#chika-roxy

Tracer and Mercy stood at the edge, joined by a morbidly curious Jack and curiously confused Reinhardt who was scratching his beard as he looked between Reaper and Hanzo, “What is ah, going on?”“A cock fight in the mud, more or less,” Mercy murmured, “Somehow they got in an argument over who was better and now-”“Now they are going to have a mud wrestling match to prove their dominance and validate their fragile masculinity,”D.Va interjected from where she sat, grinning wide, “And also give us a good show,”

McCree gave a snort, “Hanzo isn’t fragile. Gabriel is,” He retorted. A small laugh escaped Genji, “Oh please, of the two, Hanzo is clearly compensating more so,”

“Yeah well, we will see at the end who’s eating mud first. I’ll be sure to accept your apology on Hanzo’s behalf,” McCree responded, smirking.The cyborg rolled his eyes, crossing his arms, dropping his attention down to where both Hanzo and Reaper were stripping down to just boxers, about to jump into the sucking muddy ring. Tracer shook her head, “Is this really a sport?”“Honestly, I’ve only seen it in strange erotica online,” Jack murmured, “And during country shows when they have pig wrestling,” The young British woman gave the ex-commander of Overwatch a funny look, “That is… a rather strange jump in logic,”“Ah who cares! Less talk more big muscular men grunting and groaning as they slam each other into the mud!” D.Va yelled, grinning wide, “Let’s get some grappling going on! I didn’t come outside to sit here and watch them discuss things civilly!” Angela let out a sigh, shaking her head before she raised a hand, “Combatant’s ready?”

Hanzo and Reaper each gave a nod, their eyes fixed on each other, both up to the ankles in sucking, wet mud, ready to commence what was probably the strangest contest to take place in Overwatch history. “Go!” Angela shouted.The words had barely left her mouth before the two were rushing at each other, clashing in a muddy grapple already. D.Va blew out a sharp whistle as Reinhardt grinned wide, clenching his hands excitedly as already, the two were savagely pulling at each other, trying to drag the other into the mud.“This is exciting! Like grappling Greek heroes!” Reinhardt declared, “I want to wrestle the winner!”

“Absolutely not, Reinhardt.  You are not going to throw your back out-” Angela began only to be interrupted by a loud snort from the large man.“Ack, I will not throw my back out! I would beat them all! I used to be a the leader of my wrestling club in high school!” Reinhardt declared, thumping his chest.D.Va snickered, “Personally I say you would win. There is no contest Reinhardt. Sexy grandpa would overcome sexy Samurai and sexy Grim Reaper any day!”Down below, the two men seemed evenly matched, both in the mud rolling around like a couple of angry hogs, trying to pin the other and getting covered in mud from head to toe. Tracer shook her head, “I mean, I guess getting covered in mud is kind of interesting but how is this a turn on?”Genji chuckled, leaning his elbows on the railing, “Because later, he is going to need to take a shower and I’m going to be there to clean every inch of him,”

“Yeah well, right now your brother’s face is like, firmly in your boyfriend’s crotch,” D.Va pinted out, grinning wide, “I mean I find this pretty hilarious and sexy but I dunno, he is staying really flush in there like he is enjoying getting Reaper crotch,”The cyborg looked quickly back to the fight where Reaper had gotten his impressive thighs about the other in a leg headlock and as pointed out, in his struggle, Hanzo had face planted into Reaper’s groin.“Hanzo! Stop that! You are ruining this fight!” Genji shouted, gripping the railing, “It was sexy until you did that!”

“Headbutt him!” McCree hollered.The look Genji sent him was horrified, “You crazy! He needs that! I need that later!” The cyborg protested, “What  would you do if I kicked Hanzo in the family heirlooms?”

