"Where is your home?" Hanzo asked, not looking up from washing off his plate, cleaning up after enjoying a quiet dinner of home cooked ramen - none of that cheap imitative stuff, the kind from Hanzo's home land that always managed to fill him with a pleasant sense of nostalgia - with Kaella.
After arriving at the Watchpoint from the beach everyone expected to have to hop into action, evil doesn't rest after all, but after Athena reported no activity that the local authorities couldn't handle for the time being; so the Overwatch group returned to their rooms for some well deserved rest.
Kaella and Jesse had gone on a few dates, spending as much time with each other as humanly possible. Jack even placed them together when sent on missions, which he refused to do until Kaella had made a show of only being able to use her human abilities with only a dash of extra power. She had selected an interesting ability for her special ability, she called it "Soul Magic"
"Gives me the power ta' grab someone's soul and throw 'em around like a rag doll." She explained with a glint in her eye.
Winston didn't know what to make of her Southern slang. Hanzo wasn't sure if the scientist believed in the existence of souls to begin with, there was no concrete evidence of their presence after all. But after a few moments of contemplative silence the ape seem to decide that it was a good thing either way.
After their missions Kaella would bid Jesse a fond farewell and follow Hanzo back to his room, he didn't know why the infuriating woman refused to go to her own room, or even Jesse's for that matter, when asked she would merely smile and shrug innocently.
"Since 'm here might as well make the soul bond a lil' more bearable."
It infuriated Hanzo to no end, he already had a hard enough time not growling and snapping at the cowboy whenever he spoke to the Japanese man. Why did she have to insist on following Hanzo to his room? Surely she should be following Jesse, they were in a relationship for kami's sake! It was highly unseemly for a taken woman to be sleeping in the same room as another man, it didn't matter if she was in the front room on the couch and he in his bed; Kaella's continued presence in his constant proximity was, simply put, wrong. Hanzo was all too willing to endure the near painful pulling on his chest if it meant he wouldn't have to interact with her, or her cowboy.
Hanzo had to repress another growl of frustration at his train of thoughts.
Now, Kaella jerked her head up from her phone, eyeing the archer warily. "Whadda' ya mean?"
Hanzo sighed in exasperation, putting the plates up in the cabinet, surely she wasn't intending to play coy. He supposed it would be hard to pin-point exactly where Kaella had grown up as he had no idea to what age an Akarai was considered a child.
"Where did you grow up?"
Kaella bit her lip, furrowing her brows. "I guess it would be Oklahoma. Back when I was born it weren't nothin' but grass and tress. Horses and coyotes runnin' free all around..." Hanzo leaned on the doorway when she trailed off, she had a faraway look in her eyes and was chewing on her lower lip.
Oklahoma. Hanzo nearly snorted at the idea, truly a southern woman, all things considered.
She suddenly looked up, eyes full of fear. "Hanzo, I needa' show you somethin'..." She trailed off and he raised an eyebrow in question.
With a wave of her hand Okkin appeared, this time the she-wolf was much much larger, her shoulders were only a few feet away from the ceiling.
Hanzo felt the color drain from his face, if Okkin was this large it was not good news for Kaella's mental stability. Was there any way to counteract the steady downward spiral Kaella was falling into? He remembered her mentioning the mental stability in which the elders found peace, but how had they managed such a feat that seemed entirely possible for the remaining Akarai. "Onna, what does this mean?"
"It's bad that's for damn sure!" She snapped, eyeing the wolf in front of her warily, Okkin seemed to pick up on this and a gleam flared in the she-wolfs eyes. She turned to face Kaella, lips pulled back in a malicious grin.
Hanzo's brow furrowed in confusion, the wolf seemed like it was about to attack Kaella. He knew that once she had enough strength, the wolf would take over Kaella's mind, but did that entail her actually fighting her master?
