Chapter Text
"You're an asshole, y'know," Jesse grumbled into his phone as he meandered through the bus station with a small duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "Hundred 'n' one things in this world and ya make me do this. Asshole."
"A favor is a favor," The asshole was smirking, Jesse swore the asshole was smirking on the other line. Goddamn, he was gonna throttle him the first chance he got.
"Yeah, well I didn't think ya'd wait years before cashin' it in. Stuff like that deserves an expiration date if ya ask me," He growled, making his way outside and flapping his hand in the air for a taxi. "Don't even remember the goddamn reason why I owe ya, Genj'."
The cyborg laughed, tinny and light. "You should be grateful. There would be many more if I actually listed all of the times I saved your ass. Do you recall when you lured a cow into Gabe's room?"
"Oh, fuck off, Genj'," Jesse slammed the taxi door to emphasize his words. "'Sides, s'not fair to ask a man on the run to take care of your business."
"Overwatch business, technically," The cyborg paused, humming. "Speaking of, you should make it official. Winston is getting anxious."
"When isn't Winston anxious?" Jesse slumped back in his seat, lazily propping his phone between his head and the car window. "I ain't coming back, Genji. Ya know that."
"Free rent and food, Jesse! It is truly a sweet life," Genji's voice lowered scandalously. "And Angela is here."
"For fuck's sake, it's not free. You're putting your ass on the line and for what?" The cowboy huffed, irritated. "Not now, at least. Don't think I could put up with Winston fussin' over his lil' recall. Remember when he started addin' read receipts on everythin'?"
"It is not so bad when you learn to drown out his mutterings like white noise," Genji laughed. "Well, take care of this for me, and I am sure I will see you in a month."
"Yeah, yeah, just keep the checks comin'," Jesse heaved another heavy sigh. He knew he was being a drama queen, but he really did not want to be here. "Don't know why ya even wanna. Asshole fuckin' sliced and diced ya."
"How many times must I tell you--"
"Fuckin' forgiveness and peace. None o' that changes the fact that your own shithead brother tried murderin' your ass." He gritted out the words through clenched teeth. Jesse felt protective of Genji in the absence of true family and he knew a mistake when he saw one.
"Do I-- Do I hear you being protective over me?" Genji snickered on the other line. "It is quite touching, Jesse McCree, adorable even."
"Go rot in hell, Genj'. Dunno why I even bother. Don't fuckin' come crawlin' to me when ya want me to put a bullet through his head."
"I would not require your assistance if I had any desire to kill him, Jesse." A pause. "You would probably do well to spend some time with the Shambhali. Such anger and you are not even the one whose dick was nearly chopped off. My dick, Jesse," Jesse bristled at the mock judgment on the other line. Yeah, he was totally going to go to Gibraltar. Not for the recall, but to throttle Genji once this was all done.
"Dunno why you're even botherin' with sendin' me to get him. He's your brother," Jesse huffed.
"I believe it is a case for your--" A pause. "Southern charm."
"Like hell am I charmin' him."
"Do what you must. As the cowman says, come hell or high water," The cyborg paused, considering the situation before adding a chipper, "Good luck!"
The call went dead, which meant Jesse could let the phone slide down from where it was propped up. Jesse slumped down in his seat and gave a groan dramatic enough for the taxi driver to glance at him in concern. Months on the run with a massive bounty on his head, and here he was, doing errands for one Genji Shimada.
He rubbed his face and thirsted for the sweet burn of some moonshine to soothe his troubles. What he wouldn't give to be back in the US of A enjoying a nice sunset to the howls of a coyote with a cigarillo in hand. Simple pleasures. It was all he ever asked for yet a little sparrow had to come chirping in his ear. When Jesse had resisted, that chirping turned into a full-blown squawking. That squawking had involved a litany of embarrassing photos on Genji's phone from their Blackwatch days. Jesse snorted at the thought. Trust that you could send a man to live with a bunch of peace-loving monks and he would still come back to blackmail the life out of a man.
