Week 13 Recs: It's about the Yearning
Week 13's theme was "It's about the yearning," or fics with an emphasis on pining, mutual or otherwise.
Behind the cut, you'll find the recs gathered from the Yeehan community, organized by rating and then alphabetically by title!
Not Rated
This Year by CommonNonsense [8,835 words] Reccer comment: "extra cute, deliciously drawn out stuck-together-in-a-cabin pining"
The holidays are not kind to those on their own. Hanzo, at least, has never been overly invested in this time of year--but McCree, as he often does, changes things, and when a mission sees them snowed in together on Christmas Eve, there is no way to avoid it.
General Audiences
It Ain't Easy by KittenzCaboodle [29,426 words]
It’s St. Patrick’s day and Hanzo does not have a green shirt to wear.
This is not ideal.
On his quest to borrow one and properly join in on the planned celebration at the base, both he and Cole reminisce about how life has changed since Hanzo joined Overwatch. -
Fic written for YeeHan Week 2022!
Teen and Up
Dreamlike by mataglap [4,063 words] Reccer comment: "I FOUND IT!! there's a surprising amount of dream kiss fics"
Hanzo is used to bad dreams, and he never would have expected that a good dream would end up haunting him the most.
Flowers Like Ashes by NoirSongbird [8,266 words] Reccer comment: "Hanahaki, rated teen! There be angst 👀"
The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from one-sided love, where the patient coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. The infection can be removed through surgery, but the feelings disappear along with the petals. Hanzo Shimada is desperately in love with Jesse McCree -- the flower petals he coughs up whenever McCree so much as looks his way are plenty of evidence of that. It is unfortunate, then, that McCree utterly despises him.
Hiraeth by robocryptid [11,947 words]
After discovering that the mercenary Reaper is his old commander and mentor, Cole takes some time to get his head on straight. Hanzo refuses to let him do it alone.
Or: the author gives Cole Cassidy the kind of feelgood, big emotions, rite-of-passage road trip usually imagined for American teenagers, except this time it's for two grown-ass vigilante murder dudes.
Just Once by Vimeddiee [2,534 words]
Cole dreams that he’s kissing someone.
Sweet Dreams by Dracoduceus [5,134 words]
Hanzo’s dreams started to leak into reality and it becomes harder and harder to deal with, especially with his unresolved feeling toward Cassidy.
Tell Me by Akiko_Natsuko [27,728 words] Reccer comment: "pretty okay ff with past blackwatch Cass/Scion Hanzo"
They had me years before, a fling that had ended without names being exchanged and with an unspoken farewell. Hanzo had never expected to find the Cowboy again, let alone on the day he joined Overwatch. And he was unprepared for the fact that the man that he had never managed to forget, was unable to recognise him the day he finally gave Cassidy his name.
Unaddressed by robocryptid [11,100 words] Reccer comment: "the first chapter is amazing"
He gave twelve years of his life to the original Overwatch. He’s seen dozens of MIA cases, investigated more than a few of them himself. It’s not new. It’s just that now the organization’s so small; it makes it feel a lot more personal.
Winston gave the order. He can’t argue with the logic that he’s the one whose background best fits this particular task. But it was Genji asking him directly — trusting him with this in a way he knows it’s hard for Genji to trust — that made him agree to it.
So he rummages through Hanzo’s desk in search of anything that could help.
Undisclosed Desires by Calardes [12,751 words]
An unexpected dream forced Hanzo to reassess his relationship with a certain cowboy.
Now he could think of little else but how much he wanted to kiss him.
Wake-up Call by fishpoets [2,149 words] Reccer comment: "Love realization"
Falling in love is deceptively simple. Admitting it is trickier.
Mature
All the Little Pieces by KittenzCaboodle [57,890 words]
Cole Cassidy had not known peace ever since Hanzo Shimada had been thrust into his life, but - with some "time" - realizes that maybe it's not so bad having him around.
In fact, maybe it was always meant to be.
Foxhole Dreaming by fishpoets [18,569 words] Reccer comment: "And there was only one bed"
After Hanzo and McCree are ambushed on an undercover mission and McCree is injured, they need to hide out in a secret bunker that McCree knows of while they wait to be rescued. The prospect of a few days in close-quarters alone with McCree wouldn't be a problem, except for one thing: Hanzo's feelings for the gunslinger don't stop at friendship.
i could love you (for the rest of my life) by fwop [3,494 words] Reccer comment: "Oh. *Oh*"
“--if you had just listened to me for once, instead of running off--”
He’s gesturing wildly with his hands, more expression on his face than Jesse ever thought he’d see, more expression than Hanzo would ever like to show (if he had his way). He probably hasn’t even realized what he looks like right now. Instead, he’s doing his level best to cuss Jesse from one end to the other. He’s spittin’ mad.