Kaella visibly tensed, the tendons in her neck popped out as she grit her teeth. "She's pickin' up on my state of unrest, if nothin' changes she ain't gonna hold off on takin' over much longer."
Hanzo pursed his lips, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought. "Will she physically attack you when she is ready to make an attempt on your mind?"
Kaella nodded stiffly.
"Will it be a true battle?- Not just in your mind?"
Another nod.
He sighed, eyeing the beast cautiously. "Does McCree know of the beasts progress?"
She shook her head. "I thought bein' with him would help! But seems like she's only growin' faster.. But that's not the point, Hanz, if she... If she takes over.. I.." She hesitated, looking down and drawing in a deep breath to steady herself. When she looked back up at him he saw the determination in her eyes.
"I want you to be the one to put me six feet under."
Hanzo's breath stuck in his throat, he knew he should be impervious to whatever demand the Akarai had, but he simply wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had to kill Kaella, they had grown close over the year she had been spending with him. Despite his irritation and constant avoidance of her presence whenever possible, he still felt that all too familiar pull to be close to her, and as such, - combined with her infuriating persistence to invade his personal space - they had developed a rather unique bond.
Hanzo thought for a moment over the past year. Kaella had begun meditating with him, Genji and Zenyatta in the mornings, but as time wore on Hanzo found himself craving to be less crowded during meditation, his brother and their shared past clouding his thoughts constantly drove him to frustration. So he and Kaella had quietly began meditating on the roof of his room in the mornings, her quiet presence easing his heart, filling him with peace and the stability he needed to sort out any issues plaguing his thoughts.
Kaella often encouraged him to delve into the darkened portions of his thoughts - gently, of course - guiding him through the necessary processes in order to, piece by piece, restore his shattered psyche. Hanzo found himself discovering an unprecedented amount of peace within his mind, able to confront the absolutely abhorrent actions of his past and whittling away at the issue until it dispelled into nothing; shattered like glass into glittering particles, floating away in the wind and washing into the ocean, never to be seen again.
He was unendingly grateful to his ever-present companion for her guidance. When she wanted to, Kaella would ease his mind with wisdom that rivaled even that of Zenyatta's, wisdom that he knew she struggled to consider herself. Zenyatta and she had disappeared on several occasion to attempt guided meditation for her warped mind, but every time, Okkin had appeared and snarled away the attempts. Leaving an awful pressure in his chest when they returned and he saw Kaella's dark expression, she would excuse herself for the day and hide away in her own room, only reappearing several days later when called to mission.
Seeing the Akarai in such a state of distress threw Hanzo into his own state of unease, worry for his companion clouding his thoughts and ushering agitated, quipped responses to his team that he would sigh at, and apologize for before excusing himself to calm down with a cup of tea.
Hanzo was not one to deny his feelings so vehemently on any usual matter, but the positively confounding feelings plaguing him, that he shoved down with a force that shocked even him, could not be brought to light. Even if Kaella were not in a committed relationship with their mutual Southern friend, how could he not be sure these feelings were not just symptoms of the bond they shared? Would it matter if they weren't? Kaella was immortal after all, she would be forever frozen in a state of youth and he would grow old and wither away. He could not put her already broken psyche through such an agony, it was already close to snapping. Spiderweb cracks splintering her thoughts as though someone was tap tap tapping away at it with a single nail.
Hanzo had a sudden thought, it might not help much, but Kaella had proven to him time and time again that even a milometer of progress could trigger leaps and bounds racing towards stability and safety. It would be a good start.
"Would you like to visit your homeland?" Hanzo inquired softly, his homeland would be of no comfort to him in such a situation. Kaella had agreed to the fact when he had spoken it during one of their early morning meditation sessions, too much pain was associated with the cherry blossom dotted land. Even thinking about it now, he shuddered at the memory of pink petals, stained with blood and sticking to his skin in a sickly way.
