Revised on the 8th of November 2017
Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Mediterranean
2076
Tools and hardware clanked throughout Winston's lab, the space being occupied by a Chinese Climatologist in glasses, a tall Bastion Unit with only one functional arm, a floating blue drone with snow-like propulsions coming from its underside, and a yellow bird. The Omnic watched with apparent interest, his one eye incapable of blinking, as the scientist in the blue tank top carefully inserted a component into a slot until she heard an audible click within the device. She hummed in delight then smirked and looked up at the tall robot, who tilted his head in response. She then retrieved a heavy jacket and a welding helmet, putting them over her body for safety. Her drone floated up beside her, but with a pair of stylish sunglasses over his eyes.
"Okay, Bastion!" Mei said, fixing the protective black mask over her face. "Go ahead! It's your turn now."
"Eeeeoooo Eeto!" Bastion responded with a nod before he lifted his left arm into the air, his appendage then "opened up" to let the hand slide in before it twisted and produced a completely different appendage that looked like a mechanical tentacle. He then brought the little tip at the end towards the device and started producing a highly concentrated flame, also producing sparks that bounced around like rain. Mei and Snowball watching intently to make sure it was being done correctly, but even that was largely unneeded as Bastion welded with the precision and speed expected of a machine. It wasn't long until the Omnic was done, stepping back as Mei flipped up her mask to examine his handiwork. She smiled and looked up at her bigger assistant.
"Good job, Bastion!" she praised, raising one thumb up to him. "See? I said you would do fine."
"Weeeooo!" he responded, looking at his fist before imitating the motion, one metallic thumb upright in the air.
"Now we just have to find the perfect place to test this. I'm so excited! Are you?"
However, before they could relish further in their achievement, rather loud snoring noise turned their heads to see Nathan sitting in a chair at one of the desks in the middle of the room, his body hunched over. He was there to watch over Bastion as the machine helped Dr. Zhou with her experiments, but it seemed the man was too exhausted to do such a thing.
"Well, some of us, at least. Your friend's a bit tired, Bastion."
"Tkkie."
"You know, Angela told me about what happened on their mission to Iraq… Some pretty intense stuff. So, I can see why he might be exhausted," the Doctor's friend explained before her lips twisted into a sly smile as she leaned close to Bastion and whispered, "But, she also told me Nathan actually made her dinner back in Iraq. Now, isn't that something?"
Being told that, Bastion just tilted his head in confusion as the machine didn't understand what that was supposed to mean, his blue eye shuffling back and forth between her and Nathan.
"Qwee?" he elicited, perplexed as to what she was alluding to.
"Well, how would I put it?" she mulled, tapping her chin as tried to think of how she would explain the concept to an old war-bot. "When one person makes dinner for another person, it sometimes means that they care for them. That they like them."
"…Wee?"
"Well, I mean really like them. So much so that they want to be more than friends. That they want to do everything and anything with that person they really like. I'm not one to assume such a thing about people - I hate gossip - and I doubt a can of beans will win anyone over, but… It's kind of cute to think about."
Mei let out a little giggle as she went to her desk and began writing on a piece of paper while Bastion looked back at his friend, who still slept undisturbed. However, the Omnic rotated his head to the door as he heard what sounded like piles of metal being dragged across the hard-surface floor. At the door, Hana Song comes into the room but is struggling as she's hauling what appears to be a very large bag filled with random bits of scrap and metal parts. The Gamer, dressed in a pink tank top and short jean shorts, was gritting her teeth and sweating buckets as she dragged the bag possibly ten times her size across the floor to a corner. Bastion and Mei could only just stare at her, but the latter able to arch her eyebrows. As Hana ultimately reached the corner and let go of her haul, leaning against her knees as she breathed in huge gulps of air, Reinhardt and Brigitte then walked in, each carrying baggage of their own. Reinhardt, the large man he is, carried two particularly large crates in each arm but wasn't struggling nearly as much as the tinier young woman who came in before them. Brigitte carried a large box in her arms, but also fared much better than Hana and wasn't steaming red. They dropped their deliveries next to Hana's huge pile and Reinhardt clapped the exhausted girl on the back, almost knocking her down.
