[video]

[zippity]

How's it so many of you are runnin' about and not bringin' back any stories with you? Some of us could use it you know! Instead of havin' 'em all dumped out when they drop those spots on the news, anyway.

[Ahem.

Tracer is broadcasting from the monitor room, where she's clearly been serving out her duties with as much patience as she can muster (read: not a lot). Even with all of the activity, Tracer can't deal with the tedium. She's rigged up a way to continuously spin herself in a chair while she spends time dispatching Legionnaires as is expected of her. Even with that, she's incredibly restless, and has herself perched in the window, lounging on the sill in a manner that probably would be considered unsafe if she weren't capable of rewinding time around her.

Overwatch's systems were mostly automated. When a warning went out, the Strike Team left -- and that was the end of it. This dispatching nonsense makes her thankful that it never got quite as large, but also makes her nostalgic.

That's not the only thing, but. Well, its a big part of it. And while she's trying to think of a way to bring up that first thing without outing herself, she can be seen tapping her fingers nervously on the big glowing machine on her chest.]

...speakin' of stories. How many of you lot got families back where you came from? Maybe a better half...

[She pauses here -- not too long though. Don't want to be suspicious.]

...do you think they're still lookin' for you? It's been a tick, hasn't it?

Comments

[zippity]

Well--mostly.

[That's honest, at least.]

And...England's a bit of a nightmare, you know. Don't know how they'd get on without me.

[Probably fine. They'd have to. But it doesn't have to be that way.

[vata]

[Lena, you're getting the most deadpan stare right about now:] ...You want to go back because of England.

[And she thought she was patriotic.]

[zippity]

Not just England. But that's a perfectly good reason.

[A little defensive this time.]

Nobody else is doing anything to help them.

[vata]

Mm. [Accepting, thoughtful - it's a patient gesture in the face of Lena's defensiveness, and Sombra's aim isn't to instigate so obviously. She is— when she wants to be— capable of tact.

In moderation.] Then I think you're right. You should go home, when this is all over.

The world wouldn't be the same without you in it.

private, video;

[zippity]

[That's the...opposite of the answer she wanted. Kind of? It kind of feels like a shut down. Maybe that's best.

But also: she can't ignore what's going on downthread. So she privates the feed and turns the video on, so she can see the weight of her concern.

Her blush is gone now. This makes for easy deflection from how uncomfortable their conversation has gotten.]

Hey. You alright?

[vata]

Didn't know you were worried about me. [She's grinning faintly when she says it, visible now that the visual feed's running both ways between them, tongue pressed to an eyetooth. Dismissive as anything.

Predictably so.]

[zippity]

C'mon, love, don't be like that. Of course I'm worried 'bout you.

[She sounds about as guilted as she looks, closed body language curled up in the corner of the window, looking especially lonely.]

And I want to help. If I can.

[vata]

Unless you can turn back the clock for anybody other than yourself, mija you can't. [Not when it comes to her conversation with Jack— not with any of this.

And that's fine.

As far as things Sombra laments go, this isn't one of them.]

Todos hemos sufrido, right?

[zippity]

I don't speak Spanish, love. And me accent's no good for it anyway.

[She says it gently still, all curled up in the window with her eyes half lidded behind her goggles.]

You sure there's nothin' I can do now?

[vata]

'We have all suffered.'

[ In her eyes, Lena had it easy. Easier. Like prying money loose from the hands of someone with vaults to spare, Sombra never saw a downside to wrenching her temporal machinery away. They all suffered— just not equally.

But she plays the part with a keen efficiency regardless.] Esta bien.

Don't worry, I'm not angry with Jack.

[zippity]

[Normally, this would be the part where she should agree -- that the world was a terrible and scary place, and that's what she and the other Overwatch agents were necessary.

For a second, she stays quiet, peering at the image of Azucar with a searching stare.]

I ain't worried about Jack.

[Jack made his choice -- all of his choices. She's concerned for his well-being, but not the same way she is concerned for Azucar's. Jack left his family behind -- as far as she can tell, this woman doesn't even know what having a family is like.]

I'm worried about you.

[vata]

You're—

[She stops. Scoffs. Gentle and entirely unexpected, finding Lena to be so invested. If she knew the truth, she wouldn't be. It's the only thought circling in the back of Sombra's mind as she processes the visual feed in front of her.

The sight of Lena looking so lonely, so entirely stranded from everything she truly craves.] Hermosa I'm fine. Trust me.

I've been through worse without anyone holding my hand.

[zippity]

[Her brow dips, a frustrated little noise given in exchange for words she wants to say. For all her naivety, she knows when someone doesn't want to be coddled -- doesn't want someone worrying. She saw it in Jack Morrison, and she saw it in many others. It was never something she got used to, or found herself ok with.

But she exhales in the quietest form of pouting protest.]

Fine.

[To which she picks up her omnicomm and moves back to the monitors to return to her ill begotten duties.]

[vata]

Lena.

[Well, that didn't go so great.

She shouldn't be surprised, this entire post to the network screams of instability and restlessness. Something is rubbing Lena raw, and now she's thrown her own issues with the Crisis and its aftermath into the mix. A volatile move.

Good for her standing with Jack, less so for Lena.]

I'm sorry.

It's...been a long time since I talked about this with anyone.

[zippity]

Don't apologize, love. You're grown.

[So is she. This entire call out was a farce anyway -- time was frozen back home, supposedly (though, with her experience being lost in time, she isn't entirely convinced that is true). Emily wouldn't have the chance to move on if that was the case. And when all was said and done, she was going back.

This world doesn't need her.]

If you're alright, you're alright. Unless you aren't.

[She picks up a pen to press between her index fingers.]

[vata]

Were you all right after everything that happened? Are you all right now, wondering if you should go back?

[It's not accusatory, not sharp-edged or expectant; Lena dislikes so much so easily, and it's easier to reshape her perspective when her heels have dug in, rather than try to overtly change her mind.

And she knows this because she's exactly the same way.]

You didn't broadcast to the Legion because you wanted stories, mija.

Sometimes saying what's really bothering us isn't as easy as we want it to be.

[zippity]

I did.

[She ignores the first two questions, and focuses instead on her accusation. She doesn't really know how to answer the question of whether or not she was ok. The answer is probably no, but there's nothing anyone could do about it -- so why bother acknowledging it?

Still, if she wants Azúcar to stop pretending she doesn't need help, then maybe she has to extend the first olive branch]

Sort of.

[It's a distraction, and it wouldn't bring Emily or Winston to her any sooner. Worse, it might actually bring Emily to her -- and no matter how much she missed her, she didn't belong in Legion World.]

It's complicated.

[vata]

You're right. [The words slip out quick as anything; she doesn't bother trying to argue.] It is complicated.

[Time, their role in it, whether or not what they do here truly matters when they've all sidestepped their own timelines. Whether or not they forget— they remember— it won't change the fact that they're here in this moment. So...]

I shouldn't have made it worse.

[zippity]

Its not your fault. You didn't--not on purpose.

[At least, she's pretty sure she didn't do it on purpose. And the reality was that Lena had obviously given her enough mixed signals for her to proceed with trying to advance things between them.

For that, she was to blame. Maybe her subconscious was trying to tell her something.

If nothing else, Azúcar was owed a proper apology and explanation -- not over the omnicomms.]

Maybe we can talk about it more later. Less insomnia involved all around.

[vata]

You know... [It's a warm little hum. Tired, but content enough with current events. With everything heavy they've waded through in the last few days, and everything else they'll need to deal with soon enough.

One step at a time.

And so far, she's winning.]

I'd like that.