Kaella's eyes widened, and he shuttered when he saw the surge of disbelief and happiness flood her features. He felt a jolt of satisfaction that he quickly quashed at the knowledge that he was the cause for such elation. Okkin whipped her head back to look at Hanzo, hatred dripping from the guttural sound emanating from her throat.
Kaella stood, quickly dismissing her spirit, and walked over to Hanzo. Eyes bright and full of hope that had his chest twisting in an almost painful way. "D'ya really mean it? I'd love to see home again!"
Hanzo smiled despite himself, he nodded once and she squealed with glee, bouncing in place for a moment before flinging her arms around his neck in a loving hug.
He was shocked at the embrace, before he returned it wholeheartedly. Wrapping his arms around her slender waist Hanzo buried his nose into her loose black locks, she smelled like cigarettes and rain during a thunderstorm; petrichor, he decided the scent was. It was intoxicating and he didn't feel like pulling away. She seemed to share the sentiment as she merely squeezed him tighter, he felt her small frame exhale in a relaxed sigh, and when he opened his eyes he saw Lokiv sitting on the coffee table, purring lightly and looking on at the two with a glint in his green eye. Hanzo swore the feline took up more space than usual.
Kaella pulled back but refused to remove her arms from his neck and he his arms from the resting place on the small of her back. Hanzo couldn't discern why for the life of him he wasn't able to control his actions as well as he had been, but it felt comfortable, and right to hold the small woman like this; leaning against the wall, her bright smile beaming up at him like the last half of the sun peaking over the ocean at the days end, warming his soul and washing over him in a pleasant hum.
Hanzo considered the brief thought of how utterly nonthreatening she looked, while she was vicious and merciless on the battle field- he had seen it to be true -she offered a kind and welcoming smile to anyone she met that did not pose a threat. She was as kind as could be to those her needed her protection, while challenging and teasing to those that could hold their own. Offering wisdom, and moments of calm reassurances to those seeking her advice. He repressed a chuckle, only Genji preferred his masters wisdom at this point, whereas before Kaella's arrival the other Overwatch agents sought out Zenyatta's wisdom for whatever it was ailing their minds. Genji did not intend any offense by doing so, he just had a closer bond to the eerily calm omnic than Kaella, and she did not seem bothered in the least by his preference.
Hanzo was struck with the incredible urge to kiss her, her eyes were half-lidded, full lips spread in a soft smile, her chest pressed against his in an achingly comforting way.
He could do it, and he was certain he did not give a damn whether he would regret it or she would reject him. But she was involved with the cowboy, and while Hanzo despised it, he would respect the relationship they had. He was nothing if not honorable.
Kaella giggled, pulling him from his thoughts and gently kissed his nose, before skipping off to pack a bag, telling him to go and tell Winston of their plans.
Hanzo shook his head, desperately trying to quell the enticing thoughts of chasing after her, pinning her against a wall and marking her as his own. Kaella needed him to be strong, needed him to be an unwavering pillar during her time of stress.
With a sigh, Hanzo pushed himself off the wall and exited the room to go and speak with the ape.
They were on a train. Why, out of all the possible transportation Kaella could have chosen, why did she choose a train?
Kaella's ability to phase through time and space was no secret, Hanzo himself having known of the Akarai's unique power before the others had. Kaella had indeed made no attempts at hiding the extent of her power to him. Transformation, time travel, miraculous healing abilities, space travel- not outer space- and soul magic, - whatever the hell that was - being a mere few of her abilities. Hanzo wasn't sure he had seen the full extent of her powers yet.
And yet, with all of these unearthly abilities, Kaella had insisted on taking the train.
Hanzo did not relish the idea of riding on a train, while a pleasant scenic route, the tight confines of the transport hindered his archery. Leaving him with only his hands as a means of defense, he had Storm Bow and its quiver carefully tucked away in an instrument case, of course. But the weapon would be rendered ineffective if the two ended up having to fight on the train, his skills were not so little as to be entirely useless with the bow in such a situation, but he preferred to not use it in close quarters.
