Work Text:
Cole just about steps out of the shower and slides his pajama shorts on when he hears his tablet ding with a text notification. Huh, strange, no one really reaches out to him via text. Normally it’s either Athena alerting him someone needs something, or it’s from his comms directly connected to Gabriel — it's never really text.
He ruffles his wet hair one last time with the towel before tossing it aside on the bathroom counter and flops down onto his bed. He’s shocked to see who the messenger is.
23:57
#2741_62 (Genji Shimada) is online.
#2741_62
Hello.
There’s multiple things here that have Cole blinking in surprise, mouth hanging slightly agape. One, Genji rarely ever initiates conversations. This just seems so out of the blue, immediately wondering what miracle could have prompted this. Two, again no one really texts Cole, so to see Genji be the one of all people to do it is… well, shocking. And three, Genji’s on a mission far away in Hanamura; why’s he up so late when he’s got important business to do tomorrow morning?
Well, now that Cole actually thinks about it, there’s a lot of reasons why Genji could be awake around this hour. A lot of bad ones, especially…
#3945_45
Howdy partner
Cole has the urge to spam those obvious questions lingering in his mind. But he doesn't, he wants Genji to stay. It’d be a shame to scare him off.
#3945_45
How’s the mission goin along so far?
#2741_62
Fine.
#3945_45
Uh huh
Still, as a well-trained Blackwatch agent, he has to be cautious.
#3945_45
Hey, ain’t this not safe to do?
#2741_62
?
#3945_45
Texting, I mean
Someone could hack into this signal or somethin and uh
Do somethin
#2741_62
Intercept, you mean.
#3945_45
Exactly, that’s the word
#2741_62
I'd like to think Overwatch spent a good amount of money creating a high security network for their agents to use.
Cole sits back against the headboard and thinks to himself, mildly rubbing his beard.
#3945_45
Fair point
Still oughta be cautious though
#2741_62
Then I’ll choose my words carefully.
#3945_45
Yeah sounds good
He waits for something new to come through, but the array of texts remains still. He frowns, again wondering why Genji reached out to him in the first place.
#3945_45
Sooo…
#2741_62
Yes?
#3945_45
Well
Was there somethin u needed?
Couple of seconds tick by.
#2741_62
I found a dog.
#3945_45
Yeah?
#2741_62
It looks like you.
#3945_45
Oh rlly? Wut kinda breed is it?
#2741_62
I don’t know. I don’t spend a lot of time studying dog breeds.
#3945_45
That’s alright, just wut about this dog has u thinkin about me?
Cole can’t help but smile to himself, waiting as the three dots dance up and down. Genji takes a moment before admitting:
#2741_62
His fur has the same color as your hair. Eyes, too.
#3945_45
That’s funny
#2741_62
He’s big, his bark is loud.
#3945_45
…not sure that’s a compliment
#2741_62
Big as in bulk and loud as in confidence.
#3945_45
I’ll take that ;)
#2741_62
And he follows me everywhere.
#3945_45
Now ain’t that sound just like me!
#2741_62
Yes, definitely like you.
#3945_45
Where’d u find my alter ego anyhow?
Cole patiently waits as Genji takes a moment to type away.
#2741_62
He’s a stray, I believe. On day 2 of the mission, I was retreating from some foes and I hid in an alleyway.
I found him there, weak.
I couldn’t leave him.
#3945_45
Aw, that’s mighty kind of u
#2741_62
Now he won’t leave me alone.
#3945_45
Honestly wouldn’t leave my savior after that either haha
U feed him or somethin?
#2741_62
That, and I let him sleep beside me.
After I gave him a shower, of course.
#3945_45
Hold on now I’m kinda jealous
When’s my turn?
#2741_62
Very funny.
You sleep in my room plenty enough.
#3945_45
But u don’t feed me
#2741_62
Never will.
#3945_45
:(
Wut about the shower?
#2741_62
…
#3945_45
Only messin with u, sweetheart
But ya know mine’s always open ;)
#2741_62
I’d rather not. Your shampoo hardly smells nice.
#3945_45
Hey, but it gets the job done and yk how soft it makes my hair
#2741_62
Admittedly so.
#3945_45
See, works wonders <:)
Anyhoo, u named the lil lad yet?
#2741_62
No.
#3945_45
Then let’s name him
#2741_62
I’d rather not get attached.
#3945_45
Wut else we gonna call my twin, Cole the dog?
#2741_62
That doesn’t sound so bad.
#3945_45
C’mon, I know u can be more creative than that
#2741_62
Hardly.
#3945_45
Please sugar
#2741_62
Fine.
Coleen.
#3945_45
That’s just my first name but with two more letters
#2741_62
It works, does it not?
#3945_45
U can’t hear it but I’m sighin real loud
#2741_62
So I see.
#3945_45
But we can work with Coleen, ain’t too shabby
Send a pic of him when u have the time, ya?
Wanna see the resemblance
There’s a pause with Genji lingering. Then his message eventually sends through.
#2741_62
Will do.
