Chapter 11

Hanzo had managed to keep silent the entire walk to the practice range and even though Harley kept looking like she wanted to say something, she never did. He aggressively pushed the door open with his shoulder and walked straight to the control panel. The sound of the door closing met his ears, followed by Harley's light footfalls. He listened to her advance: she was walking slowly, obviously hesitating a little with each step. It made him frustrated.

"Look, I…" She started to say when she reached the control panel, but Hanzo walked away from her, feigning checking the crack in the floor to make sure all the cement putty had dried and was safe for practice.

"I mean, I just…" She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He played dumb, hoping it would hide his feelings better.

"Well, that's uh… quite a thing to walk into," Harley wrung her fingers and looked down. "I guess what I'm saying is you probably think less of me now, and I'm sorry. I keep giving you such bad impressions of me."

"Oh," Hanzo stalled, unsure of how to respond appropriately.

"And I'm sorry for getting mad earlier too," She tacked on, almost like an afterthought. "Your brother is missing, that must be really hard after… um… well… what happened between you. I mean, I don't know the details, but it seems like it was bad, and I shouldn't be adding to the stress when it's pretty clear you're already having trouble dealing with…"

She had obviously started rambling out of nervousness, still staring steadfastly at the ground. It was endearing, even Hanzo had to admit that. Her adorable embarrassment and inability to deal with it was already starting to dull the anger and pain he had been feeling. Being in her company alone pushed the images of her and McCree from his mind and instead had him focusing on the way she shifted her weight back and forth as she spoke, a gentle sway that betrayed her anxiousness. Dammit, she has to be so cute, doesn't she? Without really thinking about it, he reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked at his hand first, then up at him, with a confused look on her face.

"Let's just get to training, shall we?" Those weren't the words he wanted to say, but the work they had to do would hopefully be enough distraction to get them both grounded again.

"Okay," She offered the hint of a smile. Hanzo felt the familiar prick of annoyance with himself in the back of his head as the look on her face gave him a warm feeling in his stomach. Here I am always thinking how Harley is unable to control her emotions, bouncing back and forth between extremes… Now look who's talking… He chided himself internally, trying to keep his straight face as she started to smile a little more broadly. He noticed his hand was still on her shoulder and he quickly withdrew it, though not without noting how warm her bare skin had been against his palm. Self-conscious, he walked back to the control panel and started up the training program. The robots came out and waited.

"I suspect Winston wants to use you for incapacitation," Hanzo speculated, regaining his focus on their duties. "First of all, since the armies present in the western hemisphere are people, not Omnics, we are obviously going to do our best to avoid a bloodbath. Second, if we kill too many Talon agents, they'll likely call for reinforcements, and we will have a much larger problem on our hands. So, we are going to have you disrupt them."

"That sounds like an awful lot of responsibility," Harley's tone indicated she was joking, but her jaw muscles were tight. "What if I screw up?"

"Mistakes are a part of battle," Hanzo found his voice coming out soft and gentle; he could tell she was actually quite nervous. "It is how you adapt to your mistakes, not whether you make them, that determines your skill and value in a crisis."

"Huh…" Harley scratched the back of her head.

"On our first day of training you showed me how you could make someone float."

"Yeah, by shifting the poles in the magnetic field around them," Her eyes seemed to light up as she explained. "It doesn't last long though."

"It shouldn't need to," Hanzo gestured toward the robots. "Show me."

He watched with intense fascination as Harley repeated her behavior from the first time they'd trained together. She stared, clearly concentrating, at the robot labeled "1" and lifted her hand into the air. The robot was swiftly lifted from its feet and floated for a few moments before it came crashing to the floor. She moved on to the second, third and fourth robots, one after the other, in the same manner. When all of them were lying on their sides or back, she turned to Hanzo, grinning broadly. He bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from smiling back. Instead, he nodded in approval, and turned back to the control panel to get the robots back on their feet.

"That was good," Hanzo told her without too much syrupy approval in his voice, though he did want to be encouraging. "However, I'd like to see you do that to all of them at once."

