Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Happy birthday, Hanzo!” The paragraphs Hanzo was reading were blocked by a box being placed on top of them. He quirked an eyebrow at Mei as she took a step backwards, her smile bright as the sun.

“My birthday was two weeks ago,” he said and Mei scratched her cheek, sheepishly.

“Well, I know it’s a bit late, but everyone joined in on it! Come on, open it!”

Hanzo gave the box a wary look before he glanced at Mei again. She looked genuinely excited and he knew that she loved to surprise people. Relaxing, he gave her a small smile before his attention returned to the box. “Okay, let’s see what the big surprise is then.”

The box itself was unassuming. If Mei hadn’t said that it contained his gift, he would’ve assumed that she’d brought him more paper he needed to look through. Or even supplies. He supposed that she didn’t have much time to make a neat present. Carefully opening it up, he took a look inside.

A flyer was certainly not what he was expecting.

Hanzo gave Mei a questioning look but she only nodded encouragingly towards the flyer. He picked it up, putting the box on the floor.

“‘Come and stay at the Morrison farm. Relax out in the countryside, amongst animals and beautiful landscapes. Or if you wish to try your hand at working in a farm, we can do that too! Come alone or as a group, we welcome everyone!’ Mei, what is this?”

“That is our gift from us to you! A bit of vacation, since you always work so hard!”

Hanzo frowned. “Mei, I appreciate the gift, but I can’t go. I won’t have time to-”

“We have already spoken to Mr. Harrison. He said it was okay and he insisted that you take a break! And if you have any pets at home, we are prepared to take care of them, if you want!” Mei gave him a hopeful smile. Hanzo gave her a look before he looked back at the flyer. The silence grew between them as he re-read it.

“Uh, I-I mean, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to! We can easily find you something else-”

“Mei.” She immediately closed her mouth and Hanzo could see her cheeks redden. He gave her a soft smile.

“I appreciate it a lot. Thank you.”

Mei grinned, her mood restored and clasped her hands together. "I hope that you will enjoy it there! Lots of people have said that they are really good, both with the animals and with the customers. They only take in one booking at the time, even if it's just one person, so they can focus on giving good service. At least, that's what I've read."

Hanzo nodded and looked down at the flyer again. It was rather gaudy, but he had to admit that the colors were well chosen for what it was promoting. Certainly not something that would've caught his eye normally. Then again, if it hadn't been a gift, he probably wouldn't had even considered going there. "So. Did you book the date or should I?"

"Well, since we don't know what you do on your free time, we thought it would be best if you did it yourself."

Hanzo nodded and put the flyer in his bag. "Again, thank you. I will look into it when I get home."

He moved to return to his work but paused when Mei kept standing in front of his desk. He narrowed his eyes at her and she giggled.

"I was actually wondering if you would like to accompany me to lunch?"

Realization dawned upon him as he noticed how her smile had turned mischievous. "... The gift was only the beginning, wasn't it?"

Mei giggled and walked around the desk. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on now, the others are waiting."

Hanzo chuckled and rose up from his seat. "Very well. I’ve done enough work today."

The pure excitement from Mei made it worth all those papers Hanzo knew he would be behind on.

She waited by the door as Hanzo made a last check that everything was in order before he locked the door behind them and together they walked towards the lunch room.

Hanzo opened the door leading in and couldn't help but to smile at the decoration of the room; a large banner, confetti all over the tables, colorful paper plates and plastic mugs almost completely blending together with the confetti. And he was a bit surprised over how many of his colleagues was standing there.

"Happy belated birthday Hanzo!" they said with a few seconds delay between them. He could see how Amelié scrunched up her face at the horrendous sound and he had to bite on his finger to hold back laughter.

"Surprise!" Mei chimed in, all but bouncing beside him. He grinned at her and stepped forward when their boss, George, approached. The man smiled brightly and gave Hanzo's hand a vigorous shake.

"A bit late, but happy birthday, Hanzo. And, happy anniversary. 10 years has passed, and I’m hoping for many more. Time sure flies, doesn't it?" he said and raised his plastic mug in salute.

"Indeed it does," Hanzo agreed, looking out at the lunchroom with its decoration. "So, why all of this?" He motioned around them.

"Wanted to celebrate one of my brightest professors; you’ve made the school a better place. Besides, it was Mei-Ling's and Roger's idea. When they suggested it, I couldn't not agree," George said and smiled at Mei.

