Chapter Text

Lena's glazed-over eyes stared distantly into that blue yonder that emerged just beyond the glass panel before her, her head resting so studiously above her hands as she leaned closer to the sky-blue atmosphere that beckoned to her as if to embrace her within its airy nothingness, its matterless expanse, meeting with trails of pale clouds that merely acted as rings of cumulonimbus checkpoints for which to fly through on some voyage.

Her legs began to tense as she though of such a magnificent adventure, bursting through the stratosphere, tightly held by the g-forces that threatened to madden anybody else but her. Her skin crawls, her antsiness forcing trembles along her arms, her foot pattered restlessly as she imagined the pilot's seat of her Splitstream, the cozy belts that embraced her into a protective vice, meant only to keep her non-stop trailblazing from ending far too prematurely.

"Lena!"

A sigh left her, her eyes curling in saddened listlessness, thinking of nothing but breaking free from the shackles of the earth beneath her. freedom from the constricting uniform that so reminded her of her servitude, not to the vast sky, but to such a binding establishment of the very ground that threatened to-

"LENA!"

Her elbows slipped out from underneath her head in her shock, her face dipping dangerously close to the table beneath her before she caught herself, her daydreaming having gone far beyond anything usual to most people. She frightfully turned toward the counter yards away, her heavyset boss shooting a disapproving glance toward her as he tapped his wrist with a deliberate finger.

"Break's been over fer two minutes! Get back behind the counter!" he ordered, shoving himself up off the counter to his feet and sauntering away, leaving Lena with a frown as she slammed her hands into the table, sliding herself out from the booth and rising to her feet, not bothering to fix the lace-lined apron that held uncomfortably tight to her, reminding her, nearly constantly, of the current position she was in.

She rounded the counter just as the pudgy man from a moment ago spun around, pointing toward two new customers at the bar, "Hey, Lena! These two need help!"

Lena offered her boss a quick scowl before turning toward the customers, cracking a totally-not-forced grimace of a smile as she approached them, whipping out her tablet and speaking with difficulty through gritted teeth, "Can…I…help…you..?"

"Uhh…" one of them answered unconvincingly, his companion with much the same conclusion.

Lena tapped a foot behind the counter, keeping her scowly sort of smile as she spoke up quietly, "The menu never changes…"

"Uhh…" the man replied once again before turning the menu back toward Lena, pointing down the list, "This comes with a side of eggs, correct?"

Seethingly close to tearing off her uniform and walking out, Lena merely answered coldly, "It says right above it… All those meals come with eggs and coffee…"

"Huh," the man muttered, bringing back to menu before returning to its apparently labyrinthine text, forcing Lena to breath in deep breaths to retain her composure.

"Any drinks, perhaps..?" she asked.

"Ehh…" the man replied, his companion finishing the thought, "Maybe just two waters."

Lena felt a shiver as she slid her small tablet into her apron pocket, "Two waters… Got it…"

She made a rigid turn before walking down the counter, her face still stuck in a grimacing smile that she might have been unable to return to had she taken it off, hearing the jingle of the front door of the diner as she clutched onto two plastic cups, turning to find Emily rushing in toward the counter, leaving Lena with weakened knees as she heaved in relief.

"Oh thank god," she sighed dramatically, taking in a deep breath, "Lunch time. I've only got two hours of this."

Emily stared at her with concern, "Dear, I'm headed out to work; it's still eight o'clock."

Like a wounded animal, Lena made a whine as her shoulders sluggishly fell in defeat, her face cooling in distaste, "Wh-What..?"

"I know it's rough, babe," Emily consoled, leaning over the counter to rub Lena's arm to comfort her, "It's just for a short while, y'know? You'll be done before-"

"HEY!" barked Lena's boss from elsewhere, "That's not ServSafe! Glove it or shove it!"

Emily's eyes went wide in surprise, instinctively coiling her arm back toward herself as Lena frowned, pointing a thumb toward the kitchen as she whispered in close toward her partner, "I'm about to shove something, alright; blood ain't ServSafe either, you kn-"

"Lena, babe, just chill alright?" Emily begged lightly, wearing a sweet smile as she crossed her arms atop the counter as she leaned closer, "I thought you said seeing me makes it easier."

