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So far, it had been a lovely afternoon. Zenyatta was showing you around the beautiful monastery, introducing you to his fellow monks here and there. The main building and all the surrounding area were amazing, and you felt very fortunate to be able to visit this reclusive place.
You and Zen had been friends for a few years, ever since you first met at a café before the Omnic Crisis. He had been your server and thanks to your frequent visits, you quickly struck up a friendship. Eventually you had helped him escape the city when anti-omnic sentiments became more prevalent and the café owner was thinking about getting rid of him.
You had stayed in touch during the Crisis and now that things had calmed down, you were finally here to visit him at the Shambali monastery.
"This is beautiful." You said, looking at the large statue of an omnic.
"Her name was Aurora, she was the first of us to become one with the Iris." Zen explained as he picked up two incense sticks and handed one to you. "We use this room to honor and remember her."
He lit his incense stick by touching it to one of the numerous ones already stuck in different bowls of sand at the base of the statue, and you followed his example.
"I've read about her before. She was the first omnic to gain sentience, right?"
Zen nodded, turning to you with a friendly tilt of his head.
"Yes, we believe that is the case. Without her w-" He was interrupted by another omnic entering the small room. He was taller and more broad-shouldered than Zen, but his robes looked almost identical to all the other monks. When he noticed the two of you standing in front of the statue he stopped in his tracks, silently looking between you.
"Ah, Ramattra." Zen perked up. "This is my good friend, I believe I've told you about them before."
Zen introduced the two of you and you smiled kindly at the other omnic. He stayed quiet, which didn't deter Zen, who babbled on happily but you felt slightly out of your depth. Ramattra stayed stock-still, not giving you any indication of his thoughts or feelings. Finally, when Zen finished the story of your first meeting, Ramattra crossed his hands behind his back.
"It sounds like you have been very kind to my brother. That doesn't negate all the damage humans have done to our kind though. I can only hope that you don't have any ulterior motives for coming to our inner sanctum."
You gaped at him, unable to come up with a reply. Zen was about to swoop in and try to diffuse the situation when you finally found your voice.
"I fully understand your reservations after everything humans have done and are still doing currently, but I assure you I'm merely here to visit a dear friend." You told him and to your surprise he took a step closer, towering over you.
"Then you better make sure not to step off the beaten path, you wouldn't want someone suspecting you're up to something sinister, hm?"
You stared at his faceplate, a frown on your own face, and just when you were about to go off on him Zen laid a hand on your shoulder.
"If you'll excuse us, Ram. I would like to finish our tour before the evening meditation." Zen said, gently pulling you away from Ramattra's imposing form. "I shall see you later tonight."
Ramattra only nodded once, optical units fixed on you until you turned a corner. Zen and you walked in silence for a few minutes as you tried to calm down. You weren't really angry because of Ramattra's reservations, you were angry because of the way he had talked to you. He didn't even know you at all and yet he assumed you were here to… what? Sabotage the monks somehow? Gather intel for some nefarious human plot to terrorize omnics? Ridiculous.
"Ramattra has always been this way, please don't take it personally." Zen said after a while, and you sighed.
"I'm not. Well, I am, but it's fine. I'm sure he has his reasons, I just wish he didn't talk to me like that."
"Yes, he's…"
"An asshole?"
Zen chuckled, a hand raised in front of his face in a startlingly human gesture.
"That he is." Zen sighed. "Most of us here believe that humans and omnics can live in harmony. We strive for peaceful coexistence and respect between our races, and to a degree so does Ramattra, but he is very cautious. He has witnessed great suffering first hand during the Crisis, and I'm not sure he'll ever be able to forgive humans for the atrocities they've committed."
You nodded.
"I wouldn't expect him to, but I would've appreciated a slightly less threatening greeting." You said with a huff, making Zen chuckle again.
"Well, maybe he will warm up to you in time."
+++
Unsurprisingly, Ramattra didn't warm up to you. You stayed away from him as much as possible, sticking closely to Zen whenever you could. The handful of times Zen invited you to join meditation you sat far away from Ramattra and yet you could still feel his piercing gaze on the back of your neck. Whenever you were in the same room he was watching you like a hawk, and whenever you were taking a walk outside you felt him watching you from a distance.
Finally one night about four days into your visit, you were unable to fall asleep so you took to wandering the halls of the monastery. The moon stood large in the sky tonight, casting bright strips of light onto the wooden floors. You were so focused on trying not to make any noise that you didn't hear Ramattra approach from around the corner ahead of you until you ran straight into him.