"You did well!" he boisterously claimed, standing tall with his hands on his hips.
"Is this… Really necessary for my training?" she questioned in between breaths, glaring up at him.
"Of course! I don't know what they teach you in the Korean Army, but the Bundeswehr has a proud tradition of making sure our soldiers and in peak physical condition."
"Does that include lifting huge bags of junk?"
"What you see as junk, I see munitions, equipment, weaponry - anything that you may find on the battlefield that needs to be transported by hand. Besides, we're transporting it to our allies, are we not? Sometimes, getting them the proper things they need can be the difference between life and death. The Crisis made this very clear: Rely on your comrades or be torn apart by a Bastion's minigun!"
"Umm, Rein?" Brigitte interrupted, nudging the old veteran, before pointing to the other side of the room.
"What? Oh! My apologies Bastion! I-uh… Meant no offense."
The tall Omnic tilted his head as he let out an inquisitive beep. Then, without warning, Hana fell to the floor, facing up. Mei got up from her seat and ran over to the fatigued girl. Worried, she bent down, holding the younger woman's head up and checking to see if she was still conscious. She was, but she was still breathing heavily.
"Everything huurrrts," Hana whined, letting out a very long groan.
"Come on, back on your feet Cadet Song! We still have plenty of work and training to do," Reinhardt stated, looking down at her.
"I'm not a cadet… Urrrggghhhh…"
Brigitte crossed her arms and frowned, casting a snappish glare up at Reinhardt. He only responded with a shrug.
"I think you may have overworked her, Reinhardt," Mei said, laying her hand on her forehead. "She doesn't look, and sound, very well."
"Bah! Kids these days, thinking they can't haul a few kilograms… Fine, I'll grant you a break, for now, Hana. But I promise, a few more sessions like these and you will be as strong as me in no time!"
"Please don't," Hana meekly pleaded.
Reinhardt let out a chuckle as he patted her lightly on the shoulder before departing, Brigitte rolling her eyes as she followed him. After they left, Mei helped Hana stand up and guided her to a chair and sat her in it. The Chinese woman looked up at Bastion, Snowball, and Ganymede.
"I'm going to find her some water and maybe some help. Watch over her, okay?" she asked, all of them letting out a respective noise of acknowledgment. Even the bird.
Mei ran off, soon leaving the room in search of refreshments, leaving them all alone. The room was quiet when she had left, the gentle humming of the electronics and equipment occupying the space. However, after about half-a-minute had passed, Hana, still slumped over in the chair seemingly knocked out, cautiously opened one eye, and scanned the room before opening the other and seeing they really were alone. She then sprung up from her chair and stretched her arms high in the air, as if she was not exhausted from the manual labor she was just committing seconds earlier. The other three exchanged glances with each other before looking at Hana.
"Finally!" the young woman exclaimed, feeling relieved. "I thought I was going to be stuck hauling scrap with Grandpa Rein forever!"
"Hooeee?" Bastion let out, staring.
"Perks of being an actress. Make yourself look hurt even when you're not."
A sly smirk crept on the Korean's face as she tapped the side of her noggin, taking pride in her ability to outsmart her older colleagues. This only drew another confused whir from the Omnic. Hana frowned that her message did not totally get across to the machine, realizing there was still much for Bastion to learn from people. In-turn, there was still much for her to learn from the machine, especially since she still didn't understand a single beep from his non-existent mouth. Though, the Pro-Gamer found a sort of challenge in that; trying her best to decipher what Bastion meant by herself, like a detective working out a mysterious code. She certainly wasn't going to ask Nathan to translate every boop.
Her thoughts were disturbed as she heard a raucous noise and looked across the room to see Nathan hunched over, still sleeping and completely unaware of what was happening in the room. At first, Hana raised an eyebrow as she noticed there were things surrounding him on the desk. Intrigued, she walked over to him but a little light on her footsteps to not disturb his slumber. Getting to the desk, she saw the items around him were pieces of his armor, random gadgets, and a book that was opened halfway and set down on the pages. Unfortunately for him, Hana's interest only piqued more. She was about to reach out to something until loud metallic stomping made her shrink up and twist around to see Bastion walking up to her.
