One Last Stop

## September 13th, Skies Above Halcyon

Halcyon at night, in mid September, had a light chill to the air. Especially higher up above all the buildings, swooping around the skyscrapers in North Downtown. The lights and nighttime things going on gave it a nice glow from above. Hana had a grin on her face, under the helmet of her very new armor, as she took some dives and loops through the streets.

“Do you feel you have satisfactorily learned how to use the flight capabilities of the suit?” a calm, feminine, robotic voice spoke, a mix of in Hana’s head and through the speakers of the helmet. Athena, her new...headmate? Bodymate? It was kind of confusing and Hana hadn’t fully thought through it all, which was fair since they’d just met earlier that evening. Of course, that wasn’t stopping her from putting the AI and her new suit through its paces.

“Oh hell yeah, this is amazing!” she said, flying upwards onto the nearest skyscraper, landing the edge and taking a seat with her legs dangling off the building, at least fifty stories up. “Okay, I practiced a little like I promised T, now I get to call her” she said, grinning as she pulled up an interface in the display of her helmet. Now that she essentially had a computer inside her, connected to her brain, there wasn’t much need for a regular phone anymore.

`Hey! Hi! It’s me! Hana, if that wasn’t obvious. Uh, so, a lotta stuff happened today, which, well, duh, you know that, but like more happened after I left and I wanna see you and tell you all about it, are you busy? Can I come over??`

Hana smiled, sending the message along to Hayeli Gorgon.

…

Hayeli let out a sigh of relief as she exited the room where she was just debriefed from her mission. It had been a long day and quite eventful. She also hadn’t gone against AEGIS the way she had today, although at least in doing so she had been working alongside Sledge and Smoke, so she hadn’t been alone. Still, she thought it was dangerous to do so, when her working for AEGIS was the exact thing keeping her from what she feared was a far worse fate.

Next to her, Agent Carson straightened his jacket and looked over at her. “If you want my advice: absorb commendation like a sponge, write constructive criticism down as a lesson for later, but let everything else wash off you like water off a duck’s back. We’re here to do our jobs, but at the end of the day you still need to be able to go home and look at yourself in the mirror.”

Agent Gorgon’s face twisted at that last part, but Agent Carson’s face was like stone. He gave her a curt nod and walked away after a brief ‘goodnight’. She didn’t get to see the mix of embarrassment and self-humour he had on his face after he rounded a corner.

As she walked towards the on-site dormitories, Hayeli checked her phone and her face lit up from more than the phone’s light. She stood still for a moment to type a response.

‘Hi Hana! How are you doing? It has been quite an eventful day. You say more happened? Are you okay? I am not busy, but at this time of night visiting hours are probably over. Is there anything I can do for you? Are you safe?’

…

Hana waited atop the same building, her helmet and hood formed back into the armor so her face was out, looking around the city. She tilted back and forth as she listened to some music, having learned how to control functions of it through her connection with Athena. After a few minutes, something popped up in her field of view to notify her of a message. She grinned again.

“Hana, you seem to smile often, and your heart rate gets slightly faster when in contact with this ‘Hayeli’ person. I presume she is important to you, moreso with the content of these messages”

Hana chuckled. “Uh, well, yeah, I, she is. We’re dating, and I like her a lot. Wait you read my messages?”

“You are sending them through our interface and my wireless connection. I have no choice but to read them. I do not cast judgement, only to learn from you and those around you”

“I, well, yeah, okay, I guess that’s fine, like, we’re together so like, not much I can do about it. I mean, together like, body, us, sharing, stuff. Right. Yeah. Lemme respond to her” she said, drafting up a response and sending it along.

`Hi! I’m more than okay, I’m awesome! More happened but it’s like, good more. Are they really? Shoot, I wanted to see you. Do you think it would be okay if we like, didn’t go through the whole process? Like...oh! Can you get to the roof? I’ll meet you there!`

Without waiting for a response, Hana sent the message and dove off the roof, her helmet forming up out of the nanomaterial and around her head. Her destination: AEGIS headquarters. Oh wait...One stop first. Then AEGIS headquarters.

…

Hayeli checked her phone again right outside the dormitory building. She smiled at it. It was a good idea. She was worried that AEGIS would be monitoring even the roof or have some kind of security measures there to prevent Hana from approaching or herself from even reaching the rooftop, but on the other hand she also really, really wanted to go to the rooftop.