You let out a noise half-way between pain and surprise, then quickly took a step back when you saw who you had run into.
"As far as I know humans sleep at night, so why are you sneaking around at this hour?" Ramattra asked, and you had to push down the anger that immediately threatened to bubble up inside of you.
"I couldn't sleep." You simply said.
"Hm, I'm sure. It's not wise to wander the halls of a house you're a guest in, and at night at that. Someone might get the wrong idea. Shall I escort you back to your room?" He phrased it as a question, but you knew you didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Fine." You ground out as you let him herd you back towards the way you came. "I'm curious as to why you're up at this hour? I'm pretty sure omnics tend to recharge at night."
You hoped your antagonistic tone of voice annoyed him as much as his annoyed you.
"I patrol periodically at night to make sure no wild animals lose their way inside the monastery."
Asshole , you thought.
"I see. I guess all the way up here in the mountains that could be an issue. Although maybe some of those animals are docile and only seek shelter and a place away from the dangers of the wilderness." You tried your best to keep your voice steady, but you felt like you failed miserably.
"No. In all the years I've been a Shambali, I've only seen snow leopards and bears trying to get into the monastery."
His hand closed around your wrist when you almost took a wrong turn, pulling to steer you towards the correct hallway. He let go as soon as you were going the right way, but you still felt his touch on your wrist all the way back to your room.
"This is your room." Ramattra simply said, crowding you against the door, almost like he was worried you'd try to get away.
"Thank you for walking me back, that was very kind of you." You said with a fake smile and you saw his fingers twitch into a fist.
"I will see you tomorrow." He threatened, obviously not planning on budging until you had gone into your room. You turned around and made sure to lock the door behind you.
+++
"Zen." Ramattra appeared next to Zenyatta, who had been in the middle of explaining a Shambali ritual to you.
"Ah, my brother. What can I do for you?" Zen asked cheerily and you wondered for the hundredths time this week how these two were getting along so well. They were opposites in so many ways, and yet they were closer than most human siblings.
"Mondatta is asking for you in his chambers."
Zen nodded, turning to you.
"I'm sorry my friend, you'll have to excuse me. Maybe Ram would be so kind as to explain the rest of the ritual to you." He told you with an apologetic tone of voice and you were about to wave him off, uninterested in spending more time than necessary with Ramattra, but Zen turned away before you could.
"Please, Ram." He said decisively and Ramattra couldn't do anything but nod.
As soon as Zen was gone Ramattra's entire attention was on you again. You were almost getting used to it at this point, but it still annoyed you just because you knew his behavior was based on his dislike for you.
"The sun ritual, yes?" He asked and you nodded. He didn't bother asking how far Zen had gotten in his explanation and just started from the top again. Surprisingly you found that he was very good at describing the ritual, and his voice was very soothing to listen to as he spoke. You didn't dare to interrupt him to ask questions, but his explanation was very thorough anyway, so at the end you felt like you had learned quite a bit.
"I see. Thank you for the detailed explanation." You didn't even have to fake the smile you directed at him this time, and he nodded stoically.
"You are returning to your room now?" He said and you could tell it was less of a suggestion and more of an assumption, so you shook your head just because you knew it would grind his gears.
"I was going to go for a walk."
He didn't say anything, so you just turned around and started down the hall towards the doors that led outside. A moment later you heard his metallic footsteps follow you and had to suppress an annoyed sigh. You decided to ignore him for now and simply follow the route you took everyday, around the courtyard and along the outside of the monastery.
The path took you out to an area away from the buildings where you had an amazing view of the surrounding mountains. Some days the clouds obstructed them completely, but today the weather was lovely, so you had a clear view far into the distance and down into the valley. You stood at a railing for a few minutes just looking out at the landscape until you heard the crunching snow behind you. This time you did sigh loudly.
"It's cold out here." Ramattra said as he came to a halt next to you.
"I have a scarf. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were worried about me." You didn't take your eyes off a distant bird up high in the sky above you.
Ramattra scoffed and out of the corner of your eye you saw him raise his hand towards you. You stepped back with an annoyed frown.
"Are you incapable of letting me enjoy this beautiful view in peace?"
He took a step closer, once again towering over you and your frown deepened.
"I have to say I don't quite understand why my brother likes you so much. He made you sound like the sweetest person on earth and yet here you are spitting words like venom into my face."
You balled your hands into fists at your sides and you were fairly sure it made you look like an angry toddler throwing a tantrum, but you didn't care. You pushed further into his personal space until you were almost chest to chest.
