it was the day genji had to move out of cassidy's dorm. he had packed everything prior, quite angry over the new change. cassidy gave him a quick goodbye kiss before he opened the door, greeted by gabriel, crossing his arms and nodding in approval. genji shamefully walked out of the hallway and headed into the elevator, looking back at cassidy one last time, as the gates of the elevator closed before his eyes.

making his way to his new dorm, he looked down at the suitcases he dragged out. he immediately shut the door so gabriel wouldn't bother him with lectures on how this was good for him. he unpacked his clothes, mostly hoodies, when he realized he accidentally packed cassidy's sweater that he had given him. he held it up, being reminded of his stupid little smile and whenever he tipped his hat attempting his pet names. genji missed him already.

he finished unpacking surprisingly quick, the only things he mainly organized was his hygenial needs. he headed back downstairs, and decided to make a quick stop at angela's to say hi. he made his way towards the medical rooms, softly knocking on the door.

"angela?"

no response.

genji then got reminded that she was leaving today to head back to gibraltar. he wished he could have at least said goodbye. checking his watch, he realized training would begin soon. genji gathered himself up and headed towards the new gym he had been assigned to by gabriel. he headed inside, but it didn't feel strongly with training grounds.

it mainly consisted of lifting weights and treadmills. he questioned if he was in the right place. he dug in his pocket to see if the room number he was was the same of where he was inside.

sure enough, he was right. it seems that he would be doing this for the rest of blackwatch without any actual training. genji had already took many lessons back in his youth, so it wouldn't affect him that much.

he shyly went for one of the weights that had been placed around. he was grateful he was the only one making use of the gym, with no one else there. it was difficult to bring himself together and lift the weights at first; but eventually he got the hang of it. he quite enjoyed it. he hadn't trained this way in a long time, ever since his youth.

he began his "training" until it had been past sunset every day. it consisted of mostly working out and gaining more muscle. he practiced more melee by the punching bags they installed later the next day. sometimes, whenever he punched with his metallic arm, a small sharp pain would temporarily come near his shoulder, by the flesh intertwining with the metal. genji sometimes would whine by the pain and take a small break, while other times he would push through the pain.

he would pass by cassidy every now and then and wave hello, but all he got was a very angry gabriel staring right at him before cassidy could notice.

it went on for a week. genji couldn't sleep because he felt something was missing. obviously that being cassidy. he wasn't able to pass out without his touch, playing with his hair and, everything about him. he almost thought he was slowly forgetting him. he looked down at the sweater he had kept, still not bringing himself to return it. he put it on, laying in bed. at least the smell of his cologne still resented with the sweater.

he stared into space with the lamp lighting up the room, as the clock ticked its way to the next minute.

the ticks irked him to his core. every second passing by only made genji yearn for his lover more. was this some sort of test set by gabriel? who knows. he couldn't contain the isolation any longer. it all just came back to him and he snapped.

he looked directly at the clock. it wasn't too late, but it was a dark cold night. rain was pouring down hard on the glass door to the balcony. genji threw down the covers and took off the sweater, not wanting to get it wet, as he opened the balcony door, looking back at the building cassidy's room was in.

surely it won't be that bad. genji thought, as he jumped to a nearby ledge, climbing his way up to the very top of one of the buildings. something about it made him feel less isolated, but much more free, as droplets of water fell from the sky to his slicked back hair and arms. he was halfway there to the very end of headquarters. he didn't want to waste anymore time. he took a deep breath, as he warmed up to jump to the next roof of the edifice next to him.

it was like taking a leap of faith, a jump of risk and at liberty. as the sky poured down more rain by the second, genji had barely made it to the ledge, his legs slipping back from a puddle, clinging onto the wall, losing his grasp slowly.

"damn it..." he grumbled, pushing himself up like he had done with the weights back at the gym. thankfully, the last thing he had to endure was to flawlessly make it down to his balcony. one slip up and he would have been known as a crazy man jumping around in the slippery rain, heading on to his deathbed.

i guess the gym wasn't so bad after all. he wondered, trying to not get distracted by his thoughts. he looked down, not even bothering to notice how high up he was earlier. he stepped back for a minute to process it all. he was really risking it all to see cassidy without gabriel's insight. in the end, no matter what happened, genji would always find a way to be with him again.

he tried to not think of how high up he was as he had jumped in the air, letting the wind take him back down to the ledge of cassidy's balcony.

the lights seemed to be on from the inside, noticing cassidy on the side of where genji used to sleep, a gloomy look on his face. it was obvious they'd been thinking of each other even when taken away from one another.

genji could only watch the cheerless cowboy sulk in his sorrows, all alone. he put a hand on the door, a lock that would take everything to open back up and keep the two apart for what seemed to be an eternity. genji couldn't help himself seeing him in that horrible state. he softly knocked on the door.

