Okay, so I got sidetracked during and after midterms. Sorry about that. But it was fun getting sidetracked. Now I'm back to this thing.

This is kind of a weird chapter. Also, I didn't really proofread this. Kinda just wrote it and hucked it out here. Hope you like it anyway.

Hat: Part 8

It had been several days since the archer last spoke to the man. He was a little surprised since he usually saw McCree four or more times a day in passing. He wondered if things were okay between them. The gunman had told him how he felt yet the archer had never really even acknowledged it.

Should he seek out McCree? Should he be worried that he hadn't seen the man since that day? Was it possible that McCree was just avoiding him? Why did the archer even care? It wasn't like they were very close in the first place. But then after seeing him every single day the archer began to wonder if maybe something was wrong. Maybe he'd offended McCree somehow. His reactions to the cowboy's advances had been lukewarm at best.

Well, they may have appeared lukewarm on the outside. On the inside was a completely different story. His heart had raced and his temperature had risen significantly. He'd even felt a stirring that he wasn't really comfortable acknowledging.

As a matter of fact, he was becoming breathless thinking about it right now.

NO! This wasn't happening!

Hanzo took a deep breath to calm himself. This was all much simpler than he was making it. What he really needed to do was go to the man and find out what was wrong.

The archer knocked on the McCree's door and was a little surprised to see that he was there.

A huge grin appeared on the cowboy's face. "Had a feelin' it was you. Long time no see."

So, apparently there really was nothing wrong. Well, aside from the fact that the man's smile nearly floored him.

"Hello," was all Hanzo could say at the moment.

"Hey," seemed to be the only thing McCree could say.

The two just stood there like idiots for a while.

"Sorry. Come in," McCree finally said.

Hanzo only walked far enough into the room for McCree to shut the door behind him. He was beginning to wish he'd brought along something that could keep his hands occupied, but since he hadn't, he folded his arms and simply stood there. Upon glancing about McCree's room, he noted that the gunman only had one chair, much like his own room.

"What brings ya by?" McCree asked.

Ah. The bowman had almost forgotten why he was there. And he already knew that the easiest way to get something out of the cowboy was to be straight forward. "Have you been avoiding me?" It was like de ja vu. Not that long ago McCree had asked him the same thing.

"Yeah, I have."

How blunt these Americans could be.

"I didn't wanna pressure ya. Wanted to give ya some time to think about everything that's been happenin'. And I didn't wanna seem too pushy."

Well, he could have at least allowed himself to be seen. What had he done? Hide in his room for the past few days? Hanzo had searched high and low for the cowboy, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of him. He'd tried to find McCree in his usual group of jokesters, but he'd been in none of their usual hangouts. Hanzo had even tried to find him in his 'poetry corner' outside. The only place he hadn't checked was his room.

Okay, so Hanzo had needed time to process everything, but that didn't mean that the cowboy should disappear completely.

"I see," was all Hanzo said.

"Did ya think about what I told ya?"

That McCree 'kinda' liked him. It was all that had been on his mind for the past few days. "Yes," Hanzo told him.

"Good. Anyway, I'm hopin' ya'd like to maybe hang out with me. I know we don't know that much about each other, so I figured we could start. Gettin' to know each other, that is."

"I thought that was what we were doing. The whole 'friends' thing," Hanzo said.

Why was he being this way? Hanzo knew he'd been thinking about this since they met in his room. Why couldn't he just be straight forward like he was with his questions?

"Ain't you a sassy little thing. And here I thought you were all noble and sophisticated. I think I kinda like that side of ya."

There was that phrase 'kinda like' again. Hanzo really wanted to clear that up, but he wasn't sure how. He could just ask the cowboy what he meant. That straight forward approach seemed to work well. But when it came to asking something like that, he was much too embarrassed.

"Well, ain't ya gonna sit down? Let's talk," McCree said.