"And whose fault is that, huh?" You simply replied. You had had enough of this conversation, so a second later you turned on your heel to walk back to the monastery. "I'm going back to my room. Stop following me."
+++
The next morning you were still annoyed. It was silly, really. Here you were in what was undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous and peaceful places on earth, but rarely in your life had you ever been this upset for such a long time. Zen must've noticed your inner turmoil because as you both sat in his room - you, with a bowl of food in front of you - he sent one of his healing orbs to hover by your shoulder.
"I sense discord within you, my friend."
"You sense correctly." You mumbled, stuffing another spoonful of rice into your mouth. "It's Ramattra… he insists on following me around to watch me. Like I'm some dangerous criminal. I don't expect him to blindly trust me, but he's been nothing but rude to me this entire time and I've just about had it."
Zen hummed in thought as he sat next to you, his legs folded underneath himself.
"He can be a difficult person to be around. I had hoped making you spend time together yesterday would help you get along, but it seems my actions only made things worse, I'm sorry."
Your eyes darted up to look at him and you quickly shook your head.
"No, don't apologize. It actually went alright at first." You sighed. "I'll just… try not to let him get to me."
"Alright. Let me know if you would like me to talk to him." Zen reached over to squeeze your arm and you smiled at him before you turned back to your breakfast.
+++
The heating in your room had gone out. Zen was away today, down at the village to pick up some supplies, and you didn't really know anyone else, so you just sat inside a small room at the back of the temple, contemplating what to do. Of course the bane of your existence had to walk in just then. He hesitated for just a moment before he headed straight for you.
"What are you doing here?"
"Meditating." You were very clearly not meditating.
"Where's Zenyatta?"
"He's fetching supplies from the village." You explained and he made a displeased sound. To your surprise he dropped down onto a cushion next to yours, sitting in a meditation pose.
"My brother told me you let him stay with you for a while before he escaped back then."
"Yes…" You paused, recalling the few weeks Zen has stayed with you before the Crisis. The memories from back then weren't exactly pleasant, it had been a tough time full of worries and fears of what was to come. "He needed to get out, but we had to organize a safe way first. I'm glad everything worked out in the end, but it was a very worrying time."
"Many other omnics weren't as fortunate."
"No, they weren't." You sighed.
Ramattra turned away from you then and as the silence grew heavier you shifted to sit properly and began meditating alongside him. So far you hadn't been all that successful in your meditations, but you liked having some time to think and relax, even if you didn't manage to reach enlightenment.
After about thirty minutes you heard him stir next to you, so you took that as your cue to open your eyes and stretch.
"The heating in my room broke." You said, unsure why you had suddenly decided that Ramattra was the person who would be able to help you. He turned to look at you, considering you for a second, so you added, "That's why I was actually here, to warm up."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
You raised an amused eyebrow at his almost offended tone of voice.
"I didn't think you'd care. Also, I am telling you now."
He made a displeased sound but motioned for you to follow him as he stood. You reluctantly let him lead you out of the temple and over to the building you were staying in.
"It just won't turn on." You explained, gesturing to the heater in the corner. It was freezing in your room, so you picked up your blanket and draped it around your shoulders.
He crouched down and examined the heater. You couldn't see what he was doing exactly because his broad shoulders blocked your view, but if the annoyed huffing and angry banging on metal was anything to go by, it wasn't successful. After another minute of grumbling he stood once again and turned back to face you.
"I'll ask someone who knows more about this to stop by. In the meantime you can stay with Zen, I'm sure he won't mind." He told you and you nodded. You hoped Zen had left his room unlocked because you were seriously starting to shake in these cold temperatures. Ramattra must've noticed the way you pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulders because he let out an almost-growl.
"Come with me." He pushed past you and out of the room.
Ramattra's quarters were just as sparse as all the other rooms in the monastery. The only thing that could lead you to suspect someone was living here, was a robe on a hanger on the wall, and a book on the bedside table. As soon as you entered, Ramattra closed the door behind you and rushed over to turn up the heating.
"Thank you." You mumbled, and then the two of you were standing silently in the center of the small room, about three feet between you. He was staring at you as always, so you took to looking around the room but there was nothing more to see.
"Sit." He finally commanded and you rolled your eyes but sat down on one of two wooden chairs at a tiny table.
"Don't touch anything." He said and without another word he left the room. After about two minutes he returned with a small cup in his hand, and placed it on the table in front of you. You gave the liquid inside it a calculating look.
