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They had always assumed that Genji was the reckless one. It just seemed to fit with what they knew of his personality and fighting style —he was always on the front lines, always flashy, always fighting with a flourish, as though he were putting on a performance. Each of Hanzo's movements on the other hand, seemed tactical and calculated. Being trained combatants, however, they should have known that one did not preclude the other.
Angela was there firsthand when Hanzo reached a tipping point. A month after his arrival, when he had finally begun to appear, albeit briefly, at mealtime; when he finally was able to engage in courteous conversation that lasted more than a minute; when he was standing 20 feet above the nearest solid ground, a considering look fluttering across his face. She had taken to the air with Fareeha, who was happily decimating the enemy omnics below and was therefore not witnessing the oncoming disaster.
"Genji," Angela began slowly over the comms.
"Yes?"
"Your brother," she continued in this way even though she knew Hanzo could hear. That caused another expression altogether to flicker across the man's face. "He's not about to..." she couldn't really find words for the rest. A look of determination had settled on Hanzo's brow.
"Oh holy fucking shit you've got to be kidding me anija no—"
She must have brought Genji's attention to his brother's position, as the next thing she knew, the ninja was sprinting as fast as he could towards the ledge upon which Hanzo was standing. Before he could reach it, Hanzo leapt up, doing a complete 360 just meters before touching down into the canal to unleash his dragons horizontally against an enemy troop, catching them by surprise.
"Ryū ga waga teki wo kur—"
The last syllables of his call were muffled as he hit the water hard.
---
After this first incident (which had, admittedly, won them the battle), Genji appeared to be on high alert. While he usually paid little attention to the backlines unless there was trouble, he could be seen frequently scanning the possible sniper perches for a sign of his brother, almost breathing a small sigh of relief upon finding him in position.
"What's this all about?" Cole finally asked one day, after a mission where Genji seemed to have a minor panic attack upon losing sight of Hanzo.
"What?" Genji asked absently, his eyes scanning the higher-level platforms again.
"You've been watchin’ your brother like a hawk for a month," Cole clarified. "You worried he's gonna bolt or—"
"No." That caught Genji's attention, and he turned abruptly to look at Cassidy. "He would not do that."
"Then what is it?"
Genji huffed a short sigh, much like the one Cole had often heard from Hanzo, although he hadn't realized the similarity in mannerism until now.
"In the heat of battle, my brother sometimes forgets to prioritize his own life," Genji answered in an especially measured tone, one that he used when trying to keep control over his own feelings.
"He's reckless, you mean?"
"Yes."
"That's part of our job, ain't it?" Cole shrugged. "I can remember a fair number of times where you threw your metal ass into the fire."
"Yes, but this is different." Genji's voice took on a brittle timbre that echoed even more sharply in his mask.
"How's that?" Cole asked. Hanzo had been a bit of a mystery since he arrived a month ago, and Cole was keen to learn anything he could about the man, for reasons he’d rather not yet share with Genji.
There was a high-pitched whine, one that Genji was likely making in his throat and was only captured by resonating through metal.
"He likes it."
---
Cole didn't completely understand what Genji meant by this until two missions later.
It had gone bad fast. They had called in for reinforcements, which were luckily only an hour away, as that team had just finished a mission of their own.
On the ground surrounded by Talon grunts on all sides, Cole wondered quietly to himself whether the second team would have anything to rescue.
"Alright loves, we've made it!" Lena's chipper voice over the comms was a relief. "What's your position?"
"Main square. They're closing in on all sides fast," Soldier grumbled. Cassidy had known Morrison for long enough to catch the slight edge of extra tension in his voice.
"We don't have any aerial support," Lena's cheerfulness now sounded forced. "But I'll land us in a jiffy."
"Make it quick," Soldier barked. He was back-to-back with Cole. While Morrison hadn't ever admitted it, the two of them fell in sync almost as easily as Jack did with Gabe, but saying it out loud would mean acknowledging a long history they both wanted to forget.
"Ms. Oxton," Hanzo interrupted calmly. "I have a suggestion, if Hana can manage it."
"Hmph. Bring it, old man," Hana taunted.
Cole had a bad feeling about this, but Genji wasn't here to stop any of it. He also wondered with a pang of jealousy when "Ms. Song" had become "Hana".
