Hold on to your hat for some angst, Anon.
This was never supposed to happen. Genji was a hero and made of strong metal, a stronger spirit, and he always cheated death.
Yet here you are, dragging his limp body—which is just as heavy as you’d expect—to cover, hoping the trail of blood he was leaving behind didn’t lead Talon to your location.
You couldn’t breathe, except to summon Mercy to your aid.
“-Agent!” Mercy yelled next to your ear.
She looked a hair away from slapping you to get your attention, panting, ragged, and flushed. Although, she might not truly want to. Just, your world had tightened to the deadly still man/machine that lay at your knees.
Oh, right, there was gunfire splitting the air and orders being shouted in your earpiece.
“I need to stop the bleeding,” Mercy told you loudly over the noise.
She said, “I,” not “we,” and the voice in your ear ordered you elsewhere. Away…from him.
She went about her work. You were left hesitating. About to kick and scream like a child left at daycare. Not understanding. It was unfair. No!
You looked at him and knew you may never get this chance again. The blood was pooling at his side.
You bent down until your head touched the front of Genji’s helm. You held his visor.
“I love you,” you said, knowing no one could hear you. Not even he.
And off you went. You survived the rest of the mission somehow in a blur. It was luck; you should have died. Not that you would have minded. Next thing you knew, you were strapped in on the Orca. Mercy blocking your view of Genji lying on the pull-out gourney. She fussed over him, wires and tubes sticking out at all angles, and you didn’t think much of it. Too drained. You fell asleep, your head bobbing with the movement of the dropship.
The next day, the other agents spread the word around that he was recovering in the medbay. Your heart stirred. Until then, it had remained dormant.
You were summoned to Genji’s room, for him to personally thank you for saving him. You went with confidence, because he couldn’t have heard you your spill your heart. It was still a secret.
But he did, and he asked if it was true just as you were getting up to leave from your chair. You couldn’t lie to him, nor could you voice the truth. With your heart in your eyes, you nodded.
“I am tired, but…can you stay with me?” Genji asked quietly, turning his hand slowly palm up, offering it to you.
“Yes,” you said, taking his hand and tucking to your lap with care.
Genji curled in your direction to lie on his side. His eyes fell closed, and he went to sleep.