"It's tea, I'm not trying to poison you."
"Didn't say you were." You mumbled with a shrug, then raised the cup to your lips and took a sip. "Thanks."
"I'm only doing this because I know Zen would be cross if I let you freeze to death."
Despite everything that brought a laugh out of you.
"Yes, I'm sure he'd be slightly inconvenienced by his friend's passing." You joked, and to your surprise Ramattra chuckled. You took another sip of your tea before looking up at him with a smile. "I really do appreciate it, Ramattra."
+++
"You're a prick." You spat, leveling an angry look at Ramattra.
"Whatever makes you feel better about your own shortcomings." He nonchalantly reached past you to pick up an incense stick, grazing your arm in the process.
"At least I treat others with basic respect."
"Is that why you've been annoying the shit out of me this entire time?"
The sound of a swear made you pause, looking up at him with a confused expression. Then, slowly, as he kept ignoring you, your mouth warped into a grin.
"Ohhh, I really got under your skin, didn't I?"
He was in your personal space a second later, making you step back until your back hit the wall. He followed, a hand landing on the cold stone next to your head.
"Listen here, human. I'd advise you to keep it to yourself today, I'm not in a good mood." He sounded almost strained and you frowned. This wasn't your regular banter, he seemed genuinely upset.
"I- okay." You hesitated. "Sorry."
He sighed and took a step back from you.
"It's about time for dinner, you shouldn't let my brother wait."
You nodded, then brushed past him out of the room. You threw one last look over your shoulder before you rounded the corner and he was still standing in the exact same spot, gaze fixed on the wall where you had stood just a second ago.
"I believe today is the anniversary of the death of one of his friends. She died in the Crisis and from what I gather it was rather traumatic for Ram." Zen explained and you immediately felt even worse. Seeing your upset expression, Zen laid a hand on your shoulder.
"You didn't know. And from how you described it you were merely teasing him and didn't have any ill intent."
"Well, I kind of did… I like getting a rise out of him." You slumped back against the chair. "Tomorrow is my last day here. Even though we got off to a bad start, I'd rather not leave things like this."
"Talk to him tomorrow morning, before you leave. Hopefully he will have calmed down until then, and he'll be able to understand that your intentions were never bad." Zen chuckled suddenly and you threw a confused look his way. "It's just that I think the two of you would get along very well, given more time. Maybe next time I visit you I'll bring him with me…"
You gave him a look that made him laugh even more.
+++
You knocked on the door; once, twice, thrice. For a moment you thought he wasn't in his room, even though he couldn't be anywhere else, you had checked. Then, finally you heard footsteps approaching on the other side and a second later the door opened.
"Yes?" He sounded cold as he usually did, but for some reason it kind of stung this time.
"I just came by to say goodbye since I'm leaving in a few hours. And I wanted to apologize for upsetting you yesterday, that wasn't my intention." Your eyes nervously darted between his faceplate and your hands. "I'm sorry."
Ramattra let you marinate for a minute before he relaxed his posture and sighed.
"It's alright. I was out of line, you were just being your usual rude self."
Your eyes snapped up to his face and you were about to start another angry tirade, when you realized his tone of voice implied that he was just teasing you.
"Ah, and of course you'd know what it means to be rude." You replied with a grin. "I don't think I expected this two weeks ago when I first got here, but… I'm glad to have made your acquaintance."
"Likewise, I suppose." He extended his hand to you and you shook it without hesitation. "Take care."
"You too, Ram."
+++
You still had to feed the cat and brush your teeth. Did you finish your coffee? You peered inside the cup and cursed, it was still half full and undoubtedly cold by now.
No matter. You didn't have time to make a fresh one, and you'd probably be able to grab one on the way anyway.
Without wasting any more time you rushed to get ready and hurried out of your apartment. You were meeting with Zen in half an hour, and it would take you at least twenty minutes to get across the city to the hotel he was staying at. He wasn't here for you, really. Him, Mondatta, and some of their fellow Shambali were attending an important meeting between world leaders. Luckily your friend had still found some time to meet you, and you couldn't wait to see him in person. It had been a few months since you visited him in the Himalayas and in the meantime you had only occasionally spoken on the phone, which proved to be hard with his spotty internet connection. Although you supposed that was to be expected from a monastery in the mountains.