"What?" Harley looked at him, confused. "That's not how it works…"

"Time is going to be of the essence," He told her, unable to keep himself from looking straight into her eyes. "Besides, unlike these robots, a guard will notice if his friends go flying up in the air, and he likely will not wait for the same to happen to him. Now, try again."

"But…"

"Try again," He knew he was being firm with her but she needed the push. "Now."

With a look somewhere between unease and determination, Harley turned to face the robots. She used both hands this time, dragging them upwards slowly through the air as if she were balancing weights on her palms. At first, nothing came of it. The robots didn't budge. Hanzo frowned a little. But then, with a grunt, she pushed her arms straight upward, and all four dummies flipped into the air. They crashed down a moment later, staying suspended a much shorter time than when she had made them float individually. Still, it was good progress.

Hanzo made her repeat the drill over a few times until she no longer seemed so labored in getting them all up. Her pale cheeks were flushed pink, but the expression on her face was growing more confident by the second, so he didn't feel as bad.

Since he'd already seen that she was quite good at controlling her ability to shake the ground, he didn't ask her to practice that one again. Besides, he had no intention of falling over again. Instead, he decided to focus on the one thing he hadn't yet experienced.

"You have not yet shown me your namesake."

"Hm?" Harley looked over at him, orange hair swirling around her head with the motion.

"Blackout. You said you could cause temporary blindness, did you not?"

"Oh, that," Her face fell a little. "Yeah, I can."

"Perfect," Hanzo pressed a button on the control panel and the robots mechanically chugged back to their place inside the walls. "However, since this is something you can't exactly practice on robots… You'll have to do it to me."

Harley's eyes bulged. "N-No, I couldn't…"

"It's fine," He assured her, stepped into the arena where the robots had been only a few moments earlier. "It is temporary?"

"Yes…" The young woman seemed to have lost the energy she'd just been carrying after toppling the dummies so many times. "I just… It's not exactly… I mean I have it under control, it's just… It's not the most pleasant thing. It'll probably be painful."

"And?" Hanzo almost snorted. "Pain is nothing new to me."

"But I don't want to hurt you."

Harley's words felt like fire engulfing his heart. He stood a few feet away from her, mouth very slightly agape, trying to collect himself. The way in which she'd carefully emphasized the phrase, the delicate softness of each word spilling over her lips, the way her lower lids had come up and her eyebrows had come down in an expression of pure, unadulterated concern. It was the most he'd felt someone cared about his well-being in ages. Truly cared, beyond his utility in battle. More than just patching up wounds and sending him back to the battlefield. More than repairing a lost bond just because they were family. No, this was genuine.

"Hanzo?" Her voice shook him out of his trance. "You okay?"

"Yes, yes," He stammered, waving his hand. "You will practice it on me, end of discussion." He tried to keep his voice even, though his burning heart felt like it might leap into his throat at any moment. Harley grimaced, but nodded.

Hanzo stood in the centre, looked at her, and waited. It was hardly noticeable at first, but her hands began to glow a dull orange color. As the intensity of the glowing increased, it became almost the same shade as her hair. The last thing he remembered seeing was Harley thrusting her hands towards him. After that, the only thing he was aware of was the violent shaking in his vision, and a white-hot pain behind his eyes. He was vaguely aware of shapes and colors in the room but he certainly couldn't focus on anything as the feeling intensified. The pain was sharp and felt like his head was going to explode. Without meaning to, he let loose a loud groan and crumpled forward, landing on his hands and knees. It was gone a moment later, but he couldn't move right away. He blinked several times, trying to get his focus back. The pain was all but a memory, and yet he felt extremely disoriented.

Suddenly, Harley was practically standing on top of him. "I'm so sorry, I tried to tell you…"

"It's nothing," Hanzo gasped for air, not realizing he'd stopped breathing.

"Oh god," She dropped to her knees in front of him. "Why did I let you talk me into that, I can't believe I did that to you… Are you okay?"

His attention was abruptly rapt as he felt her hands on his face, tilting his head upwards, trying to pull him a little more upright. Her palms were a little sweaty but the skin was still creamy smooth and soft underneath. He tried to ignore the sensation as he forced himself to sit up on his knees. Harley was studying his face, looking into his eyes, like she was scanning for damage. She was closer than she'd possibly ever been to him; he could smell a faint floral scent on her and fought to control his breathing so it wouldn't appear like he was sniffing her.