"I wanna savor my ride back home, wanna be able to enjoy the sights. 'F I use my warp ability I'll be all tuckered out." Kaella explained as they boarded the train and heading towards their shared suite, apparently sensing his train of thought, snapping Hanzo's attention to her.
"How did-"
"Ye make the same face whenever Mei comes on a mission." She interrupted with a giggle.
It was true, Mei was terribly prone to awful bouts of altitude sickness, forcing them to take ground transportation when they could afford it, or heavily sedate the young woman during flight.
Hanzo did not appreciate delays when it came to a mission, often times stealing some of his fellow agents kills in order to finish the mission quickly and return to the Watchpoint so he might meditate, or speak to Kaella when she was not with him on such a mission, which was a very rare occurrence. Winston deemed it best to keep the pair together, Kaella herself proving to be an expert marksman with a bow she summoned from the dredges of the void; though Hanzo knew Winston was merely fearful of what could happen should Kaella loose control and he not be present to stop her.
He sniffed, stepping into their suite with Kaella. She had assured him she paid for the suite during their three day trip legally, but Hanzo was almost sure the funds had been summoned or created in the void.
As he set his bag down, and shrugged Stormbow's case from his shoulders, Hanzo thought about the sick tally system the member of Overwatch had.
It was a game to them, a perverse, cruel game. Each agent sent on a mission would count how many kills they accumulated, and at the end of each mission comparing numbers to see who had the most. Before Kaella joined their group, Hanzo would almost always achieve the highest number, his skills as an assassin vastly outweighed the majority of the others own skills, though it did not make them any less formidable in a battle. The only ones who seemed capable of beating his scores were Hana with her mech, Jack, and the cowboy himself.
Truly it was a sickening sport, one that brought them no pleasure other than to puff out their chests in pride and boast their superior skills. But, Hanzo decided that it was the only way to cope with being trained killers. Yes, they could tell themselves it was for the good of the world, that they were helping save innocent lives by ridding the Earth of such remorseless killers, but Hanzo often wondered how different they truly were. Of course, their motives were polar opposites, while Overwatch protected the lives of those uninvolved, Talon simply did not care. They merely sought to make money, and accumulate power.
Hanzo sighed, in the end, they were all murderers. And while he had learned to deal with the guilt of taking lives long ago, feeling nothing as his arrows pierced the skulls of his targets, cutting off any cries of alarm and watching the light fade from their eyes; he often wondered how the younger, innocent members coped. Lena, he could not understand no matter how many different ways he attempted to consider her bubbly, cheerful outlook. Her aptitude for remaining hopeful and happy through the worst situations - and she had seen many - reminded him of a kettle overflowing with boiling water.
He shook his head, dispersing the dark and morose thoughts. Hanzo looked at to see Kaella leaning against the window, elbows resting on the sill. He could see her eyes glinting with anticipation as Gibraltar quickly faded from view.
Hanzo pondered on the plight of the Akarai. Doomed to insanity, unless they somehow found this mythical harmony that he was sure only the omnics Zenyatta had spent most of his existence in the company of, had been able to achieve. He understood such a fate, immortal creatures with immeasurable power, doomed to walk the planet and watch the world destroy itself only to rebuild and begin anew countless times.
He considered Kaella exceptionally strong willed however, grasping onto Lokiv's presence whenever she could like a life line, despite having reached the state of mind in which she would've been slaughtered by her kind, and continuing to retain some semblance of sanity. Hanzo himself knew how difficult it was to turn against ones own kin, he hadn't even been able to properly finish the gruesome task of cutting down his brother, set to him by the elders of the clan, and yet, Kaella had managed to annihilate her entire kind. Perhaps she saw more clearly than Hanzo gave her credit for, she recognized her own madness, her own kin's insanity, a truly impressive feat that not many in her position would be able to achieve. Apparently being a trained killer from the moment she could walk left Kaella with little room for remorse when it came to her family's fate.