"It is a very lovely idea, but who’s going to do my work for me?" Hanzo asked, nodding to Amelié as she joined the conversation. She handed him a plastic mug and took a sip from her own.

"I'm taking care of your urgent paperwork, but the more complicated forms you’ll have to do either before or after you have come back. You will not be gone for more than a few days, after all," Amelié said and Hanzo hummed approvingly.

"And Roger has volunteered to take care of your classes," George added.

"See! I told you we’ve taken care of everything," Mei said and Hanzo turned to give her a hug and smiled.

"Indeed you did. Thank you," he said and straightened up. “Now, is that a cake I see over there?”

The people around him laughed and George pushed him towards the table filled with sweets. This was certainly not how Hanzo imagined his day going, but he couldn’t complain.

----

The sound of the kettle whistling reminded Hanzo to return the kitchen and to prepare the tea. His back let out a loud pop as he stretched it out, groaning as the tension eased up. He stared at the screen and the assignment he was constructing but the constant whistling made him put away the laptop and grab the phone on the way to the kitchen.

He had to pause in his preparation of the kettle of tea as the phone rang. He gave it a glance and considered his options as he picked out the kind of tea he wanted. When it didn’t stop, he sighed and picked it up.

"Hello, Genji," he said as he tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear. He heard a huff from the other side and couldn't help but grin.

" Why do you always insist on taking such a long time to answer? " Genji whined and Hanzo heard someone chuckle in the background.

"Because you insist on calling me when my hands are full," he said and let the tea leaves down into the water, turning to make a couple of sandwiches.

" Oh, I’m so sorry, let me just read your mind before I call you next time. "

Hanzo hummed, closing the fridge with his foot and carrying the stuff to the counter. He moved the phone to his other shoulder and started on his sandwiches.

" Anyway, was checking if you were coming to mom and dad’s during... well you know. Or if you're gonna stay home this year. "

Hanzo stopped and put down the cheese. He sighed, grabbing the phone properly. "Already that time of the year?" He turned towards the calendar on his wall, eyes skimming the weeks and turning the pages back in his mind's eye.

" Yeah, it is. I was thinking about not coming this year. Me and Lu were thinking about visiting Zen instead. He's doing a charity event and we wanted to help out. "

Hanzo closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, do that. It's been many years since then, you are not required to go."

" What about you? "

Hanzo opened his eyes and stared at the numbers for a bit before he turned towards the tea and made sure it hadn't gone bitter. "I'm- I'm unsure." He sighed. "I still have a lot to do. I might not even be able to go," he said and tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder again.

" I would say don't. It's in the past. Go out and have some fun, or I'll come and drag you with me. Lu's already on board with the plan, " Genji said and Hanzo chuckled. He finished the sandwiches and put them on a tray, along with the tea and the mug with twin dragons on it.

"I'm sure you would." He picked up the tray and walked to the living room. "I'll call back when I know what to do, I have to prepare an assignment for my classes. Talk to you tomorrow?" He put down the tray on the table and pulled the laptop into his lap when he sat down.

" Yeah, let's- " " Yo, man! Take it easy, you hear? "

Hanzo smiled and chuckled. "Hello, Lucio. And yes, I will. I have prepared to spend the whole evening on the couch," he said and  poured some tea in the mug.

" I suppose it's work, isn't it? Anyway, it's good that you chill some. You know- hey! Genji! "

Hanzo heard Lucio burst into laughter and everything went silent shortly after. He shook his head, putting the phone away and reaching for his mug. Taking a sip, Hanzo returned his focus to the assignment on the screen. He hummed in thought and put the mug down before he reached for his bag and started to look through it.

He took out the bunch of papers and put it down beside him and began to work through them.

He let out a yawn and glanced at the clock, grunting when he saw it was past eleven. Saving the document, he picked up the papers left on the pile and paused when a paper that didn't look like his notes poking out of it . Frowning, he pulled it out. He blinked when the gaudy colors stared at him. Staring back at it, he slowly put the rest of the papers down. He glanced at the screen and at his web document before he looked back at the flyer.

"Okay. Let's see what you have to offer." He closed the document, navigated to the website and settled for the rest of the night reading through it.

Chapter Text

The road had been far less bumpy than he had expected. For the farm, well, he had seen pictures on their website but those weren't even close to paying it justice.