"cass?" he whispered calmly.

it seemed cassidy couldn't bother to listen. he probably thought it was the rain.

he knocked a little harder this time, hoping he would answer. "cole?"

cassidy immediately looked up in disbelief.

what was genji even doing in his balcony? how did he even get there?

he quickly ran and opened the door, urging genji to head inside, away from the cold. he grabbed a towel from his bathroom and wrapped it around the cyborg. genji didn't even notice how soaked he was.

cassidy held him tight, almost at the verge of crying.

"i thought i would never be able to talk to you again..." he whimpered.

"it's okay, i'm here now," genji hushed, getting on his top of his toes to give cassidy a kiss on the forehead.

"you're all ive been thinkin' about this whole week." cassidy rubbed his eyes attempting to not let any tears fall. "i really missed you..." he managed to lift genji up with his arms, their faces now in the same height. genji wrapped his legs on cassidy's waist so he wouldn't lose his balance over all the kisses he was getting.

"how about we go and have some fun?" he whispered, trying to lower the tension down.

"what kind?" cassidy narrowed his eyebrows, toning his voice down.

"just come with me," genji replied, giving a nod for cole to put him down, holding his hand as he led the both of them outside. the rain had stopped, which would make it much easier to get down. for a moment genji stopped in his tracks, rushing back inside for a moment in thought.

"wait...cassidy, do you have a rope by any chance?"

cassidy only gave him a dead look. "haha. very funny, shimada."

"i'm serious. i just jumped building to building and practically almost died. i don't want you to get injured."

cassidy sighed. "i thought you were joking with me for a second, because i'm a uh—whatever. let me see what i can find." he looked around at his things, and opened an unattended bag that had been in the corner of the room for a while. opening it up, sure enough, there was a rope.

"here ya' go. your cowboy is always prepared." he smirked, throwing the rope back at genji. he tied the strands around his waist, while cassidy helped him tighten it. he connected the end of the rope to a chair, as an easier way to head down.

"ready?"

"as i'll ever be—"

cassidy held on tight to genji, but with their height differences it only looked to be the cowboy suffocating the petite ninja. they sped down quick, the rope somehow being able to hold the two of them without snapping. it was like descending down a zipline, but much faster and more intense.

as their feet reached the ground, the two of them sighed in relief that it thankfully worked for their behalf. genji untied the rope, leaving it on the ground.

"where are we going to, anyway?" cassidy asked, holding onto genji's hand.

"patience, dear," genji smiled back at him. "you'll see when we get there."

cassidy raced on to genji, hand in hand, as they made their way to a nearby city that wasn't too far from their headquarters. from the rain, it only took almost an hour to get there.

. . .

"close your eyes—"

"genji, i promise you i'm not peekin!'"

"you better not," he joked, as the two entered inside what seemed to be an abandoned arcade. games on every corner, from controllers to the small arcade machines people used to use in the early 2000's.

"alright, you can open then now."

"WOAH— genji, how did you know where this was?"

"i have my ways." he smirked, then noticing what seemed to be the oldest game in the room. it was lighting up with vibrant colors, standing out from the rest, with two sections for a duo to play on. with steps and a small gated way to enter. the name spurred out, dance dance revolution, as nostalgic music played back towards them in the room.

"CASSIDY, WE NEED TO PLAY THIS—" genji squealed, just as he would as a little boy.

"genji..." cassidy paused. "for as long as you've known me there's something i need to admit. i can't dance—"

"DON'T CARE, WE'RE DOING THIS RIGHT NOW!" genji said, grabbing cassidy by the arm before he could bother to respond, sighing in defeat. they both got on the other side of the screen, as genji started pressing a few buttons for the game to begin.

in bright words it began to show the dance steps, correlating to where their feet stood. the duo put their feet into position, and cassidy gave genji a worried glance, while the latter grinned back in return.

"alright, since you're so worried, you choose the song." genji pointed to the screen, motioning to cassidy to go forward and take the selection.

"i don't think that'd be a great idea," cassidy stammered as genji put a hand on his back to move him closer.

"don't be shy," genji urged, his face softening. "choose for us."

cassidy sighed, not wanting to disappoint him. he scrolled through the list of songs and tried to find a song genji would enjoy. "shape of you?" he asked.