"Shh!" Hana immediately brought a finger up to her mouth. "Quiet!"
"Heeennn?" Bastion stopped, rotating his body in surprise.
Hana sighed, then twisted around as she heard more snoring, looking to see that Nathan was still fast asleep despite the machine's big metal stomps.
'Guess he's a heavy sleeper,' she figured, before directing her gaze back to his stuff. 'Or is tired, AF.'
Immediately in front of her was that "black armor" of his, specifically the armored cuirass, his folded-up duster under that, and the red-eyed helm, which was facing Hana and made it seem like it was staring at her. It was kind of creepy, reminding her of something she'd seen in those old movies when she was younger. Scary men in even scarier masks. Keeping an eye on the sleeping Waster, she slowly reaches out and grabbed the helmet with both hands. Lifting it up, the metal helmet was heavier than she expected but she maintained a sturdy grip on it. Her muscles seized up and froze when Nathan started shifting, mumbling in his sleep. However, after half-a-minute passed and he didn't move another inch and kept snoring, Hana relaxed. She held the helmet close to her chest as she turned and walked back to the other side of the room, where Bastion and the others still were. There, they huddled next to each other and seemed equally nosy about the helmet the human was holding.
"This thing is really beat up. I wonder what exactly he's been doing before he met us," Song examined, rotating the headgear in her hands to see obvious signs of wear and tear: Scratches, fading, rust, and dents. She also saw notches etched into the left side of the helmet, what she would presume to be kills, but there seemed to be fewer than there should be. The red lenses were too opaque to see through, so she flipped the helmet to peer inside. There was padding, the insides of the filtration system, and of course, the eyes themselves. It looked like an impressive system, tightly packed into an invaluable piece of head equipment. Yet, it still looked distinguished enough from what helmets of a similar caliber were like in her world. Mainly how bulky and large some of the electronic components were, and how "antiquated" some of the control schemes seemed. Especially the silver toggle switch on the right side, a switch that she was pretty sure went out of style a couple of decades, ago. It kinda smelled weird, too, but it wasn't that bad.
Curiosity only rising, she removed her headphones and brushed her hair to the side before putting the helmet over her head and having her world become a shade redder. It was a loose fit, obviously meant for someone who towered more than a foot over her, but she was at least able to see through the lenses. Hana pivoted her head, looking all around as she had her hands on either side to keep it from rocking too much. Snowball's blue hull floated into her red-tinted view, the little drone's eyes twitching. Bastion's blue eye leaned into view, too.
"Jeez, how is he not seeing red all the time?" she questioned, her voice muffled by the helmet. "Wait, isn't there a microphone built into this thing?"
Her right hand went up to the side of the helm and felt around the large side component. At first, having a difficult time trying to distinguish which parts she could manipulate and which she couldn't, showing the ergonomics were a bit lacking. Then, her fingers felt a metal bit protruding from the rest of the helmet and flipped it on. However, instead of amplifying the sound of her voice through the speaker, everything in her sight became bright and her eyes squinted. They were inside so it wasn't enough to be blinding, and after a few seconds, she was able to fully open her eyelids to look out into the world before her in a new light… Of orange.
"…Seriously…?" Hana expressed disappointment, her hands falling to the side. "It's just night vision? I thought it was going to be something cool like targeting systems. Or thermal imaging. Or wall-hacks! But… night vision? What is this? The Twentieth-Century?"
The disappointed young woman reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone, a rectangular device with a pink backside and her bunny logo decorating it. She swipes through the screen, pulling up the camera so she can at least see how she looked. As soon as it switched to the front camera and saw herself in the frame, her eyes lit up and her lips formed a grin.
"Oooh, but I look badass!" she declared with a wide smile under the mask. "Oh, I have to share this! Can you imagine what all my followers will think when they see me wearing this thing? Especially how much he's been in the news lately? They're going to go berserk!"