The cowboy paid for the taxi, dragged himself out of the car, and faced the humble apartment that he would be spending the next month or so. It was a tiny, pea-sized studio tucked away on the outskirts of town that made Jesse wonder if Genji was skimping on the amenities. He'd have to call up and complain later.
Once settled in, Jesse flopped on his bed and sifted through the sparse notes Genji had sent. He had to wonder how close Genji even was to his brother when three of the fourth pages involved a detailed top ten list for local ramen shops. The fourth had a light smattering of thoughts and clues to where he could find Hanzo that Jesse felt far too hungry to even glance at. Clipped alongside a wad of money was an old photograph.
Jesse couldn't help the tug of his lips at the sight of Genji, young and neon-haired, grinning on the right of the photo. His arm was slung around a young, baby-faced man with long black hair. He snorted, noting the sour look marring his features, a total foil to the effortless grin plastered on Genji's face. He tucked the photo away in his pocket and laid back to rest. Sleep now, food later, finding Hanzo when he could give a damn.
One nap later and Jesse found himself at Ramen Shop #2 on Genji's list. It was a cramped affair and he stuck out like a sore thumb. He had traded in his usual get-up for denim and plaid, but it did little to help him blend in. Jesse kept the cowboy hat, at least, and hoped that he looked conspicuously harmless enough to be dismissed as a tourist.
"Howdy," Jesse tipped his hat at the waitress before taking a seat by the bar. He pointed at the house special and the cheapest bottle of beer. Hunger had roused him from his jetlagged slumber and boy, was he starving.
"The foreigner insults your chef with such an unrefined pairing," A deep voice barked with laughter. "Disgusting."
It had been years since Jesse had used Japanese on the regular. Back then, it had been mostly a tool to plot with Genji without Gabe knowing any better. His accent had gone to shit with years of disuse, but that didn't mean his comprehension had as well. Jesse bristled at the comments that normally wouldn't bother him. Tonight, however, he was in a particularly foul mood from traveling.
"If that's an open invitation to treat me to something better then go for it. By all means," Jesse grumbled back at the rude stranger sitting three seats down the bar. His Japanese felt stilted even to his own ears, but it had earned him a carefully raised brow and silence from the other man.
The other man looked like a threat with broad shoulders and enough muscles to make his leather jacket bulge in the arms. An undercut, plenty of piercings, and a hint of a tattoo peeking out from the collar of his shirt told Jesse everything he needed to know about the other man: Obnoxious, edgy motherfucker. The flush of an evening's worth of drinking lit up his cheeks beneath a carefully groomed beard. He'd be handsome if not for the pretension.
"Funny Americans can learn your language too," Jesse snorted before tipping back his bottle of beer. He glanced at the man with an irreverent smirk and felt the stranger's gaze try to burn a hole through his skull. Jesse offered a wink because he felt particularly annoyed tonight.
"Then I hope you can understand me when I say that your unrefined palate is a disgrace to the best ramen in Japan," The stranger rose from his seat and took the one next to Jesse.
"Second best," Jesse grinned as he felt a familiar itch in his knuckles. It had been a long time since he had gotten into a good bar fight and the stranger's face had just the right amount of smugness to punch.
The stranger looked momentarily offended before leaning in. "Do not dare tell me that you think Shibata is better."
The cowboy pursed his lips, the name suddenly ringing a bell. He raised a brow, realizing that it was the name that held the top-honored spot in the list Genji had meticulously written for him. "I think," He took a measured sip from his beer bottle before turning to the stranger. Jesse leaned back as best as he could in the cramped space, the picture of ease and cockiness. "Shibata is better."
"How dare you," The other man snarled.
At that moment, the waitress came around and presented Jesse with his bowl of ramen. He grinned at the stranger in the way that used to get Gabe's panties in a bunch before loudly slurping up noodles. He made a show of it, made sure that he was extra sloppy that splashes of broth were sure to hit the man beside him.
"Shibata noodles are better. Nicer, chewier texture," Jesse bullshitted even though the bowl before him was the best damn food he had had in a long time. "Eh, this broth could use some work too."