#3945_45
Yk talkin about Coleen reminds me bout my old childhood dogs
Sweetest bunch of the west
#2741_62
You told me of Coby.
#3945_45
Loveliest, brightest, and proudest boy I ever had
Did I ever tell u bout Amber though?
#2741_62
No, I can’t recall.
#3945_45
She was a fierce one, I’ll tell ya that
Was real loyal to Deadlocke, never abandoned any of us and was merciless against our foes
Always bit all em bastard’s asses and made a fool of themselves as they ran away from a dog that snagged their tires loose
She was real smart and could jump high over, wut
20 meters of fence!
#2741_62
You're exaggerating.
#3945_45
But u get the idea
All of us loved her somethin fierce
Ashe hated her guts tho
I told u bout Ashe right?
#2741_62
Once. It wasn’t fond.
#3945_45
Well Ashe was mighty pressed about poor Amber since the lil lady kept stealing her hat
#2741_62
Oh quite clever.
#3945_45
Exactly, a lil devil that one
I joked and said Amber looked better in it anyway. Ashe didn’t take too kindly to that and sent Bob chasin after me for days
But lil ol Amber ran with me the entire time, damn I loved her to pieces
#2741_62
Very loyal I see.
#3945_45
Yup
U ever had a dog like that?
#2741_62
Once, but my father predominantly preferred exotic snakes instead. He was infatuated with their scales and how they reflected against the light.
Their eyes seemed to stare straight into your soul and their movement was fascinating to watch, or so he said.
#3945_45
Damn that sounds cool
And… intimidatin
All the snakes I knew wud just bite ya dead
#2741_62
Oh, by no means were our snakes friendly. Their danger was a part of my father’s appeal. They were symbolic of our ancestral dragon’s strength.
#3945_45
Jesus, definitely intimidatin
Wut about that dog u mentioned?
#2741_62
Ah, Gorou. He was our childhood dog.
Genji, again, takes a moment to type.
#2741_62
He was my brother’s.
Cole frowns. Might’ve touched sensitive territory, scare him off like he always did whenever he pushed too close into the cyborg’s past. But unexpectedly, Genji’s message sends through.
#2741_62
But when my brother became more occupied with the family business, he didn’t have time to look after Gorou. They were thinking of sending him away, agreeing along the lines he’d be a distraction from my brother’s duties.
The decision was easy since he was already considered “dead weight” as a senior dog.
#3945_45
That’s just
Cruel
#2741_62
I intervened.
#3945_45
Oh thank god
#2741_62
It didn’t feel right abandoning him after how long he was with us.
He was my dog, too.
#3945_45
Rightly so, a family dog from day one ain’t deserve a fate like that
#2741_62
I had to return the favor. He rescued me when I was a child, so I couldn’t just leave him.
#3945_45
Wtf when did that happen?
If that’s alright to ask
#2741_62
When I was ten, I snuck out from the castle to play at the arcade. But then several men more powerful than I saw that as an opportunity to kidnap and sell me for profit.
#3945_45
Holy hell…
#2741_62
Gorou was the one who caught my scent and led my father and brother to me. I was ashamed, then punished and scolded as always.
After that, I was left alone. No one wanted to speak to me for a while.
But Gorou was there by my side throughout it all.
#3945_45
Sorry you had to go through somethin like that, thank god he was there
#2741_62
Mm.
So I took him in my care before they sent him away.
When he passed, I buried him underneath a cherry blossom tree.
#3945_45
U did gud
And rip the lil lad, he was a good boy
#2741_62
Indeed. We have never had another dog since.
#3945_45
U ever got one of em snakes tho?
#2741_62
No, they unnerved me when I was a child. And when I was a teenager, I didn’t like staying in the castle very much. So I never had time nor the care to look after one.
#3945_45
U did say u were a rebel of some sorts
#2741_62
Yes.
#3945_45
Yk it’s kinda hard imaginin u were once a playboy back in the day, seein how u carry urself now
#2741_62
I’d rather not think about it.
#3945_45
Ah sorry partner
#2741_62
Mm.
Why did you become a rebel?
#3945_45
Now I wouldn’t say I was one, since I wasn’t rlly rebellin against somethin.
My life just kinda went the way it did with Deadlocke
Had no other choice if I wanted to survive out there
#2741_62
So I see.
Was it hard losing Deadlocke?
#3945_45
Losin? Well…
Cole looks away from the screen to think, reflect, and relive those memories. One of gunpowder and bullet casings, red lipstick and alcoholic glasses clinking.
#3945_45
At the beginnin, yah it was definitely rough
Deadlocke was the only way I knew how to survive, without it I was like a fish outta water hangin by a rusty hook
Lost a lot of gud people I knew, tho I got to leave the bad ones behind so there’s some merit to that
But I guess I got used to the change bein here in Blackwatch. Gotta do wut u have to do to survive, run the regime and u’ll make it eventually
#2741_62
Would you want to go back to your old life?
He’s reminded of dark corridors in a base he’s become so familiar with. Lectures and guidance from a commander willing to sit down and teach him math because his life couldn’t afford school. A man who’d soon become something like a role model, maybe even the father he never had. Then there’s the comrades he could rely on, knowing they’d have his back in battle. Good doctors and maybe even an angel to look after his wounds. And a quiet, reserved cyborg full of spite and sadness. Beautiful red eyes and a robotic voice of infatuation. A mix of man and machine that with enough work, releases his rare laugh of genuine joy and fondness.
#3945_45
Nah
This is the only place I can stay now anyway
#2741_62
We may never find peace in Blackwatch.
#3945_45
I guess. But u can’t rlly find peace when it never wants to come to u in the first place
#2741_62
I suppose so.
#3945_45
Hbu? Wud u want ur old life back?
#2741_62
I don’t know.
#3945_45
That’s alright
I don’t think u rlly havta have an answer for that anyway
Like I said, just do wut u gotta do to survive
#2741_62
You’re a simple man, Cassidy.
#3945_45
Hey, can’t afford to dream big yk
#2741_62
Yes.
#3945_45
Yk I like this
#2741_62
Hm?
#3945_45
U talk a lot more thru text, it’s nice
Hearing more from u I mean
There’s a pause.
#2741_62
It’s easier to convey my thoughts through text rather than speak them.
#3945_45
Ya I get that
#2741_62
Sorry.
#3945_45
Hey dont gotta apologize none, do wut works best for u
Didn’t mean to say all that to force ya to do somethin u’re not comfortable with
#2741_62
Okay.
Cole’s used to Genji’s dry replies, but it’s moments like these where he can’t help but wonder what the cyborg’s really feeling right now. He decides to change the subject.
#3945_45
Hey, wud u want a dog again someday?
#2741_62
I’m not sure.
#3945_45
Oh, wut about Coleen?
Wutcha gonna do with him after your mission?
#2741_62
I don’t know.
#3945_45
That’s ok, we can figure it out together yk
Dang, but Gabe don’t allow no pets
#2741_62
Correct.
#3945_45
Maybe we can convince him to train the pup so he can work with us
If he’s “big as in bulk and loud as in confidence” he might be qualified
Maybe a bomb sniffer or idk a sniffer in general
It’d be nice havin a useful lil companion doing missions with us
#2741_62
Perhaps not.
Cole reflects. Thinks about Coby, then Amber, then all the other dogs he’s known and frowns to himself.
#3945_45
Yeah, on second thought that’s probably not for the best
It’d be a mean thing to drag a sweet innocent pup like him into our mess. Don’t deserve something like that
#2741_62
That’s not what I meant.
#3945_45
Wut
#2741_62
He can’t join us.
#3945_45
Well yeah, I agree
The lil boy's probably alrdy suffered enuff
#2741_62
Because Coleen isn’t real.
He blinks. Processes Genji’s words as he sits up straighter and leans forward.
#3945_45
What do you mean?
#2741_62
I made him up.
He swallows the lump in his throat, a thousand thoughts going through his mind but one is ever present. He sends it through.
#3945_45
Why?
There’s a long pause and he’s getting anxious now, hoping he didn’t scare Genji off for real this time. He tries to come up with a million reasons as to why Genji would make Coleen up but he never expects-
#2741_62
I miss you.
He’s frozen. But he can feel his heart beating louder and louder in his chest. It tightens, it holds him still.
#2741_62
I wanted you to stay online a little longer.
#3945_45
I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart
#2741_62
I hate it here.
Hanamura, Cole remembers. Genji’s stuck there in his hometown of horrible memories of intruding snakes and sleazy kidnappers. A family’s cruel disregard for a family dog. Several nights of him wasting his life away in party clubs and poor drunken decisions just to be heard from the clan that betrayed him. Reminded of a brother who separated his soul from his body, dragon from man. Hanamura raised him through neglect and high expectations, then at his lowest, took everything from him.
#2741_62
I wish I was with you.
Cole’s heart fucking aches.
#3945_45
Me too
#2741_62
I’m sorry.
#3945_45
What're you apologizing for? You haven't wronged me none
I wish I could’ve gone with you
Genji doesn’t reply for a while.
#3945_45
You alright?
Shit that’s a dumb question
#2741_62
It is.
#3945_45
Sugar, I’m just worried
Hey Genji
Can you see the moon?
#2741_62
Yes.
#3945_45
There’s this one thing I learned from Ashe whenever we got separated
It's cheesy, but I guess now it holds some merit
Whenever you look at the moon, know that I’m lookin at it too
And so in a way, we will always share the same world no matter how far apart we are
#2741_62
That’s comforting.
Thank you Cole.
#3945_45
Just wanna be here for you
#2741_62
You always are, despite how I treat you.
#3945_45
Hey none of that, don’t start thinking awful about yourself right now
Let’s talk about something else, yeah? Keep your mind off of things?
#2741_62
I’d like that.
Cole?
#3945_45
Yes pumpkin?
#2741_62
I like talking to you.
Cole smiles, and hopes Genji’s smiling, too.
#3945_45
Likewise