Treasure Hunter!Hanzo seeks the riches guarded by a terrible dragon. Only to to be caught by Dragon!Symmetra who happens to be looking for a new piece for her hoard.

itshigh-boop:

(Yo I love this b/c Hanzo has specifically mentioned treasure in his interactions XD)

He expects a nasty, stinking cave that runs deep into the bowels of the earth when he hears the rumor of a nearby dragon that guards an unbelievable trove of treasure. But what he discovers is the exact opposite; it’s a neatly formed cave, large in size but a complete, perfect half circle of an entrance. The walls are smoothed – not natural, as if someone meticulously worked on grinding down the rough stone until it was nearly marble-like in texture. As he ventures further inside, it grows darker, naturally, until suddenly it’s not dark at all. 

Gemstones and crystals are not uncommon in caves but he imagines sharp edges, jagged points, and deadly tips along each geode – uneven and barbaric even with their luxurious glow. Not so, he finds, when he sees each protruding cluster of gemstones – the formations neatly aligned in three straight columns. Pillars along the cave house a symmetrical and equal amount of white crystals, reflecting off the otherworldly glow emanating from the blue gemstones.

Hanzo travels further down into the cave and hears the feint sound of running water. When he finally emerges from a tunnel, he find himself standing in a large cavern littered with more of the same, symmetrical gems and crystals practically shimmering in the light from the sun that filters in from a hole at the cave’s ceiling. Along the walls are small cascades, trickling directly into a large pool with water bluer than any sky and clear enough that it appears bottomless.

It’s breathtaking, really, but he finds he has no time to stand in awe when he feels cool huffs of air suddenly flooding his person. He turns to find himself staring face to face with a nagini – a mythical creature, extremely intelligent as they are beautiful and deadly. Its large serpentine body, covered in pale sky-blue scales glow softly but it is the eyes of the beast’s body that captures his attention. Gold – like the gold he’s often sought himself – it pieces his soul as vertical pupils focus on his face.

The archer stands firm, quickly drawing his bow and arrow, and knows the creature watches him.

Am I supposed to be impressed? 

A feminine voice echoes in his mind: collected, elegant, and proud. Its mouth doesn’t move but he knows all its attention is on him. 

“I have come to find treasure,” he announces, wishing to be straight forward with such a creature. 

She turns her head toward him, eyes narrowing, whether in amusement or offense, he does not know. Such audacity, he hears in his mind. And what sort of treasure did you expect to find, archer?

“Gems. Gold. Wealth beyond one’s wildest dreams.” 

A chuckle is his response, light and no less arrogant than he on his worst days. Frivolous things, she chides. Worthless. The treasures I guard are things wasted on humanity and incomprehensible to mortals.

She slithers past him, snout touching each geode at the tip as she passes it. Order. Perfection. Harmony. That is what I value most.

Hanzo nods and looks around, following the nagini’s trail. While intricate, her lair is beautiful, symmetrical and equal in its design. “There is beauty in simplicity,” he agrees. 

The serpent turns slightly, regarding his statement with a small silence until she hums. Your world is chaos. I have sent many foolish, greedy humans running back to disorder. Will you destroy me for this wealth? she asks, voice sounding amused at the very thought. Her large head moves, looming close to his. She appears to study him for a moment, eyes searching. They eerily stay focused on his left arm, detailed with dark ink. With proper discipline…you would make a fine addition to my order.

He shakes his head. The thought of being part of this nagini’s hoard is almost a compliment but it’s a sure death. “I propose a trade.” 

A trade? Another delicate chortle. What keeps me from simply taking what I desire? 

“Because taking implies struggle. By nature, I am chaotic – I will struggle. You cannot break me. I would not suit your needs.” 

His answer seems to do the trick; the nagini narrows her golden eyes in contemplation before a thick, forked tongue slips out of scaled jaws, tasting the air. Then what do you wish?

Everything, is the answer that his mind supplies. Taking one look into her domain, it’s apparent the amount of wealth that he would collect from the amount of gems and crystals she had in her possession. Instead, he looks to her head, noting the crown of pure platinum she dons. “Your crown.” 