“It’s family jewels Genji,” Jack corrected, “And that is an instant loss if you play that dirty. I think so at least,”“Unsportsmanlike!” Reinhardt declared. Reaper and Hanzo, if they heard the conversation at all, had chosen to ignore it, continuing their fight. The elder Shimada had managed to wriggle free, pulling Reaper into an arm lock as Reaper pressed against his shoulders, the two rolling around in the mud again.“Come on Gabriel! You can do better than that!” Jack yelled, cupping his mouth, “What would Ana say about you?”“Probably would be able to kick his ass if she was-” McCree began to say before he let out a yelp as Genji pushed him over the railing and into the mud pit.Hanzo and Reaper paused, looking over to where McCree was scrambling to his feet. From head to toe he was covered in mud and with as much dignity as he could, he pulled his mud covered hat back onto his head, the stuff trickling down the side of his face. Genji was beside himself with laughter, shaking his head.His laughter came to a halt as a ball of mud was flung into his face. The cyborg stood there, raising a hand to wipe the mess off his face, looking down to where McCree was grinning at him, eyes narrowing, “Then war it is!”With that he jumped over the railing ,bearing McCree down as the two began to fight now. Hanzo and Reaper shared a look before the mercenary sighed, “You want to call it a drawl and just go watch the Olympics?”“That sounds like a good idea,” Hanzo murmured, shaking his head, watching Genji and McCree fight as if they were trying to murder the other by drowning them in the sticky mud, “This was a rather pointless fight anyways, although, your technique was very good,”“Same to you,” The two men sloushed to the side to get out as D.Va sighed, glancing to Tracer.

Yet that complexity came with so many hiccups or flaws that could emerge when distress and grew beyond the usual coping methods. Sudden changes in chemicals creating imbalances or trauma could completely rewire the brain in unforeseen ways. It was admirable how despite all of that, humans still struggled onward, pushing through it to turn those drawbacks into something beautiful. They made those flaws work in exciting ways that many times, when given the right help and opportunity, turned those flaws into something greater than normalcy.

But others became lost in their own mind, trapped in a blaze and seeing no way out but to jump into the final embrace of the iris. For the monk, it pained him greatly to see Genji sink further into his own denial.

The omnic monk gave a quiet knock to Genji’s door, “Genji? May I come in?”

“You may,” The response was hollow, as it had been for a while. The man was sprawled listlessly in bed, staring off at nothing as if all desire to do anything had left him.

Ever since Reaper had perished, Genji seemed to be suffering from what Zenyatta assumed was a form of depression. Complicated grief was what some said, but in the end, it was just an uncertain prognosis. Genji refused to seek any sort of counseling. He didn’t see a point to bother with it.

Not when he was so certain Reaper was still alive and would return.

“The others are worried about you, Genji. You rarely leave your room,” Zenyatta began quietly moving to set a tray of liquid food next to the cyborg. This was habit he had picked up as Genji rarely seemed to take care of himself properly anymore as his mental state continued to slip.

“I don’t feel like speaking with them. That is all,” Genji responded softly, “It feels strange being around them now without-”

Zenyatta heard the slight crack in Genji’s voice as the cyborg rolled over, curling up some. The omnic monk put his hand gently on Genji’s shoulder, “You need to let this go, my student. It is not healthy to-”

“He’ll be back. He’s not dead. He wouldn’t just die like that and leave me behind,” Genji retorted sharply, “There was no body found!”

The monk kept silent although he knew why no body was found. Reaper had died in the middle of an inferno. There had been nothing but ash and twisted metal of gauntlets and body armor left. That little bit had been gathered for the entire ceremony to put the mercenary to his final rest and had all easily fit within a container the size of a shoe box.Even then though, Genji had not spoken, ha not said a word other than to tell everyone it wasn’t true. Reaper was not dead. Denial was said to be the first step of grief but it was a step Genji had been attached to for many long months.

“Genji,” Zenyatta tried to begin only for the cyborg to pull away roughly.“I’m fine! I don’t want to go out there and have them all telling me they are sad for the loss and to move on! I just can’t let go of everything we had. All those memories,” His voice was growing tighter as he shook, curling up more, “Everything I remember about him hurts, Zenyatta. Everything. Even the good memories hurt,”

The monk slowly sat down on the edge of the bed, putting his hand back on the shoulder of his friend, “The suddenness of the whole thing-”“I could have done something. I know I could have,” Genji murmured, “He probably thinks I would reject him or the like for whatever disfiguration the burns caused,”

‘Genji, you know that is not why,” Zenyatta murmured, “Would he really want you to hold on like this?”

