Yeah, well, here it is. It's short, but I've brought you the next installment. Again, there are very few details as to what's going on, where or when this is set. I'm sorry. It looks like we'll all just have to use our imaginations.

This is admittedly rushed. It was written between classes during which time I should have been doing homework. Then I typed it up today between homework sessions and tossed it online. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

Hat: Part 4

Without even realizing it, Hanzo found himself wandering toward one of the meeting places of McCree's group of buddies. And of course, they were all there, as always.

And as usual, McCree spotted Hanzo and went over to him, removing his hat in the process. "Hey, Shimada."

"McCree," the shorter man greeted.

"Why don'tcha come join us?" McCree asked, as usual.

Hanzo thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think I will."

McCree looked surprised. "Ya will?"

"I will."

Strangely McCree seemed nervous after that. "Um. Ya sure ya wanna do that?"

An odd response coming from the person who'd just invited him over. "Is there some reason I should not?"

"I don't know. Just sayin', wouldn't ya prefer to be someplace less noisy? Ya had somethin' to say to me the other day, didn't ya?" the gunman said.

Hanzo still wasn't sure how to ask about McCree's behavior around him, so he decided to avoid the question. "If you did not intend for me to join you, then why did you invite me?"

Thankfully, McCree took the bait. "Well, it'd be kinda rude not to. Besides, it's the best way I know to start a conversation with ya."

What was this weird cowboy talking about?

McCree shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go over and join in."

When they finally joined the group, everyone greeted Hanzo and then the lively, meaningless jibber jabber began again. It was no different than the other day except that they were telling different jokes. Hanzo was baffled by how energetic and animated everyone was. Everyone except himself, of course. And strangely enough, McCree no longer seemed to be participating in the conversation. He'd put his hat back on and he seemed to be looking at Hanzo from beneath the low-pulled brim.

Something about that made the bowman uncomfortable. When McCree was with the group, he was usually just as chatty as they were. Now he wasn't. The cowboy also had his hat on and it looked like he was actually staring at the archer.

"McCree, you are awfully quiet," Ziegler finally pointed out.

Hanzo could only thank her inwardly for taking McCree's attention away from him. Those eyes, the way they'd fixed on him, was unsettling.

"Sorry," McCree said. "Just thinkin' 'bout somethin'."

"Well, no thinkin' allowed. That's why we're all here, innit?" Oxton told him.

"It's what we all agreed," Lindholm chimed in.

Wait, what? Hanzo may have actually just heard a useful tidbit of information. Their conversations weren't actually meaningless at all. Well, they were, but they were meaningless on purpose. They weren't all just a bunch of brainless chatterboxes. They were all there talking about silly things and joking around to keep their minds occupied. And as Hanzo looked at the group that was gathered there, he realized that they all, each one of them, had very good reasons to keep their minds otherwise occupied. And the way they did that was to get together and laugh with each other. It was ingenious really.

"Yeah, yer right," the sharpshooter said.

And maybe that's why McCree kept inviting him over as well. So they could all 'not think'.

McCree joined in with the others once again and Hanzo quietly listened to them chat and joke about nothing.

Yet every few minutes, McCree would glance at him from underneath the brim of that hat and cause Hanzo to shift uncomfortably on his feet.