Since that night, late-night calls have become a habit. Not all the nights, but they certainly were there. Usually, it was King checking up on Genji, to see if he was sleeping, and if he wasn't… A call, talking about everything and nothing, and either ending the call or falling asleep in it.

It was nice. Like a thing only they did.

He liked it.

He was warming up way too fast to a complete stranger, he thought to himself. It was hard not to ; Mockingbird was a charming person. He always seemed to understand. As weird as it was, especially considering his… Particular situation.

It has been what… more than 2 months since they've known each other. Genji's injury was getting better, and now he can train almost as normal. He knows the informant wasn't happy about it, though. His reaction to the ninja getting too much training was entertaining.

He heard the door of the training area swiftly open. Genji turned around to see who it was. Cole Cassidy, the one and only. He seemed in a good mood, a small smile on his face, and a relaxed demeanour. The man wondered what got the cowboy in such a good mood.

"Hey there, Genji."

"Hello, Cassidy."

"Y'know you can call me Cole, right ?"

He didn't answer that, returning to punching the bag.

"How is your back ?" Cole asked, preparing himself to do the same thing.

"It's alright."

"Glad to hear," he stated, before continuing, "I wonder, did you continue to make contact with the birdie ?"

"The 'birdie' ?"

"Mockingbird."

Oh, he had a nice nickname for him. Though, he called the informant King, in his head. It just came naturally. He wouldn't admit that out loud, though.

"Yeah."

"Really ? What's his nickname for ya ?"

"Nickname ?"

"Birdie likes to give people sweet nicknames. It's how he refers to people. For example me, I got the nickname Cherry." Cassidy explained casually.

He realised that he didn't have one. That… Felt weird. It was weird, also. Mockingbird seemed like someone to give nicknames to everyone, and the fact that he didn't have one… It didn't sit right with him.

"And yours ?"

He didn't know what to say.

"I… Don't have one." He admitted, slowing down his punches.

"Ya don't ?"

He shook his head, not wanting to meet the eyes of his colleague.

"Weird." It stung. "How close are ya ? Maybe it's because you haven't talked a lot."

"We do late-night calls, when neither of us can sleep. We talk regularly, too."

"Late night calls ?" The cowboy asked, hesitant. He wondered why, but soon got it.

"Not like this. We just talk."

"'We' ?"

He glared.

"Sorry, sorry." He replied to the unspoken sentence, chuckling. "It's just weird to me, you're not really the talkative type." Genji shrugged at this statement.

"He does most of the talking."

"I thought so." A pause, as if the man was hesitating, "But I do wonder why you haven't gotten that nickname yet. If you want, I can ask him. We talk a lot about other agents together."

"What do you talk about ?" Genji inquired.

"All sorts of things. We talk so much I don't think we've not talked about something at least once." He was probably exaggerating.

"Huh." That was the only intelligent thing he could find to say.

"You want me to ask them about nicknames ?"

"No, it's alright. I don't mind." He did, but he thought he shouldn't make a big deal out of it.

"If you say so, pumpkin." A phone ringing, it was probably the cowboy's phone. His was always on vibration mode, if not mute.

Seeing who was calling, the old gang member smiled softly, before answering.

"Hello Birdie~" He mused, which made Genji take a small break between two throws, barely noticeable.

"I'm doing well, don't worry. How are you ?" A pause, he could not decipher the answer. "Oh, I'm in the training range. Wanted to punch some, so here I am." The cowboy smiled. "How about you ? Working again ?"

Despite him, Genji listened to one side of the conversation. He was jealous and he could tell ; the anger boiling inside him was different. But he had to stop lying to himself, too, he wasn't as interesting or as funny as Cole. He was, once upon a time, but that attitude is what got him killed.

He couldn't forget the past. Who he was, how happy despite all he was. How he used to enjoy himself ; spending his days at the arcades, drinking, sleeping around. His disagreements with his own brother, and how they often escalated to shouting.

He punched the bag harder.

It was all his fault.

What happened.

What it made him become.

The backstabbing bastard.

"...ji ? Hey, pumpkin ?" He came out of his thoughts, glaring at his colleague. Said colleague took a small step back, putting his hands up in the air. "You just seemed really in a bad circle of thoughts."

He was. But he was used to it. He shrugged, not giving a clear answer. He was in a sour mood and didn't want to be bothered by anyone at the moment.

Genji nodded to Cassidy, then went out of the room at a fast pace. He was angry, bitter, and needed something to distract his mind. Or someone.

He went back to his room, slamming the door. He paced around the place, needing to get his anger out in some kind of way.

He felt his phone softly buzz.

Mockingbird

Hey there :3

The enraged man groaned.

Genji

Not in the mood.

Mockingbird

Aww

What's happening ?

Genji

"What-if"s.

Mockingbird

Wanna talk about it ?

Genji

I'm not ready.

Mockingbird

That's fair

I'm here if you need to, Genji

Need a distraction ?

Anything.

Genji

Please.

'Mockingbird is now calling…' was displayed on his screen. He exhaled a big huff of breath, then answered.

"Hello." He said almost immediately.

"Hi there," there was a smile in the voice, but not a mocking tone.

Genji didn't add anything. He couldn't think about nice things to say or to talk about.

"Do you want to tell me what happened ?" He didn't have an answer at first. But he thought that he simply needed to vent out.

"Do you…" He was hesitating, his words stuck in his throat. He cleared it, hoping it could help. It did. "Do you have a nickname for me ?"

A surprised silence met him.

"Do you really wanna know ?"

"I'm literally asking you."

Silence again.

Then, hesitantly, the person on the other line answered.

"Kitten."

What now ?

"What ?"

"I call you Kitten. In my head. Since probably the longest time of all the nicknames I have for Blackwatch."

"Why didn't you call me that, then ?" He questioned in an aggressive tone. King didn't seem to mind, since he replied with a patient one.

"You seem too prideful for a nickname like this. I was just waiting to find something else."

He was prideful, the old him. Now… Only anger remained. He didn't answer.

"I knew you wouldn't like it."

"No."

"Huh ?"

"I… It's fitting, I guess."

"O-oh."

That was the first time he heard the "birdie" stutter. He was usually the one almost stuttering.

"Well then, kitten." Was the tone suaver?

He choked on air. That caught him off guard.

"What else did you wanna talk about ?"

… He didn't want to answer that.

"You know you can tell me anything, right kitten ?" He sure used that nickname a lot… But he didn't feel ready. That was enough sharing on his part. King got the cue and didn't press it further.

"Why kitten ?"

"You're like a cat to me. I have to pet you lots, give you food and love, only to hope for a bit of an acknowledgement." Was it really that bad, his cool attitude ? "But the little thing given back is so precious I wanna have more. Wanna give you more because I think you deserve it."

He frowned. He didn't deserve anything but vengeance.

The heat in his face was due to his past anger. He threw a cushion to the wall, frustrated.

He didn't know how to react to such words. So he decided not to, taking his head in his hands, and screaming.

The message was left on read for the rest of the day.