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Cole Cassidy was head over heels for Hanzo Shimada.
He’s been dating Hanzo for a few months now, after a long time of stealing longing glances and dancing around just asking the man out. Sure, if he pulled his head out of his ass sooner he’d realize Hanzo also was stealing glances, but damn if he wouldn't wait his whole life for the grumpy dragon. Even with their hectic lives as technically illegal vigilantes, the two still managed to carve out plenty of time for just them. The cowboy’s personal favorite was the ever increasing nights they’d spend together, sleeping in one bed. There was something so cathartic about holding his darling close at night, he often wondered how he’d managed all those years without.
Funny enough, the couple have only ever slept in the gunslingers room. It was pure convenience honestly. Cassidy’s room was closer to the entrance of the dorm wing than Hanzo’s, so they opted to just stay there. More practical was the fact his room was slightly bigger. Winston had been eager to get the former Blackwatch officer back and gifted him one of the more spacious rooms as a thanks. Tonight, however, Cassidy suggested they sleep in the archers room.
It had been a quiet day on base for the two, luckily off assignment and at the same time to boot. They decided to end the day with an evening stroll around the watchpoint, going back inside through the rear entrance of the dormitory wing. The two figured they’d spend the night together, so Hanzo walked past his door, already having some belongings in the cowboy’s room from previous nights. Cassidy, however, stopped upon seeing his darling's door and a thought occurred.
“Hey Hanny,” Hanzo stopped walking to turn and face his dear, a questioning look on his face. “How ‘bout we spend the night in yer room?”
The archer stopped to consider this and eventually nodded his agreement. “Very well. Go and gather your things. I will be waiting.” Hanzo walked back towards his door, pausing to give his cowboy a kiss on the cheek and disappeared inside.
With childlike excitement, Cassidy rushed off to his room to get his bearings for the evening, delighted that his dragon trusted him in his private space. All his stuff in order, the gunslinger made his way back to Hanzo’s, Athena granting him entrance when he knocked on the door.
He was greeted to the sight of Hanzo sitting on his bed, combing out his hair from where it had been up all day in the usual high ponytail, giving the cowboy a warm smile as he made his way inside. Cassidy sat on the bed next to him and looked around the space.
“Mighty fine space you got darlin’.” His eyes roamed over the woodblock prints on the wall, Stormbow on its rack, and the various little dragon themed trinkets he’d gifted him on the man’s desk. Next to them, however, was a decent size tank that caught his attention.
“You didn’t tell me you had a lizard Hanny-bee,” Cassidy looked at Hanzo, a pleasantly inquisitive look on his face. He saw the archer’s eyes go wide in slight realization and a dusting of pink come to his face. “Can I meet ‘em?”
Hanzo looked over, a slight hesitation in his movements “Well, about that…” Hanzo trailed off, struggling to find the words. Soon enough, an ever so subtle mischievous glint came to his eyes and he got up. “It’s easier for me to show you.”
Cassidy waited patiently on the bed as the dragon walked over to the terrarium and opened the latch on the side. Hanzo’s hands gently entered the enclosure, slightly cooing for the little creature to come onto his palms. With his back still to the cowboy, Hanzo introduced his companion to Cassidy.
“Cole, I would like you to meet Barty.” Hanzo turned around and……
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Hanzo was holding a tarantula. A goddamn fucking tarantula. It took up the size of the archer's palm, black with orange coloring on its too many legs. Hanzo might’ve been explaining his breed but all Cassidy was focused on was backing the fuck up as far as possible.
“Hanny why the ever loving shit do you have that thing!?” The cowboy was slightly hysterical, not being a fan of arachnids. At. All. Hanzo looked miffed at his small friend being called a ‘thing’.
“His name is Barty. Short for Bartholomew.” Hanzo had a deadpan expression, conveying his annoyance at the gunslinger's words, before it shifted to amusement. “I didn’t think the infamous Cole Cassidy would be afraid of a little spider.” Cassidy answered with a look of incredulity.
“Darlin’ respectfully, that th- He is NOT little.” The cowboy was still backed up against the farthest wall, looking ready to bolt as Hanzo decided to come closer. “No thank you sir, stay right over there.”
The dragon gave him puppy dog eyes as he held out his hand to him. “But Cole, I want you to meet him. He’s extremely calm and likes to walk around.” As he was explaining this, Barty slowly crawled up his arm settling on his shoulder. “See? He’s very relaxed.”
