In Hindsight... (McHanzo) | Bodyguard AU | ✔️

Chapter Nine

The sound of a foghorn rang in Jesse's ears. Slowly, the noise started to get louder. With a groan, the cowboy blinked himself awake. "What in..."

He was interrupted by a gasp. He heard shuffling, then noticed Hanzo was a foot away from him, clearly debating on what to do. With a weak smile, McCree tried to push himself up.

Then the pain shot back up his arm.

He hissed quietly, trying to fight through it. The ravenet finally made up his mind and scurried over to him. "Quiet! We're hiding in the boiler room. They can't know we're here."

To both of their surprise, the first words out of the brunet's mouth was, "Really? The boiler room?"

"It was the easiest place to get at the time!" he argued, keeping his voice down. "Besides, we're almost there now. This spot worked well."

Jesse nodded slowly, trying to process everything. He replayed the events in his mind. "At the cafe... Encountered a sniper... Got shot... Patched up... Blacked out... Wait."

"How long was I out?" he asked, trying to sit up. He winced in pain and the archer appeared at his side, helping him sit up. The minute he grabbed his arm, his stomach erupted with butterflies. The queasiness caught him so off guard that he almost missed the other's answer.

"At least a day and a half," he said bluntly, not even glancing at the southerner. "The bleeding stopped within the first hour you were unconscious."

McCree then realized Hanzo had out his hair back up, and he had used the blood-stained ribbon to do so. He glanced down at his arm and saw that it had been wrapped up with a torn section of his serape. "Good riddance," he thought, wrinkling his nose at the tan cloth.

"Don't worry, I got the bullet out as well." The Shimada murmured as if he had read the cowboy's mind. "It wasn't that far in, thankfully. You're really lucky. I few more inches up and it would've hit an artery..."

Jesse grunted in response. "Much obliged..." he said quietly. "But jus' curious... Why're you bein' so nice to me?"

The Asian gave him a surprised looked, but it quickly became guarded. "I could ask you the same thing..." His gaze travelled to the floor. "But I have my reasons."

"Care to list 'em?"

Hanzo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Well, the most obvious one is that you saved my life." He locked eyes with the other and flashed him a smile. "I felt like I needed to repay you."

The gunslinger tried to ignore the blood rushing to his face. "You really don't have to. I'm jus' doin' my job."

"Also..." the archer murmured. "You're... Kind of the only person who's stayed with me since I left. I know you're just 'doing your job', but I feel like we're... Friends, at this point." He started toying with the fletching of his arrow. "Right?"

At this point, the cowboy's face was burning up. He looked away and tried to clear his throat. "I know what you mean..." In the back of his mind, he thought, "I know a little too well, actually..."

After a bit of silence, McCree murmured, "Anythin' else?"

A shadow fell across the ravenet's face and he avoided eye contact. "I... Couldn't save someone. Saving you felt like I was redeeming myself." He laughed drily. "I know it sounds stupid, but..."

Jesse immediately knew what he was talking about: Genji, the brother he supposedly killed. "If only he knew the truth..."

"It's not stupid. Savin' one person you care about is better than savin' none."

Hanzo glanced over at him, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Who said I cared about you?"

"Wh- It was heavily implied!"

The Shimada laughed at his reaction. "I'm kidding! I care enough about you."

A grin made it's way onto the brunet's face. "Jus' enough? Or a lil' more?"

He shrugged, moving so that he was sitting beside the southerner. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Again, McCree felt the butterflies tickling his stomach and his heart hammering in his chest. In the back of his mind, he thought, "I hope it's a little more... Because for me, it's a lot more."

That's when it fully started to dawn on him: He was falling for Hanzo Shimada.

And he liked it.