"I'm fine," He assured her, already feeling strong again. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn her fingers lingered on his face until he started to stand up. "How many people can you affect at once with that?"

"It's an area effect as far as I know," She stood up as well, eyeing him sideways. "It should do the same thing to anyone within a ten meter radius."

"Good."

"So now what?"

Hanzo paused to think before replying. "How is your aim?"

"What do you mean?" Harley cocked her head to the side before the gears clicked. "Oh! With a gun?"

"Yes."

"Well, I passed the tests when I first started the program…"

"When was the last time you fired a weapon?"

She looked at the ground and shuffled her feet a little. "A long time. Months maybe."

"Then that is what we will do next," Hanzo walked towards the equipment storage room, fascinated at how the effects of Harley's attack had worn off so cleanly it was as if she hadn't even done it at all. It would be perfect for an escape, if they needed it. From within the storage room he produced a pistol, a box of ammunition and an old training bow. He had left Storm Bow back in his room and he decided it was unnecessary to get his good bow when they were simply practicing.

"Here," He tossed the unloaded pistol to her once he was within range. Harley fumbled a little, almost dropping the weapon, but ultimately caught it between her arms. "You'll need these as well."

Hanzo handed her the box of ammunition and watched with a mixture of amusement and impatience as she struggled with the old gun to get the clip out and load it. When she finally managed to get everything in place, she looked up at him for further instruction. He pushed the button on the control panel for the robots, but one of the panels seemed to be stuck. It was an old range, but that had never happened before. He clicked his tongue in annoyance; he didn't have time to be dealing with this when every second before the mission was precious.

As if on cue, Harley dropped the gun, sending it skidding across the floor. Fortunately the safety was on so no shot was fired, but Hanzo snapped his head to look at her. She took a few steps towards it but suddenly she teetered like she'd tripped on something – almost in exactly the same way she'd tripped the first night they met. Like a flash Hanzo moved in and caught her, one arm across her stomach and the other on her back to stabilize her.

"What happened?!" He asked frantically, still holding onto her. She seemed to be shaking.

"I…" She muttered, barely audible. "It's nothing. I'm clumsy."

"I find that difficult to believe," Hanzo started to release her but she swayed again and gripped his arm. He could hear his heart beating in his ears. His mind raced to take stock of where his hands were: one holding her waist, and one still on her back. Okay, that's fine, he told himself, though his mouth felt dry and he could once again smell her hair.

"It's complicated," She said, parroting the same words she'd said to him when they trained on the rooftops. He knew this had something to do with whatever she'd been telling Symmetra the night he caught her crying. It was obviously something she didn't want to talk about, but it was also something that was interfering with her ability to perform, and that could cause serious issues to arise if it happened at an inopportune moment. This is more than just clumsiness. No Overwatch recruiter in their right mind would allow someone plainly clumsy through, and certainly not to work with our team. She seemed stable enough again so he backed away from her abruptly, caught up in his train of thought. That kind of thing will get her killed if she can't control it. And maybe not just her. It could get us all killed.

Part of him felt bad about the frown that came over his face – the very look of disapproval – but a small part of him was also relieved that this "complication" was washing away the intoxication of holding her close. It wasn't appropriate.

"Fine then," He walked away from her to check why that one panel wasn't sliding open to allow the robotic dummies out. "If you feel so strongly about keeping… whatever it is from me, then I won't ask again."

As soon as the words left his mouth he realized how passive-aggressive he sounded. Of course I'm curious to know, but I don't have to act like a child. But it was no use; he was angry that should would apparently tell Symmetra immediately about whatever was causing this problem but wouldn't tell him. More jealousy, he snarled internally. He hated the way she made him feel: distracted from his work, untrustworthy and totally invisible. Her footsteps followed him and he gritted his teeth. Without looking at her he fingered the wall panel that was supposed to be open, trying to keep his vision from blurring with a surge of unfamiliar conflicting emotions as she got near him again.