That caused Genji to flinch, refusing to look at the monk, “I’d… rather not speak about that. I want to hold onto hope,”The monk shook his head quietly before moving to wrap both arms about Genji in a loose hug, “There is a difference between holding onto hope and destroying yourself out of grief, Genji. This is not healthy. You barely speak, you no longer talk to the others, and you do not take care of yourself. You would not even eat if I did not bring you food,”‘Maybe you should stop,” Genji responded quietly, pulling away from Zenyatta’s embrace “Maybe let me die. At least then I can be…. I can be-”“Genji,” Zenyatta’s voice was so soft as he moved over to wrap his arms about the cyborg once more, “Don’t talk like that.  Dying won’t solve this-”“Then what will?” Genji asked dully, staring off, “What will bring Reaper back to me?”

Zenyatta fell silent, feeling that helplessness well up from the very core of his being. That strange sort of electric pulse, an ache his body seemed to produce, a tension that wanted release but had nothing to release upon. His mind was buzzing with outcomes of a hundred and one responses he could give Genji.

But none of them would ever be enough to truly heal the scar of despair ripped deep into Genji and carved upon his soul.

“I don’t know what to say Genji,” Zenyatta whispered, “If you died though, I perhaps would understand just what you are going for. That loss. That feeling you hadn’t done enough to try to help someone you loved as they suffered,”

The silence in the room was thick in all the wrong ways.

It crushed down  as if gravity itself had grown with the tension. The monk bowed his head, a feeling of guilt rising up. It was selfish really to want a friend to live if only for his sake. If only for the desire to keep someone he admired and had watched grow for so long give up and fade away. Would not his desires just make Genji suffer more rather than help?

“I...” Zenyatta managed out that single syllable before falling silent, looking over to Genji. The voice of the monk had failed him, unable to truly find the right words to day, not at he beheld his once brightest pupil look so unlike himself.  He sat, staring ahead, his gaze still empty as before. Zenyatta could see the haggard bags below the cyborg’s eyes, meshing into scars and purple bruises, giving him an aged appearance despite his supposed immunity to age. His once glossy body covered in the scratches of combat and age. Worn and tired, it was nothing like the Genji Zenyatta had known except for that slight spark in the eyes, that weary tenacity that always kept Genji going.

Reaper’s death had taken so much from him. All the love he had for his past lover that robbed him of his ability to cope.

But Reaper himself, be it in memory or spirit, would never want Genji to give up and it showed in that small part of Genji that still lingered.

“I won’t die,” Genji softly admitted, “Even if I wish I could. Reaper would...” a soft, broken laugh escaped Genji, “If I dared to show my face in the afterlife, he would be there to shove my soul right back in my body and tell me to stay put or he really would murder me,”

Genji shook his head, laughing more although the shine of tears were there as he bent over, both hands covering his face. The sounds he made were almost an inhuman, heaving, gasping sobs that cracked out his voice module, giving it an ethereal hiss. Zenyatta did not speak a word, only moving to keep his arms around his grieving friend.

These tears were another release. Just another way to allow those feeling to escape and flee into the wind like startled birds. Every sob was a step, Zenyatta hoped towards Genji’s recovery and to overcome this depression.

Still, as there was in every friendship, there were some tasks and trials to pass, some rituals of friendship that had to be observed to see if the friendship was indeed, a good one to have.

For McCree, it was watching a single movie that defined everything he thought a Western movie should have.

Genji shook his head as he watched McCree almost reverently pull the CD from its case and set it into the player, “You still use a DVD player? You do know we are living in the modern age of internet-”“Shhhh,” McCree hushed, carefully pushing the button on the player to have the CD be swallowed up, “This moment is sacred,”

The cyborg just crossed his arms, tilting his head, “I thought we were just watching True Grit? It seems more like we are going to watch some sort of strange Christian TV the way you are carrying on,” he drawled.