Hanzo felt his heart twist painfully in his chest at the thought, all his attention diverted to soothing the ache; strong willed or not, if nothing chained, Kaella would befall the same fate as hundreds before her.
"Yer starin'." He was jarred out of his thoughts - his carefully smoothed heart leaping at being shoved by the woman his thoughts had occupied moments ago.
On instinct, Hanzo grabbed her wrist as he fell back, spinning to pin her beneath him on the bed with her arms held tightly above her head.
Kaella's eyes went wide and he smirked, allowing the surge of enjoyment at the flustered blush spreading across her cheeks. She hissed at him, struggling as he chuckled at the adorable attempt. He knew if she truly wanted him away she would simply phase out of existence and reappear somewhere else, she was playing coy with him and he was powerless to deny himself the pleasure of indulging in the game of cat and mouse set before him.
Hanzo felt a surge of pure happiness and enjoyment. Toying with the slender woman beneath him, he was not afraid to admit he had grown rather fond of the deadly creature - though he would vehemently deny any further feelings, even to himself. Kaella's Southern drawl sounded like honey, sweet and endearing as it washed over him, lulling him into a defenseless, open state of being. He was the first one she turned to with her concerns, always curious about the things he enjoyed or whatever he was doing. Hanzo considered her clingy at first, often snapping at her to get out of the way or leave him alone, but with time, Kaella proved to be a wise companion, using remedies passed on through her kind to heal any ailments her friends had acquired, offering him advice when he needed it. She had even come to appreciate silence, preferring to read a novel or play a game while Hanzo went about his day.
Indeed, Kaella was a wonderful companion.
She stopped struggling, huffing and glaring at him with barely concealed contempt; though he did notice the flash of mirth in her eyes.
He felt something flutter in his stomach, heard the pounding of blood in his ears. On any normal day, Hanzo would chaulk it up to the rush before a battle; but there was no mercenaries before him. Just a girl, barely withholding a smile and obviously flirting with him in her unintentional way.
What was this feeling? Of course he knew, but he would never admit it. It had to be something else... Anything else...
After a moment Kaella's features drew into a serious frown, she sighed and nodded for Hanzo to sit next to her. Sensing a serious topic at hand, he deftly moved to the side, allowing her to sit up and twiddle her thumbs in her lap.
"I broke it off with Jesse.."
Hanzo balked at her confession, utter confusion invading his thoughts, as well as another sense that he desperately tried to beat into submission, but in-spite of his efforts, it pushed it's way to the surface, hope making his traitorous heart begin to race. "Why?" He whispered in disbelief.
Kaella drew her knees up to her chest, cradling them in her arms. "I... Don't get me wrong, I love Jesse. He's a comforting reminder of home and simpler times, but Okkin-" She cut herself off, biting her lip. "Okkin attacked him..."
Hanzo's brow furrowed. "Out with it, what happened?" He spat with more impatience than he'd intended.
Kaella's visible wince shot a pang of guilt straight to his heart. "We... Well, let's just say we were involved in certain activities.." She shot him a meaningful look that made Hanzo's blood boil, he had to bite his tongue to force down the scathing words on his lips. "And uh... Well in the heat o' it, I looked up and she was just standin' there, lookin' pissed as hell and when Jesse noticed and said somethin' about me needin' to wear a cross to ward off evil spirits she went after him." Kaella shook her head. "I ain't ever seen her so furious, she was ready to rip the damn cowboy to absolute shreds."
Hanzo felt no small amount of satisfaction, mentally noting to thank the wolf for her convenient inconvenience.
"I got rid o' her just before she could lay into him. But Jesse and I sat down for a long talk, we both agreed that while we work real well together, we weren't meant to be together..." She trailed off, biting her lower lip and Hanzo got the sense that there was more to what had transpired than what she was telling him.