"Listen, it's not like that, it's…"

"We will have to make do without this one for target practice," Hanzo interrupted her, giving up on the panel. It had probably shorted during Harley's last earthquake and he didn't have time to fix it at the moment. Still keeping his eyes off her he headed back towards the controls to release the other training robots. This time, however, there were no following footsteps. When he got to the other side of the room he glanced over his shoulder and saw her still standing where he'd left her, across the floor. She looked a little angry. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides.

"Are you ready to begin?" Hanzo asked flatly.

"No," Harley folded her arms across her chest.

"Excuse me?"

"What's going on with you today?" She took a few steps forward and stopped.

Hanzo turned around. "What?"

"We had a perfectly good time training yesterday. We were having a perfectly good time training today," She stepped again. "It felt like we've been getting along well and leaving that bad first impression behind us."

"And?"

"And?!" She repeated back, taking several more steps toward him, rapidly closing the distance. "And you've been acting weird and I'm sorry, but you're kind of being a jerk. I'm just trying to apologize to you, and you're cutting me off and ignoring me. Earlier today I was just trying to be nice and you decided to fight with me! I'd really like us to get along – especially since now we're doing this mission together – and you're making it really hard! Why? Just tell me why."

Hanzo felt like he'd been stunned into silence. He searched his brain for an appropriate response, something between the truth and a lie; something that was true by nature but omitted the parts he was still wrestling with himself about. Harley continued to stare at him, rigid with anger, as she advanced on him even more. His feet were frozen in place despite his overwhelming desire to back away from her. He felt like he was being ripped in half. One dragon who wished to lash out right back at her, snarl and snap until she hated him so he wouldn't have to try to figure out his feelings because she'd never look at him again. One dragon who wished to apologize, make an excuse about having not slept the night before, or about Genji's absence, and who could go on pretending like that forever because that seemed the simplest solution. And between the two of them was a wreck of a man who, when he really thought about it, just wanted to be honest and tell her every thought that had banged its way through his head and heart the last few days. His throat was so dry he couldn't even properly swallow. She looked up at him expectantly from less than a few feet away now.

He opened his mouth, unsure of exactly was about to come out of it, but fortunately he didn't have to find out because the sound of the door thudding open interrupted him. Both he and Harley looked up to see natural light streaming in through the open entrance, and the familiar silhouette wearing a cowboy hat in the middle of it.

"Jesse?" Harley asked, even though it was clearly him. McCree came into the range, spurs clanking and echoing the mostly-empty building with every step. He didn't look very happy, which made Hanzo – in spite of himself – feel a little better.

"Bad news darling," He started without greeting either of them. "Winston says I can't take off with you three. He reckons Mei and DVa are gonna need some help around here and since I technically got the most seniority… guess I'm stick here for the time being."

Harley had turned her back on Hanzo to face McCree so he couldn't see her facial expression, but she cooed a few platitudes about her disappointment. She seemed a little more stiff around him than before; maybe getting caught kissing out in broad daylight made her a little more wary of how she interacted with him in the presence of others.

"What's that?" McCree pointed to the pistol which was still lying on the floor.

"Oh, Hanzo and I were just about to do some target practice," Harley replied, her tone once again its usual chipper, light-hearted self. Either the cowboy's mere being here was enough to completely reverse her mood, or she was an excellent pretender.

"Well shoot, you should have told me!" McCree grinned widely at her before turning his attention to Hanzo. "You don't mind if I take it from here? No offense to you personally, friend, but if anyone is gonna be showing anyone how to hit a squirrel between the eyes from a hundred yards away that'd be me."

"Be my guest," Hanzo knew his voice was curt and didn't care. "I have other preparations to attend to. Harley, I assume I can collect you when we are ready to depart?"

"Yeah, definitely," She nodded, though her eyes were flickering back to McCree, who was twirling his revolver around one finger. "Just let me know when I need to be ready and I'll be there."

Hanzo left the practice bow leaning against the control panel and crossed the floor of the practice range, eager to be out of the sickening presence of the two of them interacting. He heard metal scraping as the robots booted up, ready to be fired on. As Hanzo neared the door, a thought occurred to him. Even though he knew it was likely not the most professional thing to say, he was so tired he just couldn't help but calling back to them.

"Remember we are short on time. It would be wise if you would simply stick to target practice, for the time being."