#he's a space cowboy with a fancy hat and a revolver

[dragon-64]

ROBOT COWBOY

[overwatchworks]

Love and Rage:

Chapter 3

"Goddamn." Jesse coughed, clutching his stomach but still grinning.

"You sneaky bastard. You’re pretty damn strong there, sugar, might wanna take it a bit easier on lil' ole me."

"You saying you can't take it?"

"I'm just sayin' be careful. I'd like to keep my ribs intact, thank you very much."

The next night seemed to come slowly for Genji. Perhaps it was because he was looking forward to something for once, or perhaps it was just another slow day. Genji wandered into the practice rooms, dark and devoid of anyone except Jesse, just like last night. Jesse was just setting up a shooting range, a half smoked cigarette hanging from his lips, and he tilted his head in Genji's direction when he heard him walk in.

"Fancy meetin' you here, sugar." Jesse quipped with a grin, tipping his hat in an over exaggerated gesture. 

Jesse couldn't see it, but there was the edge of a smile tugging at Genji's lips under the faceplate and a little dusting of pink on his cheeks. He decided not to respond, instead taking his place in a larger range next to the cowboy, guilt tugging at him now.

"I was actually thinking we could do some sparring together. The doctor told me I should work on fine motor skills..." Genji trailed off, staring down at his clenched right hand, not remembering doing such an action.

"Oh, well alrighty then. You wanna just do hand to hand, or...?"

"You can use your weapon. I shall be using mine. Wouldn't want to give me an unfair advantage, would you?" Genji hummed, turning and striding to the center of the practice range.

"Well I'll be damned, he got sassy on me..." Genji heard Jesse mutter before he spoke up again. 

"Okay, well, you say when to start."

Genji pulled out his katana, liking the sound of the metal sliding out of its sheathe, a dangerous weapon being unleashed. He turned to Jesse, watching him pull out his revolver and flashing him a grin, turning hesitant towards the end.

"Mkay, so...Um, we haven't exactly practiced like this before...What do ya want me to do?"

Genji shrugged, sliding into a familiar defensive stance.

"Just shoot at me like you would a bot. You aren't the only one with special training, and I think I may surprise you."

Jesse raised a brow, then settled into his own stance, bringing the revolver up and moving his finger over the trigger.

"Now, you might be fast Genji, but you ain't faster than a bullet."

Genji smiled thinly under the faceplate, eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Why don't we find out?"

Genji suddenly launched himself at Jesse, seeing the cowboy's eyes widen and dance with excitement. Jesse easily moved out of the way, rolling past Genji and getting behind him, shooting twice. Genji flipped around just as fast, twisting his body away from the bullets' path and driving back towards Jesse, katana now held offensively in his grip. 

Jesse shot again twice more, this time too quick for Genji to evade them, and his left hand whipped out his wakizashi, deflecting both bullets in an instant. Jesse blinked, then a huge grin spread across his face.

"Fucking awesome."

"I know." Genji said, then he was moving in towards Jesse again, slicing the space he had just been in a moment ago. 

Jesse was faster than Genji had thought he would be, definitely more agile that he gave him credit for, but in Genji's defense, they had never sparred like this before. He was back on Jesse in an instant, swiping in tight arcs, each one missing him by a hairsbreadth. 

How was he this fast? Or perhaps Genji had just gotten slow, sloppy. Perhaps he just wasn't as good without Egg anymore. Genji grit his teeth, brows furrowing as he spun, slamming his foot into Jesse's stomach and shoving him back a few paces.

"Goddamn." Jesse coughed, clutching his stomach but still grinning. 

"You sneaky bastard. You’re pretty damn strong there, sugar, might wanna take it a bit easier on lil' ole me."

"You saying you can't take it?"

"I'm just sayin' be careful. I'd like to keep my ribs intact, thank you very much."

Genji huffed, eyes drawing back to the revolver held comfortably in Jesse's grip, raising once more as the cowboy caught his breath again. All it would take was a slip of Genji's foot, maybe a tad too much confidence in his deflection abilities. Genji ran at Jesse, spinning and slashing down in a quick, precise stroke, Jesse slipping out of the way just in time. 

He rolled out of range of Genji's next strike, breathing harder now, and he shot again, three times. Genji deflected the first two and stepped out of the way of the last one, spinning his katana leisurely in his hand.

"Is that all you've got? I was hoping for a challenge. It almost seems as if you are going easy on me." Genji hummed cheekily, and Jesse shrugged.

"Well, I mean, if you’re sure you want to get serious."