Hanzo's breath caught in his throat as a sudden thought came to him.
Could it be that they had decided such a fate because Kaella harbored feelings for him? He couldn't stop the train of thoughts following the question.
Could she... Could Kaella possibly? No no, it wasn't possible. He told himself firmly, their mutual fondness for each other was nothing more than that: fondness. They shared a bond through the Kami no Hoseki and that was all... But what if it was? What if Okkin had attacked McCree because the wolf spirit knew of where Kaella's true endearments lie? Hanzo was beyond believing undeserving of such a thing from her. Kaella had been there through every awful decision and heart wrenching event in his life, she had committed atrocities that rivaled his own; she had even made a point of telling Hanzo that she bore no ill will towards him for the cruelties he had been forced to commit.
But what if Kaella's feelings were mere symptoms of their shared bond? It would not surprise him. Hanzo had worried himself ragged over the possibilities of his own -albeit quelled- feelings being as such. Yet, she had told him before of the occasions in which she had killed the holder of the Kami no Hoseki after years of service to its holder. He would not be shocked if she had merely pushed through the feelings clouding her judgement to free herself from being bound to its holder.
Hanzo's brow furrowed further as he looked at the Akarai currently worrying her lower lip. He could not remember a time where he ever ordered her to restrain herself from taking the pendant from him, which begged a question he felt he desperately needed to know the answer to.
"Onna, why have you never attempted to take your necklace from me? I do not recall ever having given you an order to not do so."
Kaella jumped at his question, her expression contorting in sheer panic. "I..." She looked away, licking her lips, her breathing becoming uneven and he narrowed his eyes. Attempting and failing to calm the erratic beating of his heart. The pitter patter of rain on the metal train and dark, furious storm clouds darkening the day outside their window mirrored the rising battle within his heart.
Hanzo had stumbled on something he hadn't been meant to stumble upon, that much was clear from Kaella's reaction. It spurred on an excitement in his chest, finally he held something over the all powerful creature, an infallible beast that was suddenly looking like her life depended on a question he was not meant to ask. Kaella expression looked all too much like a fearful feline, cornered with no escape by a hungry wolf, and he found himself repressing a growl at finding himself a particularly juicy bit of prey.
She was scared. And Hanzo found that he enjoyed the prospect of instilling such panic in the woman, a mine field that shuddered with every step he took, danger kicking his senses into high gear as he trod carefully. It thrilled him, pushed him to discover what was hidden away in the depths of her mind.
He always did enjoy the chase.
Kaella's eyes darted around in a desperation as she slowly lowered her feet to touch the floor. Hanzo withheld a growl as he tried to push down the strong, primal cries in his soul that recognized the erratic behavior of a prey animal searching for an escape, urging him to cage his prey in and force an answer from her.
Hanzo had to get a grip on himself.
Hanzo sucked in a breath as he looked over her lithe figure, her hair free to fall where it may from it's usual braid. Clad in a form fitting black athletic tank top showed off her hourglass figure, fashionable red leggings with black geometric designs running along them except for where the mesh cut through the fabric along the side and around the backs of her calves, the thin clothing accentuated her curves, her ankle boots had been kicked off in favor of meandering around in soft black socks when they had entered the suite.
Lightening flickered angrily outside, washing the room briefly in white. The crash of another bolt brightened the room further, lighting Kaella's fearful features which had been difficult to read in the low lighting of the suite.
His breath hitched when she looked at him. How could he have not noticed those beautiful eyes before? Blue/grey iris' soothed his flailing heart, and at the same time drowned him in a sea of uncertainty. He had always known what color they were, but he had never allowed himself to look long enough to truly delve into their depths. They threatened to entrance him with their wide, panic induced gaze, he knew what he saw there. Kaella was silently begging him to let the question go unanswered, pleading with him desperately to never speak of it again. It struck his heart with uncertainty.
He shouldn't be doing this, he should just apologize for broaching what was clearly a sensitive subject for her, and let it drop.
He could do that, Hanzo could just murmur a quick apology to her and excuse himself to shower and rid himself of the absolutely sinful thoughts clouding his mind, making his eye lids fall halfway, and yet...
Thunder rolled as his gaze traveled to her neck, keen eyes picked up on the slight fluttering of her skin where her pulse seemed to increase just under her jawline, practically begging him to lean in and sink his teeth into the soft flesh there. Hanzo could hear the soft mewls she would sing to him, praises rolling off her tongue at an unprecedented rate as he-
He shook himself, growling low in his throat. He could not fall to these thoughts now! Not after pushing them down for months, and yet, his efforts to quell his quickly rising heart rate slammed to a complete halt when her parted lips drew in a quick breath, the stench of fear feeding his predatory urges.
Hanzo could not fight the urges any longer, pride and fears be damned.
Kaella yelped as he swung himself on top of her gracefully, one hand easily holding her wrists above her head. Hanzo felt the thunder roll and shake the train with a great shudder, urging him on, spurring him into action. He had to know, he simply had to. There were no consequences that could have affected him if Kaella had simply taken the necklace in the night while he slept, despite his vigilance even when sleeping, Kaella had displayed that she was more than capable of making out like a bandit with the small treasure.
What was it that kept her tied to him?
Hanzo saw her look away, ducking her head and whimpering with her eyes shut. He saw the tell tale shudder in her outline and he all but snarled, "you will not use your powers to escape me!"
Kaella's eyes flew wide open and she looked at him fearfully, trembling. It was a low blow: using the Kami no Hoseki to force an answer from her. But Hanzo was tired of her always dancing around the truth, never giving him a straight answer, never satisfying his gnawing curiosity. Just this once he would corner her; just this once he would offer no escape, no hope of leading him on, no more games.
"Answer me, onna! Why did you not simply take the Kami no Koseki when you had the chance!" His voice was rising, making her squirm and whimper in attempts to free herself. Without her powers, she was hopeless to escape, he saw tears were streaming down her temples and cheeks now, the tugs to free her wrists were weak and shaky at best. Hanzo was stronger than her human form would allow her to be, she had no choice but answer. He felt his chest twist with the knowledge that whatever she was hiding was very very important to her, something she desperately wanted to keep hidden. After she told him, he would apologize for forcing her to respond, he would make it up to her in any way she asked, hell he would give back the jewel if that's what it took for her to forgive him for this.
But he had to know.
"Answer me now!" He roared.
"Because I didn't want to leave you!"
He froze. "What?"
She had stopped struggling, looking up at him with an expression of pure loss. "I didn't want to leave you! Hanzo I.." She looked away, squeezing her eyes shut. "I wanted to stay with you! I-I still do! I just.. I just never thought you'd accept me! Hanzo w-we.." She trailed off and he growled.
"Out with it!"
"Hanzo, you're my mate! You're the one I'm meant to be with for life!" His stunned silence seemed to spur her on. "When you told me about the pull you felt whenever I was gone, I knew right then and there that you were my mate! T-the p-pull you felt isn't from the Kami no Hoseki! B-but I didn't want to force it on you b-because i-it's so rare for an Akarai to be mated with a h-human, a-and we could only be mated if you- if both of us wanted it! A-and I n-never thought you would s-so I j-just accepted it and t-tried to be w-with someone else, y-you don't even have to accept it now! I-I-I just-"
Hanzo cut off her stuttering, mindless, panicked rambling by crushing her lips with his own.
Kaella gasped, her lips were soft and supple and her mouth was so very warm against his own as he explored the hot space with his tongue. Hanzo growled against her lips, a guttural, primitive sound that he was slightly ashamed of. She whimpered, sweet and submissive in response. His self control went flying out the window.