The cowboy looked between Hanzo and the spider on his shoulder with an almost distrusting expression. He really was not fond of the creatures but damn if he wanted to make Hanzo feel bad. Resigning himself to his fate, Cassidy sighed as he hesitantly stepped forward. “You’re lucky I love you darlin’.” He stopped short as he realized what he just said. They hadn’t gotten to ‘I love you’s’ yet, the cowboy being too nervous to say it. Hanzo’s face went bright red as the words sunk in. Before Cassidy could say anything, the archer spoke.
“I love you too, Cole.” He blurted the words out, a shy smile coming to his face. In his happiness, Cassidy forgot what led to this and rushed forward to give his darling a kiss. The two stayed connected for a bit, smiling between kisses. When they eventually pulled apart, Hanzo’s smile dropped as he noticed what happened.
“Um, my dear,” the dragon nervously looked back at Cassidy, a questioning look coming to the cowboy's face. “Please do not freak out but….” Hanzo trailed off as Barty started climbing from the other man’s shoulder up to the top of his head. Cassidy’s face went pale as he felt the sensation of the legs tickle his skin.
“Hanzo, darling, love of my life,” The gunslinger willed every bone in his body to stay put. “I would like to get to know yer little buddy but for the love of all hell please get him off my head.”
Hanzo chuckled as he went to scoop up Barty, the cowboy sighing in relief when he left his head. “Why don’t we sit on the bed. I’ll keep him on me and you can see he’s not scary at all.” The archer gave him a teasing smile and dragged Cassidy over to his bed with his free hand.
The two sat on the bed, Hanzo setting Barty down on his leg, facing Cassidy. The gunslinger still looked slightly scared, the eight eyes and large pincers slightly unnerving him, but like hell he wouldn't try for his honey. The two sat in silence, Hanzo knowing his dear needed some time to get used to his small son. Barty splayed out and laid flat on his stomach, Cassidy relaxing a bit as he figured the spider wouldn't be moving for a bit.
“So, how’d you get the lil’ critter?”
Hanzo looked down at Barty fondly before answering. “I came upon him on an outing with Bastion. I accompanied him into town to get some new bird seed he wanted to try for Ganymede. He caught my eye as I passed his tank and came over to the glass as I bent down to look at him.” The archer gently ran a finger over one leg as he continued. “One of the employees said he’d never done that to anyone and that I must've interested him. Personally, I think it’s the dragons that make animals curious about me but I still fell in love with him.”
“Huh,” the cowboy took a moment to let the information sink in before he developed a look of amusement. “Where’d you get the name Bartholomew?
At this, Hanzo rolled his eyes but still smiled fondly nonetheless. “Genji came up with it. It is the name of a character from one of the anime he enjoys. Apparently, the character is a cyborg like himself. It was the first thing he came up with but I thought it was endearing so I went with it.”
“Wait, Genji knew about ‘em?” Cassidy cursed under his breath which got him a raised eyebrow from the archer. “Son of a bitch knows I’m not big on spiders. Course the lil’ shit wouldn’t give a heads up.”
Hanzo gave a small chuckle before looking down at Barty, the spider getting up from his impromptu nap. Cassidy's eyes darted down, cautiously watching each and every movement. The arachnid crawled down the archer's leg to his knee, stopping where it met the cowboy’s. Barty slowly held up one of his front legs at Cassidy, Hanzo smiling at the gesture.
“Hold out your hand,” the dragon rolled his eyes fondly as Cassidy shakily held out his flesh hand, secretly touched he didn’t offer the metal one despite his fear. Barty placed the lifted limb onto the offered hand, staying there while seemingly looking up at the cowboy. Cassidy slowly relaxed, getting used to the ticklish limb on his palm, while Hanzo looked on with a fond smile. Soon enough, the spider took his leg back and turned to crawl back up Hanzo’s leg. “He’s smarter than most think. He senses your fear and wishes you to know he means no harm.”
The cowboy watched Barty climb up Hanzo’s body, getting to his shoulder and- ok seeing him try and burrow into his shirt was kind of cute. Cassidy watched the archer try not to laugh as the hairy legs obviously were tickling his neck. Well, the little guy does make his Hanny-bee so happy. Surely, he can get used to him with time.