Moments later, the Orca swerved into view, dipping dangerously low over the buildings.
"Is... Is the side door opening?" Cole gaped. "The side door's opening."
"Shimada, abort," Morrison snarled, not even needing to look up to know what was about to happen.
Hanzo appeared at the doorway, wind blowing fiercely against his body, as he steadied his aim. He took down five agents before the Orca had to swerve upwards to avoid fire. The circle of enemies around the ground team scattered, their attention drawn upwards.
"Push now!" Morrison roared, activating his tactical visor.
The Orca circled back and tipped awkwardly to one side.
Instead of a hail of arrows this time, however, an angry, solidly-built archer sprung out of the opening, storm arrows loaded to take down another set of Talon agents from fifty feet above them.
It looked like it was happening in slow motion: Hanzo was propelled through the air, his golden ribbon and hair fluttering like they were caught in some sort of wind machine on a movie sound stage. His lips were curled in determination, as his arm drew back again and again to let fly the glowing blue arrows.
It was the hottest thing Cole had ever seen in his life.
"Shimada, what the fuck?!" Jack shouted uselessly over the comm.
While Jack was still mid-sentence, Hana's Meka swooped under Hanzo, and Hanzo threw his bow over one shoulder and grasped at it with both hands.
Hana landed firmly in front of Morrison, and Hanzo dismounted with a backward flip, taking down several more agents before he landed gracefully on the ground beside Cole. And that’s when Cassidy saw it for the very first time—Hanzo’s eyes were glistening bright and dear God almighty, he was smiling. Cole swallowed hard, pulling at the bandana around his neck. Their eyes met briefly and the son of a bitch had the gall to smirk at him.
"Cassidy, stop gawking and shoot them, dammit," Morrison growled.
Cole blinked. He looked around to assess the situation and found himself falling behind—Hanzo had single handedly taken out half the men by combining surprise with his sexy display of violence.
"Cassidy!"
"I'm shootin’, I’m shootin’," Cole grumbled.
Half an hour later, Talon was on the run, and Cole was still fighting off an awkward and inappropriate boner.
Morrison declared the mission a success, and the team made their way to the ship. Jack tailed Hanzo the entire time, shouting something about endangering his own life as well of those of his team. For his part, Hanzo seemed unbothered.
"That sure was something," Cole marveled when they had returned safely to the Orca, taking the seat right next to Hanzo before realizing he had done so.
Hanzo blinked at him. "Oh?"
"You jumped out of a plane," Cole reminded him. "Landed on a moving vehicle. And took down a dozen Talon agents without breakin’ a sweat."
Hanzo snorted, his shoulders visibly relaxing although he crossed his arms. "You are not going to lecture me about my recklessness?"
Cole pondered this for a moment, knowing that Genji would have words for him if he encouraged Hanzo’s behaviour. He wondered if he should lie.
"Well, I mean yeah, I wish you were a bit more careful, but God damn, that took balls."
Hanzo blinked again, clearly not expecting this response. An odd look crossed his face, one that Cole didn’t understand. Hanzo’s ears turned bright pink, which was a signal that Cole did understand.
Oh.
“Just make sure you’re careful, darlin’,” he pressed his luck a bit. “I don’t like seein’ you hurt.”
“I am always careful,” Hanzo replied without skipping a beat, as though it were a response he had given often to exactly the same warning. There was a pause. “But thank you.”
The last phrase was softer and trembled under the weight of something that Cole also could not yet comprehend. He only knew that it meant trouble in more ways than one.
---
Three more missions later, Cassidy was certain of two things:
1. He couldn’t have stopped himself from staring at Hanzo if he tried, whether they were on mission or not.
2. Hanzo would look at him right before attempting his most daring maneuvers.
What he was not certain of, however, was what to make of this. Never one to let good enough alone, Cole decided he had to find out.
It brought him to Hanzo’s door that evening, hat in his hands.
The door open and Hanzo just blinked at him.
“Howdy,” Cole tried.
“Hello,” Hanzo managed. Well, that was strange. Cole never figured that a man with enough self-assurance to throw himself off the side of a 10-storey building would look so ready to slam the door in the face of a colleague out of panic.
“May I come in? Or maybe we could go for a walk?” Cole amended, seeing the colour drain from Hanzo’s face at the first suggestion.