Bastion wasn't sure what the Korean celebrity was talking about as she raised her phone in the air, adjusting the helmet on her head, and posed her hand with two erect fingers close to her glowing eyes. The wartime Omnic watched as the little rectangle in her hand flashed and made a clicking noise every time she tapped the screen, saving little pictures on the device. His square head rotated to look back at Nathan, back at her, then back at Nathan. He stomped away from Hana, who was still taking an inordinate number of pictures in the span of a few seconds, switching between poses and angles to try to get the best possible result. She was even making faces despite them being concealed, but she couldn't help it. The young woman kept taking photos as metallic stomps were approaching her from behind, but the helmet muffled her hearing. It was in the middle of her "photography session" that she noticed something was off, stopped, and swiped through her phone to see someone had come up behind her in the pictures. Flipping the red-eyes off and taking the helm off, she turned around and became wide-eyed at what she saw next.
Bastion was before her with an armored chest piece loosely attached to his central chassis, barely covering anything on his large metal chest. Upon closer inspection, it was Nathan's riot armor dangling from the robot's body. That wasn't the only thing, as he also had the Waster's duster draped over his back and flapping in the air. The big machine wasn't even able to wear it like a coat, so one of the arms was wrapped around one of the metal supports that formed his "neck" and was more of a cape. Hana just stared up at him with her mouth agape, dumbstruck. Barely able to comprehend the sight the human beheld.
"Zwee?" Bastion asked, trying to gauge the human's reaction.
"O. M. G!" Hana exclaimed, her mouth contorting into an ear-to-ear grin.
Song brought her hands up to her face, smooshing her cheeks as she could barely contain the glee she felt from watching a robot literally designed for war try to put on human clothes. That fact they comically didn't fit only helped fan the fire set off within her. The gears in her head turning faster than the gears in Bastion's entire body, any fatigue that was in her now dissipated. The Omnic stepped back from the short human, afraid he might've set something off, but before he could do anything, there was already a scheme connived in her young mind.
"Come on!" she grabbed his big, metallic hand and pulled on it. "I know what we're going to do for the rest of the day!"
"Wooozzz cht!" Bastion exclaimed, the big war-bot permitted himself to be dragged but was still worried about what was going to happen.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Hana cheekily responded, already halfway to the side entrance.
"Ms. Song?" Athena called out over the intercom, a worried tone in her voice. "You do realize you're-"
"Can't hear you! Byyyyyeeee!"
And off they went, her voice growing distant as they left the lab and Ganymede flying out to catch up with his big metal friend.
"…Oh dear."
The only individuals left were Nathan and Snowball, the latter just floating there and staring at the door with his LED eyes. The drone rotated on his axis and looked at Nathan, who was still fast asleep and completely unaware that his armor had been procured for reasons yet unknown. The blue drone blinked, before floating away and leaving the sleeping man all alone.
"Just up this way, Angela," Mei instructed, leading Dr. Ziegler to Winston's lab. "Bastion and the others should still be watching over her."
"I knew Reinhardt's regimen was going to be too much for her," Angela said with a frown, marching through the door with a first aid kit in one hand. "As soon as I'm done treating Hana, I am going to speak with Wilhelm and give him a piece of my mi-"
They stopped at the doorway, seeing that it was empty save for one person, who was still asleep on a desk when they walked into the laboratory. Mei's eyes darted all over the lab, adjusting her glasses to see if her vision was faulty. She ran over to the desk where she remembered everyone being to find only her notes and the equipment where she had left it.
"But she was right here!" she exclaimed, before running up the stairs and up to the office if she was there.
Angela walked into the center of the room, looking around to see if she could spot Hana anywhere before sighing and putting the medical kit onto the desk. The feeling of the kit hitting the desk shook Nathan and he slowly rose from the desk, groaning from the nap as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. Angela cringed at what she accidentally did and went over to the sleepy man's side.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she tried to apologize. "I didn't mean to!"
"Urgh… Dr. Ziegler?" Nathan questioned, looking up at her with still groggy eyes. "What're you doing here?"
