Zarya sat near the edge of the cliff, looking over the strait of Gibraltar as large ships passed on the horizon. Behind her was a large garden, blooming with flowers of all different varieties. The scent drifted on the warm wind and spread out to the open sea.
She had found this place not long after she first joined Overwatch. She did not know who it belonged to; she suspected the climatologist, or perhaps even Captain Amari. Regardless, this was her favorite place to come after a long day, sitting among the flowers, enjoying the view. The sun began to sink low on the horizon. The colors of the sky began to fade to yellow.
Her comm. rang with an automated number. The mess hall was open for dinner. She ignored the message and continued to sit.
She heard a door open behind her, and footsteps on the grass.
"Hello." Zarya called to behind her. "Come to enjoy the view?"
The footsteps paused. She then heard the creak of a faucet, and the sound of water running against plastic. She presumed it was a watering can. The footsteps then continued, getting closer to her. As they approached, they sounded heavier. More automated.
She flinched and turned around. Right behind her was her mortal enemy.
"Robot." She hissed.
The machine took a step backwards at the word. It let out some sort of beep.
She stood up and turned to face it. It looked no different than any other Bastion unit she'd fought on the battlefield, except this time, in its hand, was a pastel watering can. She almost laughed at the contrast. The Omnic beeped again, then turned and walked away.
"Get out." Zarya said up to it. "You do not belong here."
However, the machine did not go inside. Instead, it approached one of the flower pots. It bent down and hovered the watering can near it. Slowly it bent its wrist, causing water to flow from the spout and onto the bright flowers.
She marched right up to the Omnic and snatched the can out of its hand, splashing water on both it and her. It stepped back.
"Get out!" She shouted.
There was no response.
"Robots can't garden." She shook the can, spilling even more water.
The Bastion bowed its head and took more steps back. Then there was a pause. Zarya glanced around.
"Why are you waiting? Go!"
Its hand rose from its side, and it gestured to the flowers.
"What-!?"
She looked at the watering can she was holding, and then back to the flowers. She eyed the Omnic, then turned around. The soil it had been watering was still dry around the edges. She glanced back to the Bastion again before tipping the can. Water poured out. Soon, there was a small puddle, seepage from the pot, forming around her feet.
She heard a beep and turned. The Omnic was now gesturing to the ground where the water was. She scowled at it, but it did not move.
In a huff, she moved onto the next pot and repeated the same process. When the water began to seep from the bottom of the pot, the robot would beep again. In a completely unrelated process, whenever the Omnic happened to beep, she would decide that the flowers had received enough water and would move on to the next pot.
This went on for some time. There were a lot of pots in the garden, each filled to the brim with green and color. The Omnic's beeps became quieter. She lost the need to check the machine every time it moved.
However, Zarya noticed when it stopped following her. She looked up to see it stopped a couple pots back. She approached. It was passing its hand gently over one of the plants, ruffling the leaves. She could see spots of brown on them.
The Omnic gestured towards her hand. She stepped back.
"What is it?"
It looked at her and beeped, then pointed to the watering can. She glared at it. It began to whir, at first making her nervous, but the noise began to drop in pitch, almost like a whine.
She raised her eyebrows. The Omnic cocked its head. It straightened, then once more pointed to the watering can. It repeated the noise.
Slowly, she handed the can over.
It chirped brightly, like a bird would. It readjusted the watering can in its grip. It began to bring its gun arm up from its side.
Zarya flinched backwards, looking for cover. Nothing here would be bullet proof against its rifle, let alone its turret. She was across the garden from the door to the inside. She could call for help, but by then it might already be too late-
With the barrel of the rifle it repeated its earlier motion of skimming through the leaves. With its hand, it began to water in between the leaves by tipping the can. It hummed a little tune as it did so.
Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, but she stilled herself. The Omnic remained focused on its task. Its optic remained the color of the sky. The only sound was of water splashing against the soil. When it finished, its gun arm went back down to its side. It set down the watering can and gave a gentle pat to the dirt around the flowers.
Zarya felt fuzzy as she felt her pulse slow. She looked over the Bastion- she'd destroyed thousands of them; they had killed millions of her people -and she was standing right beside it, and together they were looking down upon the fruit of its labor.
She reached down and patted the dirt as well, making sure to avoid the Omnic's hand. She felt the cool, wet earth beneath her fingers. It was so full of life.
She turned her head to Bastion. It looked back at her, its optic staring blankly. It nodded softly. Its hand withdrew from the pot. It went and picked up the watering can from the ground, and held it up to her. It beeped.
She paused. "No. Keep it."
It cocked its head.
"You are. . . better at this sort of thing." She pointed to the plant.
Bastion replied with a series of beeps and boops, and they sounded happy, (or maybe she was projecting too much). It went around her, down the row of pots to the one that was still dry. It began to water the flowers with precision. A practiced precision, not a mechanical one.
Zarya watched it for a few minutes more, before going inside.