Hanzo leaned against the steerwheel, staring at the house in front of him. The house was big and obviously old, but well taken care of from what he could see. There was another, a bit smaller but still impressive, house to the left from the main building, maybe a hundred meters between them. To the right was a simple looking building but it was closer than the house to the left. If Hanzo remembered correctly, that would be the building where clients would sleep. He thought he could see another building somewhere behind the main house, but he didn’t try to see more of it and refocused on the road in front of him.

He leaned back in his seat and barely spared a glance at the tacky sign that said ‘Morrison’s Farm’ before he drove under it. The courtyard was big and well used, judging by the fact there were barely any grass there. There was a designated area for cars by the fence and when Hanzo couldn’t see any signs where clients should park, he drove into a slot and parked the car.

He sat in the car for a few seconds to breathe before he opened the door and went outside. There was no clouds outside and the sun was starting to set. He had barely closed the trunk when he heard a door open. Looking towards the main house, he saw a dark skinned man come out.

“Ah, Mr. Shimada?,” he said as he approached, smiling when Hanzo nodded. Hanzo held out his hand and the man shook it. “Good to see you! I’m Gabriel Reyes, you can call me Gabriel. I trust the way here was good.”

“It was. A truly beautiful scenery, makes me wonder why I haven’t travelled here before.”

Gabriel beamed and motioned around them. “And there are many more views for you to explore around here-” he lowered his arms and nodded towards the trunk “-but I think we should get you settled in first. Here, let me take your bag and show you to your room.”

Hanzo stepped back to let Gabriel grab the luggage and closed the trunk after him.

“In your booking, you haven’t listed anything specific what you want to do here. Looking to take it easy?”

“Yes. I saw some activities that you listed as relaxing but there wasn’t really an option to solely relax,” Hanzo said, letting his eyes wander over the yard as they walked towards the simpler looking house. He could see more buildings behind the main house and a big field. Further away he thought he could see the edge of a forest as it broke the horizon weirdly.

“Yeah, if you want you can just walk around. No need to do any activities.” They stopped in front of one of the doors of the house and Gabriel dug up a key from a pocket. Hanzo watched in silence as he unlocked and pushed the door open before turning to him.

“Here you go, Mr. Shimada.” He held out the key for Hanzo to grab. “I’ll let you get settled in. Dinner will be ready in two hours, if you want a short tour around the place before that, come and knock on the door at the main house.”

"Thank you, Gabriel. I'll come by soon." Hanzo began to bow but caught himself before he had bowed all the way down.

Gabriel grinned and handed him the bag. "Alright. See you soon then."

He watched Gabriel walk away to the main house, turning to his room when the other man had reached the porch. The room wasn't big but it would be comfortable enough for one or two people. He closed the door after himself and put the bag at the end on the single bed. There were some counters and a sink, a small table with two chairs, a wardrobe and another door. After opening it, he noted it was a small bathroom complete with a toilet and a shower. It really looked like a hotel room. Had the feeling of it at least.

By the time Hanzo unpacked some of the clothes and things he would need, took a shower and changed clothes, an hour had passed. He tied his still slightly wet hair into a bun while closing the door behind him with a foot. After making sure it was locked and he had his phone with him, he walked to the main house and knocked on the door.

Instead of meeting Gabriel, he was met by a woman with purple hair that almost seemed to be glowing. Her eyes narrowed for a second before they brightened in recognition.

"Holá! I'm Sombra, and I run the economics of this place! I must say, wasn't expecting you to show up before the dinner was ready, Mr. Shimada," she said, leaning on the doorframe.

"Hello, Sombra. I simply got curious on the farm. I do realize that this might be too little time for a tour, but I would still like some company," he said with a nod.

"Hey, Sombra! You're not bothering our guest again, are you?" Gabriel shouted from somewhere in the house.

Sombra rolled her eyes and leaned backwards, turning towards the way the shout came from. "No, Gabe, just welcoming him here! Jeeze, let a woman chat for once, will you?" There was another shout from Gabriel, but as it was in spanish, Hanzo didn't try to listen in. He did catch that he called Sombra a rascal though. He chuckled and Sombra turned back to him.

"Sorry about that. Come in, I can give you a more in depth explanation on some of the things we offer." She turned around, walking into the house. Hanzo hurried after her, entering the kitchen she lead him into.

Gabriel looked over his shoulder and smile. "Good evening, Mr. