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It had been a difficult night. More often than not it was. Nightmares were nothing new to Hanzo anymore, simply part of the self punishing he had inflicted on himself for over 10 years, coming back to remind him of his misdeeds when he least expects.
He thought those to be over, or the hopeful equivalent of lessening themselves. And to his credit, they had over the past year, thanks to his own efforts to be better… Mostly to placate the not so subtle worries of his brother. But well, progress is progress, as many would so often tell him. Way too often.
Either way, his mind was clearly not done messing with him, jumbling with memories and half true scenarios that he would rather die than to have it happen. The idea of betraying his teammates or being forced to harm the ones he dared call friends was sickening enough to get him out of the Watchpoint for a few hours and get himself drunk on the remaining sake he kept with him, at the corner of the sectioned rocky beach on which the building was built on.
No one would bother him there, but he would be close to base, should he be needed. And he could breathe well, the salty air taking center stage on his alcohol filled mind for a moment before it spiraled back into bloodied hands and red coats torn by blade and scorched by dragons.
In his frustration, Hanzo growled and threw the empty gourd away, face in his hands, ears covering them like a shield as he groaned and tried to chase away the scenarios his mind so obviously wanted go throw at him. That he could— Would hurt the ones that trusted him, again, and how he was inevitably going to not only disappoint them but leave them harmed beyond compare. Like he once did to Genji.
He trembled for a moment or so, breathing hard and wet, before he heard a clank by his side that made him jump in alert, ears perking and scanning around with little to no grace, which later he would rather blame on the small amount of alcohol in his system instead of admitting any sort of lowered guard.
His gourd rolled through the sand, lodging itself back into the cracks of the rock Hanzo had been sitting on. The man knew he wasn’t so drunk as to have hallucinated throwing the bottle through the air a few moments( Minutes? He couldn’t tell), the unsatisfactory noise it made when it hit the sand somewhere outside his peripheral vision very clear on his mind.
He looked around and saw nothing in the darkness around him, the moonlight peeking behind the clouds the only available, barely illuminating anything around. He heard nothing around him either, any sound fogged up by sake or drowned out by the waves hitting the rocks nearby.
He took hold of the gourd and tentatively threw it away again, not quite sure what he expected, but keeping a discreet (or so he thought) eye on where it landed, waiting for… Something to happen.
Almost a whole minute had passed before his mind was starting to even forget what he was waiting for, when he heard the faint rustle of sand and rope and looked over immediately, spotting a four legged silhouette nosing at the gourd, maw digging down at it like it was looking for something. Only after a minor struggle, it stood back up and trotted back to him, gourd hanging on its mouth by the rope.
As it got closer, Hanzo could make it out as a stray dog, large and shaggy, trying it’s best to remain undetected, stepping closer to Hanzo with careful steps before dropping the bottle near him, pushing it with it’s nose and bolting back to the shadows.
Hanzo held it on his hand and looked around, a tentative smiling forming on his face before he looked around for something less likely to break at the jaws of the stray, picking up a sizable rock and taking a moment to put some more thought on where to aim at, hitting the threshold close to the wet lines of the sea waves.
As expected, the stray soon returned silently to retrieve the thrown object, stopping for a second at the sight of the rock. It stared for a whole quarter of a minute before it loudly huffed, hanging its head low almost dramatically.
It turned around and woofed at Hanzo, it’s presence suddenly louder than the waves and the sea wind, as if it had never been hiding in the first place. A painfully familiar show of competence that got Hanzo’s chest tight with the anxieties from earlier.
The dog-
No-
Clearly not.
The Coyote nosed at the rock one last time, looking back at Hanzo as if to ask if he wanted it at all. Hanzo shock his head and gathered himself, jumping down from his rock to meet the canine in the middle.
With its metallic gleam reflecting on the moonlight like his signature cheeky winks, Hanzo had to hold back an amused sigh.
“I assumed you to be a 40 year old man, cowboy.” He kneeled on the sand to be at eye level, uncaring of it sticking to his sleep clothes. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway when Cassidy shoke himself off some excess and showered him on it. Hanzo groaned and pushed him away, standing back up.
“I will have ya know-“ With the speed that only came with full comfort on their own shift, Cassidy’s form changed back to a mostly human cowboy, lacking on his cape and spurred boots, replaced by a shabbier looking blanket and some older looking shoes. “-that exercising is good for yer health, no matter the age.”
“I am sure fetching things does wonders for your figure.” The glance he spares to the cowboy’s body is completely unrelated.
“Are ya really shaming me for the game that aided my ancestors to connect with us shifters?” Cassidy pressed his hat against his chest, a perfect picture of fake offense.
“Your ancestors are feral ancient wolves as much as I am a Dove, Cassidy.”
“Ya see, I woulda easily pegged you for a grumpy Crow, darlin.” He smirked. “Heard those guys can be mean when they want to, not unlike a certain someonw i know.”
Hanzo elbowed the other man and they both laughed quietly into the night, falling into a comfortable silence that was then broken by the cowboy.
“So…” He started, brushing the back of his neck “What were you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same.” Hanzo deflected, only to be given a soft look that cracked through faster than he would have wanted. With a sigh, he looked back at the sea.
“You don’t gotta tell me. I could tell it was a… Rough night, to put it mildly.” Cassidy motioned for them both to sit in the sand, offering his blanket for them to avoid it. “Me too. Just the same old, that nagging feeling, heavy in ya, wondering what’s the point of it all. So I came out here for a walk. Usually helps me clear my head, but then I saw ya and-“
He gave off a sheepish laugh. “I assumed you would hate to be caught having a moment, specially by me, so I-“
“What do you mean?” Hanzo interrupted, a hand hovering near Cassidy’s arm. “‘Specially you’?”
“No offense, darling, I just-“ Cassidy sucks in a quiet breathe. “Just thought you didn’t like me all that much. Not enough to witness a vulnerable moment, that is-“
The new silence stretched for a moment too long before the cowboy rubbed the back of his neck again, preparing some apologies. “I didn’t mean no offense, by the way, I just-“
“It is… Okay.”
“No, no, I swear. I only meant that you are very reserved and wouldn’t want someone like me to interrupt and-“
“Cassidy.”
“-so I thought it would be better to just give you privacy, but then you threw yer bottle, and I know you like that thing so I just-“
“Cole!” Hanzo raised his voice, snapping the man out of his rambling. The archer cleared his throat and awkwardly spoke. “I do not… I simply- I do like you. If there is any specific reason you would think I do not, please tell me, so I can correct that. I would hate for you to think I gather any ill feelings towards you.”
Hanzo grew somewhat flustered at the silence, so out of character of Cole. He turned to see the man staring at him with an wolfish grin and sputtered out a question. “What?”
“Ya called me by my first name.” Cole’s tail thumped against the sand, sending it flying at their backs. “Its nice.”
“It is nothing out of the ordinary.” Hanzo argued.
“You never done it before.”
“And I will not again if you keep making a big deal out it.” He threatened weakly, to which Cole just laughed it off.
Raising both hands in surrender, Cole shook his head “Alrigh’ alright- I won’t.” He leaned over to Hanzo’s side and smiled. “Are ya feeling any better?”
Hanzo’s eyes widened at the realization that most, if not all of the conversation was Cole’s attempt to pull him out of his own mind. He smiled and nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“I’m glad, darlin’. Real glad.”
Hanzo turned to watch the sea and smiled. The cold sea air was refreshing on his ears and the sand felt nice between his toes. Cole had gone quiet watching along with him, soon back into his other form, tail dragging sand along. It was now a comforting night. He hoped next time it wasn’t, that he could cross paths with Cole again. Maybe play some more fetching and see just how far Cole would take the game, maybe just to talk or watch the waves hit the sand. Something about the man was just right to bring Hanzo back from deep spirals and Hanzo hoped for more of it. He leaned against his knees and glanced down at the furry mass by side with a smile.
“Yes. I am glad too.”