Genji sunk down lower, holding his blade in a two handed grip, eyes hardening in determination.

"Come on."

Jesse smiled a bit, then he was moving fast, almost faster than Genji could keep up with. He just barely managed to deflect three bullets that came his way in quick succession, backing up in surprise, and then Jesse was no longer in front of him but moving in behind him, sweeping his legs out from under him. 

Genji fell to the ground with a thud, rolling to avoid two bullets that whizzed past his ear, instead imbedding into the ground by his head. He flipped backwards and onto his feet once more, crouched now with his sword held behind him, wakizashi out in front and deflecting as Jesse fanned the hammer on him. 

That made Jesse move out of the way as the bullets came flying back at him, rolling to the side and Genji took his chance, springing up and running at the cowboy. Surely he would have to take a moment to reload, he had used up his entire round. But as Jesse stood, he was shooting again, forcing Genji to halt his attack and go back on the defense. 

Genji was watching the revolver, each bullet hitting the blade of his wakizashi with a satisfying ting before Jesse had to reload, this time pausing for a moment. Genji spun, smacking the hilt of his blade into Jesse's shoulder and kicking his legs out at the same time, about to drive the blade down before Jesse whipped the barrel of his revolver into Genji's wrist. 

Genji's aim was thrown, the blade hitting the metal flooring next to Jesse's ear instead, and Jesse scrambled back to his feet, breathing heavily while Genji recovered from the blow. Jesse shot twice more, and Genji saw his chance, stepping to the side just a little too far, setting his foot just barely out of place, eyes on the revolver the whole time. 

The force from the first bullet caused him to slip back, stumbling slightly from his bad form and losing his sure grip on the wakizashi. He saw Jesse's eyes widen in shock just before the second bullet slammed against the metal plating on his temple, vision going black before Jesse had even finished shouting his name.

~*~*~*~

Jesse watched in horror as Genji's body crumpled to the ground, katana and wakizashi falling from limp hands and clattering down next to him.

"Genji! No no, dammit!" Jesse shouted, slamming his knees into the floor in his haste to get to Genji's side. 

He rolled Genji's body over, tilting his head to the side to inspect where the bullet had hit him, a bit of blood splattering the floor by his head. The ninja's eyes were closed, body limp and head lolling in Jesse's gentle grip, and he couldn't tell if Genji was breathing, the faceplate blocking Jesse's only way of knowing. He tried to look for a rise and fall of his chest, but there was too much hard metal for him to really be able to tell anything. 

The metal on the side of Genji's head was dented, a chunk of it missing entirely, exposing some tiny wires, circuitry, and a smear of blood sticking to some of Genji's hair. Jesse scooped the ninja up, weapons forgotten in his haste, and he ran as fast as he could towards the med bay, trying not to jostle Genji too much. He opened the door with his hips, walking in backwards and swinging around carefully.

"Doc! Hey, Doc! Doctor Ziegler! Angela!" Jesse yelled, searching desperately for her and keeping Genji clutched close. 

The doctor came rushing out of her office, already dressed and ready for the day despite the time of night. Perhaps she hadn't even changed from the previous day.

"What happened?! Is that...?"

"I should have known! I should have seen it comin', he was focused on the fuckin' gun the whole time! Dammit!"

Angela's eyes widened and she went straight for an examination table, motioning for Jesse to set Genji down on it. Jesse did so, gently as he could.

"You shot him?!"

"No I didn't fuckin' shoot him! We were trainin' an' he fuckin' threw his footin' off so the bullet would catch him!"

Angela glared at Genji before hooking the wires on the back of his head to the machinery behind him, the screens on them immediately lighting up and showing numbers and symbols Jesse couldn't make heads nor tails of. The doctor then examined the wound, taking extra care of avoiding the sensitive wires sticking out of the torn metal around it.

"McCree, I'll need some time to work alone. He's still alive, if that's what you're worried about."

Jesse sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, breathing out slowly, controlled.

"Alright. Thanks doc."

The doctor didn't bother with a response, already too absorbed in her work to do anything other than wave him away. Jesse walked out of the medical ward, barely containing a scream of rage and heading back to the training room to clean up. 

He picked up Peacekeeper and holstered her, grabbing Genji's katana and wakizashi before heading back to his room. Once inside, Jesse set the weapons in a corner to give back later, then slammed the side of his fist into the wall, the blow resonating through the room.

"God fucking dammit, Genji!"

