bakerstreet | thursday pic prompt

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[ For the most part, Hana is quite thankful for the relative fame she's achieved; she's worked hard, regardless of what other people try to say. In spite of her attitude, she really does just want to help and give people hope, and sometimes when the going gets rough, encouragement from her fans is what gets her through. For all that, she's grateful.

But sometimes, it's a little much, and that certainly hasn't gotten any better since joining Overwatch and making more of a name for herself. Sometimes Hana just wants to leave her house on her bike to get some freaking donuts or to go to the market for some delicious (probably deep-fried) street food without being accosted by passersby. And sometimes, and this time is one such time, Hana wants to go to things like the Lotus Lantern Festival to enjoy the sights and make cute lanterns and eat temple food just like everyone else.

Still, she ventures out on the night of the festival only very vaguely being lowkey and incognito: her casual wear still comes in nearly the same color scheme as her MEKA gear, there's probably a bunny symbol somewhere on her wardrobe, and the pink marks on her face are still fairly visible. This does result in a few turned heads as Hana wanders about, but at least she's easy to lose in the crowd.

At least until she gets distracted by the smell of food and bumps into someone's back. ]

Oof!

[Shiro's a pretty solid presence and he's been jostled several times already thanks to the crowds but that impact felt like a bit more than a careless brush and he twists at the waist, arm going out, hand immediate to catch and balance whoever it was.]

Careful.

[There's no real danger - but no one needs to end up on their backside because they bounced off him either. Especially not someone with about as much weight on them as a kid. Which is what he's expecting to see when his eyes catch up with his reflexes. Except - its not. The markings on her cheeks are familiar but they don't register as why right away and he offers a small smile.]

Sorry about that. Distracted?

Hey, watch where--

[ "you're going," is what the end of Hana's sentence would have been, but she's stopped short, words lost when she realizes she's talking to someone's back and that someone, once she looks up as he's turning to face her, is actually rather statuesque. So actually, she's the one who should've been watching where she's going. At length, she manages to answer his question with a bit of a chuckle, more at herself than anything. ]

Yup! Guess I was! Woops. [ And then a beat before she blurts out, ] Jeez, you're tall.

[She's either on the start of berating him or someone that jostled her into him but she never finishes and he lets it slip past either way. His hand does stay at her back, just a few seconds longer, making sure she's steady on her feet before it slips away. No harm done to either of them and he smiles at her chuckle. One shoulder, starting the shrug that would pass the bump off as no big deal gets about half-way through the motion -

and then stops. And its his turn to chuckle. Conscious he shifts, just a little. Just enough to use his bulk to block a little space for her against the moving crowd. His eyes crinkle a little at their edges as his smile goes a bit bigger.]

You sure you're not just a little short?

[ The nerve! This person not only accidentally got in Hana's way while she wasn't paying attention, they're also calling her short. He gets a pout from her as she folds her arms, apparently displeased by his chuckling at her expense. ]

I'm pretty sure anyone is short to a giant like you. I'm average sized!

[It's not Shiro's usual nature to tease someone. And certainly not about something that they could very well actually feel self-conscious about. But there's something about the way she absolutely puffs up the he finds - hopelessly cute. And the way she doesn't even flicker about backing down just eggs him on.

Which isn't to say he doesn't know better. He was raised with good manners. His mother would have killed him otherwise.

It's just the girl in front of him makes him want to see more of her reactions. So he intentionally leans down, making the height difference obvious, and locks eyes with her.]

It's funny. You don't look average.

[ At the very least, Hana doesn't feel self-conscious about her height, it's just that she truly believes that Shiro is just Too Tall. Hana's brows furrow, adamantly maintaining her eye contact with him even when he leans down. ]

Duh, of course I'm not average! Just average sized.

[Her answer has his eyes curving, crinkling at their corners and his smile comes, spreading. Not an ounce of backing down in her. It's beautiful. He doesn't break their eye contact either even as he straightens back up. Still grinning.]

Average sized. And I'm too tall for you. Is that why you tackled me just a moment ago?

Please, I didn't tackle you--if I'm so small and you think me walking into you is tackling then I don't know what to tell you!

[ This pint-sized package comes with a lot of sass. ]

[He likes sass. Always has. It's one of those fighter traits he admires. But he knows when to stop too because there has to be more than sass to be memorable and he knows he's been hassling her probably more than he should. He holds up a hand, palm up.]

Maybe it was just the personality that made such an impact on me. Can I treat you to an ice cream to make up for it?

[ Will Hana song ever turn down an offer for free ice cream, even from a complete stranger? ]

... See, now we're talking.

[ Nope. ]

[Her answer brings his grin back. Ice cream is a powerful motivator.]

I'm Shiro, by the way. [A glance up and around and then:] And I might need some help finding an ice cream stand.

[ Hana has to admit that she's a little surprised that the initial reaction wasn't something like, holy crap, you're D.Va, but she won't complain. Not today, at least. She flashes a confident smile and moves around to Shiro's side, casting him a sidelong (and upwards) glance. ]

No problem, I know the best place to get some around here! Just try and keep up, okay?