Oh.
Source of Light by YourAverageJoke [WIP; 10,745 words] Reccer comment: "unfinished but still sweet"
Hanzo wonders if perhaps he had realized it before. Cassidy has been a constant in his life lately, a steady presence he isn’t even ashamed to admit he’s more than a little fond of. It certainly explains how he ended up here; it had seemed natural, after having sat on his bed for hours, staring into the cold, dark abyss of insomnia, to seek out his favourite source of light, especially after he had spent almost two weeks in its constant glow.
Sharing a bed trope with a small twist, some insecurities, lots of sap, and a happy ending.
Explicit
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by KittenzCaboodle [34,828 words] Reccer comment: "18+ and one of my favorites"
The man first in line for the Shimada throne was the last picture that Cole had been given to memorize. Hanzo Shimada. They had said it was unlikely that he would be sent, as he was too important for such menial tasks, but he was the next likely candidate according to Genji.
He gazed longingly towards the door, aching to step outside and get a fresh breath of the cool night air. As he silently grumbled about the sweat rolling down his back, the bodies grinding against each other in the club making the place hot and steamy in all the wrong ways, he saw him.
Of all the people in the world, Hanzo Shimada, the worst possible person, had just walked through the door and was putting their entire Blackwatch mission at risk.
Somehow, Cole had to distract him long enough to for Genji to get out, and he was willing to do whatever it takes, even if he was caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
But when the Devil buys you dinner and is one of the nicest people you've ever met, then things get confusing.
Crossing Stars by ceasefire [3,488 words] Reccer comment: "Young angsty yeehan has my heart forever"
Hanzo Shimada sneaks out to meet his lover with the help of his brother. Unfortunately, it seems that this will be the last time that they will see one another, and Hanzo decides to throw caution to the wind and do what he really wants for a change.
Not That I'm Complaining by robocryptid [28,981 words] Reccer comment: "I've only read this about a hundred million times, no big uwu"
An AU in which both Shimadas join Blackwatch, and Cole Cassidy falls in love dick first. Approximately 50/50 porn to feelings.
Tell Me Yer Name by kylar [23,161 words] Reccer comment: "YOUNG ANGSTY YEEHAN HAS MY HEART FOREVER"
Hanzo escapes the castle for a breath of fresh air following a particularly difficult day with the clan, and finds one in a mysterious, handsome American cowboy that instantly earns Hanzo's attention. Hanzo knows from subtle clues that his presence in Hanamura could mean trouble for his clan and himself, but that doesn't stop him from carrying on a secret affair with the charming cowboy. It's just a fling though, and he knows it will end eventually. He'll be able to put the cowboy behind him and continue on with his responsibilities and duties to the Shimada Clan. Little does he know, it won't be that easy, and the cowboy's short presence in his life will have a dramatic and devastating impact on everything that is to follow their little affair.
to lie down with dogs by motorghost [65,540 words] Reccer comment: "This is one of my favorite fics in this fandom. I really like the character dynamic here."
Hanzo and Cole are on a top-secret reconnaissance mission in the industrialized wasteland of post-Crisis North Dakota, hunkered down in a factory ill-fit for human occupation. Cole seems fine with the situation, but Hanzo's doubts extend far beyond their little room.
To Share (Cake) is to Care by spinel [4,679 words] Reccer comment: "funny pining with an extra hilarious dose of obliviousness"
“Howdy, Hanzo.” McCree smiles sunnily. “I'm guessin' Athena didn't give you a heads up. My quarters—all of Wing 3's quarters are flooded. Angela's with Genji, Lena's in Angela's room, Lúcio and Hana are in the break room, Torbjörn and Reinhardt both snore like you wouldn't believe, Zenyatta's in Genji's room, and Athena won't let me use the training room for a nap.”
It takes a moment, but then Hanzo's eyes narrow. “Athena told you I had a futon.”
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And that's it for the Week 13 recs! Thank you so much to everyone who submitted a recommendation.
If you happen to find a fic you love using this rec list, be sure to leave the author kudos and a comment! Even "I found this fic because someone recced it" is a lovely thing to say.
Come back next time for Week 14: "Mermaid for Each Other," celebrating MerMay with mermaid and other sea creature fics.
In the meantime, you can also check out the Week 12 recs here, or check the full list of past and future themes here.
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