You reached the hotel with five minutes to spare, so you took a few seconds to admire the lobby. It was a fairly high-class hotel, paid for by the organization that was putting on the meeting. While you were staring up at the vaulted glass ceiling you didn't pay attention to where you were going and before you knew it, someone ran straight into you.
"Watch where yo- oh. It's you." A familiar voice said and you looked up to find Ramattra standing before you.
"They allowed you to come?" You asked, a smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.
"I find it more surprising they let you into this hotel." He countered while he steered you over to a pillar, out of the way of a passing bellhop with a luggage cart.
"I have my ways." You mumbled, a little overwhelmed by his sudden close proximity. "I'm here to meet with Zen."
"I figured. He did mention he was busy this morning, although I'm not sure why he decided to keep who he was meeting from me." Ramattra cast a gaze around the lobby, before reaching down and taking your hand. "He's in the lounge, I'll escort you."
"I get my own escort? How riveting." You snickered. You didn't stop to think about how much you enjoyed the feeling of his hand around yours. His touch was much gentler now compared to all those months ago at the monastery.
"How was your flight?" You didn't exactly like to make smalltalk, but you wanted to keep the conversation going.
"Fine. Strange." He slowed down a bit so you could walk next to him more comfortably as he dropped his voice. "I haven't been away from the monastery since after the Crisis."
"Not much has changed since then." You replied and he huffed.
"Judging by the amount of dirty looks I get from humans, you're correct."
He sounded bitter and you couldn't blame him. Hopefully this meeting of the Shambali with the world leaders would make a difference but you weren't naive, you knew this would take time.
"At least 97% of those dirty looks come from me and are directed at you specifically." You joked and he made a dissatisfied noise.
"I wish that were the truth, dear."
Dear .
Oh… now that was new. And you really didn't mind it, not at all. Did absence make Ramattra's heart grow fonder for you? Or was he just being snarky and antagonistic? You weren't sure, but you somehow enjoyed it either way.
"Ah, my friend!"
You had reached the lounge as well as Zen who was sitting at a table with a book in front of him. As soon as he spotted you he sprung up with a laugh and enveloped you in a hug. You gladly returned the gesture. It was a joy to finally see him in person again. You had really missed him.
"Zen! How are you?" You grinned, letting him pull you over to a fluffy couch at the same table he had been sitting at just a second ago. He dropped back down into his armchair and gestured for Ram to sit as well. He sat next to you stoically, making sure to keep a respectable distance between the two of you. Annoyance surged through you before you pushed it down a moment later.
The three of you talked for a few minutes, Zen and you joking around, while you and Ramattra exchanged snarky remarks. Zen was greatly amused by your antics, chuckling along as you threw yet another verbal jab at his brother.
"I apologize, but you'll have to excuse me." Zenyatta said after about an hour, voice filled with regret. "I need to go help Mondatta prepare for his speech."
"It's alright, Zen. I'm just glad we got to spend some time together." You reassured him as you stood to embrace him again. "Take care. And let me know how it went, yeah?"
"I will. I promise, my friend."
With a soft smile you watched as he walked away, until he had rounded a corner and you lost sight of him.
"Are you free?"
You turned to look at Ramattra who had stood from his spot on the couch, walking around to the other side to join you. You gave him a confused look, but nodded.
"Yeah, why? Don't say you want to spend time with me."
"Not really, but I don't know anyone here and I still have a few hours until I have to be at the conference."
"So you want to… what? Go sightseeing?"
"Mhm. Why not?" He looked down and tugged on his monk robe. "I'll have to change first though. I don't want to draw more attention than necessary."
You insisted you could wait for him in the lobby, but he wouldn't have it, shoo-ing you into the elevator.
"I know you want to see what the rooms look like. When you ran into me earlier you were absolutely dazzled by that old glass ceiling." He teased you and you could only shrug and nod in agreement.
As expected, the room was luxurious. The furniture and decor were elegant and tasteful, but of course it still felt weirdly sterile just because this was a hotel room. The room even had a small balcony that overlooked the city, and you stood at the railing for a few minutes while Ram changed, just admiring the view.
"Let's go." He called from inside after a while and you reluctantly returned to his side. He had changed into dark pants and a dark sweater, which made for an unusual sight but you thought it suited him.
"Here." He handed you a small chocolate bar. "It came with the room, but I don't eat."
You snorted as you stuffed the chocolate into your pocket.
"Thanks… So, where do you wanna go first?"
