Overstepped

Denial

  Angelo stared intently--yet politely--at Addie as she laid silently on the sofa across from him. They avoided his gaze, refusing to speak. The young man glanced briefly at the timer on his phone... They'd already sat in silence for twenty minutes. He had to think of something, at least to get the latter to speak... "Did you hear that Lúcio's doing a popup show in the city this month?" Angelo began, setting down his clipboard and pen. As suspected, this gained Addie's attention as she replied, "He is? I follow him on social media, I would've seen it." "Well... I heard Hana talking to him, I'm guessing it was supposed to be a surprise?" Angelo said, shrugging a bit. Addie sat up now and smirked while speaking, "Angelo! You were eavesdropping? That's unlike you...!" "N-no!! I-I just overheard!! I swear!!" Angelo exclaimed quickly, shaking his head. Addie only laughed at this. Angelo saw this exchange as a small victory, even if the latter hadn't spoken about any problems they're having, she did engage in conversation and even seemed to enjoy it. He figured he could slowly make it passed the walls Addie put around themself... With a lot of patience. As for Addie, they weren't interested in letting down any walls or speaking of anything that ailed them--even if it looked like Angelo was willing and eager to help... They didn't want to burden him. Really, what was the point? Even if no true progress was made, the two spoke for the remaining twenty minutes until Angelo's timer went off... And then it was silent again. "I'm sorry, Angelo. You don't have to do this, though," Addie stated, standing up. Angelo remained seated as he replied, "I know. But I want to... I'd like it a lot if I helped you." Addie didn't have a response for this. Since they didn't have to be in this room anymore, however, they left. Despite how Addie 'seemed' fine now, Angelo could still see a profound sadness in their eyes... And he genuinely just wanted to help.

  Addie ate lunch silently, listening to Hana and Lúcio's podcast. They didn't mention anything specific about a show, but Lúcio did mention a 'surprise'... So, Angelo's claim could've very well been true. "Hope I'm not interruptin', Gremmy," Cassidy began, taking a seat, "But I've been meaning to talk with you." Addie sighed quietly, knowing something like this was coming... Was he going to kick her out? No, he'd probably talk to them in private if that was it... "What's up?" Addie asked, putting their phone away and pushing her meal to the side. "I'm sure you don't need me to tell ya this, but yer powers are becoming... Unreliable," Cassidy started, "So, I went ahead and set up for you to go visit a real good engineer who designed a lot of Overwatch's early and current tech." "You mean... Brigitte's dad, right?" Addie asked in response, masking their relief that he wasn't done with them yet. "Look at you, remembering something that was barely mentioned. I'm impressed. Unless you only remembered because of Brigitte...?" Cassidy replied, raising a brow. "Shut," Addie said quickly, "So, when am I going?" "Tracer's gonna escort you out at your earliest convenience," Cassidy stated, standing up. "Oh, well... I'm almost finished here, so you can let her know if you'd like," Addie said, pulling her food back over. "No need! I heard it all, hehe... Sorry love!" Tracer exclaimed from behind them. Both turned to face her, to which she awkwardly waved. "Eager, huh?" Addie asked, tilting her head to the side, "Well, you can just sit with me until I'm done, if you want." To this, Tracer agreed, taking a seat where Cassidy previously sat. As for the cowboy, he excused himself to do...something else. "You've been really distant lately," Tracer began, "How are your missions going with Pharah?" "They're fine," Addie replied halfheartedly, "But I can tell she looks at me differently after what happened during our first mission. It's been a few weeks, but I can feel her staring at me whenever we're out." "She's probably worried about you, love! ...We all are," Tracer replied, adding the ending bit softly. Between the two, silence fell for a brief moment. Noticing this, Tracer quickly spoke again, "But it's gonna be fine, because we're gonna see Torbjörn, and I'm sure he'll find something that'll work for you while you...figure out what's going on with your powers!" "Using them is like second nature... I don't think anything will feel as natural. What if they...keep diminishing?" Addie mumbled, somewhat in response to Tracer, but mostly to herself. Suddenly, they realized this moment of vulnerability and changed the subject. "Will... Brigitte be there? It's been a while since I've seen her, our hours are different." "I would assume so!" Tracer replied, "And it looks like you're just about done! Why don't you get ready, and I'll wait outside for you?" Addie agreed to this, quickly cleaning up and getting ready to leave after.