It would be nearly impossible to carry out on his own but he decides with the most lavish answer possible to see her reaction. The serpent stares at him, a moment of silence passing between them before her body turns, heading toward the pool of water. She slithers, body moving in calculated curves as she reaches the waters. Even with her massive size, slipping in, she is quiet, a gentle splash of water echoing, and even the resulting ripples are perfect in amount, pushing out toward the edges of the cavern in small waves. Hanzo watches, both in confusion and fascination as this ancient creature disappears into the water. When the last tip of her tail slips into the pool, the silence, beyond the soft trickles of the waterfalls is all he hears. 

Just as he contemplates leaving the cavern, the surface of the water breaks again, quiet, as a very human figure rises from the pool. Her skin is dark, richer than the loveliest polished sard he’s ever seen. Down her back and over her shoulders cascades a drape of thick black hair, dark as the night sky. It’s her eyes that lets him know that this is the same, elegant nagini as before – piercing gold focuses on him as she carries her platinum crown, a much more manageable size, in her hands. 

Her nudity doesn’t bother Hanzo, nor does it distract him. He’s too focused on the beauty of how perfection radiates off her form. No step is wasted as she comes to a gradual halt before him.

“My crown,” she says, that same voice no longer echoing his mind and now very present in his ears. For some reason, it becomes more pleasing to hear it from her lips. 

For a moment, he forgets the crown, and he wonders if she realizes just what a treasure she appears to be, radiant and otherworldly in the glow of the gems around her. 

“The crown,” he reiterates when he collects himself. “In exchange?” 

The nagini cocks her head slightly, chin raised in critical inspection of the archer. He nearly feels unworthy, and thinks he may be one of the many greedy humans who have ventured down here, only to run back to the surface with nothing to show. 

She steps closer, much too close and his breath nearly leaves his chest. Adjusting the crown, she holds it in the crook of her arm as her free hand, incredibly warm for cave-dwelling serpent, settles at the top of his left arm, trailing down and following each dip of muscle. “Your arm…” she finally says, eyes looking back up. “There is disorder mapped among it…chaos illustrated…but I find its visuals pleasing. I want it for my own.” 

Hanzo nearly laughs but decides against it. His arm has always caused him inner turmoil. Once the signature of his birthright, a sign of his power, now a brand of his shame and exile. Still. “It would be yours, were it possible. Even if you were to take it, the colors will fade in time, and the flesh will rot. That is something you cannot control.” 

She frowns, finding logic in his words and circles him, until she stops at behind him. Hanzo feels a tug at the long silk ribbon that ties his hair. “Then this will suffice.” 

He agrees, bowing his head and walking forward so that the silk unravels and leaves his hair free to slightly touch at the nape of his neck. When he turns back, she is already wrapping the ribbon onto her arm, the yellow silk resembling a serpent coiling. 

Hanzo lifts his eyebrow, perhaps in question at the fairness or reasoning behind this certain trade. He doesn’t need to speak when she sighs, turning away. “You would not understand. Are you displeased with this exchange?” she asks coolly. 

“No. I am more than satisfied. Thank you.” He takes the crown from her when she offers it, and suddenly, the valuable metal feels hollow in his hands when he sees the nagini walking past him, heading back toward the pool. 

“Wait,” he calls before she can dip a toe into the water. She stops but does not look back. “Another exchange,” he dares to say. 

This time, she does turn, gold eyes narrowed. She awaits, although with forced patience, he can tell, from the stiffness in her shoulders. “Of greater or lesser value than my crown?” 

“Greater.”

At this, she fully turns around, facing him with an arch of an elegantly shaped eyebrow. Amusement touches her features and she listens, waiting to be entertained. 

“A name. Yours.” 

The surprise in her eyes is not something he expects to see but even then, Hanzo notes it does not mar her perfect face. She composes herself quickly, a small grin on her lips and a soft and melodic laugh fills the air, hiding her mirth behind a hand. 

“And in exchange?” 

“My name.”

Another beat of silence passes them and the nagini appears to smile, though it’s a bit difficult to tell whether she actually smiles or grins yet again. 

“I accept.” 

He nods. “Hanzo.” He gives her his name and he thinks if it’s an unworthy name, despite never having thought so before. 

She upholds her end of the bargain, the name that slips from her lips more fulfilling than any treasure he’s managed to find.

“Satya.”