‘It’s good to hear you’re okay. I don’t think that will be okay, but… I am okay with meeting you on the roof. Very okay. I’ll meet you there!’

She put away her phone and entered the building. She considered going to the rooftop right away, partly because she wanted to get there as soon as possible, partly because she wanted to avoid her hallmates. They weren’t present most of the time, but if any of them were that would make it much harder to sneak out again from her room to go to the rooftop. Hayeli decided to risk it anyway. She was an expert burglar, she could break in and out of a little hallway without being seen! It was just the entirety of AEGIS that was the exception to the rule.

Okay, not acting suspicious was step one. Being quiet was step two. It was okay to not be quiet as long as she wasn’t suspicious. The hallway door closed behind her in a not-quiet way, but she walked through the hallway rather than sneaking, making her not-suspicious. Two people sat in the lounge area by a fireplace that on second look was just a low-hanging TV screen showing a fireplace. She stuck up a hand in greeting, but didn’t say anything. Back in her room, halfway down the hall, she took a quick shower and changed clothes into something other than the very formal AEGIS suits. She wanted to be casual, but also warm--the walk to the building had been chilly--but also a little sexy. She wasn’t sure how she was going to accomplish the latter two criteria at the same time, even as she was putting on a red flannel over a white shirt and high-waisted jeans. She couldn’t bring her coat for fear of arousing the suspicion of her hallmates, but on the other hand it wasn’t likely to get warmer at this time of day. Hayeli decided to risk cold over detection and headed out without it.

…

As Hayeli got up to the roof, Hana was almost getting to the campus of the AEGIS facility. She tilted her head as they flew in, wondering something. “Hey Athena, do they got like, stuff to scan for things that are flying in?”

There was a pause, longer than Hana would have liked. “That is very likely, yes” her AI companion said. Even with the slight monotone to her voice, Hana was starting to get the sense of sarcasm that she could purvey. She sighed.

“Well, crap. Uhhhh, you think we can move fast enough to get through anyways?” There was a light laugh in response. “That is very likely. Yes.” Hana grinned under the helmet. She moved her arms to her torso to hold the things she was carrying safe, then pumped energy into the suit. She shot through the air, moving fast enough the eye would be hard pressed to follow her.

She slowed, coming back into easily perceptible vision, as she landed on the roof. Her arms unfolded, one holding a plastic bag, the other holding a drink carrier with two taped up cups. Hana tilted her head back, the nanobots shifting and changing, the metallic liquid that connected them together flowing back with her helmet and hood as her face was once again revealed.

“Heya, you ordered the tacos?”

Hayeli yelped in surprise as Hana came down suddenly and swiftly. She pressed her hands to her chest. “Oh thank fuck, it’s you. You sca--you surprised me!” She made a swatting motion at Hana, but wasn’t close enough to actually hit her. Not that she wanted to--and even if she did Hana was super tough and also wearing a suit of armour. Hayeli was more likely to break her own hand than to achieve her goal of shoving Hana a little in jest.

She shook her head with a smile, folding her flannel closed over her chest and crossing her arms to keep it that way, trying to keep the cold out. She looked at the food. “Did you go to that one truck stand again? Is it even open this time of day? Nevermind that, it’s good to see you!” Hayeli stepped closer to Hana, making a motion with one arm as if she wanted to hug her, but looking awkwardly at her armour and not coming even closer.

Hana giggled at the reaction. “Sorry! I wanted to see the surprise when I dropped in” she said, chuckling a bit more. Her face got focused for a second as she willed the armor to go away, after a moment it flowed around her body and back under her jacket. She had the bomber-style jacket from her prior new superheroing outfit, with some torn skinny jeans, sneakers, and a Big High Beavers shirt underneath. As it was gone, she was just Hana, with a big goofy smile on her face as she looked at Hayeli.

“You look really nice,” she said, then glanced at the bag. “Yeah! Well, kinda, there was like an ‘end of summer’ concert thing and they had a bunch of food trucks, I saw the lights when I was flying over here and dropped in to pick some up. Lucky us!” she said happily, stepping closer. “So yeah, uh, this is what I meant by more stuff. Well, there’s other more stuff, but that’s like, more mundane than this. Uh, sorry it’s late, I just, like, got done with my other stuff and I really wanted to see you and talk about everything that happened today. It’s nice to see you too”

Hayeli took a step back from Hana as she willed the armor away, uncertain of how it would happen and feeling slightly weird about it. This was very new, it looked like a weapon and it seemed as if it melted away into Hana. The girl’s demeanor showed her that she was still the same Hana--although the confidence and lack of stammering left room for doubt--but the new suit was something that would take some time getting used to. She stepped closer again when it was all gone. Or at least looked gone.

