Chapter Text
Regardless of how well he sleeps, Jack is always up just after dawn breaks on the horizon. It doesn’t help that he’s just west of his birth home in the Prairie Lands, the air drier, but still holds the familiar taste of sunshine and fields. It’s not a familiarity he enjoys and he wishes very much to return to the salty tang of the Southern Coast.
He sits up and stretches, and when he leans over to kiss Gabe’s forehead, he’s greeted by bright little eyes peering from the mound of blankets.
“Mornin’!” Jesse says in a graceless stagewhisper, considerately attempting to not wake Gabe.
Luckily, Gabe is the type to sleep heavier the longer he’s been asleep, so quiet conversation won’t wake him easily. Jack mumbles a greeting back and gets up for the day, going about his daily ablutions. He’s pleasantly surprised to find Jesse following him around like a duckling. The boy washes his face and brushes his teeth along with Jack and watches him intently as he shaves. He asks questions in his hushed voice.
“How come you shave everything, but Gabe keeps his fancy beard?”
“Because I like being shaven and Gabe likes being fancy.”
“Is it the same reason your hair is short and Gabe’s is long?”
“Yep, it’s just how we like things.”
“Can I grow my face and hair like Gabe’s?”
“If that’s what you’d like.”
“Can I cut it all short, like you?”
“If that’s how you want it.”
“What if I did half my head like you and the other half like Gabe?”
Jack stops shaving to look at Jesse’s expectant little face. “It would be strange, but if it makes you happy...”
“Do you care what I do?”
Jack cleans off his razor and puts it away, then wipes the foamed soap from his face. Feeling clean and respectable again, he kneels down to level with Jesse. “I do care. Gabe cares, too. All of Overwatch will care when they get to meet you. As long as you aren’t hurting yourself or others, we want you to do what makes you happy. If you want to shave yourself bald or grow it all out like a wild man, then that’s just fine.”
“Pa always said I needed to do as he told me, no matters what,” Jesse says seriously, a frown pulling at his mouth, “or he’d leave me at a ‘cademy.”
Putting his arms around the child, Jack hugs him tightly. “Gabe and I, we’d like you to listen to us for your wellbeing, but you are your own person. And an Academy is never an option, so don’t worry about that anymore.”
“Is everyone in Overwatch as nice as you and Gabe?”
Jack thinks about how grumpy Torbjörn can get and chuckles. “Usually.”
After Jack dresses, he leaves Jesse behind to order breakfast for them all at the tavern and have it delivered to their room. He takes the long way back to the inn, checking a few shops and stopping by the train station to see the time for the soonest train to head east. He buys three tickets for the afternoon train, then goes about picking up a few things for the trip. He checks in at the local Vishkar office to have them send word back to the Watchtower that they’d soon be heading home.
By the time Jack gets back to their room at the inn, his breakfast has gone cold. Gabe is awake and dressed and has managed to get Jesse dressed as well. The little boy is preening over his new, clean clothes in the mirror beside Gabe as the older man works his long curls back into a neat braid. Jack takes the ribbon from between Gabe’s lips and easily ties off the braid for him, earning a kiss to his temple in thanks.
“Jack, what took you so long? Your food is cold now,” Jesse says, peering at his plate as Jack sits down to eat it.
“We’re leaving today, so I bought some things to take with us. Gabe will warm it for me, so I wasn’t worried.”
Jesse clambers onto the chair beside Jack and leans on the table to get a good view as Gabe pulls a piece of crust from Jack’s toast and crumbles it in his palm. He uses the crumbs like kindling and his hand glows like embers, heat spreading from his fist. He opens his hand over Jack’s food and in just a few moments it begins to sizzle, the aroma of cooked food filling the air again.
“S’it hot?” Jesse asks, bouncing in his seat.
Jack spears a piece of potato with his fork and offers it to Jesse. “Careful now.”
Without hesitating, Jesse sticks it in his mouth and nearly burns his tongue. Gabe has to pour him some water from the pitcher as Jesse hops off the chair and tries fanning at his mouth to cool it off. He drinks down the whole glass before he settles, hanging his poor tongue out of his mouth for a moment. “Wow, dat’s hawt.”
Absorbs heat, but still susceptible to burns... What kind of fire could Jesse possibly be? Jack wonders.
After Jack finishes eating, the three of them pack up and then straighten the room. Jack shows them some of the baked good he picked up to snack on in between meals on the train as he puts them into the big basket that once had Jesse’s treats in it. They task Jesse with carrying it and he takes his job seriously despite the size of it.
They check out of the inn and take the walk through town, Jack and Gabe each with a suitcase and little Jesse tucked close between them. One or the other has a protective, guiding hand on Jesse’s shoulder, whisking him through the crowds before the people really even notice he’s there.
The train is there when they get to the station, the new arrivals still filtering out as the boarders move to get on. Jack shows the tickets to the stationmaster and can feel Jesse trying to shrink beside him, a little fearful of the scrutiny as the stationmaster checks them over. Satisfied, he directs them to their car and the three of them board, releasing a collective sigh of relief as they shut the door to their private overnight cabin.
Jesse beelines for the window, taking in the scenery, whooping with joy as the train eventually starts up. Jack sits beside Gabe and puts an arm around his shoulder. They share a smile. They’re going home.