Frowning at such a display of tenderness despite her frustration, Lena couldn't help but shrug with feigned indifference, "I suppose I did say that…"

Emily couldn't help but reveal a smirk as she brought her purse up onto the counter, working her way onto one of the stools, "Okay, then I suppose I should help out a bit and have breakfast."

"But your office-"

"Bah, they can live without me for a half hour," Emily notes poignantly, raising an eye up toward Lena as she reached for a menu, "You probably couldn't, so…"

Lena couldn't help but widen her eyes in awe of such goodness, though it was quickly thwarted by her boss' cantankerous voice, "'ey! Lena!"

"I'm already helping her!" she growled in return, angrily, frowning as she returned to Emily's innocent-looking posture as she skimmed the menu, "May I help you?"

Emily eyes her with a smile, "May I help you-..?"

With a skeptical sort of frown, Lena's lips turned sour s she quietly muttered under her breath, "May I help you, ma'am..?"

Giggling, Emily nodded, "This is fun! I outta come here more often."

"Please don't," Lena grumbled, kicking a foot warily against the bottom of the counter, "Is hate you to see me like this."

"Okay, listen here, Oxton," Emily spoke up with a serious tone, "You're obviously miserable here; Over-… your place of business isn't just gonna return in the blink of an eye. You ought to pace yourself; why not quit?"

"Becaaause…" Lena sighed, her head whirling around her shoulders, "I've been self-sufficient since secondary school- I'm not about to live off you until my place of business is reinstated. If I have to kill myself to maintain that level of sustaining myself; I'm not about to leech of of my girlfriend- that's insanity!"

Emily's face darkened, "What if-"

"It will be," Lena conformed, seriously, giving Emily a look that meant business, if in the tomboyish sense, "There's too many people out there with hope of it's return. Trust me."

Sighing, Emily shook her head while returning to her menu, "Just- Don't kill yourself if it happens to take a few years. I'd much rather you be happy than self-sustaining. I already told you, I'm fine with you staying with me until you're back on your feet."

"Oxtons always land on their feet," Lena conformed with a stony face, "You think Halloween 2086's cat costume was just for fun?"

Emily shrugged, hiding a smirk as she remained buried in the flimsy paper of her menu, "I thought it was because I said I loved cats."

She gave a muted giggle as Lena leaned closer, speaking warily, "Look, I do have a rep around here as a fearless individual without peer; I don't need people hearing-"

"LENA!" roared her boss, sending Lena sputtering back into the griddle behind her, "DRINKS! NOW!"

Recoiling in a split second, Lena saluted without thinking, hurriedly making her way to the water dispenser as the two men from earlier chatted without much of a care, save for their shock at the manager's shouting. Her eyes evasively wandered toward Emily, who merely hummer happily to herself as her head rocked back and forth rhythmically, going over the menu as Lena tried working the cold sweat at the back of her neck into her collar, quickly returning the cups to the absent-minded gentlemen before returning to Emily with a nervous expression.

"Ma'- Emily. What do you want?" Lena asked under her breath.

Smirking mischievously, Emily mused quietly, "Oh, fearless warrior, I wish to-"

Lena gave a droll expression as her tablet slid back into her apron, turning slowly to leave before Emily waved her back with a giggle, "Oh come now, dear. I'll be serious, alright?"

"Will you?" Lena asked skeptically.

Emily nodded, "Absolutely. I'll have the eggs benedict, two bits of bacon, and maybe sausage."

With an attentive nod, Lena grumbled to herself as she worked the tablet, "…alright. It just went back to the kitchen, so give it a few minutes."

"That sausage, it comes fearless, right?"

Lena's eyes arose with an unamused expression, leaving Emily to stifle a giggle with her hand, quickly reaching out to grab ahold of Lena's wrist, pulling her toward the counter toward her, "C'mere."

Answering with a certain nonchalance, Lena spoke, "My Boss is-"

"I don't care," Emily confirmed with a smile, pulling Lena until she leaned over the counter toward her, "You haven't a clue how happy I am that all I have to worry about with you is that you might be fired. I don't have to stay awake all night, waiting for a call to wrest away my fears of you taking a bullet. If I can do anything to make this life more enjoyable for you, I wouldn't dare deprive you of such a thing while I have you."

