It just felt right, you know?” She said. Hana blushed and smiled. ”I like it.” Brigitte smiled and yawned. They both looked at Hana’s clock to see it was really late in the night; they had played videogames and ate junk food all day, losing track of time. ”It’s pretty late,” Hana said, ”you seem pretty tired.” Brigitte gave a sleepy smile and wiggled further onto the bed, Hana still on top of her. She faked snoring as she pulled the covers over them. Hana couldn’t help but laugh so hard she snorted. ”Oh no, whatever shall I do! Curses, Brigitte does get so snuggly when she falls asleep. I guess we’ll just have to cuddle,” she said, rolling off of Brigitte and instead cuddling into her. Brigitte wrapped her arms around her, kissing the top of Hana’s head. ”Goodnight, Kanin. I hope you sleep well,” Brigitte said. ”Goodnight, Bri. Thank you for being you,” Hana said. Hana could hear the smile in her voice as Brigitte responded. ”Thank you for being you, Kanin. You’re amazing.”