---

Despite how livid Jesse was, he was still the first one to see Genji when he woke up a few days later. The bullet had hit his temple and knocked him unconscious, the metal plating around his face what stopped the blow from going straight through his head.

"Enhanced lightweight titanium and carbon fiber alloy. It's going to take more than your bullet to get through that, but he was being ridiculous. It took a while to fix that back up! I don't know why he would try to throw away the second chance he was given like that, trying to destroy all my hard work! It's a miracle he's alive in the first place, it was stupid of him to try and die again like that!" The doctor had fumed when Jesse came into the med bay. 

He had opted to stay silent, understanding Genji a little better than she did, but still too angry to dismiss what the ninja had done entirely.

"Can I go see him now?" Jesse asked instead, and Dr. Ziegler waved her hand, storming back to her office and still grumbling about the incident. 

Jesse took that as a yes, taking a moment to calm himself before walking in to the room Genji was recovering in. The ninja was still hooked up to the machines, but he sat up when Jesse came over.

"Jesse, I figured you would come in but--"

Jesse cut him off by punching his left shoulder hard, the only part of Genji he wouldn't break his knuckles on, and Genji's body rocked to the side.

"Ow--!"

"What the fuck was that?! Using me like that, what the actual fuck, Genji?!" Jesse shouted, Genji's eyes flicking down and shoulders hunching before Jesse was pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

"You scared me to death! I would have never forgiven myself if I had done somethin' like that to you, even if it was planned on your part--and don't think I didn't catch that! God, you scared me so bad..."

Genji had stiffened in Jesse's embrace at first, but now he had completely melted into it, hugging Jesse back fiercely, fingers clutching at the back of his shirt.

"I'm sorry Jesse...I'm so sorry, please, I'm so sorry. Please don't go, please, I'm so sorry for everything...Don't leave..." Genji whispered, Jesse pulling back to look him in the eye, feeling a tug in his chest when he saw the tears streaming down Genji's face.

"Promise me, then. Promise me you won't ever do somethin' like that again. Don't you ever try an' leave me like that again. Don't ever try to pull a stunt like that again. Promise?"

Genji nodded, sniffling underneath the faceplate and letting Jesse wipe the tears away.

"I-I promise...I'm sorry Jesse, I'm so sorry for everything, please don't--Don't go again..."

All of Jesse's anger faded away at that, and he pulled Genji to his chest, hugging him tightly.

"I won't, I ain't goin' anywhere. It's okay darlin', you’re okay. I forgive you." He murmured softly, pressing a kiss to Genji's head, nose burying in the soft raven locks.

"I-I'm sorry Jesse, please forgive me, I--I love you...I love you Jesse, I love you so much..."

"S'okay darlin'...I love you too. I love you."

Genji's hands went to the back of his head, fumbling with something until there was a small hissing sound and he was unlatching his faceplate. Jesse watched as Genji pulled it off, keeping his head down and face buried to Jesse's collar, wiping at his eyes and nose.

"Sorry...I'm a mess..." He muttered, hands hovering around his exposed face almost protectively. Jesse couldn't see it, but he wanted to.

"Quit apologizing, I told you it's okay, hon. Here, lemme help you out a bit."

Jesse cupped his hand under Genji's metal-clad chin gently, raising his head to get a good look at his face, Genji not meeting his eyes. Jesse smiled when he saw his boyfriend's face again, different sure, but still just as beautiful as he had always been, still able to make his heart beat faster.

"I've been wanting to see under the mask for a while now...God, you’re so gorgeous..." Jesse murmured, Genji finally looking up with wide eyes filled with confusion and just a bit of hope.

"But I thought--"

"I know what you thought, and here's what I think."

Jesse leaned down and captured Genji's lips with his own, pressing in close when he felt Genji relax and reciprocate. He kept it chaste, pulling away a few moments later but staying close, Genji's cheeks darkening as he buried his face in the crook of Jesse's neck.

"Everything about me is so different though...The scars, the abnormalities...The flaws, the changes, how are you not repulsed by it when you knew me before...?" Genji asked shakily, and Jesse tilted his head, pulling Genji back to look at him again.

"Nah, the scars, the changes, everything about it just lets people know how strong you are, that you pulled through from something they probably never could have. You’re beautiful, darlin', beautiful because of that and because you just are, still just as pretty as a picture. That'll never change."

Jesse smiled, Genji's bottom lip trembling a bit before he leaned back in and curled up into Jesse.

"Jesse...Jesse, I love you...Thank you..."

"There's no need to thank me when it's all true, darlin'. I'm here for you...I love you, Gen."

~~