"If you truly hate it here," she continued, "Then quit. You kept me safe when you were with Overwatch, I'll keep you safe when you're without them, alright?"

Lena gave an obstinate sort of sigh before nodding, leaving Emily to conclude, "Think about it."

With that, she pulled Lena's arm even closer, allowing her to place a gentle kiss atop Lena's lips, hoping they weren't observed by the authoritative manager. She quickly allowed her partner to return to her professional demeanor, Emily covering what was sure to be a blush that only served to match her face with her hair, smiling as she lowered her face to hide a smile.

Lena sighed, her lips yanking to the side, "All I wanna do is sulk, and you just have to trounce on in here and make my day a bit better…"

"I know you enough," Emily confirmed, "For all the times one little thing makes your day bad, all you need is a little something good to make your day so. Need me to come here every day?"

Sighing regretfully, Lena shook her head, "No, no; I'll behave. I don't need you missing work every day. I'd just look at my phone to see you if not for the draconian laws that this place abides by."

"Oh?"

Lena frowned, turning toward the register, "Yeah, Ol' Assface takes every one of our phones and tosses 'em into a basket beneath the counter over there."

Emily peered over toward the main counter, split off from the bar with only a register sitting atop it, "Over there?"

"Ye- Hey, what are you thinking?" Lena asked suddenly, turning toward Emily with a worried look.

Emily stick out her tongue as she spun away in her swivel stool, sliding off into her feet as she instructed, "Just her my breakfast; I'm in a hurry."

With a pale expression, Lena watched as Emily sauntered over toward the counter, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of intrusion from the kitchen. She arrived at the island register before giving one final look, swooping low and swerving around to the backside, finding a tiny basket there with a bevy of phones within it, hurriedly burying her hand inside the pile for a examining search.

Lena's wide eyes spun toward the kitchen to find her manager roving along the pass with a curly look of anger on his face, his bumbling frame moving along toward the register, leaving Lena to react in a panic. She dove toward the pass, slamming an open palm against the bell, sending an incessant pinging across the whole of the diner.

*dingdingdingdingdingdingdingdingding-

"LENA!"

Cowering suddenly, Lena slid closer to the pass as her boss spun back around to face her, saliva spewing from his mouth like venom, "WHAT IS IT?!"

"Uh," Lena muttered quietly, "I need an ETA on that water..?"

"BLAST IT ALL! That's your job!" he screamed in a furious rant, throwing himself around in a angered movement to escape the situation, stomping back toward his office with a slam of his door.

Lena sighed with relief, pulling up her apron to wipe her brow just as Emily slid back atop her stool, leaving Lena with a quiet interrogation, "What the- Are you trying to get me fired?!"

Shrugging, Emily grinned, "Maybe a little; just so you'll find more pleasing work. Oh, and here."

She handed the phone from her pocket toward Lena, who accepted it rather reluctantly, "I had to dig and finally start looking at the start screens. Honestly, you have to change your case at the flip of a hat. Racing stripes suit you, though."

Lena emulated Emily's actions, tapping the screen and finding a picture she'd taken of the two of them, heads squeezed together, with their faces in varying states of elation, having just gotten off of a roller coaster. She smiled at the view, having to strip herself from its attention as a bell singer behind her, Emily's meal having been placed upon the pass within a paper bag, which only served to confuse the customer.

"I made sure to get it made to-go," Lena confirmed with a weak smile, "Go on and get outta here, okay? I don't need you wasting so much time on me; I'll see you tonight.

Emily rolled her eyes, "It's not wasting; I haven't had such a charming breakfast in quite some time. Besides, I love you. What more do I need as a reason to drop in on you at work?"

"A strong will," Lena groaned, eyeing the manager's office through the pass, "Seriously, go on. London ain't gonna design buildings itself."

Emily smiled, leaning over the counter as Lena dropped her paper bag of breakfast beside her, watching her red-headed beauty with confusion, though Emily was quick to ease such a feeling, "I'm not going anywhere until I get a kiss."