She managed a smile and moved closer to hug Hana. “Lucky us indeed. So what did you get us? Uh, we could sit somewhere around here, if there’s a clean and dry enough spot. Then you can tell me all about what else happened.”

Hana wrapped her arms around the girl, returning the hug. “Hehe, I got a big bunch of different kinds of tacos, some veggie, some meat, all spicy. Then they got mango lemonade with the strawberry too, I got one of each” she explained, releasing her from the hug. “Uhh, right, place to sit. That would be good. Uhhh” she said, looking around, walking around the roof to find a good spot for them, ending up jogging a little bit out of excitement and impatience.

“Uhhhhh, hmm, shoulda brought like a blanket or something. Eh, this spot is fine!” she said, declaring the driest spot she could find to be good enough. She dropped to her bottom, setting the drinks beside her and the bag in front, opening it up with a rough tear to reveal the big jumble of wrapped tacos. “There we go!” she said, looking to Hayeli with a grin. She blinked. Looking up at her from this angle, her cute outfit, catching the stars behind her, it made her eyes widen and cheeks blush slightly. “Uh, hi. I got tacos,” she said, the excitement and adrenaline of everything wearing down.

Hayeli followed after Hana as she trotted away. She struggled to not smile, it was altogether a happy and funny moment, even in spite of the chill. She chuckled at Hana. “Yes, you’ve mentioned the tacos. You got a good selection, sounds like we’ll have our fill.” Her stomach growled and her face contorted in embarrassment. “Sorry, haven’t had dinner. These tacos are a godsend.”

She sat down beside her and tucked in her legs below her. She took a deep breath of midnight air and looked up at the sky. “So you can fly now, hm? I’ll have to keep that in mind next time I look up at the stars, to remind myself that you’re probably one of them.” Hayeli laughed a little, and shivered.

Hana giggled at the noises coming from her tummy. “All good, I figured both of us probably hadn’t gotten much with all the crap that happened” she said, grabbing a beef taco, unwrapping it, and digging in. She nodded at the question, then choked slightly on the taco at the incredibly sweet thing Hayeli said. “I, uh, um, yeah, I, uh, mhm, stars, me, yup” she said, blushing again. Her hand reached for a drink, pushing a straw through and taking a sip of the mango drink.

“I, oh, you cold? Here” she said, setting her things down and pulling off her jacket, scooting a bit to put it around Hayeli. “Uh, I know I’m shorter so, uh, hope it fits okay. I got another idea if that doesn’t help” she said, sitting back and picking up her food. “So, uh, jeez, where should I start? Oh! How are you doing? Everything okay with AEGIS and them after today? I was worried”

Hayeli took a small bite of a spicy veggie taco. “That was very smart and thoughtful of you. Oh--” She stopped as Hana put her jacket around her shoulders. She bowed her head a bit, her black hair falling in front of her face, hiding a furious blush. “Thank you, that is very… very gallant of you.”

She shivered a little and huddled deeper into the jacket, pulling it around her shoulders with one hand while the other nibbled on her taco, trying to ignore the warm feeling in her face. “Oh, with AEGIS everything is fine! Just… just fine. The agency is a little riled up over losing some prime opportunities apparently, but at least they apprehended a dangerous individual that they’ve had their eyes on, so it’s not a complete loss by Director Hussain’s standards. So no worries there. As for myself…” Hayeli laughed nervously. “I did get scolded a bit for wasting their time and not following all proper procedures during the mission. ‘It’s for your own safety too’, she said!” Hayeli mimicked Director Hussain’s stern tone. “I hope I won’t get investigated about hidden motives or agendas or whatever, but I think I’ll be fine. Just a little frazzled.”

Hana chuckled a bit. “Hehe, you’re welcome, I, like, I want you to be comfortable and stuff, so, yeah, warm good” she said, taking another bite of her taco. She looked to her eyes, nodding and listening as Hayeli explained the AEGIS situation, both glad the suits weren’t too upset and wondering how her eyes were so pretty. “That’s good, yeah. I mean, not that they scolded you and were kinda pissed about stuff, but like, yeah, sounds like things are okay. I’m glad” she said, grinning.