[ Annnnd she's already walking through the crowd. ]

[The truth of the matter is - Shiro has no idea who she is. If she was in her uniform, it would click with him. He pays attention to uniforms. And if she was in her mech it would certainly register. But at the moment, she's just a pretty girl with a lion's share of spunkiness and if the cheek marks are tickling the back of his brain to try to tip him off, they're not enough to trigger a full recall.

Lacking that realization -

he is aware that she's testing him.

She's certainly got maneuverability on him. But he's been this height more than long enough to know how to use it and it helps that he can see over most of the heads in the crowd. Also that he has a bit of bulk to his shoulder and people tend to instinctively move for that kind of thing. So he lets her take the lead but he stays directly at her back, stealing little glances down at the sway of her hair as she bops along.]

[ Truth to tell, Hana could probably work a little harder and maybe recognize Shiro, too. It's hard to miss dudes who pilot giant space robots, so they could call it even if either of them were aware.

A few heads turn as D.Va forges on, maybe even a few hushed whispers and a phone or two that gets whipped out, but at least no one's venturing to stop her in the middle of power-walking. It's too crowded to just stop in the middle of everything, after all. She makes a turn into a little side street, at which point she glances over her shoulder to look back--and looks a little impressed to find that he's managed to stay right behind her. ]

Huh! Not bad, Shiro! Oh, I'm Hana, by the way.

[Okay. He does notice the phones. He's a little too acutely aware of his surroundings, perhaps a touch paranoid so in fact, to miss people pulling out phones to snap pictures.

It just takes him a long moment to realize they might not all be for him.

He's in his civilian gear and his mech-arm is hidden almost completely thanks to his shirt's long sleeves and a glove. But he was the top pilot that got the first team to the edge of human traveled space with Kerberos - and then was reported lost in a crash there only to show up again over a year later with a team of giant lion robots and humanities first contact with aliens. So... a little notoriety. The patch of white hair usually gives him away - but he's still used to being able to go most places without too much notice. Mostly because people don't expect to see him so they don't realize who he is when they do. He's good with that. Except there's a stir in the crowd as they go through it and he's glad when they cut down the side street.

Is she a pop singer? Is that why she's vaguely familiar to him? He's not really up on what most of the latest set of singers look like but he can probably at least sing along with one of her songs. He's been catching up on his music in the few months he's been back. He raises one hand and rests it on a lower overhang from a nearby roof canopy and it blocks out the crowd behind them as it washes along its way. Searching her face and trying to figure out why he feels as if he should know who she is.

The name doesn't ring any bells.

But it is a very nice name and he finds himself smiling when she offers it.]

It's nice to meet you, Hana. I feel like I underestimated how lucky I was that you bumped into me. I didn't realize I'd picked up such a well-known guide.

[ She shifts her gaze only momentarily when he moves to block the way they'd came--a move she wasn't quite anticipating, but it does have the bonus effect of making sure no one really follows them--before she looks back up at his face. Out in the open, it was hard for Hana to really look at the guy with everything else going on, but with just the two of them now and being a little close, she's got a better look at the view.

It's not a bad one.

When he speaks, she offers a sort of sheepish grin, like someone who's just been caught in the act. ]

You finally realized who I was, huh? [ no he didn't , hana ] Hope you don't mind. I'm trying to be sneaky today. Come on!

[ She winks at him, and then off she goes again, after spinning on her heel. If it's any consolation, there might be a D.Va poster advertising either a movie she's in or a live gaming event or exhibition she's holding plastered onto a wall along this street if Shiro cares to notice. ]

[He blinks - and doesn't correct her on her assumption that he recognized her. Apparently its something she's used to though and his mind kicks into overdrive trying to figure out where he should know her from. Movie actress?

The wink is utterly charming and utterly distracting and it pulls up a crowed smile of his own. But she's already spinning off and back on her mission and he stretches his long legs to keep his spot at her back.

Pop culture icon?

Inventor?

Animal activist...?

Because he spots a bunny logo on her shirt as he follows her down the narrow alley and -

he blinks again. Oh. Oh wow. He recognizes that bunny. That agile pink mecha he's seen in the news reports. Overwatch. The pilot of that mecha wears that bunny logo and -

okay. That answers that. He remembers the pilot now. Mostly because he'd been trying to memorize all the players in the new situation that had gone down since he'd disappeared. The pink cheek marks should have registered to him faster. She didn't go by Hana as her handle though... It had been - ]

D. Va. With the mech. I should have recognized you sooner. I've seen you pull off some amazing moves in your machine.

[ If there's one thing that Hana isn't, it's lacking in self-confidence. Because she knows she's good at what she does; she never would have thought that being in the top ranks of pro-gaming would translate into being a key player in South Korea's military defense against the omnics, but she's risen to the occasion rather well and grown into it.

