Ah, classes have been nightmarish. So, in order to decompress, I rushed this out. Please forgive any mistakes.

And midterms are coming soon. There are not enough tears in the world to express how I feel about these upcoming midterms.

Also, these grown men are behaving like middle schoolers, but I thought it was kinda sorta cute.

Hat: Part 7

Hanzo narrowed his eyes in an attempt to clearly consider what 'kinda like' might actually mean. The word 'kinda' was, of course, McCree's pronunciation of the phrase 'kind of'. Now, as far as the phrase 'kind of' went, it was more of an estimation than something exact. While 'like' was simply a word expressing...fondness maybe?

"Ya look kinda confused there. It's exactly what it sounds like. So if yer okay with that, I hope ya wouldn't mind spendin' a little more time with me."

He didn't really have a problem with it (whatever IT was). He just didn't understand what was going on or why. To be honest, Hanzo didn't like himself very much and it made him wonder why anyone else would.

He then noticed that the cowboy had put his hat back on and had tugged the brim down low. "Sorry. Guess I shouldn'a brought it up."

Well, Hanzo didn't want him to feel bad about it. "No, I'm sorry. I was just...surprised."

Oh no. The archer suddenly felt shy. How could this be happening?

He wasn't going to blush like a school girl. He was a grown man and therefore beyond such things. But even as he fought against it, he could feel his face and ears beginning to warm. He tried concentrating on his hands to rid himself of the redness that he knew tented his face by now.

But he could feel the cowboy's eyes on him, so he glanced at him to find a huge grin on his face.

"Cute," was all McCree said.

The archer quickly went back to staring at his hands, but he could feel his face burn hotter with embarrassment. He wanted to say something, but what should one say in a situation like that? Thank him for the compliment? Take it as a degrading comment? He wasn't a child after all. Children were considered cute. Then again, he was blushing like a grade schooler with his first crush.

He frowned. Crush, huh? Well, since the architect seemed to be right about the gunman's crush on him, maybe...

Was he really entertaining the thought that he might have a crush on this scruffy-looking gunslinger?

"Nothin' to say, huh?"

What could he say?

"It's alright. I wouldn't know what to say if some guy I barely knew came up to me sayin that he liked me either. Ya ain't gotta say nothin'."

"No, that's not it," Hanzo said before he could stop himself. "I am flattered."

"Okay. Yer flattered, but...?"

"There is no but."

The gunman looked confused. "So yer not weirded out that a guy likes ya?"

"Anyone is free to admire whomever he chooses."

"Well, I ain't just talkin about admirin' ya, but if that's the way ya wanna see it, then that's fine too."

Of course he wasn't talking about admiring him.

"So, what say we just continue our nice normal friendship. Then we can see where things go from there," McCree suggested.

Ah, a very mature way to go about things. They were definitely not grade school children with crushes.

"That sounds reasonable. Thank you," he said to the gunman.

"I should be the one thankin' you. Yer the one who didn't punch me in the face fer sayin' somethin' like that outta the blue."

Hanzo gave a small smile, then walked over to his dresser and picked up the notebook of poetry McCree had let him borrow. "I have been meaning to return this."

Sure. He'd been meaning to return it, but he couldn't work up the nerve to do it to be honest.

The cowboy looked confused. "Read the whole thing already?"

Hanzo nodded and took a seat on his bed again. "It was interesting and well written."

"Glad ya liked em. Also glad ya didn't freak out about me writin' about ya."

There was no real reason to freak out. It was flattering to be written about, even though the character the cowboy had written about wasn't really him. So honestly, should he be flattered or insulted?

"Why me?" Hanzo asked.

"Uh, cause there ain't enough westerns with main characters whose weapon of choice is a bow?"

Why was it a question?

There was a long silence between them and Hanzo started to get a little worried. McCree's eyes had fixed on him from beneath the brim of that confounded hat of his. Wasn't the cowboy going to say anything? Hanzo wasn't really sure if he himself should say something since it was McCree who'd come to talk.