As her thoughts shifted, she got a pensive look. “So, uh, my stuff. Jeez. Okay. I feel bad having so much crap to say after we already told each other so much a few days ago. Today was just...a lot. Uh, right. So, uh, the Prometheus dude? He’s...uh...he’s my dad. Like, my actual bio-dad. I guess...something happened and he lost me when I was real little, but then he like, found me again and just let me grow up like I did or something? I’m not sure on the specifics, but like, he knew all the stuff I’d gone through and the Kerrigans and everything. He knew Mel and Tiago too. So...yeah...I’m sorry my bio dad is such an asshole. Even though he’s like, my bio dad, I, I don’t consider him part of my family. Him...him or Anna, now. We fought, uh, like, words fought, not fists fought, and I told her what I knew, and that I was done with her” she said, giving a shrug, then sipped from her drink. “Guess I should have asked if you wanted the good stuff or the crappy stuff first instead of dumping the crappy stuff on you first, hehe, sorry”

Hayeli sat silently next to Hana, taking small bites of her taco as she listened to her story. She was astounded by it. Finding out so much about her own past, her own parents, in such a short timeframe, and each thing being overturned and made worse by the next? That sounded like a lot. “That sounds like a lot.” She said. She bumped reassuringly with her shoulder against Hana’s. “Maybe you should’ve asked, but I would’ve told you to give me the crappy stuff first anyway. Now you get to make it better by telling me the good stuff without still being loaded with all the bad, and you can leave me off with a good impression.”

Hayeli smiled as she looked at Hana. Their difference in height was less pronounced while they sat down, but it was still there, especially with how Hayeli herself sat up straight to her full height. Hayeli’s eyes shone in the light of the stars, like literal mirrored pools on a moonless night. She looked at Hana in a way that said ‘I already have a good impression of you’. She wanted to ask and say more, but she waited patiently for Hana to continue.

“Heh, it was a lot, yeah” she said, finishing off her taco and reaching for another one. Hana looked over, giving Hayeli a smile as she bumped her shoulder. “Thanks, yeah, I just kinda dove into it and wasn’t thinking much. Feels good to be able to just...say all this, but I’ll ask first next time I go through a huge day of life changing events” she said, giggling. Her hands unwrapped the taco, taking a couple bites, then she sipped at the drink. Having someone to vent to did feel good, she had other friends that she could probably call, of course, but it was different with Hayeli.

“Uh, okay, well, onto the good stuff now. Okay, so, remember when I mentioned last time that I learned I was in some weird shady experiment or something when I was a kid? Uh, I guess it was some kind of weird energy thing, and it, uh, it worked, but I didn’t know it until now. Prometheus showed me what was inside, and uh, there’s like, a thing of energy? Inside me? I don’t really get it or how it works...I think it’s like, quantum energy or something, there were a lot of sciencey words, Tiago could probably explain it better. Uh, I guess the main thing is like, I got a thing in me that lets out like, unlimited power. I gotta like, focus on it to use it, but I’m kinda learning more? I figured out how to make myself stronger than I was before. So, uh, that’s one thing” Hana went on, explaining the newfound source of power inside her, taking bites of taco during the pauses.

“Oh, wow.” Hayeli murmured softly after Hana unloaded the good stuff. “That’s quite a reveal. Like being shocked about another person revealing to you that they’re fundamentally different than what you believed--like a mirror-person--is one thing, but to have it be revealed that you yourself are fundamentally different from what you believed is another thing entirely. At least it sounds like this has some positive angles to it? You being stronger than before sounds like a positive.” She laughed nervously. “Unless it means being gentle is more difficult for you now. Unlimited super strength sounds a little scary.” She shivered, pulled the jacket tighter around herself and took a big bite of her spicy taco. Maybe the heat from the food would help.

Hana nodded. “Yeah, it’s...super weird. It’s good, I think, at least like, knowing about it and being able to use it and control it” she said, glancing over and giggling slightly. “Oh, no worries there, I can totally be gentle still, no weird super power is gonna keep me from holding your hand. Or, uh, I mean, like, anything else that I should be gentle for, like, uh, breaking an egg? Yeah. Wait, I don’t cook. Uh, water balloons. Yeah. There we go” she said, nodding a bunch, finishing her taco. Her head tilted slightly as she swallowed.

“You still cold? Sorry, shoulda realized it would be chilly up here. Want me to try my other idea before I tell you about all the other stuff? There’s not a toooonnnn more I guess, just like, two big things. Good things”

“Sorry, yeah, I’m still cold. J-just a little though! Your jacket helped a lot. I’m just a very cold person. Sorry.” Hayeli apologized. She felt like she was on the verge of saying something that would be like sticking her foot in her mouth, so to stop her mouth from having any room for said foot she stuffed the remainder of her spicy veggie taco in her mouth. She’d been entirely too slow with eating it anyway, seeing how Hana had finished her second one before Hayeli had finished her first. The thought amused her and would’ve made her laugh if she didn’t feel weirdly embarrassed about feeling cold in Hana’s jacket. “You, uh, you gave me your jacket and I’m still cold, so now we’re both cold. Maybe you should take it back? Like, before you tell me the other two Big things.”

“Oh, no, I’m not cold. That energy thing, like, I think I can kinda keep myself warm with it? I wouldn’t wanna go like, test it out in Anartica or whatever, but like, I’m alright. But my other idea should help” She said, scooting over. Hana pulled her jacket off from Hayeli and draped it over her own shoulders. She sat down behind Hayeli and wrapped her arms around her waist, the jacket now a sort of cape hanging around both of them. The girl focused, trying to get the energy inside her flowing and now keep both of them warm. “How’s that? And you’re not a very cold person, you’re really nice and sweet and great” she said, her head resting gently on Hayeli’s shoulder.

“Oh--” Hayeli let go of the jacket as Hana pulled it off her shoulders, and she hugged her arms around herself, trying to keep her flannel closed and rubbing her upper arms. She moved to just give in and actually button up the flannel button-up, mentally chastising herself for not having done so before she came outside and having been too occupied with looking nice. Hayeli froze with the buttons in her hands, ready to be buttoned, as Hana’s arms wrapped around her and she felt her hug her from behind.

Warm. She felt warm. “Oh.” She let out again, this time in understanding. She smiled and could feel her face heating up furiously as well. “This is… nice. Not cold. You’re, uh, definitely not a cold person, huh.” Hayeli put one of her hands on Hana’s, where she felt them hug around her stomach. “This is a neat trick you’ve picked up today. Are you a little heater now? A little person-shaped heater? One with entirely too much of a sense for kind and… and ro-- and roman-- entirely too much sense for kind gestures?”

Hana nodded, giggling. “Yup! I’m a Hana shaped heater” she said, grinning, her head turned a bit to look at her face. “I dunno how much sense I got but like, if you’re cold I gotta warm you up! That just makes sense. Uh, so I guess I got that sense. Yeah” she said, chuckling and adjusting her arms slightly around her. “You’re right, this is nice. So, uh, which do you wanna hear about first, my talk with Sledge and Temperance, or the suit you saw me fly in with?”

With her face burning, Hayeli accepted her fate and settled in comfortably in Hana’s hug. “It’s a good sense. Hm, I think you’d better start with the suit. Especially since it has also disappeared again? That’s curious.” She reached for a second taco. She would sit comfortably and also have food, all the while listening to Hana tell her stories. Now that she was warming up, Hayeli felt pretty good about the night. Tired as she was from the day’s activities, she didn’t want to go to sleep yet. She unwrapped the taco as she thought back to Hana’s suit. “Yeah, the way it disappeared looked… odd. Should I be worried?”

“Okay! That’s the order it happened so that works for me” Hana said, nodding, adjusting to settle in with the girl. “Okay, so, you saw my old robot armor thingie before, the big ol clunky one that drained way too much power. So, uh, I guess Prometheus did something to it when we were there, and what he did was put an AI in it. I got back to my place and was just running some checks when things started being all weird and something started talking and my armor started falling apart. Uh, apparently I wasn’t using the armor right, the core frame was actually like, this nanotech metal stuff contained in...uh...magnetic liquid metal or something...I’m not super sure on all the specifics. Hehe. Uh, but anyway, the stuff kinda like, merged with me? Like, it kinda sits just like, in this core in my chest? It feels odd just cause it’s new but it doesn’t like, hurt or anything. And, uh, the AI that was in the armor is now kinda, like, sorta, in me. Like, in the armor but since me and the armor are like, combined, we’re like, also combined? Uh, so, yeah, I got weird armor that lets me fly and move super quick, and also an AI that helps with stuff. Do you, uh, do you wanna meet her?”

“Wow. Okay, so,” Hayeli shifted in her spot a little so that she could look at Hana a little better where she had her head on her shoulder, without letting Hana draw away from her. “Does that mean you’re a robot? Or an energy being? Would you still call yourself human? I mean, I don’t think it makes you less human, but if you don’t want to be called that or think of yourself as such, that’s fine too. I don’t know if I’d call myself human, either.” She tried to smile at Hana, but in their position she couldn’t really face her. She patted Hana’s hands instead. “Is this AI as friendly as you are? Is she good to you? If she’s not good to you, I may have some words for her.”

Hana loosened her hug and moved with her so Hayeli could adjust herself. Her eyes glanced up in thought. “Uh, I dunno. It’s super confusing. Like, I don’t think I’m a robot. I thought I was human but like, maybe I’m not? Maybe the experiment thing affected me and changed me. I might be an energy person, maybe? I dunno really. I feel like the same Hana as before I learned all this stuff, so I’m just gonna go with that, I think” she said, shrugging. Hayeli’s last bit about being human made her chuckle. “Yeah, see, we can be not human peoples together. Sounds good to me” she said, her grip tightening so she could hug her.

“Yeah, she’s nice and helpful and pretty cool. She can talk if you wanna, I asked her to like, lay low with people that don’t know about the whole thing until I can like, explain it and stuff. I like her, still getting used to it and all but like, she’s been pretty good, for the few hours I’ve known her, hehe. Her name’s Athena”

Hayeli pressed her back backwards and put a hand up to Hana’s head, happy with the hug. “Hm, yeah, we can be not-human people together.” She chuckled and scritched Hana’s head lightly. “Athena, hm? Yeah, I think I’d be okay with meeting her. If she’s good to you, then that’s good. It might be a little weird, or awkward at first, but I’ll just have to get used to someone else being tied to you. Someone being literally with you and inside of you all the time.” With no small amount of shame, Hayeli realized that--in a way--that sounded exactly like her own situation, even though they weren’t listening in.

Hana melted for a moment as she got head scratches, smiling and letting her head rest. “Yeah, okay. I know it’s a lot and it’s weird and stuff, and sorry to just...drop all of this on you like this, but like, you know, you’re important to me and I wanted to tell you” she said, her cheeks flushing slightly as she lifted her head and turned to look at her. “Uh, let’s see, how can we do this...Uh, oh, I got an idea” she said, then concentrated for a moment. The sheen of liquid metal and nanites came out from under the jacket and formed into a pair of over-ear headphones that hung around her neck, the speakers facing out. “That should work! Uh, okay, heh, uh, Hayeli, this is Athena. Athena, this is Hayeli.”

A soothing feminine voice came out of the speakers, just a slight digital monotone-esque nature to it. “Hello, Hayeli. It is a pleasure to meet you. I have learned much about you from Hana, so I apologize if there is any asymmetry in our meeting. Hana talks about you a lot.” Hana blushed more and stammered. “I, well, just, that, uh, I mean, yeah”

Hayeli blinked, open-mouthed. The creeping liquid metal briefly alarmed her, but now she had a sense of what was coming. The voice didn’t sound unpleasant, but the monotone speech and the electronic filters it had a bit of an otherworldly quality to her ears. “Oh wow.” She said again.

She reached out to touch the headphones, poking at them. The shine of the metal briefly reflected off her own fingers. “Curious. Yeah, you do seem to have caught me at a disadvantage. How— how much has Hana told you about me?” Hayeli’s tone sounded midway between suspicious and playful. Hana had only known Athena for at most a few hours. How much could she really know? ...unless Hana really did talk that much about her? The thought made her heart beat faster.