The nightmares from seeing death and destruction in real life and not in a game are something belied by her fearless, chipper attitude, but also not something a stranger needs to know. As far as Hana is concerned, Shiro only needs--and is interested in--the persona of D.Va. Not Hana Song. Especially now that he's recognized her. Without looking back at him and continuing to walk on, she chuckles and puts on a confident air. ]

Oh, you have, huh? I've been working on some new ones lately, so you'd better stay tuned, okay?

[If Shiro was asked, he'd clearly state that, until a moment ago, he wasn't aware she had a persona and what had intrigued him enough to invent an ice cream date had nothing to do with fame or a kill count, imaginary or otherwise.

If asked at the right time and in the right way, he might even admit that he's acutely aware of what killing, in his case with his bare hands and bladed weapons over and over and over again feels like...

His hand lifts and his thumb rubs at the scar across the bridge of his nose. Because the second he realized she was the mecha pilot - he also realized that he was dealing with a soldier. And that did mean kill count. And she - hasn't struck him as hard enough to not feel that. It's a realization that softens him, because she's still so young he's been thinking she must be in college or training at a job somewhere with problems that -

that didn't involve regularly putting your life on the line. Or the lives of your team.

But soldiers didn't talk about that kind of thing. Especially not to strangers and he brushes the hair hair away from his forehead and lets his hand fall. Knowing who she is doesn't change anything about the fact he's enjoyed his brief time with her so far but it does make it more - precious. Lives shouldn't be as fragile as this.]

I can try. [As if he'd suddenly enjoy realizing someone he knew was out there getting shot at while he wasn't there to help. But she was the one that broadcast her fights, he remembered that now that he was thinking about the mech.

It wasn't as if the Galaxy Garrison was really being completely relaxed and unarmed around his team and their orbiting castle...

He leans forward, just a little bit, to watch the side of her face. His voice is soft when he asks:]

What's your mech's name, Hana?

[ She gives him a curious look when he leans forward, and positioned as they are she studies his profile just for a split second--but then she stops in her tracks at his question. Her expression takes on a more thoughtful look as she shifts her gaze to look ahead. Much to her own surprise, the mech hasn't been given a name. Hana's been calling it what it is--a MEKA unit, short for a Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army unit. ]

You know, I haven't given it a name... Maybe I should?

[ It was painted pink, after all, per her wishes. By all measures the MEKA unit is pretty much hers, even if technically it still belongs to the military. And since it seems like Hana's in this for the long haul... maybe it wouldn't hurt to give it a name. They're going to be stuck together for a while.

[He almost bumps into her, following more closely than he usually does and his hand comes up and cups the back of her elbow automatically, to steady her in case his body does make contact. It doesn't but its a barely thing.

It's his mech hand.

He realizes it once they're both stopped and she's looking ahead and asking his question and he lets his hand fall from her. But he keeps his eyes on her face, watching the expression out of curiosity. Shiro's always named his vehicles. And - granted, his current one already had a name before he came to it and... he's not really sure calling Black a 'vehicle' isn't both inaccurate and strangely insulting but all the same -

His lips soften and so do his eyes.]

Wouldn't hurt. I've seen you move in it. It's a part of you in a way, isn't it? A teammate? Giving it a name makes the bond tighter. Let's it belong.

[ A couple of things add up for Hana in these few moments. There's something different about the sensation of his hand on her elbow--she can feel that it's his hand, but it's not quite the same. Before she can turn her head to get a look, he's already pulled away. And then there's the scar across his face, and that tuft of white hair, both nagging away at Hana because these are two distinct features about a person that she's pretty sure she's seen before.

And then the mech talk--teammate, making a tighter bond. Belonging. He knows what he's talking about.

Hana steps forward and then spins on her heel once more, this time to face him fully. ]

...You're a pilot too, aren't you? I've seen you somewhere before.

[It feels surprisingly intimate to him, talking to her when her back is almost against his chest and he has to lean forward just the smallest bit to watch her face. It seems like a funny thing to find feels close but - he likes it.

It's nice to have her full concentration too though, which he gets when she puts a step between them so she can face him and the look he gives her is calmly open, waiting. It's not as if he really cares about the ice cream or thinks its going to run away if they stop. And then she asks and -

ah.

His lips form it on an exhale but there's no sound to it and for just a second there's something wistful in the way his lips curve into a small smile afterward. Except its gone a second later and the smile's a little bit more full.]

Probably. [Modesty has its place and, honestly, if he pretends she hasn't heard of the first manned attempt to the edge of the solar system in what was classified as a historic mission tragedy or the pilot of said mission coming back with flying space lions and aliens over a year later - that wasn't modesty so much as assuming she lived under a rock with no wi-fi. Which he knew she didn't. One of his shoulders roll.] I'm a space pilot.

[Of a giant mechanical cognizant alien space robot lion that can form part of an even bigger giant alien space person... thing. But he leaves that part out just in case there's the smallest chance he really is going to get away without being recognized.]

I couldn't pick one

let me know if this is okay! i'm canonblind haha

it's good, I'm canon vague myself so we'll both make it up as we go ;)

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oh no this is cute??

super cute!

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