" YUANFEN " genji shimada.

v | lingering thoughts

yuanfen.
act five, chapter five.
"lingering thoughts"

_

DID I DO THE right thing? Dahlia thought to herself as she cleaned up after yet another patient. Her heartbeat quickened, growing louder in her ears, as she once again thought about her date with Jesse McCree later that evening. I've never been on a date in my life! I'm going to make a fool out of myself. She groaned, burying her face into her hands. The patient from whom she had just taken blood slowly stood from the chair; although she couldn't see him, she knew that he was giving her an odd look as he walked away, but she couldn't care less. After the day she had, an odd look was the least of her worries.

After Lena and Hana, Dahlia had yet to get another kind patient. The rest who came in were either dead quiet, rushing her through the process (as if they wanted her to quickly stab their arm with a needle and risk missing the vein entirely) or straight up rude. She had several recruits come in who refused to see her as anything other than Vixen, though thankfully Dr. Ziegler was quick to help her with those who became too difficult to deal with.

The clock that hung on the wall read just before three o'clock, and yet another groan fell from Dahlia's lips. She still had two more hours of this, and she dreaded what would come after the work day even more. The thought of having dinner with Jesse McCree both excited her and terrified her at the same time. The cowboy was nice, and she liked him a lot, though she couldn't help but worry that she agreed to more than she could handle. She kept reminding herself that a single date couldn't hurt, yet she found herself growing more and more worried as time passed.

The sound of the doors sliding open caught Dahlia's attention, and she looked up to see the one person she was dreading to see. Genji entered the medbay, pausing in the doorway for a moment as his gaze met hers. Her throat suddenly felt tight, her heart pounding in her ears as memories from the night before flashed through her mind. She had finally managed to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, though the sight of him made them resurface immediately. Genji seemed to notice her nervousness, commenting on it as he approached her station.

"You look like you have seen a ghost, Kitsune. Am I really that awful to look at?"

Of course not, you stupid ninja, Dahlia hissed at him in her mind. Quite the opposite, actually. She surprised herself by thinking such a thing, taking a moment to study his appearance. Did she actually believe that? After her dream the night before, she had no idea.

"The sight of you makes me sick," she said aloud, causing him to chuckle softly. He took a seat in the chair in front of her, and she did her best to force away her nerves. She wanted nothing more than to run away as far as possible.

Genji said nothing as he pulled off his hoodie, making Dahlia's breath hitch in her throat. She could only hope that he didn't hear it. He set the hoodie in his lap, and she took a moment to admire the cybernetic plating that covered his body that was normally hidden. Genji reached up with his right arm to hit a button on his left shoulder, and a soft hissing sound met Dahlia's ears as the sleeve that covered his organic arm became unlatched. He began to slip it off with ease.

"What are you doing?" Dahlia asked, silently cursing herself for sounding so panicked.

Genji paused and looked up at her, and she knew that he noticed it too. "You have to take my blood, correct?" She swallowed, nodding, and he continued: "I would imagine sticking a needle through my armor may prove to be difficult, Kitsune."

"Oh, right," Dahlia mumbled, looking away. She knew that there was no way to hide the redness of her cheeks in the fluorescent lighting; she just hoped that he wouldn't comment on it. Genji slipped the rest of his sleeve off, setting it on the ground beside the chair. Dahlia looked up, and for the first time she caught a glimpse of the man hidden beneath all the cybernetic armor. Muscles rippled beneath his tan skin, and dark scars ran up the length of his arm. It was a simple sight, one that many people wouldn't think twice of, yet she found herself completely mesmerized nonetheless. It wasn't until Genji cleared his throat expectantly that she was finally pulled back into reality.

She blinked rapidly, gathering her supplies as she looked everywhere but the man in front of her. She felt as though the walls were closing in on her, finding it harder to breathe with each passing second. She had no idea why Genji had this effect on her, but she hated feeling so vulnerable around him.

"This may pinch a bit, but judging by those scars, I'm sure you can take it," she said to him. She immediately clamped her mouth shut as she realized what she said, shooting him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive."

Genji laughed lightly at this, dismissing her with a wave of his cybernetic arm. "It is okay, Dahlia. You are right. A tiny needle will feel like nothing," he assured her.

Dahlia sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the tourniquet. She reached up, her fingers brushing against the exposed skin of Genji's bicep as she wrapped the band around his arm. Immediately, both of them froze at the sudden contact. Genji yanked away from her, his suit whirring loudly as his chest heaved with a deep breath. It seemed to be almost an involuntary reaction, for he looked away and mumbled a quiet apology. Dahlia couldn't blame him, however. She had never once seen Genji without his armor; she assumed that he wore it almost constantly. She could only imagine how sensitive the skin that was normally hidden beneath the metallic plating was.

She hesitantly reached out for him again. Genji rested his arm on the table once again, though he still looked elsewhere. Dahlia wrapped the tourniquet around his bicep, doing her best to avoid brushing against his skin. Once it was secured around his arm, she reached for the needle. Her eyes remained glued to his skin, studying every last scar that ran up the length of his arm as though they were a work of art. She mumbled a soft apology before she ran her fingers along the inside of his elbow. She felt him tense under her touch, his suit whirring loudly once again, though he didn't pull away. She found a vein, wasting no time before she inserted the needle. Genji finally turned to look at her once more, and she could feel his gaze on her as she connected the vile to the needle. Neither of them spoke, and Dahlia was thankful for this. Countless distracting thoughts swam through her head as she touched his skin; she knew that if she tried to talk, she would only say something that she would regret.

After what seemed like lifetimes, the vile was finally full. Dahlia gently removed the needle from Genji's arm, setting the vile with the others while doing her best to avoid his gaze. He stood to his feet and slipped the sleeve over his arm once more. She wanted to protest, for seeing a glimpse of the man beneath the armor intrigued her more than she cared to admit, though she stayed quiet. Her leg bounced up and down, her vision blurry as dozens of distracting thoughts swarmed her mind. Genji caught on to her distracted state, and he called her name softly. She looked up at him expectantly.

"It is not good to be distracted in the workplace, Kitsune," he said teasingly. He reached down, his fingertips brushing her bicep softly and making her tense under his touch. He pulled away, chuckling lightly, and turned to leave. She stared after him, her body feeling as though it was on fire as the redness to her cheeks only deepened.

"I want to hate you, stupid ninja."