"I'm here to address an apparent medical emergency. However, the supposed patient is not here."
"Patient? What patient? Who."
"Hana."
Nathan glanced up at her before shaking his head as he dug his eyes into his fingers, still trying to rub the sleep out of it.
"Wish I was surprised," he groaned. "She's here one second and gone the next. What was she doing here?"
"Well, Reinhardt was apparently working too hard, to the point that she collapsed on the lab floor. Instead, I find you're the only one present. Bastion and Mei's drone appear to be gone, too."
"They're probably just doing something for shits and giggles, I wouldn't put her above anything else."
"I hope your assumption is correct."
"Yeah… So, how're you holding up?"
"I beg your pardon?" Angela looked at him, furrowing her eyebrow.
"I'm talking about the dinner I made you not too long ago," Nathan explained, a bit embarrassed. "Y'know, the beans?"
The blonde's face lit up with realization before shifting into an amused expression.
"Oh, that!" the Swiss woman said, regarding Nathan with no contempt. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking. I appreciated that you wanted to make me dinner that night, but I believe in the future you should caution to everyone that the entrees you cooked were… From home."
"I'll keep it in mind," the Waster responded, scratching his head. "Least it didn't have Rads. Speaking of Rads, I have something I've been meaning to show you. Some anti-radiation medicine from back home. Figured you'd probably find some use in it."
"You have such a thing?"
"Yeah, consider it part of the exchange between Overwatch and I. In fact, I should have it around here somewhere-"
He paused as his eyes landed on the desk and instantly noticed something was missing. Angela was about to ask if there was something wrong before he barked into the air, "Athena!"
"Yes, Mr. Brin?" the AI immediately chimed in.
"Where's that damn kid?!" he questioned, rising from his seat.
"'Kid', sir?"
"Song! Where the hell is she?!"
The AI didn't immediately respond to that question, silence hanging in the air. Angela awkwardly stood there while her eyes occasionally drifted to Nathan and the ceiling, hugging her holopad close to her chest. She slowly rose one of her eyebrows as she observed the entire scene, wondering if what Nathan was implying was true. It would certainly explain her absence, and wouldn't be too surprising for the Swiss Doctor. Though, theft did seem a bit much for someone like Hana. She was worried how Brin was going to "discipline" the young lady.
"Athena!" he repeated himself, saying her name with a thoroughly aggravated tone.
"Nathan… I-"
"Screw it, I'll find her myself."
The Waster was already storming off to the door, fuming, but the six-foot-six man was stopped in his tracks as an arm in a doctor's coat grabbed his right forearm and he looked down to see Dr. Ziegler looking up at him with a stern expression. Those sharp, bright-blue eyes enough to almost quell the angry state Brin was in.
"Nathan," she said, in a tone as firm as her look. "Remember what we discussed in Iraq: Do not do anything rash or reckless. I know you're mad at Hana and understandably so, but please keep in mind who you're speaking to and what you might do."
"Relax, Doctor," he responded, though it wasn't really reassuring as he meant it to be. "I'm just going to give the ki-"
"Hana. Her name is Hana," she corrected without faltering.
"… 'Hana'… A few stern words and a lecture about appropriating someone else's possessions. Maybe figure out what the hell she's doing with them, for starters."
"I hope that's the extent of it. You know this isn't unwarranted, Brin."
"…Yeah…"
Nathan turned and began to walk away from Angela, but he paused, then pivoted on his heel to face her.
"Uh, I'll show you those radiation supplies, next time. I'll try not to get sidetracked, then."
"I'll… look forward to it, Nathan."
"Again, I'm sorry… Um, later."
He finally left, leaving Angela to stand there and look at the doorway before she brought a hand up to her face and groaned deeply. Shaking her blonde head into the palm of her hand. It was still the afternoon, but she already felt exhausted, wanting to crawl into bed and take a much-wanted nap. Rest her aching head on the soft cloud of a pillow. Lock the responsibilities and problems of the day behind her room door. Alas, she was still the head Doctor in Overwatch. Some things just didn't change.