+++
You absolutely loved to exchange verbal jabs with Ramattra, it was exhilarating. He was quick-witted and sharp-tongued, and by now you both knew what lines not to overstep, so it was simply fun. He annoyed the shit out of you with his comments on human behavior, but you loved it. In turn, you teased him for how rude he was being, and you could tell it grinded his gears.
"Maybe you'd enjoy this sculpture more if you stopped throwing snarky comments my way for two seconds." You said, gesturing to the large contemporary art piece in the middle of a park. It was a tourist hot spot, although you had to admit you had personally never understood the appeal.
"I doubt it. And why would I? You decided that this was the thing I desperately needed to see, after all!" He too gestured to the sculpture and you had to suppress a snort at how upset he looked.
The rest of the day passed in much the same way, with you showing him some of the more interesting landmarks of the city, and him being unimpressed. It turned into kind of a game where you tried to pick more and more unique sights in an attempt to draw a different reaction out of him, just for him to shrug and grumble.
When you finally returned to the hotel after a handful of hours, he dragged you back up to his room. You sat on his bed while he changed back into his monk robes in the bathroom.
"I had a good time today." You said loud enough so he could hear it. It was quiet for a moment, then he finally replied: "Me too."
When he returned to sit next to you after a few more minutes he sat closer than strictly necessary. Close enough so that his arm brushed against yours, sending sparks across your skin. You both stayed silent for once, just soaking in the moment, until there was a knock at the door.
Before you realized what was happening, you were on your way home, the memory of Ram's metal fingers brushing across your cheek in goodbye still fresh on your skin, and he was sitting in a conference about world peace with nothing but you on his mind.
+++
You were going to arrive today and he didn't quite know what to do with himself. No one - except Zen - noticed, of course, but his mind was once again fully preoccupied with you. It wasn't good, in fact it was probably unhealthy even, but he could do nothing about it. Why exactly you tended to take up the majority of his thoughts was a mystery to him.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that you were a human, you were also annoying. You pushed his buttons whenever the opportunity presented itself, and he gladly pushed back. He loved this little game you played, needling and snarking until he felt less like he was trying to distance himself from you, and more like he was pulling you closer instead. Because somewhere along the way you had become… friends? Not the right word.
He despised your very presence in his vicinity, but when you weren’t there he felt empty, without purpose. How the hell had you managed to worm your way into his chassis and bury so deeply in his circuitry? He hated it. He hated how vulnerable you made him feel, how weak.
And yet…
“Oh.” You were staring at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. You looked slightly frazzled, probably because you had only just arrived at the monastery.
“Eloquent as ever.” He huffed out as he pushed past you into your room. Your suitcase was lying open on the bed, and you had obviously been in the middle of unpacking when he had knocked.
“Where’s Zen? Did he leave you alone already?” He hoped he sounded as annoyed as he felt. He didn’t like having you unsupervised at the monastery, even if he was fairly certain by now that you weren’t here to get information on the Shambali.
“He had some business to take care of. Either you sit down and let me unpack or you come back later, Ram.” You sighed as you closed the door and started to make your way over to the bed. He grabbed your wrist as you passed him and your eyes jumped up to look at his faceplate. He hated how adorable he thought the spooked look on your face was.
“Do I not even get a hello?”
“That’s rich coming from the omnic who just barged into my room without a word.”
On instinct he reached up and took your chin between his thumb and index finger, making sure you were looking at him.
“Hello, dear.”
Without a word you escaped his grasp as you turned away from him, but he still saw the start of a blush appear on your cheeks. He pushed down an amused chuckle and instead took a seat at the table.
His eyes lingered on your form while you emptied your suitcase. It was hard to look away from you for some reason. At first, he was only watching you to make sure you didn't do anything bad at the monastery, but over time he started gravitating towards you even when he wasn't suspicious of your behavior. It was hard to admit, but by now he had to concede that he liked looking at you.
It was irritating.
"I was thinking about going for a walk, would you like to go with me?" You asked, your back still turned to him. He hummed in confirmation.
A few minutes later you were finally finished unpacking and put your empty suitcase away. He watched you pull on a scarf and coat before heading over to the table he was sitting at to pick up your beanie. As you put it on your gaze met his and suddenly your eyes softened when his cheek drew your attention. You reached up to run your thumb across a new scratch on his faceplate. He had obtained it during a sparring session a few days ago and hadn't found the time to patch it up yet.
"This is new. What happened?" You asked curiously, eyes never leaving him.
His hand came up to grab your wrist and pull it away from his face. He didn't mind you touching him, on the contrary, he liked it a lot , but something about how casual you acted annoyed him.
