Chapter Text
“This is an overkill,” Genji’s mechanical voice translates the eye roll pretty well. Hanzo scoffs at that as he rearranges his travel case for the third time.
“Did our father teach you nothing?” Hanzo asks. He intends to finish this job as smoothly as possible and his brother is not helping.
Genji’s mechanical snort sounds absurd, and Hanzo sees a twelve year old Genji’s face scrunched up at the sun in his mind.
“No, I did not and that is why I am not the Shimada who tried to kill his brother,” Genji plucks along the folded white undershirts that Hanzo just managed to fit snugly along the metal luggage's wall.
“I am the Shimada who failed to kill his brother,” Hanzo retorts back, smacking his brother’s fingers away from his handiwork. Genji’s laugh intones around them and Hanzo can’t hold back the laughter bubbling inside him.
“No seriously, this is….a lot.” Genji pauses as he folds himself on the floor, the lack of sound still making Hanzo’s hair stand on edge.
Shimada heirs were trained to be as silent as the night, a skill made even more difficult by the highly specialized AI security of the late 21st century.
It was a centuries old practice that Hanzo honed to perfection in his teens as the next heir, but Genji’s new body defied all training of their clan.
“This is a lot, Hanzo,” Genji continues on. “I cannot believe you rooted around through your old aliases to find this job.”
Hanzo swallows down the slight discomfort at Genji’s reminder. He shuts his travel case with more force than necessary, snapping the locks in place, and pressing his thumb on the scanner to activate the safety measure. Genji, like always, is traveling with nothing.
“We should sleep,” Hanzo says to his brother, a part of him wondering if Genji would truly slumber or not.
He heads off to the attached bathroom of their rented hotel room, debating on the way if he wanted to bother with a shower for the night. Once inside, he shuts the door and roots around the mirrored cabinets on the wall in search of a hair dryer.
His search proves to be fruitless, making him slightly annoyed at the lack of that particular amenity. He decides against a shower - going to bed with wet hair was an experience he particularly did not enjoy.
He hears three chimes from his phone right around when he is done, as his phone signals incoming messages.
“Ewww, this is nasty,” Genji’s whine travels through the closed door, making Hanzo turn off the running tap and exit the bathroom without bothering to dry his hands on the complimentary towels folded on the counter.
He crosses the room with a few tall strides and bends to snatch the phone away from his brother, who was apparently scrolling through the recent notifications.
“You sound like Hana,” he says as he enters the password. “Can you act as your age for once?” He then adds simply because he can - it feels appropriate to say as an older brother anyway.
“Act my age?” Genji’s ventilators give off a low hiss, a sound Hanzo has come to interpret as a snort. “Tell that to your boyfriend first,” Genji teases back, his pitch matching Hana’s again.
“Not my boyfriend,” Hanzo can’t help but mutter under his breath, already knowing it won’t make a difference. “He is my partner,” he corrects his brother with as much dignity as he can muster.
As he predicted from experience, his brother simply laughs at his discomfort.
He will never forgive Cole for loudly proclaiming that he’d planned an entire day out around Gibraltar so he could spend the day with his boyfriend for their first anniversary.
Brigitte and Mei let out matching and prolonged “awwws” while Reinhardt slapped a meaty palm on Hanzo’s back with a barking laugh, almost spilling over the tar black instant coffee that Hanzo was planning to chug down.
“AH, YOUNG LOVE,” he boomed dreamily. “SUCH A BLESSING TO HAVE.”
“We’re hardly young,” Cole chuckled while biting down and savoring a bacon strip that Hanzo fried for his partner’s late breakfast. “Still feels like it though. Hardly had the time to wine and dine my dates back then.”
“Oooh, what do you have planned for your boyfriend?” Mei jumped in. “Does this also include plans for Christmas?
Hanzo had felt phantom annoyance creeping up his neck at the digging for details but that was easily dismissed. Mei was hard to stay mad at.
Cole leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms, placing them on his slightly pouching belly as he grinned back at everyone present in the communal kitchen. “I’m thinkin’ we'll take the day off, head on down to town proper and see what’s there to do. We dealin’ with Christmas the way we always do.”
Hanzo had snorted at that, the noise coming out in a sudden burst of air that momentarily startled Brigitte out of the pleasant grin on her face. “That hardly sounds like a plan,” Hanzo felt the need to point out.
“Aww, c’mon now, Han,” Cole replied back with a slight quirk of his lips that was almost enough to make Hanzo forget that he was pretending to be not impressed by him. “Ain’t it just enough to know that you’d be spendin’ the day with the love of your life?”
It immediately threw Hanzo off to hear Cole’s brazen proclamation back then, despite the lighthearted air around the words - he was never one to flaunt his affections for anyone, let alone someone as dear to him as Cole.
Vulnerability was an open invitation of exploitation, but if there is one thing Hanzo learned from the earliest days of their relationships; it was the importance Cole placed on openness, sincere or not, with people he trusts.
He was never one to hide an open smile, both to his dearest friends and loathed enemies, and Hanzo realized that he would at least have to make an effort to adapt away from his instinctual reservedness.
He had glanced at the bright eyed faces around the table, all of them so eager and happy for them, and wrestled down the impulse to shy away from Cole’s blatant teasing.
“Hmph, such lofty expectations,” Hanzo managed to say, his tone sounding too stiff to himself. He took in a steadying breath to add, “you are hardly the love of my life.”
Cole’s eyes widened at that, his honey brown eyes twinkling with surprise before breaking out into a full bellied laugh that echoed around the kitchen.
His laugh gave away into an exaggerated sigh. “Y’all see how mean my sweetheart is to me?” Cole joked back to their friends, as he caught Hanzo’s gaze and shared a sweet, private smile.
It was a silent acknowledgement of Hanzo’s internal struggle to be more open, and it had immediately unspooled all the tension that Hanzo was failing to keep nestled in his sternum.
“Yeah, right,” Brigitte had said with a playful roll of her eyes. “We all know Hanzo doesn’t mean that.”
“Well, I am with Hanzo on this,” Mei added in, mischief clear in her voice as she took a sip of her fragrant tea. “You bragged about plans but now he finds out it’s just a day out.”
The chair to his right scraped against the tile and he remembers seeing Reinhardt stand up with his cleaned off plate. He surprised Hanzo by placing his plate on top of Hanzo’s to carry it off to the sink.
The small gesture surprised Hanzo back then, and he remembers turning and smiling at him to thank the man for his thoughtfulness.
“Think nothing of it!” Reinhardt replied back with a smile, “It’s a day of celebration for you two. You should have a good day with your boyfriend.”
Hanzo remembers wincing at the term, finding it all too juvenile for his taste. “I believe we are partners,” Hanzo corrected with a light chuckle.
“But ‘boyfriend’ sounds waaaay cuter,” Brigitte interjected with a grin, and Hanzo remembers realizing immediately, much to his chagrin, that there was no way out.
“Yeah, Han. Wanna head out on a day-long date with your boyfriend?” Cole asked, sending a wink in Hanzo's way.
The rest of the day did not go as planned for him and Cole but the term had stuck.
Once Hana caught wind of it, no amount of frowned silences and eye rolls could deter anyone on Gibraltar base from pulling it like a rabbit from a magician’s hat as a trick particularly designed to annoy Hanzo.
Here he was almost a year later, being forced to tolerate it from his brother.
The notifications display three incoming texts from Cole, prompting Hanzo to press his thumb against the scanner to verify his fingerprint. A modified version of Athena chimes in confirmation as the phone unlocks, allowing Hanzo to navigate to his messages from Cole.
Hey sweetheart, thinking of u
Hope ur ok
Cant wait to hold u and kiss u when ur back xx
A soft warmth radiates throughout his chest at the mental image of Cole lounging on their bed after training, spending his free time thinking of Hanzo, and deciding to send a few texts.
He feels the dragons rumble under his skin as they share their affection for their master’s lover. Their playfulness echo inside him, the sensation translating into skitters of electric sparks that travel along his spine.
Their amplified joy fills Hanzo to the brim, and the want to hear Cole’s voice transforms into a rising need. He makes the snap decision to call Cole instead of replying back with texts of his own.
He strides to sliding doors of their hotel room’s small balcony for a modicum of privacy, knowing full well that Genji’s enhanced hearing would pick up both sides of the conversation.
Hanzo decides that he doesn’t care - he can deal with his brother’s teasing later. He carefully slides open the glass door and shuts it behind him before dialing his partner’s number from the top of his contacts’ list.
Cole picks up at the second ring, the quickness of it making Hanzo smile to himself.
“Hey, babe. Didn’t think you’d call back so quick,” Cole says in greeting.
“I am awake, Genji and I are setting up.”
“Settin’ up? Hold on a sec,” Cole replies, and Hanzo can hear a light shuffle through the phone.
“It’s 5:30 am there, you ain’t slept the whole night? Cole asks after a few seconds.
Hanzo frowns to himself, his mind struggling to understand what Cole was referring to.
He pulls his phone away from his ear and taps the screen, making it light up. He glances at his current time, confusion clouding his thoughts when he notices the displayed time.
“Cole?” He asks after pressing his phone back against his ear.
“Yeah?”
“What do you mean…” A sharp knock startles him, his body stilling itself from years of training.
Hanzo glances at the source of the noise, catching Genji raised hand as he taps raps on the glass again, the metal of his fingers clinking against the glass quieter this time now that Genji has his older brother’s attention.
Hanzo raises an annoyed brow at him, his lips twisting in inquiry at Genji, who replies back with a series of gestures that prove to be indecipherable to Hanzo.
“You there, Han?” He hears Cole ask.
Genji moves on to tapping at his wrist with a tilt of his head. Just as Hanzo’s annoyance is on the verge of tipping over to frustration at his brother’s interruption, understanding blooms in his mind.
In his eagerness to hear Cole’s voice, the careful lie he scripted for the mission escaped his mind.
He turns away from Genji and gathers his scattered thoughts to give nothing away before replying to a waiting Cole.
“Ah, yes. I am here. I apologize for being distracted.”
“It’s nothin’ Han, you feelin’ okay?” Cole interrupts himself with a yawn. “Ain’t like you to be distracted,” Cole says with words dragging slightly from his sleep-addled mind.
“I am fine, Cole. I suppose I am a little restless. It does not hurt to be extra cautious being so close to Shimada castle,” Hanzo lies.
His dragons pick up on his unease and rumble with discomfort of their own, their swirling emotions mirroring and amplifying the uneasiness brewing inside him.
“I hate that you’re so far from me. Ain’t nothin’ I can do if you get in trouble,” Cole grumbles back.
Guilt rattles around in his chest at the thought of making Cole worry over a lie, but he trudged on hoping that the surprise would be well worth it.
“I have Genji with me, remember? I am hardly alone,” Hanzo says in an attempt to comfort his partner.
“Well…” Cole sighs, “Suppose that works but still, ain’t right to leave you to face that mess all on your own. Why’d you talk me out of comin’ with? Hate bein’ away from you.” Hanzo can almost see the pout that is etched on Cole’s sleepy face.
“I will be back before you know it,” Hanzo reassures him. “Will it help if I admit that I miss you too?” He asks, hoping to elevate some of their shared longing.
“Nope,” Cole replies back with a pop. “Need you here, kissin’ me to sleep.”
“Kisses rarely lead to sleep,” Hanzo can’t help but tease back.
“Well, what if I tell you that I’d rather have you in our bed doin’ our signature extracurricular activities than sleep?”
Hanzo chuckles at that and says, “That can be arranged in a few days, I suppose.”
All Cole managed to reply back was a sleepy “mmm…” that dragged on for a few beats. They shared their breaths over the phone, both of them reluctant to let go of each other.
The winter chill starts to seep in through Hanzo’s light full sleeved sleepwear with a vengeance, making a part of Hanzo want to head back to the warmth of their central heated hotel room.
The dragons respond to the emerging shivers with twin low growls - moments later, warmth diffuses from his tattooed arm, spreading it throughout him. He sends them a silent thank you, and they purr back in reply.
“Will you be back before Christmas? Our anniversary’s comin’ up too.” Cole asks after a few minutes of silence.
“I should be,” Hanzo assures back. While his initial planning was somewhat patched together, he finally landed on being confident with himself before he headed out with Genji yesterday.
“Gonna do all sorts of Christmas shit with you,” Cole slurred words murmured in Hanzo’s ear. “Gonna make some of those ginger cookies together, get drunk on spiked eggnog, kiss under the mistletoe and make everyone jealous…”
“Gingerbread cookies, you mean?” Hanzo interrupts with a smile.
“Mhm,” Cole agrees. “Gonna draw in your dragons real nice an’ pretty on ‘em.”
Hanzo’s laugh bubbles out of him as he pictures Cole attempting to frost a gingerbread cookie. “You can hardly draw a stick figure, Cole. I doubt you could draw my tattoo on a cookie with frosting.”
“I miss your laugh next to me, Han.” Cole replies back, longing clear in his voice - the sudden change in his tone hits Hanzo too; he is rarely immune to his partner’s words, and the mutual longing from afar is almost overwhelming.
“I will be back before you know it.” Hanzo says softly.
Cole’s only reply is a low breathy snore, making Hanzo realize that he must have slipped into his sleep.
He listens on to Cole’s breaths for a few minutes before heading inside, the toasty room feeling deliciously warm on his skin. His dragons staved off the chill well enough, but nothing could beat the feeling of warmth on chilled skin.
He catches Genji sprawled on his bed as he scrolls through his phone, a picture of feigned indifference.
Hanzo rolls his eyes at his brother before walking to his own bed. He unfolds the blanket and slips under it while tugging on his rubber band that holds his hair into a bun.
“Did no one tell you that eavesdropping is rude?” He snaps at his brother in lieu of thanks while fishing out his phone that somehow crawled under him and placing it beside his pillow.
Genji lifts his head to Hanzo, a physical display to show that he was actually looking at Hanzo since the facial plate remained firmly on Genji’s face.
“You almost gave away your own lie,” he says while locking his phone and stretching his limbs, the mechanical whirring of his joints almost silent in the room.
“Hanzo,” Genji calls out after a few beats of silence between them.
“Yes?”
“You really don’t need to do all this, brother. Cole never expects any of this.”
Hanzo holds in his snort, choosing to be serious for once with his brother. They rarely venture into the waters called “Hanzo’s relationship with Cole” but this moment feels significant. Besides, Hanzo did rope Genji into his plot - it only seemed fair to hear what his brother had to say.
“This is not about Cole’s expectations. I wish to do something nice for him this Christmas and our anniversary.”
“Does he want this though?” Genji asks.
“It is meant to be a gift,” Hanzo snaps back, feeling annoyance crawling up through his throat. “I simply wish to do something nice for him in a way that he would not expect. I believe the premise of this is called a surprise.”
“I suppose you got me there,” Genji snorts through his ventilators with a soft hiss. “Your first mistake was to agree to go on a date with him so close to Christmas. The pressure is too high on you now.”
“He proved to be persuasive,” is all Hanzo says in reply.
Genji’s sudden burst of mechanical laugh spends a jolt through his tattooed arm, his dragons reacting to their brother’s joy.
“Who is the target anyway?”
“Some rich American business tycoon’s son. He apparently proved to be a major nuisance to a rival’s daughter and thought he could be safe in Europe.”
“Search and drop?” Genji asks, using a term that apparently was widely used amongst Blackwatch agents.
“No, I am to hand him off to the rival’s men at some Spanish port.”
“Ah,” Genji says back. “Why hire you? Seems like they know where he is hiding.”
“It is not a bounty hunter’s place to ask such asinine questions,” Hanzo retorts back. “Besides, the bounty is small. Most hunters overlooked it. I revived the least suspicious of my aliases for this.”
“Small favors, I suppose,” Genji mutters, prompting Hanzo to interject with “I am not an imbecile.”
“That we can argue about all night long,” Genji says with a laugh. “For instance, why use ‘disturbance at the Shimada castle’ as an excuse for this trip? You really couldn’t come up with anything else?”
“If you must know, I was put in a position where I could not negotiate.”
“In other words, you panicked.”
Hanzo lifts his head off of his pillow to better pin his brother with a flat eyed glare. “I did not know what else I could have said that would have explained why I was asking for us to be given time off together.”
“Winston, we are due for some serious brother bonding sessions. This proves to be the best time for this. In the spirit of Christmas, can we please take some time off?” Genji finishes off as he pushes himself off the mattress to rest on an elbow. “See how easy it is?”
“Easy and absolutely unbelievable,” Hanzo replies back with an exaggerated eye roll. “Cole has never shied away from his enthusiasm regarding our anniversary being so close to Christmas. It would be inappropriate to excuse myself away in the face of such excitement from him.”
“And the only alternative was to lie to Cole and everyone on base regarding our criminal empire of a family renewing their bounties on your head, forcing you to head off to Japan with your brother to deal with the threat, just so you could plan an anniversary and Christmas surprise for your boyfriend,” Genji intones. “I will give you this, brother - you never do things halfway.”
The reminder of his lie rolls down the hills of his mind, forming into a boulder of unease the more he ruminates over breaking the ruse to Cole.
Despite the ringing of his heartbeat thudding in his ear, he feels his sleep heavy eyes drooping on their own.
Hanzo paws around his bed blindly, hoping his fingers would make contact with his phone to set an early alarm. Hanzo was no stranger to bounty hunting - this particular bounty was easier than all of his prior experiences - but meticulous planning on his part was the absolute key to a smooth sailing.
“Go to sleep brother.” Genji’s words cut through the drowsy haze, making Hanzo’s dragons purr in comfort. “I will wake you up tomorrow.”
Hanzo is already asleep by the time Genji finishes the sentence.