'Verdammt, I should have gone with him,' she admits to herself, finding another reason to be disappointed with the day. 'At least, keep an eye on things… But that won't really be needed for him. Would it?'
Finished wrinkling the skin above her nose Angela looked up to see Nathan was still gone, probably halfway to wherever Hana was. She turned to the desk and retrieved the medical pack and was about to make her way out the door, too, until she stopped and heard a noise above her. It was faint, but it sounded like giggling.
Angela craned her head upwards to the second floor of Winston's laboratory. There, she spotted someone leaning against the railing, looking down at her and holding a hand over their giggling mouth. It was Mei, apparently amused by something. The Doctor furrowed her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes at the Climatologist.
"Mei? What are you laughing at?" she questioned, putting one hand on her hip.
"Oh, Dr. Ziegler," Mei said in between fits of giggles. "I was just thinking how cute you and Nathan look together."
Angela gasped, bringing a hand up to her open mouth and scowling at her friend/colleague for having such scandalous and salacious thoughts. Though, in the back of in her head, she could see the humor in it. The Doctor only didn't want to laugh with her for fear of her jests to be mistaken for confirmation of a workplace relationship, another headache she'd rather not get into given the circumstances of late.
"Mei!" Angela exclaimed, putting fists on her hips. "I expected better of you! Besides, I was only discussing something with Brin. Nothing more."
"Oh, Angela," Mei said, shaking her head with a blissful smile as giggled more. "I may be the one with glasses, but you're more visually impaired than I am."
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, her expression shifting.
"Did you really not see how Nathan was talking with you? Interacting with you? Honey, he's got the hots for you!"
Angela rolled her blue eyes.
"Oh, please. I doubt someone like Nathan would even consider something like that. Even if he does, there's still that fact that he's…"
The Doctor stopped herself, almost divulging information that she was sure her friend would have been more than confused by. Information that only a few select people should know and ever know, lest they want the entire world's perception of the universe and reality to be called into question. Very delicate information, to put it lightly.
"He's… what?" Mei asked, looking down at her colleague.
"Nothing, I'm just getting ahead of myself," Angela dismissed, straightening her white coat. "I must really get back to my office. You're lucky that we're not in a legitimate organization anymore, Dr. Zhou, or else I would write a report for workplace gossip."
"Let a girl have fun with their ships, Angela."
"…'Ships'?"
There's not much one can do when a six-foot-six-inch muscly man with scars all over him is stomping his way down steel and concrete corridors with imaginary steam coming out of his ears, other than getting the hell out of his way. Nathan's deadpan expression betrayed the fact that he was livid, and despite that talk the Courier had with Angela just minutes prior, he wasn't keen on holding back on someone stealing from him. Stealing a helmet that has protected his head and face for ages. Stealing armor that protected him from whatever the Wasteland had in store for him. Stealing a duster that protected his flesh from becoming as tanned as leather in the Mojave Sun. Really, the Courier only said what he said to Angela to make her feel better and not encourage her to follow.
Not a whole lot of other things ran through his mind when he marched down the halls, barely acknowledging how he was making a few people dodge out of his way and garnering a few stares. He didn't give a shit. Why would he? He was never a part of their band of rejects, so why would he be bothered if they were caused some inconvenience for the day. The Courier was used to wandering open, wide deserts. It was never his fault that he was imprisoned to a base on a rock. He barely even leaves the little quarters they had the "courtesy" to bequeath him with, despite being somewhat of an arrangement on his part. Nathan wasn't even sure if he was gaining anything from this. Surrendering technology that might as well be alien to these people, both metaphorically and literally, but what has he gained? More scars? New ways to end up in an infirmary? A new handgun? A rudimentary understanding of a databank that has no equivalent in his world? What have they given him? What's stopping him from just leaving this rock and going off to find his ticket back home, himself? He's drifted before, the Courier will drift, again. He may not make it out, given the unfamiliar territory… But thinking about that doesn't really bother him.
Nathan had crossed into a different wing of the Watchpoint, trying to figure out where exactly she was. He somehow ended up in a hangar and was trying to find an exit until he overheard something to his left.