Hanzo rumbled, pulling her to rest fully on the bed. He would set her straight before he well and truly claimed her as his, the incredible, muscle-weakening feeling washing over his senses like waves of unadulterated relief reminding him of how fearful the soft, pliant creature beneath him was.
He pulled back, hodded eyes drinking in her panting form. Arms pinned above her head, pink dusting across her tear stained cheeks, lips red and puffy from the crushing kiss. Hanzo rumbled with the need to kiss the streaks away, and he did just that while muttering reassurances to her.
"Onna," a kiss on her cheek. "I have been battling my own-" Another kiss. "-feelings for you for some time." Another, this time on the other cheek, the saltiness he tasted making his chest clench painfully. He had caused that.
"If you will still have me, I do wish for you to be my mate. I have been burying my feelings in fear of rejection." He chuckled at the irony. "It seems we were both fools."
Kaella looked at him in stunned silence, eyes welling up with more tears that made him panic for a moment before he saw the slightest of nods.
That was all Hanzo needed.
With a snarl he was on her, releasing her wrists to dip into her neck. She mewled as he kissed the pale skin, it was softer than he had imagined countless times when he allowed himself to, late at night, only himself to keep him company and unable to banish the carnal desires crawling up his spine. Thinking back on it, he had not buried his desires very well.
Kaella positively purred beneath him, leaning her head to give him better access to her neck. Hanzo inhaled her scent greedily, cigarettes and petrichor, with a tinge of salt that he was determined to erase.
Hanzo peppered her neck with kisses, moving up to nip at her ear lobe, eliciting a full-body shiver from her that went straight to his groin. "Mine." He growled low in her ear before moving his lips to brush once over her pulse, then sinking his teeth into the soft flesh there.
Kaella gasped, going limp beneath him. The dragons stirred beneath his skin, urging him to take his mate as his own, mark her for everyone to see - and hear - just who this woman belonged to.
"H-Hanzo?" Her voice was soft, shuddering. A quiet plea for his attention.
He hummed against her skin, content for the time being to hold her close to him and nuzzle her neck. Kaella sighed in happily, a feather light kiss brushed across his cheek and he couldn't help the breathy sigh that escaped him.
"As much as I'd love to do... This... Can we wait until we get home?"
Hanzo nearly groaned with frustration, he desperately wanted to ignore her request. But he was an honorable man, he could never force another being into something of this nature, and he had already forced enough from her this evening. Hanzo believed a woman never needed to explain herself for not wanting to indulge in such desires, sometimes it was fear, sometimes it was irrational thoughts connected to anxieties; whatever the reason, she needn't explain herself.
Despite his desires clouding his thoughts, Hanzo could feel the pull of exhaustion creeping up on him, so he pulled away and nodded.
Kaella beamed at him, leaning up to kiss his lips gently before wriggling away to prepare for sleep and change into clothes she could sleep in.
They went about their nightly routine as they did every night, only with far more contact. When they passed each other so he could shower after she finished, she stole a kiss. When he stepped out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth and caught her slipping into a pair of fuzzy, Christmas themed pants he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest briefly to kiss her head.
When they finished, they curled up in the bed together, her back pressed against his chest and her long, inky hair thrown over the top of her pillow to keep it from choking or strangling him in his sleep. With his nose pressed into the nape of her neck and an arm curled protectively around her stomach, her comforting scent lulled Hanzo into a deep, dreamless sleep.
A/N:
AND SO IT BEGINS MUAHAHAHAHAHA
I am so sorry I took so long to update this, writers block is a bitch. ;-;
Also, I have an AO3 account! (Archive of Our Own) if you wanna check me out on there I'd greatly appreciate it! The only story on there currently is "Found In The Snow" Which I shall be updating shortly after this! Here's a link to my profile. /users/Bun_Bun_Kaella
As always, thank you for reading! You are all amazing and I appreciate every single one of you! Thank you for your amazin'ness.
P.S. I'm planning on ripping your fuckin' hearts out.