Hanzo wordlessly took a seat on the lone chair in the room while McCree sat on the bed. What did he want to talk about, Hanzo wondered. The bowman didn't really want to talk about the past. That was one of the things he hated most. He just couldn't do it. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he could simply hand out the details of his checkered past at a time like this.

"What's yer favorite color?" McCree asked.

Was this guy for real?

The archer answered anyway. "I suppose it depends on the day."

"I like that. That's a really cool answer," McCree said with a nod. "Mine's red."

The cowboy really was serious. But it was nice that he was keeping things simple.

"Do ya like music?"

Hanzo raised his eyebrows. Who didn't like music? But it was still nice and simple and he could appreciate that. "I do."

"Are ya as open to music as ya are to colors?"

"I...like classical music."

McCree nodded again. "That's kinda romantic. Well, maybe we can teach each other about the music we like. I like country and western."

Hanzo shook his head. "No, thank you. I don't care for country."

The taller man frowned. "Really? Not even the original stuff? I mean, I know that the more recent stuff takes some gettin' used to, but a lot of the stuff from way, way back was like listenin' to a western. Ya seem to like westerns, considerin' ya liked my poems."

"I suppose..."

"Great! Then that's settled. I'll teach you about the country and western classics and you'll teach me about classical in general."

Hanzo frowned. McCree was asking all the questions. He wondered if it made him seem disinterested.

"Like any sports? Of course ya do. Archery. But do ya like anything else?"

"I enjoy swimming and boating."

"Cool. I like swimmin' too. Ya can teach me the rest. And I can teach ya about basketball and billiards."

As McCree was thinking, Hanzo finally worked up the nerve to ask a question. "Have you been with a man before?"

Well, so much for keeping things nice and simple. This would definitely disrupt their easygoing mood. And he'd been the one who didn't want to bring up the past.

McCree looked a little surprised.

To be honest, Hanzo was surprised that he chose to ask that kind of question as well. "I only ask because you say you like me, yet you seem like more of a... 'ladies' man'."

The cowboy grinned. "Well, that sounded a lot like a compliment. Thank ya. But yeah, I been with a few men in my day."

And of course, McCree was waiting for him to answer the question. Hanzo had never been with a man before. But some of his female companions had brought out curiosities in him. They'd talked him into letting them use toys. That, of course, didn't count. Besides, it was a long time ago. Short answer: "I have not."

"So, mind if I ask if yer thinkin' about bein' with a man now?"

Hanzo blushed. He had asked the question in hopes of getting information out of McCree. But it looked like he'd left himself open to have McCree get information out of him.

"I...had never thought about it. No man has ever been interested in me until now," the archer told him.

"I kinda find that hard to believe."

Hanzo felt his face and ears become hotter still and he started hating himself for asking the question.

"Sorry. I don't wanna pressure ya," McCree said, looking away. "I just got a li'l excited that ya might be considerin'...bein' with me."

The archer saw a faint blush staining McCree's cheeks as well and the cowboy seemed to be staring longingly at his hat, which was across the room on a hat rack. Maybe he wished that he was wearing it so he could hide his face.

Hanzo had never answered McCree's question, though. Was the bowman thinking about being with a man now? "I...," was all Hanzo could say.

"Sorry," McCree said again. "Guess I am kinda pressurin' ya. Want me to leave?"

"McCree, we are in YOUR room," Hanzo said, looking at the cowboy strangely.

"Oh, yeah. Well, if ya wanna leave, I understand."

Hanzo stared at the taller man, amazed by how flustered he was. If Hanzo were to leave now, wouldn't that leave a bad impression? He didn't want McCree to feel bad, even though it was Hanzo who'd brought up the subject. "If you will allow me to stay, I would like to stay."

McCree looked at Hanzo, surprise apparent on his face. "You really wanna stay?"

The archer nodded. "We can talk more."

McCree smiled. "Okay."

Sure, Hanzo enjoyed quiet. Sure, he would have saved himself a lot of embarrassment if he returned to his solitude. But there was something about being there with the gunman that he...liked.