Null Protocol || Ramattra x Reader

ACT 2 | ☙Chapter Sixteen❧

(Y/n) fiddled with the tan scarf around her neck, the sheer length of it wrapping around her so many times hiding half her face. It smelled like metal and machinery, and while she'd been around omnics all her life and grown used to it, Ramattra's scarf had a uniquely him scent that she couldn't quite put into words. Without the harsh elements up on the Nepal mountains turning her delirious and a full stomach keeping her sound, she struggled just as much with the scarf as she did with how she felt about the Ravager. He did horrible things for the right reasons, genuinely believing what he did was necessary – so if he was a villain like everybody painted him, why didn't she believe it? He had the capacity to be incredibly caring, and even now that she wasn't outright lying to herself about his character because she needed him to survive, she couldn't say with certainty he was evil.

"Shug." Her head snapped up to Mama, who held a bowl full of cake batter in her arms. "I need some help with the batter." Mama used the spatula in her hand to point at a cake pan. (Y/n) walked over to help her, the smell of the soon to be cake pulling her back to the present as she hid her face behind her scarf and helped Mama scoop the batter into the pan. It had been a few weeks since she got back home and the details were no more fuzzy than the day they happened – but her thoughts didn't stray away from the omnic that saved her life for long.

The day she got back was filled with Mama peppering her with worried questions and Papa asking how the trip went. She didn't have the heart to tell them she almost died, chalking up the ship that dropped her off on the front porch as nothing more than a kind escort from a friend – which was true. After she woke up alone in the hospital, an organization called Overwatch showed up to bring her home, and they claimed a certain monk arranged her transport under the guise of her carrying sensitive information.

(Y/n) smiled at the thought of Zenyatta. She owed him even more for that one, but she doubted it was exclusively to give her a comfy ride home. It was a check-in to make sure Ramattra didn't do anything to her, that she made it back to the village safely. The agent that dropped her off at home said Zenyatta left a message for her saying he intended to visit sometime – again, likely because he wanted to see for himself that Ramattra didn't hurt her. For someone that believed his brother could change, he sure wasn't as blindly trusting as she thought he'd be.

Since then, (Y/n) stayed at home, resuming the norm like nothing ever happened. She put back on the weight she lost and, since all she needed was fluids and heat, she was released from the hospital before her parents could truly start worrying. Life was peaceful once more, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was too calm – but maybe after such a traumatic event, she was just being paranoid.

Mama stepped back after sliding the pan into the oven, resting her hands on her hips as she glanced up from the messy counter and asked, "Pops ain't been wearing you ragged, has he?" Her smile was gentle as (Y/n) snapped back to the present again.

"He's been keeping me right busy now that I'm back," (Y/n) admitted with a nervous quirk of her lips. "But not more than normal, I reckon."

"You know..." Mama started, grabbing a rag to wipe down the counter so her back was to her daughter. "You never told us what happened up on those mountains, and you've been acting mighty strange."

(Y/n) fiddled with the scarf, adjusting it so it better hid her guilty expression. "I met some darn peachy monks that told me everything they knew about their people, then I got...sidetracked coming back and it took a lot longer than I expected."

"Georgia peachy?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Mama let out a soft laugh as she turned to face her daughter, leaning back against the kitchen counter as she dusted her hands off on her apron. "That don't explain why you've been acting all strange, shug – zoning out all the time." Some of the light on her expression faded to concern, and she reached out to cup (Y/n)'s cheek, tilting the girl's head up so she was forced to look at her. (Y/n) tried to avoid her gaze, swearing that as soon as Mama looked in her eyes, she'd know the truth she was too scared to spill. "Something happened up in them Himalayas and I'm worried it's tearing you up inside."