The other man tensed with anger. He reached out and grabbed the beer bottle, shamelessly chugging it down. "As if you could truly understand the rich complexities of this broth."
Jesse made a show of licking his lips. He laughed as he switched to English. "Darlin', I know complex and I can tell ya got one hell of a complex 'cause Daddy never loved ya right."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see knuckles go white as the stranger made tight fists. So it seemed the stranger spoke English as well. He fully expected to greet one of those fists with his face, but found that the stranger remained stiff and still. Jesse hummed, taking his time to slurp up more noodles and paying particular attention to the Splash Zone to the right of him.
"Sake!" The other man barked, and was immediately met with a full bottle and a cup.
"Thank ya kindly, stranger," Jesse downed his water cup in one go in order to fill it up with half of the stranger's sake. The look the man gave him could kill a lesser man, but it only made his lips stretch in a shit-eating grin that was surely making Gabe roll in his grave. He leaned forward and made a point of clinking his glass against the stranger's. "Payment for takin' my beer."
"You are a very fortunate fool that I value this establishment," The other man hissed, enunciating each syllable with cold precision.
"Ya ain't the first one to tell me that," Jesse shrugged, continuing to down his ramen at an unhealthy pace. He glanced at the stranger and smirked. "Ya know, for a man who wants to hurt me so bad, you're sitting awfully close."
The stranger's lips curled and he seemed ready to snap back. Instead, he gulped down his sake before laying claim to the glass Jesse had stolen. "My seat was taken."
"Then take it back. It's yours, ain't it? Ya don't strike me as the type to just lie back and take it," He marked those words with a daring wink, suggestion playing in his eyes. Jesse was going to go to Hell, that was a fact. Didn't mean he couldn't have some fun along the way, and fun for him was riling up drunken strangers.
"You are a very fortunate fool indeed. Had we been in Shibata, you would be dead right now," The stranger murmured, downing the rest of his sake. He gestured for the check.
Jesse snorted, a tad disappointed that the other man had managed to contain his temper. He pulled out his own wallet having finished his own bowl. It was late and Jesse was ready to pass out for an early start. He wasn't young anymore and those long flights were starting to take their toll on him.
"What--" The stranger froze next to him.
Jesse glanced over and realized that the photo Genji had supplied him had fallen out onto the bartop in the process. He raised a brow at the intense way the stranger stared at it. Jesse slid the photo back towards himself before pocketing it, flesh hand slowly drifting to where Peacekeeper was.
Glasses clattered on the bar as the stranger grabbed his wrist before he could reach his gun. The other man leaned in, a dangerous light in his dark eyes, as he demanded. "Why do you have that?"
"Oh that? Just a lil' reminder of my sweetheart back home to jack it to," Jesse replied coolly with a wink. The stranger's nails dug into his arm with a grip that was surely cutting off bloodflow. It hurt, but Jesse had far worse during his time in Blackwatch.
Suddenly, he was being dragged out by that vice grip. The restaurant workers and patrons stared as the Jesse stumbled out with the stranger, but did nothing to interfere. The cool night air greeted them as the stranger dragged Jesse down an alleyway. The other man slammed him against the a wall, his flesh arm pulled painfully back in a lock. Jesse grunted, wishing that he either hadn't eaten so much or antagonized the stranger.
"Why do you have that photo?" The stranger demanded with another shove against the wall.
"Oh honey, ya know I like it rough," Jesse teased, still finding no need to worry yet. He had been in worse situations with both hands tied behind his back before. At worst, this was just a clue to Hanzo's whereabouts biting him in the ass. The cowboy grinned, "Like I said, just somethin' I do the five knuckle shuffle to."
The other man slammed him against the wall once more, snarling, "How dare you defile my brother's memory!"
Brother's? Jesse blinked, momentarily at a loss for words as his brain put two and two together.
"Hold up, hold up!" Jesse squirmed in the hold, trying hard to look at the stranger's face. The cowboy couldn't help the laughter as he mentally compared the bearded stranger's face to the baby-faced sourpuss from the photo. "Well shit, god bless puberty 'cause you look nothing like the pics."