#ashezo

Had the archer done something wrong in the months after their encounter? Had Ashe regretted giving him another chance and wanted him gone? And, if not either, what was the reason for Ashe to become so distant?

With doubt clouding his judgment for hours on end, by the time night fell, Hanzo had enough. The archer needed to get to the bottom of this, and fast.

“Ashe,” Hanzo called out from the other side of Ashe’s door after giving it a few knocks. “Ashe, I know you are awake.”

Hearing shuffling from the other side of the door, Hanzo waited with his arms crossed, his gaze turning stern the moment he heard Ashe stop right at her door, noting the click of her heels coming to a halt.

“Ya know, Han,” Ashe called out before opening the door, revealing herself to have forgone her usual attire and instead sported a t-shirt and sweatpants. “I might not be goin’ to bed right now, but I’m gettin’ to pass out. So, ya better be fast.”

“I- Sorry, I just-” Hanzo cut himself off quickly and took in a deep breath, trying to calm his mind and get to the point. “You have been avoiding me the moment I stepped foot here.”

Ashe’s eyes widened a bit towards such a claim. “Han-”

“Is it something that I did wrong?” Hanzo interrupted, taking a step forward towards her. “Have you realized your mistake? Do you regret giving me a chance?”

With his chest beginning to tighten, Hanzo’s mind began to race with doubt after doubt once again, and his words started to muddle as he spoke.

While in the clan, Hanzo quick to keep it together when his doubts began to overwhelm him. Even after killing his brother and fleeing the clan, the archer never let his guard down.

But, this had been different. 

No longer was it a job given by some client, nor was it to be the perfect heir for the clan when out in public or meetings. Hanzo was confronting an old friend that he had grown up with, and the archer did not know how to handle such a situation. 

With another deep breath, Hanzo began his utterance, having not been answered by the bewildered Ashe. But, before any word fell from his lips, Hanzo was caught off guard by the woman as she pulled him down by his shirt and captured his lips into a hot and needy kiss.

Though surprised, Hanzo leaned in to reciprocate the kiss, doing his best to show the same amount of heated passion.

But, before Hanzo became too lost into the kiss, Ashe was quick in breaking it, leaving the archer a heated and panting mess.

“Ashe-”

“No, don’t.” Ashe pressed a single finger against his lips, making the man stop from what he wanted to say. 

“When you left that mornin’ all those months,” Ashe began as she slowly pulled her hand aside, her eyes not once falling away from his facade. “I was worried sick that somethin’ was gonna happen to ya, that I’d never see ya again.

And, well, to be honest, I hated feelin’ that way. I mean, it isn’t like I don’t do the same damn thing, cause I do. We’ve both done some shit, and it’s not like ya can’t protect yourself.”

Hanzo opened his mouth to try and interrupt, but Ashe stopped him once again.

“But, then, I started to realize why I was getting so worried and, God, Hanzo-” Ashe stopped herself as her lower lip began to tremble, her hand clenching into tight fists. “You’ve got no idea how much I’ve dreaded ya comin’ here.”

In that single moment, Hanzo felt his heart shatter, his eyes beginning to water. 

Dreaded.

Hanzo’s legs trembled at the thought.

She dreaded you being here, fool.

As intrusive thoughts began to cloud his mind, Hanzo took a few steady steps backward before turning his back towards the Deadlock leader, readying himself to stomp back to his room, never look back, and forget this night.

But, it seemed that Ashe had a different idea as the woman quickly wrapped her arms around his waist from behind him and pressed her forehead against his back, stopping him from escaping.

Of course, the archer could have pushed her hands away and retreated to his room as he had wanted. But, as much as Hanzo wished to go, something compelled him to stay.

Feeling Ashe’s hands start to dig into his shirt and body begin to shake, Hanzo calmly spoke, this time uninterrupted.

“Why?” Hanzo asked, his voice low and seemingly untroubled. “Why have you dreaded my arrival?”

Ashe answered with a sob, catching the archer off guard.

Of all of his time spent with Ashe, she had never been one to break down so easily. Even as children, with every scrape and bruise she got, Ashe wore with such pride.

But, compared to the pain of the physical kind, Hanzo knew that this pain that riddled in her cries were something immense. It was something that scrapes and bruises could never rival.

“Eliza-”

“I have feelings for ya,” Ashe cried out, her grip on his shirt tightening a bit. “And I don’t know what to fuckin’ do about it!”

Hearing another sob escape her, Hanzo slowly began to push her hands away gently, seeing if Ashe would protest. 

When such protest did not come, Hanzo forced her hands away from and then smoothed out his shirt before turning to face the Deadlock leader, who was currently doing her best to wipe away her tears. 

“Ashe…” Hanzo trailed off, expecting to be interrupted by the woman. But, when an interruption did not come to fruition, the archer continued. “I am sorry to have made you feel this way.”

Taking a step to close the gap between them, the archer cupped Ashe’s cheek with one hand and gently smoothed it with his thumb, causing the woman to whimper as if she were in pain.

“Han, please,” Ashe whined, doing her hardest to not lean into his touch. “You’re just making it worse.”

“And?” Hanzo questioned softly before pressing their foreheads together. “Would it be so awful for wanting those feelings fulfilled?”

Hanzo watched on as the woman bit at her lower lip, waiting for her to answer him.

Then, with a shaky breath, Ashe finally answered. “No… No, I guess not.”

“Then, I believe it is only right for me to do just that.”

In a rushed state, Hanzo leaned in and captured her lips, resuming with the same passion that he so desperately wanted to give. But, fortunately, there were no interruptions nor anything else to stop the archer.

“Oh, come on, Hanny,” Ashe teased, pressing the cloth once again onto Hanzo’s back, causing him to shudder. “You said that you needed some help, and now you’re actin’ like a brat.”

“Well, it takes one to know one,” Hanzo replied with a chuckle, which quickly earned the man a deep press from the damp cloth right after, making him curse under his breath.

“Whoops, my bad,” Ashe said with a click of her tongue. “Want me to kiss it better?”

Hanzo craned his neck to face the white-haired woman, his gaze remaining stern as he cupped her chin gently in his hand and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. However, before Hanzo could think of what to say, the archer pulled back and returned with his back towards Ashe.

“My apologies. I did not-”

“Can I kiss you?”

Hanzo froze up before slowly craning his neck to face her once more, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Pardon?”

Ashe rolled her eyes, her cheeks flushing a bright red as she repeated herself. “Can I kiss you?”