“Why?”
Given the wince that followed, Cassidy guessed that hadn’t been the answer Hanzo was aiming to give. Cole frowned. This certainly wasn’t the cocksure man he had admired on the battlefield. A pang of insecurity hit him hard in the stomach. “Just so I can get to know you better. If you like,” Cole added hastily.
“Oh. Yes. Please.” Hanzo took a step forward and closed the door behind him. Cassidy was both exalted that Hanzo agreed and disappointed that he hadn’t been allowed in. He tried to brush off the latter.
“Mighty fine! I know just where to go.”
Conversation went more smoothly once they were outdoors. Cassidy wondered whether Hanzo had felt cornered, and decided to apologize for his sudden appearance. It was Hanzo’s turn to wave it off.
“You simply caught me by surprise. I am glad that you came.”
“Oh.”
Cole peered upward from under the brim of his hat. Hanzo was blushing.
Oh.
Cassidy grinned and tipped his hat back. “Bet you’ve never even seen this part of the base! Come on!”
He slapped Hanzo on the shoulder and beckoned him to follow.
“So, you sure know how to make an impression,” Cole marveled as they walked.
Hanzo snorted. “Is it truly that bad?”
“Naw, not at all!” Cole shook his head. “Got us out of a few tough situations. But…”
Hanzo turned his head and raised an eyebrow.
Cole hadn’t really figured out yet what he was trying to say exactly. “…you know your brother short circuits every time you do that right?”
Hanzo laughed, full-on laughed, and Cole’s heart began to sing. “That is part of the thrill.”
Cassidy chuckled as well. “Is that it? The thrill of it?”
Hanzo’s expression closed up immediately and Cole scrambled to figure out what he had done wrong. Perhaps Hanzo took it as a criticism. He scrambled to fix this misconception.
“There’s been times, I gotta admit, when I first got here, where I would stand here on the cliffs and just…feel the idea of fallin’. Not that I ever wanted to do so,” Cole added hastily. “But the threat of the ocean was always there, and it just made me feel…”
“Alive?” Hanzo filled in quietly.
“…yeah. Alive,” Cole nodded with a small smile.
“I think that is how it began. Originally.” Hanzo focused his eyes on the path in front of him. “There was always so little in my life that was under my own control.”
“Ah,” Cole nodded again, his smile fading. This feeling he could understand all too well. He wasn’t sure how to reply, but luckily, their arrival at his secret spot meant that he didn’t have to right away. “Hey, here we are.”
After navigating several small and winding paths, Cole had brought them to a small cliff that overlooked the ocean. The timing had been perfect: the sun had just touched the water, setting it aglow in shades of orange and pink.
“Beautiful,” Hanzo murmured, looking up towards the shimmering horizon. The light set off every angle to his face and reflected brightly in his dark eyes.
“Yeah,” Cole whispered, his own eyes not on the sunset at all.
They stood for a few more moments in silence before Cole decided that he really could use a drink right now, and remembered that he really had brought one. He sat down, legs dangling over the edge of the cliff, and took out his flask. Hanzo sat down beside him. Ever the gentleman, Cole handed Hanzo the flask first. Hanzo took a sip and handed it back.
“Do you still feel the same, you reckon?” Cole asked again after a while. “About the control?”
“…much less so,” Hanzo answered after some reflection. “But some habits are hard to quit. And…perhaps it wasn’t only about freedom.”
“Oh?” Cole’s eyes slid over to steal another glance at his sun-kissed colleague.
“…would we be sitting here together if not for my reckless approaches to missions?” Hanzo turned his head quickly without warning and locked his eyes fast with Cole’s.
Cole blinked, caught unaware. “Of course we would.”
Hanzo tilted his head, as though he were attempting to detect the truth of it.
“Do you think that’s what this is?” Cole asked, a little offended. “I got some sort of danger kink?”
While Hanzo’s face was capturing the last of the dusk’s colour, Cole could still tell that he was blushing.
“No, of course not. But you look at me when I do these things.” Hanzo shrugs. “As do the others. And the way in which they look at me is not the look they would give one who had previously tried to murder one of their friends.”
“It was the same when I was younger, more foolish,” Hanzo continued. “In other men’s eyes, I saw fear, disdain, but only when I would do something like this would I see admiration.”