Gradually falling into a frown, Lena's face went pale with embarrassment, her eyes shifting from one end of the diner to the other, ascertaining who all might be there to watch the two of them. Still, as she went from one side to the other, she couldn't help such captivation at the hands of Emily's eyes, which peered up toward her with a sort of wry intent that betrayed any ambiguity toward her red-headed lover's plan to merely send Lena into such a state of nervousness. Lena always seemed to in control, or at the very, very least, merely handling the unexpected with the sort of hard-headed rambunctiousness that left her unable to feel such nervousness anyway; the times Emily could truly witness Lena's blushing was a truly rare event, one that she cherished, knowing she was quite frankly the only person upon whom it showed, even if it was being done unintentionally.

Lena's crooked lips tugged to the side as her teeth bit into her bottom lip with a nervous thought or two, finally shooting her upper body down across the bar with a spurious flash of movement, taking a sliver of the taste that accompanied Emily's lips in that flash. Emily had barely seen her move, though her touch lingered, leaving her with a contented smile as Lena reached up to yank at her uniform, trying to pull it from side to side in a vain attempt at making her chronal accelerator somewhat less of an impediment to her comfort.

"He'd have a fit if he knew I was wearing this- he'd probably think it's some kind of spy tech. or worse; a cell phone…" Lena groaned.

Emily giggled before sliding up to her feet, grabbing at her to-go bag after anchoring her purse from her shoulder, "Don't fret too much. It'll be over soon enough."

"I sure hope so," Lena more or less growled under her breath as she battled the fabric of her uniform, "This place hasn't a bloody thought of the words 'form-fitting' or 'aerodynamic'…"

"Just make sure…" Emily spoke up in a teasing voice as she reached into her pocket, sliding a fiver across the counter toward Lena, "-you don't bring work home with you."

Lena continued to wrangle with her outfit, unaware of the tip, or bribe, that Emily had just left her, "I'll try, but I don't think my body will remain unscathed from the bloody red marks this thing'll- OW!"

Rolling her eyes at the scene before her, Emily merely smirked with amusement as she turned to leave, planting an adequate amount of quid at the register before tarrying along toward the door, wanting to catch every moment of Lena's characteristic childishness before exiting, leaving Lena alone to throw her body from side to side, yanking down her apron, and fuming angrily until she'd finally-

"LENA!"

She bolted to the side, catching her boss' ire as he returned to count the register, "Quit bein' a bother! This IS NOT a place to dance!"

Lena's lips curled into a frown, though she ultimately answered with a lowly, "Yes sir."

"Now tend to the other customers!" he screamed, "I see tables without plates!"

As she took a wayward glance toward the diner, she caught a glimpse of the sky through the window, remembering so vaguely her days in Overwatch. Such freedom was now foreign to her, leaving a downtrodden sigh to escape her as she hung her head low, rounding the countertop to attend to the customers, when her ears perked up to the sound of knocking on the glass, sending her attention upward in a dash, finding Emily staring back at her from outside, not having left the storefront yet.

Emily reached a single finger up to press against her lips before pulling her phone up to her ear, leaving Lena slightly confused. Her distant thoughts were short lived, however, when she suddenly heard a rather annoying jingle coming from the register, the unmistakable sound of a stock ringtone going off beneath the manager as he threw himself away from the counter, his ravenous eyes hunting down the source of the annoyance before he buried his hands into the bucket of cell phones he'd absconded with for the day.

*ding DING d-d-ding ding, d-ding d-*

"WHAT IS THIS RACKET?!" he cried, venom spewing from his lips as he rummaged through the bucket to find the phone making the noise, desperately attempting to shut it off.

Lena couldn't help but bury her face into her open hand to hide her giggling, surprised she didn't simply burst out in laughter at the scene down the bar. She turned to see Emily sticking her tongue out in the direction of her boss before turning to Lena with a wink, making a kissing motion with her lips before sauntering off, her phone still to her ear.

*d-d-ding ding, d-ding d-DING ding*

"BLASTED PIECE A' JU-"

The phone stopped, having automatically gone to voice mail, leaving the manager hobbled over on his knees beneath the register, winded and exhausted from his furious attacks toward the bucket of phones, warily rising to his feet as he assured the customers, windlessly, "Okay, alright; my apologies! There won't be anymore-"

*ding DING d-d-ding*

"WHAT THE ACTUAL BLOODY HELL?!" he screamed, throwing himself down underneath the counter as Lena quickly spun away, covering her face with both hands to conceal her incessant laughter.

The days were truly better when she had Emily involved, she thought to herself.