"… any idea what DVa's doing with that Bastion unit?" a technician spoke to another technician, the two loitering around a crate.
"No clue," the other technician shook her head. "I just wish she'd invite me to her room sometime. Would make the day much more…"
The technician paused, her face shifting to mild surprise and horror. The engineer she was with looked at her trivially, wondering what was wrong, until he noticed there was a shadow looming over him and turned around to see a tall, bearded man looking down at him with a neutral expression. Though, he suspected that was a façade, given the reputation the tall man had among the rest of the New Overwatch.
"I heard you mention Song," Nathan simply stated with a deadpan look. "Where is she?"
"Umm… Uh-"
"Don't make me repeat myself," the Courier grew impatient, his tone becoming a low rumble.
"DVa uh… erh…"
Nathan's neutral expression was betrayed by the small snarl that grew on his face, followed by the sound of him growling lowly as he stared them down. The poor technician's hearts started to race, his friend cowering behind. He gulped as he pointed somewhere to his left and stuttered, barely intelligible.
"Uh, she's at her-umm-quarters and-umm…"
"Residential wing. Got it."
The Courier turned, leaving the two technicians speechless and scared half-to-death. There was more vigor in his step, now knowing where she went. But as he was about to leave the wing, a figure in a blue jumpsuit suddenly stepped in front of him.
"Hey man, what's wrong-"
"Not now, Manuel," he muttered, already brushing past him.
The Courier's blood still boiled since seeing that empty space on the desk he was sleeping on. The nerve of that little shit to take his belongings while he was asleep. It seemed with every passing day of being stuck here, there always seemed to be something going out of its way to infuriate him to no end. Seemed like a collective of things going out of their way to aggravate him. It became unbearable at times. This isn't the first time he's thought this, and it was starting to get tiring.
He eventually made it to the Residential Wing, the halls familiar to the wanderer as he took a route that was also the same to his room. The Courier just never noticed it being a residence for the others since he's more or less lived the life of a shut-in. He scanned the doors, trying to find some indication of who they belonged to and where Song could be. Where his armor could be. Eventually, he stopped in his tracks as he spotted a door curiously decorated with pink decals and stickers, some of them being a rabbit – her logo. If that wasn't enough, he could hear loud electronic music blaring through the walls, accompanied by a high-pitched giggle that occasionally rang out. Hearing the laughter almost made him feel a tinge of regret. Almost.
The Courier stomped his boots right in front of the door, then brought his hands up and slowly cracked the knuckles on each fist. He twisted his head and made the joints in his neck crack and release tension, before letting out a low growl. He brought his right hand up, balled tightly into a fist, and brought it to slam down on the metal door. But Nathan froze when the door unexpectedly opened.
"Hold on, Bastion!" Hana called back into her room, about to walk out. "I just have to…"
She bumps into something, stumbling back a bit before shaking the hair out of her face and seeing Nathan was at her doorway, casting a surprised glance at her. She returned a similar expression back to him before it morphed into relief.
"There you are!" she exclaimed, smiling up at him. "I was just going to give these back to you."
Nathan looked down, to see his ranger armor and the duster in her hands. It was in a neat, little pile; The cloth was tidily folded and was beneath the armored torso, and on top of that was his helmet, the red-eyes staring up at him. He took it in his hands, a bit apprehensive.
"What were you-"
He looked up, and after his eyes were assaulted by multiple shades of bright pink, green, and blue, Nathan could see through the light and saw something that looked straight out of a chem junkie's dream: Bastion "wearing" some type of pink dress with a matching bow, with mascara over his eye and the outline pink lipstick on his metal faceplate.
"What the fuck?" was all he could come up with as it was muttered under his breath.
"He's cute, right?!" Hana asked aloud. "We were having a little photography sesh with the goal of snapping the cutest pictures of him as possible. Or, see what outfit fits him the most. That's why I had your outfit. Or, well, that's why Bastion took your outfit. All accompanied by corresponding lighting and music. Set up by moi, the fashion genius DVa!"