“Genji? For a cowboy, True Grit is a practical bible. God bless this story and the actors who made this remake,” McCree murmured solemnly, taking off his hat to press to his chest, “You haven’t lived until you’ve seen this movie,”“Have you shown my brother yet?” Genji asked, sprawling out to get comfortable on the couch.“That was the first date. I don’t date no one who can’t appreciate this movie. Luckily, he liked it,” McCree gave a smile over his shoulder, “If your loved one can’t appreciate your favorite movie, then they aren’t worth keeping,”

Genji gave a shrug, “If you say so. Luckily, at most, we are going to end up as brother-in-laws so me liking this won’t determine much eh?,””Just means I’ll always have to be reminded my best friend just can’t appreciate some real Western action and probably likes something as hideous as... The Lone Ranger remix,” McCree grimmaced, shaking his head. Genji just snickered some asMcCree moved to the couch, pushing Genji’s legs aside to take a seat. The cyborg responded only by propping them up in the cowboy’s lap as he watched the menu come up, “So, by watching this movie, do I get to be a level one cowboy? A cowboy ninja cyborg?”

“You only get to be a level one cowboy if you see this movie and then decide to actually pick up a gun and learn to ride a proper horse,” McCree drawled, reaching over to yank the side of Genji’s helmet, “No shortcuts to becoming a proper cowboy. You actually got to know how to ranch,”Genji swatted McCree’s hand away, giving a huff, “And do you know how to ranch then? I didn’t know there were any big cattle ranches and drives left in the US,”

McCree sat back some, his eyes moving to the screen as the movie started up, “Sure I can. After I’m too old and grey to work in this bounty hunting business, I plan on having my own little ranch. Raise some steer and just have it be me, Hanzo, and the endless skyline of the Nevada desert,”

“So, more or less, you are slowly turning my brother into a cowboy,” Genji drawled. “Just like Reaper is turning you into a smart mouth,” McCree retorted, grinning wide. Genji gave a small chuckle, “Maybe. Maybe just a bit,” He conceded with a shrug before settling back to watch the movie, “Which is why we always need a break from loved ones and learn to give them some space or we will end up driving each other up the walls,”McCree chuckled, “Amen to that, besides, they need more bonding time. Hanzo and Reaper get along like two wet cats trying to share a crate together that is being swung around,”“I was just going to say they don’t get along but I suppose that is a good metaphor for it?” Genji gave a shrug, “I never understand half your metaphors,”

“Just go with it and know that I’m always right,” McCree gave a grin, propping his own feet up on the coffee table.

“Of course. You are like the mysterious cowboy of untold wisdom that rides in to grace us with information when we need it most,” Genji drawled, “Except when you are cursing out hot pockets,”McCree snorted, “Not my fault the dang things don’t heat up in the middle! It is a terrible product design!”“Then stop eating them. I heard they take of six years of your life,”Genji chuckled, “Or keep eating them because it is fun to watch you cursing at food,”

McCree just rolled his eyes and took off his hat to put it over Genji’s face, “Shut up you, trying to watch the movie,”Genji just chuckled, knowing he had won but holding his tongue for now. It was so easy to get under McCree’s skin but he knew not to go to far. He pushed the hat away and stretched out.

Really, in terms of brothers-in-law, McCree was the best choice.

When he had been brought in, broken, bleeding, and near death, abandoned by his own family to die alone in the wilderness, infection eating up both arms from infected wounds, Morrison had felt his heart clench. There were no words to describe his own anger that family could be this cruel. He had stayed to watch and make sure Genji recovered fully.

He made sure the young man was offered a place in Overwatch even though really Blackwatch was a more obvious choice given his background but Morrison was adamant. The kid didn’t need to be thrown back into the same business his family had done. He needed a new start. Of course he and Gabriel had their brief spat over that, but in the end, Gabriel had caved in, although he seemed to agreed Genji wasn’t mentally well enough to be a successful Blackwatch agent. Not this soon after his trauma.