Hana’s blush stayed as she glanced up and away. “I mean, like, uh, just, you know, I talked about the people I know while we were like, practicing flying around and stuff, yeah” she said, blinking a lot and continuing to look away bashfully. Athena chuckled. “Rest assured it has been only good things, Hayeli. I don’t think Hana could say a negative thing about you if she tried. I asked her about the people she spent the most time with, and after hearing of her friends on Big Team, she very excitedly told me her entire history with you and how much she likes kis-”

“Okay that’s, yeah that’s, uh, you don’t gotta say allll the things that we talked about, gosh” Hana said, using her shoulders to try and hide the speakers under the jacket. She could use her hands, but they were doing important work, being wrapped around Hayeli. “Understood, I am still learning of ‘boundaries.’ Suffice it to say, Hayeli, that Hana speaks highly of you and greatly enjoys the time she gets to spend with you. Thinking of you makes her heart beat slightly faster, which I have learned to be a physiological sign of affection”

“Gosh.” Hayeli muttered. She was lost for words, but her face was tingling with how hard she was smiling. “You two only met mere hours ago and yet I am enough of a subject to cover that much? I’m really flattered. Yes, learning boundaries is good. And yes, a quickening heartbeat can be a sign of affection. Unless Hana is actually terrified of me or gearing us for a fight?” Her fingers trailed over Hana’s hand. “She could easily crush me, but who knows what secret weapons I have at my disposal to fight back?”

“I, that, it, you, um, I, just, like, you know, you’re important to me and stuff” Hana said, looking down still, her cheeks hot and flushed with red. Was it true? Absolutely. Still, even in the chill of the evening, Hana was close to melting, made even worse as Hayeli’s hands trailed along her own. She blinked a bunch and looked back to her, the red on her cheeks living there rent free for a while. “Wh, uh, um, well, I, that, uh, strong, but, you, good? Good, yeah. Uh, well, um, what, uh, what kinda secrets?” she said, adjusting to look down and into Hayeli’s face.

Hayeli looked down at their hands with a playful smile tugging at her lips. Hana’s hands indeed looked like good strong hands, didn’t they? Great for punching, but also--evidently so--for hugging and holding. “Well, miss Hana Kerrigan,” she turned her head to look Hana in the eyes, “what secret weapons indeed?” She brought her head in closer, her nose brushing against Hana’s and eliciting a short giggle from Hayeli, followed by the gentle placement of a kiss on Hana’s lips.

Hana blinked, then giggled as Hayeli leaned in and booped her nose with hers. Their lips met and Hana returned the gentle kiss, her hand around Hayeli’s waist moved up to her back and held her close. After a few moments she pulled back, giggling slightly. “Uh, heh, that’s the last thing I was gonna mention, I uh, I’m not gonna be Hana Kerrigan anymore. I asked Sledge and Temperance if they, uh, if they would be okay if I changed my last name to Steel and like, was part of their family. They said yeah, so like, that’s gonna change soon. Hana Steel, I guess, hehe” she said, blushing still and glancing down. “That’s all my big news and stuff from today. I, uh, had all that and like, I dunno, I really wanted to come talk to you about it and stuff” she said, smiling, looking back to her happily.

Hayeli felt Hana’s warm hands hold her close and couldn’t stop smiling. “Ahh, I see. My apologies, miss Hana Steel.” She bowed her head and made a gesture with her hand as if to signify she was intending to bow with her whole body. “That definitely sounds like big news and good news at that, with what you’ve told me of your previous parent. I’m very happy for you!” She wrapped an arm around one of Hana’s and placed a hand on Hana’s shoulder, swaying slightly as if in a dance. “That’s a lot of big news all at once. The good sounds like it overshadows the crappy by a mile though. You seem happy. And… and, uh, that… that makes me happy.”

Hana shook her head, giggling. “Goof. Uh, yeah, I’m...I’m pretty happy about it” she said, leaning into her as Hayeli’s arm came around her shoulder. Her arms shifted so she could stay close and keep them warm. “Uh, yeah, a whole lot happened today. Definitely more good than bad” she said. She giggled, leaning more into her. “It’s, uh, jeez, it makes me feel nice that you’re happy. I want you to be happy, like, all the time. I, well, uh, I, I like you a lot, and stuff” she said, smiling, her hand in Hayeli’s making small motions again. “Can, uh, can we kiss some more?”

Hayeli snorted at Hana’s excitement and their own awkwardness. At least it was a good kind of awkward, where they knew everything would be okay. She loved this moment for that. She looked into Hana’s eyes and felt content. Hana had told her all about her new powers, her new bodymate, her changed family situation, and all the other little things. Hayeli had told her all about her deal with AEGIS and Hana now also knew that she was a mirror-person. All the cards were now on the table, right? There was nothing that could wreck her happiness now, no reason for anything to destroy this. Not now. Not here.

She smiled. “Of course we can kiss some more.” She leaned in and placed a small kiss on Hana’s lips. “Silly.” She said, then proceeded to kiss her again.