"you're choosing, not me. besides, that's not even close to my music taste," he replied, laughing.

cassidy laughed. "alright, then. how about we do...," he paused, scrolling to another song, "moves like jagger?"

"is that your final choice?" genji raised his brows in amusement.

cassidy nodded, stepping back to his original spot as his eyes lit up in glee. the speakers rose to life, and so did the two men as they began following the arrows on the screen. genji moved with more fluidity, even turning away from the screen entirely, showing off his experience. cassidy, on the other hand, moved a lot more mechanically as he tried to follow the pattern of the notes.

"go with your body," genji advised as the lyrics began. "move in the way it wants to go." and right after, he began singing along as cassidy began to gain better control of his movements. "you shoot for the stars / if it feels right"

cassidy laughed, his steps finally coming into sync with the rhythm. "this is actually a lot easier than i'd thought."

genji paused his hearty singing. "that's because you're on the easiest setting!" and he went back to pelting the lyrics.

"how long have you played this song?!" cassidy hollered over the beat.

"long enough to have learned a bit of english from it when i was ten! now live a little and join me, you dunce." genji kept his movements fast, not stopping once, purely fueled by adrenaline instead of his suit.

"fine, fine," cassidy surrendered, still way behind genji's score.

"you wanted control / sure we waited" genji took a deliberate misstep to tap cassidy on the shoulder and confuse him. he was too behind to care about a little cheating, anyway. "i put on a show / now i make it"

"you say i'm a kid / my ego is big" cassidy shoved genji to the side to mess with him. "i don't give a shit / and it goes like this"

"take me by the tongue / and i'll know you" genji shoved him back, with his own laughter interrupting his singing. "kiss me 'til you're drunk / and i'll show you"

cassidy finally took his hand, with a goofy smile on his face. "you with the moves like jagger / i got the moves like jagger"

they began going off of their designated tiles, both of their scores dropping significantly, as they danced together, though not in synchrony. "i got them moooves like jagger"

"baby it's hard" cassidy twirled genji around, almost as if they were slow dancing, "and it feels like / you've broken in scar / nothing feels right / but when you're with me" he pulled genji close and wrapped his arms around the shorter man's waist, "i'll make you believe / that i've got the key"

genji's face heated up but he continued singing. "so get in the car" cassidy let go of him and he slipped around behind him, his face filled with mischief. "we can ride it / wherever you want / get inside it" he smiled as cassidy turned back with a face even redder than his was just moments ago. "and you want to steer / but i'm shifting gears / i'll take it from here" he took hold of one of cassidy's hands again, this time leading their disorganized waltz instead. "and it goes like this"

they continued to sing wildly through the chorus, with genji shifting around to move cassidy with him as he pleased. at some point they'd moved off of the platform entirely to use the rest of the floor to dance. before they even knew it, the song had come to a close. genji could feel cassidy's heart beating out of his chest. "what are you so tired for?" he smirked.

"i don't think i've ever done anything like that before," cassidy panted. "nothin' like a battle, but it sure takes a lot outta ya."

"that is true." genji pulled him into a hug. "you said you couldn't dance, but you did just now."

"that doesn't count! you were the one doin' all the work," cassidy grumbled, looking away but hugging him back all the same.

"it takes two, cole," genji teased as he let go of cassidy and looked back at the machine they had abandoned. "oh, look. i still beat you."

"and?"

"you were on the easiest setting, so each time you would get points, you would get four times the amount i would get."

"i'm a beginner!" cassidy narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips, feigning a tantrum. "you can't count that against me."

"sure." genji rolled his eyes and leaned up to give cassidy a peck on the lips. "we should do that again."

"we should," he agreed, pulling genji into his arms again. "we're damn lucky this place was empty."

"we wouldn't want a repeat of gabe, would we?" genji nudged cassidy with his elbow, curling into his touch.

"oh, don't remind me of that. i'm still not over it."

they laughed for a bit before returning to silence.

"we have to go back." genji's voice deadpanned, looking back outside from the door.

"we do." cassidy expressed the same amount of enthusiasm. "but please...can we do this again?" he asked, his tone hopeful.

"of course," genji promised.

the two of them headed out of the abandoned arcade, hand in hand, as the rain stopped pouring for the night. genji helped cassidy up back onto his balcony using the rope like before, except to climb back up.

making it back up, genji leaned in to kiss the exhausted man's lips.

"see you soon, cowboy," he said, racing back off, disappearing into the dead of night as cassidy watched him head off.

"goodnight, genji." he whispered, a massive smile plastered on his face just thinking of him.