Cole felt his heart ache at the observation.
“Well, hell Hanzo, I’d admire you for a lot less,” he blurted out.
Hanzo blinked at him.
Cole could feel his face burn and regretted it all instantly. “It was a compliment,” he explained. “You shouldn’t do those things just because others notice,” Cole tried again, more lightly. “We notice because we worry about you, Hanzo. But we see you other times too.”
“…you worry for me?” Hanzo stood. “I assure you that is not necessary.”
Cassidy got a sinking feeling, sort of like perhaps Hanzo was about to take the wrong lesson away from this conversation. He stood as well.
“We’d worry for you regardless,” Cole tried again. “It’s what friends do.”
“Friends,” Hanzo repeated. There was something in his voice that didn’t quite sit right with Cassidy.
“Hey…why don’t…we just sit for a while longer?” Cole asked, feeling an unreasonable panic growing in his chest at the prospect of Hanzo leaving.
Hanzo blinked at him for a moment. Cole offered his flask again with a lopsided smile. Hanzo took a quick breath and held it, his fists clenched. It looked to Cole like he was preparing to take a step off the cliff in front of them, not simply sit down for conversation.
“Yes,” Hanzo said, a bit breathlessly. “Very well.”
---
It was a shit situation. Hanzo had insisted on doing the recon himself, and it was therefore his fault that he was now alone and isolated from the rendezvous point at the foot of the mountain, with about 20 Talon agents on his tail.
The only thing that stood between him and backup was a long, straight path barely carved into the hill.
Well.
While it was technically a hill, the angle was so steep that the ground seemed to fall away completely right as the decline started. Behind him, the sound of footsteps grew louder. The voices on his comm wondering at his location grew more anxious.
Hanzo considered the rickety old mountain bike that lay on the side of the narrow path.
He considered Dr. Ziegler's look of pure malice and disappointment, considered Genji's look of absolute horror. He then considered Cassidy's eyes shining with admiration and awe.
He mounted the bike and tested its mediocre brakes.
"Yeehaw," he murmured to himself with a chuckle before pushing himself and the bicycle down the hill.
---
Angela was the first to catch on. It only took several of Hanzo’s visits to her medical facilities for her to put together that Cassidy was always the first to visit and was always the last to leave. It took even less time to catch the surreptitious glances that Hanzo shot Cole when Cassidy wasn’t looking. It took nothing at all to put together that Hanzo’s recklessness was an attempt to catch Cole’s attention.
The rest of the team caught on when they began to excuse themselves together, almost nightly, definitely like clockwork, for what they insisted was just a drinking session. Knowing Cole at least, Angela did not doubt that this was true, although she did wonder at whether he wished it were more.
Predictably, Genji was one of the last to notice.
“Are those two sleeping together yet?” Jack grumbled one day in the rec room after Cole excused himself to visit Hanzo again in the med bay. Angela had pretended not to notice he was holding a full bottle of sake under his serape.
Genji choked on his water. “You must be joking.”
Everyone else in the room exchanged glances. It took thirty more minutes and audio, visual and anecdotal evidence before Genji finally believed them.
“Why?” Genji demanded, rubbing at his eyes instinctively even though they were still behind his helmet. “Why would you show me this?”
“We’ve had to watch this awkward charade for several months now,” Morrison muttered.
“You know, there is one way we could end this,” Angela pointed out.
“Yes,” Genji agreed immediately. “But would it be better if I were to behead him or stab him through the heart?”
“Genji,” Angela warned.
“Which one are you even talking about?” Hana asked curiously.
“Either. Both. Whatever.” Genji shrugged.
“We are not killing either of them,” Angela said firmly, as though it were really in question (one could never tell with former Blackwatch ops). “I meant by encouraging them to talk to each other about it.”
“Ha!”
Angela turned her glare on Jack, not having expected this from him.
“You want two people who are better trained for killing than for talking to talk to each other?” Jack shrugged. “Good luck.”
“Hanzo would rather jump into a pit of acid,” Genji confirmed.
Angela’s eye twitched and everyone knew to take a step back.
“Fine,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’ll do it myself.”