You were human, he was supposed to despise you for what your people had done, but somehow he didn't, he couldn't.
Not when you looked so sweet, and talked to him without pulling any punches.
Not when your very presence made him feel all wrong and fragile, but in a good way.
Not when your touch calmed him and made him feel so much safer than he had in a long time, maybe ever.
Hot rage shot through his circuitry all of a sudden. You were turning him soft, turning him into an easy target for any human who wanted to attack him. If he let you in, he'd involuntarily open the door for any other human as well, and he couldn't have that. He had to cut you off.
He shot to his feet, making you stumble back from him. His hand was still tightly grasped around your wrist and he didn't think to let go as he let out a frustrated huff.
"What's it to you? Why do you care? I was created to lead omnics to war, I've watched my brethren get slaughtered by humans like you, and they didn't feel a single drop of remorse for their actions. They would've gladly killed me too. So, why on earth would you care about a tiny scrape on my face? Why would something this miniscule matter to you?"
"Wha- what are you-"
"Be quiet. I've had enough of this little game. I'm not stupid, I know you only pretend to care just because you feel guilty about what your people have done to us. You can stop pretending."
Without giving you any time to respond he dropped your wrist and stormed out of your room, leaving you to stare after him in shock. The sight of your gentle eyes and your brow knitted in confusion stuck with him long after he had left you and he hated it.
He hated that he didn't hate you.
+++
You were pissed.
What the fuck was his problem?
Why did he suddenly explode like that?
Why was he being such an ass just when you had started to accept that you actually liked him?
You let out a groan of frustration and kicked a rock towards the cliff just off the path you were walking down. After Ramattra had yelled at you before running off, you decided you might as well go on that walk to let out your frustrations.
You kicked a piece of snow, sending it down the mountain as well.
This was stupid. All of it was.
Just a few hours ago you had been so excited to see him again, to spend time with him and bicker like you had all those months ago. You had even considered asking him out before that whole debacle in your room just now. Granted, he probably would've said no, but you hadn't thought he still hated you this much. He probably had every right to, you had no idea what he had gone through but shit, did it hurt.
You were so stupid.
With a start you realized the wetness on your cheeks wasn't from the snowflakes tumbling down on you, but at some point you had started to cry.
"Fuck." You mumbled, taking a deep breath as you tried to calm your anxiously beating heart. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm fine… I'm okay."
You were not, in fact, fine nor okay but you needed to pretend for a bit. Just until you didn't feel like you were about to scream or have a panic attack or break down crying. No, not that last one, that was dumb. You'd just end up freezing to death on this random path in the Himalayas, and you simply weren't ready to go out like that, no matter how broken your heart currently was.
You gulped down some more air and focused on breathing slowly. It was fine, you'd just stay in your room from now on, until you could go back home and then you'd never have to see him again. Your life would go back to how it had been before you met, and you would be just fine.
Reaching up, you wiped your cheeks with your sleeve, letting out one last shuddering breath before you set off down the path once again.
Your vision was still a bit blurry, but you wanted to keep moving. You stumbled over a small rock and suddenly your foot met only air and you felt the world tilt around you. A scream of terror left you as you fell, tumbling down the steep path.
And then everything went black.
+++
He was in the middle of meditating, trying to shut out his tumultuous emotions when one of his fellow monks rushed into the room. It was uncommon for his brethren to run in the monastery, and even less common for them to interrupt someone's meditation. As such, he was immediately on high alert as his gaze snapped up to look at the omnic.
He barely registered their words before he was on his feet and hurried to the infirmary.
You had been on walks around the monastery many times, why had you gotten hurt today all of sudden? Why now? Right after he left you with such venomous words. If you were seriously hurt - or worse - the last things he had said to you had been so incredibly hateful and frankly, it had been nothing but lies.
He felt his circuits sizzle with anxious energy as he threw open the doors to the infirmary. He immediately spotted Zen sitting in a chair next to the only occupied bed. He whipped around to face Ram and raised a hand to quietly gesture for him to calm down as he approached the bed you were lying in. You looked pallid and cold, but your chest was rising and falling steadily. As soon as he was close enough he took one of your hands in his.
"The path down to the village, you know how steep it is." Zen sighed, relinquishing his seat to Ramattra. "They have a concussion and a sprained ankle, but they'll be fine. They asked for you before they passed out."
Ram looked up at Zen in surprise.
"They were awake? I thought…"
"They're not in a coma, Ram. Just asleep. I'm sure they'd appreciate it if you stayed for a while anyway." Zen sounded vaguely amused. When Ramattra simply nodded, Zen laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently before leaving.