Morrison had been there when Genji came out of surgery with a smile, telling him how proud he was and how glad he was that he was alive. In the days that followed, he could tell the young man was suffering mentally, unable to cope with how different he was now, feeling out of place in his own skin and every time, Morrison felt his heart break like a father watching his own child struggle time and time again but unable to do a thing. He had felt so helpless watching Genji cave in. Not to mention the cyborg had time and time again pushed him away with cold words and closing himself off, hiding all those struggles beneath a fake smile, a fake laugh, and a fake interest in others.

For all Morrison’s efforts, it always seemed Genji didn’t want his help. That didn’t mean the commander of Overwatch stopped trying. Didn’t mean he stopped caring everything he wass hot down. Still, even Morrison had come to realize that in the end, Genji had to make his own way now. To heal, he had to be the one to make his choices, even if that cut Morrison out entirely. There was only so much he could do for him, only so much any parents could do before their children had to step out on their own to discover the world for themselves.

He only wished he had been present to bid Genji farewell, to give that final talk before sending him off.

Instead, he chose exile, licking his wounds and trying to put himself back to together again. How had he ever expected he could help anyone, let alone Genji, when he had been losing his own sense of self all that time? With his “death” confirmed, Morrison allowed himself to pass away into the crowds of faces, blending himself away, heavy with regret.

Time passed.

People changed.

The whole world became a strange place to walk in and at times, Morrison felt like he didn’t even belong to the world anymore.

It felt so surreal to set foot back into Overwatch, seeing familiar faces. The people who hadn’t changed like Reinhardt and Tracer, and those that had changed so much like Gabriel and Mercy.

Genji had changed so much and for the first time in a long time, a feeling welled up in Morrison he had thought he had forgotten.

 Pride.

He was so proud of Genji and how he stood taller now, no longer beating himself up. He had met someone that had guided him as a teacher and the friend Genji had always needed, allowing him to become at peace with himself and start to grow beyond what he had thought himself capable of.

Genji walked with confidence. He walked without fear of the future or regrets of the past.

This time though, Morrison was going to say everything he hadn’t been able to say before. He intercepted Genji in the hallway, offering a tired worn smile and a nod of his head to the young man he had seen grow into the proud man before him, “You’ve come a long way Genji since we first met,”A slight smile tugged at Genji’s lips, “I’m no longer that slippery youth you knew me as, eh?”

“Not just that,” Morrison stepped closer, reaching to clasp the cyborg on the shoulder, “You’re stronger now. You’ve found something out there to help you stand up taller. I don’t think I could be prouder to see you come this far,”

Genji ducked his head a bit in embarrassment, looking at the ground but the smile on his face remained, “I...thank you. I ...you’ve always supported me, more so than even my own father. At times in the past, I might have given up without your encouragement. Admittedly?” He looked over at Morrison, “I feel I was never thankful enough for everything you did do for me. I was too blind, too caught up in my own world to realize all those people that honestly did care about me,”

“I only wish I could have done more. When I vanished?” Morrison let out a sigh, “One of my regrets was never being able to tell you all this before. How much I wanted to help but never knowing what to do,”“Looking back? I think you did too much for someone who was ungrateful as me. Someone who didn’t see you wanted to be kind and pushed you away, kept you out,” Genji shook his head, “But you still believed in me, didn’t you? Even after all the ties seemed cut,”

Morrison gave a small smile, “What more could I have done? I can’t stay mad at you, only forgive you and understand you were hurting. I’m glad though, now we can patch things up,”Genji nodded, reaching out to touch the hand on his shoulder, “This time, I want to let you in. I want to be honest and share. I’m ready to show you who I am,”Those words alone filled Morrison with the warmth, that warmth at knowing someone you saw grow up is finally ready, finally trusts you enough to share with you a little part of themselves that had always been hidden away.

Genji had really grown up a lot.