She jumped back into the room and posed, and upon seeing this, Bastion posed with her and let out a very content whir as he did so. Nathan just stood there, staring, and trying to make sure his jaw didn't fall to the floor. Suddenly, something flew out of the room and landed on his helmet. It was Ganymede, but he immediately noticed something on the yellow bird's chest.
"Is that a…?"
"Yup, I gave Ganymede a little bowtie!" Hana declared with pride. "It was kinda hard finding the materials and putting it all together so it can be on a bird, but I think it looks good. Gan-Gan doesn't seem to mind, do ya'?"
Upon hearing its nickname, the bird twirled and flew over to Hana like a puppy being beckoned to its owner. As soon as it landed on her hand, Ganymede gave a little tune to Song and that caused in a little giggle in her. Nathan dipping his head to the side as he just squinted at the two. Watching as the young woman shook with soft laughter and let out a little squeak of affection, her eyes closed with delight. The man couldn't divert his gaze, and he wasn't sure why. She just seemed so… Cheerful. That's a word he hasn't thought about. In a long time.
His eyes drifted to Bastion, and while the machine wasn't the most emotive individual on the base, he didn't seem to mind essentially being a dress-up doll to Hana. It looked ridiculous, without a doubt, but the big walking war machine couldn't care less. He just seemed to be having fun. Enjoying himself.
"This is a bit much," Nathan admitted, unsure of what to do with what he saw. "I'm just going leave you guys… To it."
"Okay," Hana shrugged. "You sure you don't need them for anything?"
"No, I'm fine, I guess…"
Stepping back the door finally slid close, but Nathan just stood there and stared blankly at the stickers plastered to her door. He then deeply inhaled and exhaled, before bowing his head and shutting his eyes.
"Would you like some tea?"
Nathan twisted around and saw on the opposite side was another room, wide open. Inside was Genji and Zenyatta, who were sitting on the floor next to each other next to a tray that had a teapot and two teacups on a wooden tray. The contents were still steaming.
"No thanks, I'm good."
"I'm sure you are, but some tea could help make you feel well," Genji responded earnestly.
"I think I need some sleep, not tea. Thanks for offerin', though."
With that, Nathan walked away and was out of sight, leaving the Mentor and the Student alone in the room. Genji listened to his heavy footsteps, hearing them becoming increasingly faint until they were merely no more. Then, he heaved a sigh through his mask, before bringing his hands up and pressing buttons on the side of the back of his head.
"That man intrigues me in so many ways, master," the Cyborg Ninja admitted, removing the faceplate to reveal his real, scarred face so he can drink the tea. "Worries me, as well."
"How so?" the Metallic Monk asked, wanting to hear what he had to say, first.
"I sense a lot of emotion within him. Not very pleasant ones."
"I see what you mean. I also sense something within him. While drastic of an assumption, it is very reminiscent of the rage that once consumed you, my student. Though, he has been pleasant to speak to in every opportunity I've had."
"He does a good job at hiding it, but I cannot commend him for doing something like that."
"Of course. You of all people should know that."
"Hai, master."
Genji brought the steaming cup to his mouth and sipped it, still able to feel the sensation of the hot liquid running through his throat. He'd never thought he would cherish such a thing, but having a metal body made him realize many things.
"However, one thing that truly perplexes me about Mr. Brin is how reluctant he is to even tell me anything his home. Where he came from," Zenyatta said, his hand gently clasped together.
"Oh?"
"Yes. Details do leak out from time to time, but accidentally or with a sound of remorse and reluctance. I know he is a stranger to our home, but what is it about his that causes so much imbalance. You wouldn't happen to know, my student?"
"I do," Genji answered, sipping his tea again. "But I'm not sure the details should be said delicately, and I would rather not trouble myself with them when I will venture back home on a mission… With Brin."
Suddenly, they heard laughter and robotic boops across from them, the sound of Hana's antics still purveying the wall. Genji let a smirk crawl up his face as he looked back at his tea. It didn't bother them in the slightest. Why should it?
"And I am sure Hana would, also, if she wants to be ready for the mission."