You had asked for him, even after he had yelled at you. Even after he had been nothing but brash and aggressive with you. You deserved better than him, he knew that, but at the same time… he was selfish. Deep down he knew what he wanted, even if he had been pushing back against it all this time.
It was eerily quiet.
Was this your room at the monastery? No, the bed seemed softer, and wider too.
You couldn't bring yourself to open your eyes yet, so you just shifted a bit, trying to get your stiff muscles to loosen up. Immediately you noticed two things: your ankle hurt a lot , and there was a metal hand clasping yours on top of the sheets. Your eyes shot open and you let out a surprised little 'oh' when they landed on Ramattra.
"You're awake." He mumbled, leaning closer. "How are you feeling?"
You frowned as you tried to remember how you had gotten here, what this place was, and why you felt thoroughly horrible. With a little shake of your head you looked down at your throbbing ankle, but with the sheets covering it you had no idea why it could possibly hurt.
"I feel… bad. What happened? I remember us talking in my room… a-and-" You broke off, as the memories of Ram yelling at you returned. "You were angry."
"I'm sorry." Ram immediately said. "I was… I struggled to work through my own emotions, and I let my frustrations out on you. It was wrong and I apologize."
You let out a sigh and tried to sit up but a sharp pain shot through your head all of a sudden. You reached up a hand and your fingers met soft bandages.
“You fell on your walk.” Ram gently pulled your hand away from your head. He explained the extent of your injuries to you, and you hummed in understanding.
“I see. Fuck, I really don’t remember a single second of that walk, maybe I tripped…?” You mused before turning back to Ram with a tiny smile. “Thank you for watching over me.”
“I-” He hesitated, eyes flitting about the room until they returned to you after a few seconds. “It’s the least I could do after my completely uncalled for temper tantrum. I-I shouldn’t h-”
“Ram.” You let your fingers run across the back of his hand. The metal was warm in your grasp and you saw him relax under your soft touch. “It’s fine, I forgive you. Just… next time let's just talk to each other?”
He huffed, but raised your hand up to his faceplate to nuzzle against it.
“That sounds agreeable, yes.” He let your hand fall back down onto the sheets and straightened up. “I should let you get some rest.”
“No! I-I mean, uh, can you stay? Please?”
He stared at you for a second, unmoving and without making a single sound. Then finally, he relaxed, taking your hand back into his and squeezing gently.
"Ram… I-" You started, but broke off when you realized you didn't really know what to say. You sighed in frustration, but the sound seemed to spur Ram on, who was just staring at you.
"I've fallen for you."
Your eyes snapped up to his face plate, trying to discern if you had actually just heard him say those words. You opened your mouth to reply, but no sound came out, although it wasn't like you were able to think clearly enough to string together a proper sentence anyway.
Ram reached over to take your chin in his hand, nudging your head up to face him.
"It's unexpected for both of us, I imagine, but it's the truth. I… you have been a constant on my mind ever since we met, and I've realized that I am, in fact, in love with you." He sounded so soft and gentle as he spoke, you felt the heat rise into your cheeks until it made your eyes water.
"E-even though I'm an obnoxious human?" You whispered, making him huff out a laugh.
"You're not obnoxious. Not at all. It's hard to admit, but I think I might like you a lot more than most omnics I've met."
"Oh? Only most?" You teased and he sighed in playful annoyance.
"All of them. Now, do you want to kiss me, or not?"
You just stared at him for a moment, before you reached up to wrap your hand around his wrist and moved his hand to your cheek.
"I'd love to, but my head hurts, so you'll have to come closer."
You didn't even have time to prepare before his cool faceplate was pressed against your lips as he leaned in as far as he could without putting all of his weight on you. His other hand cupped your other cheek and after a few seconds he pulled back to rest his forehead lightly against yours.
"My little human…" He mumbled and you couldn't help but chuckle. With a smile you reached around and ran your fingers across the cables at the back of his head, making him sigh.
"I'm sorry." You told him, and Ram pulled back a bit to look at you in what you could only assume was confusion, so you clarified: "You were pretty freaked out when I woke up, I could tell. I worried you, and I'm sorry about that."
He shook his head.
"No. That's not something you need to apologize for, my dear. I'm just glad that you'll be alright."
“Oh, I’ll be more than alright.”
With a grin you pulled him closer again and placed another kiss on the cool metal of his faceplate.