While it was against her nature to interfere, it was also against her profession to allow this self-destruction to continue. Luckily, Hanzo was still in her charge for a few days more, and it was therefore easy converse with him alone. He had been admitted yet again despite Zarya’s miraculous, life-saving bubble that had prevented a spectacular mountain-bike crash. Angela took a shot of the schnapps she kept in the bottom drawer of her office desk to steel herself.
“Shimada-san,” she greeted him with a small smile.
Hanzo turned slightly to face her, his eyes expressing bewilderment at her kind tone. Angela felt a pang of guilt at this and endeavored to do better in the future.
“How are you feeling?” she inquired.
“Well enough,” Hanzo nodded as much as he could. “Thank you for your care.”
“It is my job,” she waved off the thanks, and then hesitated. “But you might consider…”
Hanzo tried to draw himself up straighter, but winced as he did so. While he had not suffered any major injury, he had dislocated his shoulder in the impact from the crash, as well as both wrists. Regardless, he looked ready to mount a defense for his actions.
Angela furrowed her brow, trying to find the best way to address the situation. “You might consider whether there is a better way to catch his attention?”
Hanzo tried to tilt his head and winced.
“Why don't you just tell Cole how you feel?”
Despite the various injuries that Hanzo had suffered since his arrival, he had never looked quite as pale as he did now. He drew a breath, likely to deny an accusation that had not been made, but then, seemed to think better of it.
“How…did you know?” he inquired instead.
She wasn’t sure how to answer at first. There were a multitude of white lies, so many small kindnesses that she could have tried.
“I’ve told no one.” Hanzo seemed to be mumbling to himself now. “I thought that I could spare him the indignity.”
Well, that was just unacceptable.
“Indignity?” Angela repeated.
“Of having gained the unfortunate attention from one such as myself,” Hanzo explained.
“Oh, please,” Angela rolled her eyes. Hanzo blinked at him inquisitively. “Cole himself is not beyond reproach, but that does not mean that he is not a good man,” she was quick to add, seeing Hanzo’s shoulder slump even further. “He has done much in his own life that he regrets and is not the type to judge another on the sins of their past. If you just spoke to him, you would realize.”
“I am afraid that—”
While Angela knew Hanzo meant the phrase idiomatically, she decided to take the other, likely also accurate meaning. “You tried to descend a sheer cliff on a rickety old mountain bike, but are afraid to speak with Cole Cassidy about your feelings?”
Hanzo bristled at the challenge. “I am not afraid of that.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” She pressed.
Hanzo crossed his arms and frowned.
“It doesn’t need to be demonstrative. He might even know already.”
Hanzo made a strangled sound and Angela looked up to find him staring at her with a look of pure panic.
“Although, knowing him, probably not,” she admitted with a light laugh.
Hanzo’s shoulders relaxed just an inch.
Angela tried again. “I have known Cole for a long time now. The way he acts with you…you mean something different to him. I wonder though which of you will be brave enough to speak to the other first.” She raised an eyebrow to indicate that the challenge was a light-hearted one.
Hanzo smiled. “…I will take your advice into consideration,” Hanzo replied after a pause. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I have very much enjoyed our conversation, Shimada-san,” Angela smiled, and was delighted when Hanzo returned it.
“As have I,” Hanzo nodded slightly.
“So please don’t take this the wrong way: I would prefer to see you less,” She raised an eyebrow as she rose to leave. “At least, in these circumstances.”
Hanzo chuckled at that, and raised his hand to brace his chest against the impact. “Very well. Noted.”
---
They all expected it to end poorly, in their own separate ways, but not exactly like this.
It was no surprise then, or perhaps, a complete surprise when several months after, when they were on assignment in Hollywood, that the situation finally came to a head.
“Sniper,” Hanzo barked over the comms in warning. “Keep your heads down. I will take care of it.”
“Just make sure you are taking care of yourself,” Genji grumbled, knowing full well that he would not be heeded.
“Hanzo,” Cole’s voice cut in abruptly. “Watch your six!”
It happened almost in slow motion. Hanzo turned, arrow nocked and ready to contest. Widowmaker had grappled high to take the jump shot, causing Hanzo’s shot to miss. Widowmaker scoped in to take the shot, and Cole took a wild jump from the roof of another building just as she did. He rolled hard onto an awning before hitting the floor.
“Cole!” Hanzo’s eyes were already turning blue as they sharpened with fury.
From several rooftops away, there was a soft “…putain” and then an elongated scream after Hanzo sent his dragons straight at the enemy sniper.
Hanzo made his way to Cole’s side with a few deft leaps.
“Cole!” Hanzo pulled Cassidy into his lap. “Dammit, speak to me!”
Cole chuckled, coughing the dust from his lungs. “I’m alright, darlin’, just—”
“Shit, there’s so much blood.” Hanzo’s eyes widened with panic, and he pressed his hands hard onto Cole’s chest.
Cole blinked at him. “Naw, most of it ain’t mine—”
“What the hell were you thinking?” Hanzo snapped, punching him hard on the shoulder.
“Ow, hey! I mean, it ain’t that bad—” Cole tried again.
Genji took a step forward to point out the obvious: that the bullet had just barely grazed Cole’s arm, and that most of the blood on his clothes were from enemy agents, but Angela stopped him with a hand across his chest while looking completely nonplussed.
“How could you be so reckless?” Hanzo demanded, shoving Cassidy again hard on the shoulder. Cole winced at the impact and Hanzo immediately looked sorry. Cassidy shook his head, waving the pain off.
“You’re one to talk,” Cole snorted.
“That is different,” Hanzo snapped.
“How’s that different?”
Genji was leaning forward so hard, he would have fallen over without Angela’s hand there to hold him in place. There was a long pause during which no one dared breathed.
Hanzo frowned down at the blood that had smeared onto his hands when he had shoved Cole back. He blinked, clearly warring with himself within. When he finally answered, it was barely a whisper.
“You.”
Cole heard it anyway, and it took his breath away yet again. “Yeah?” He peered up at Hanzo, barely daring to hope. Hanzo’s eyes slid over to meet Angela’s and she nodded at him reassuringly.
“Wait, you talked to him?!” Genji gawked at her.
“Of course I did,” Angela snapped. “Somebody had to.”
His attention still on Cole, Hanzo nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. “You matter.”
A wide smile spread slowly and surely across Cole’s face. “You matter too.”
Cole’s eyes flickered up to meet Angela’s as well. She was giving him a look that suggested he wasn’t done yet.
“To me,” Cole added hastily. “You matter to me. A lot.”
Genji craned his neck back and forth to watch the silent exchange. “Wait, you talked to Cassidy too?”
Mercy remained silent this time.
“…have you ever given me this talk?” Genji asked with some hesitation.
“I don’t know, why don’t you go ask Lucio?” she replied archly.
Genji shut up after that.
Just several feet away, Hanzo and Cole continued to converse as though there were no one else in the world.
Hanzo looked up tentatively to meet Cole’s gaze, and it was as hesitant as Cole had ever seen him. “I do?”
“Yeah,” Cole nodded, letting out a long breath that he seemed to have been holding for months. “And every time you do something stupid…I mean, it’s hot as fuck, don’t get me wrong—”
Angela cleared her throat loudly.
“…but I also worry about you,” Cole added. “You know what I mean?” He reached for Hanzo’s hand, and Hanzo allowed it.
Hanzo considered this response for a very, very long time.
“Yes,” he finally answered. “I think that I do now.”
“Being with you,” Hanzo said after another pause. “Is as exhilarating as anything else I’ve ever done. I need no other thrill.”
Behind them, Genji made a strangled sound and turned off his visual receptor. “Are we sure this is better?”
“Yes,” Angela chided, herding the rest of the team back into the Orca.
While it should have been impossible to beam and blush at someone simultaneously, Cole Cassidy was doing his best to prove that theory wrong. “I sure am glad one of us had the balls to admit it, because it sure wasn’t gonna be me.”
Hanzo lean in, slowly, cautiously, giving Cole every opportunity to resist. Cole finally tired of this, and closed the distance between them himself, pressing his lips desperately against Hanzo’s. Hanzo let out a small gasp before melting against him. When they finally parted for air, Cole found Hanzo staring at him breathlessly, a smug smile tugging at his lips. “I think I have an idea for something thrilling we might do this evening.”
“I think I might have a few ideas myself, honeybee,” Cole murmured.
Hanzo chuckled and nuzzled right above Cole’s ear to whisper. “Good we will try them all. I think we should start with the ropes.”
“Wait, what now?”