"So, how far can I take things before your feathers start to ruffle?" McCree asked.

That was an odd question. "Excuse me?"

"Well, ya let me write poetry about ya and ya found out that I like ya and yer still sittin' there like nothin's happened. Figured I'd test the waters a little more."

Wha—?

The gunman walked over to Hanzo and took a seat next to him on the bed. McCree just smiled like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Having him sit so close startled the archer, but he tried his best to remain as cool as a cucumber. He just hoped that the cowboy couldn't hear his heart racing. Then again with how close he was, Hanzo wouldn't be surprised if he could.

McCree then placed his hand on Hanzo's lower back.

"Hope this makes things more clear fer ya. Rufflin' those feathers yet?"

Yep. Hanzo's feathers were well ruffled now. And there wasn't anything he could do or say. "Y-yes," he admitted.

The cowboy looked at him for a long time and he quickly removed his hand from Hanzo's back. "Sorry. I was just kiddin' around."

He couldn't bring himself to meet the cowboy's eyes, which he could feel were still locked to his face. He wanted to move a little futher away so he could have room to breathe, but if he did that wouldn't the cowboy be offended? He didn't dislike the closeness after all. It was just that the sudden touch had been somewhat startling.

"It's kinda hard to take my eyes off ya though," the gunman said quietly.

Hanzo felt a blush creeping up again and he quickly stood up. "Sorry. I just remembered that I have someplace to be," he said in a bit of a panic.

McCree stood as well. "Sorry. Didn't mean to hold ya up. Hey, I could walk ya half way."

McCree didn't even know where he was going. "No, thank you," Hanzo told him.

"No, I insist. I came to yer room and kept ya from meditatin'. It's the least I could do."

After some argument, the cowboy ended up walking with him anyway. Thankfully they reached the gunman's destination before they reached his own.

After exchanging polite goodbyes, Hanzo hurried to Vaswani's door and stood there for a while. She'd told him not to come begging her for advice but she couldn't have been serious, could she?

"Let me guess. You found out that he likes you and you need advice?"

"You and I ended on a sour note when last we saw each other, but we should not let that get the better of us," he said in an attempt to reconstruct burned bridges.

"Just tell me the truth, Shimada. You need my advice."

Okay, technically he didn't need her advice. She wasn't the greatest person to get relationship advice from, considering she was just as single as he. But he wouldn't bring that to her attention. What he really wanted was someone he could bounce ideas off of.

"Yes. I need your advice," he said simply to avoid further argument.

"Fine. Were I not a good friend, I would leave you high and dry."

"You honor me."

"Now, what happened?"

After a grueling telling, they both sat quietly for a moment. Then she finally said, "To be honest, I was bluffing, but I guess he really does like you." When she said it she seemed amused.

"What?" he asked.

She chuckled even more. "You don't even realize it, do you?"

He looked confused.

"You are blushing. You have been since you began."

Well, if he hadn't been before he sure was now.

"That is just too cute."

It was the second time that day that word had been used in his presence. He didn't like that.

"Listen, Shimada. You could sit here asking for my advice or you could do what you should have done when he cornered you in your room. Tell him you like him too."

"Tell him what?"

"That you like him. It is embarrassingly obvious," she told him.

Was it obvious? Was it even true?

"You know I am right."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, she had been right about the gunman's feelings for him. But to say that the archer returned those feelings was a longshot. Sure, he was interested in getting to know the strange man...

"And you are blushing again," she told him.

This was ridiculous.

"You know, the sooner you tell him, the better."

"I do not like him. Not in that way."

Symmetra grinned and shook her head. "You say that, but your face tells a very different story."

They argued the point and the archer refused to acknowledge that he had been considering that he might feel the same way about the gunslinger.

She warned him again that he would feel better if he confessed sooner rather than later, but he would have none of it. He went on his way back to his room.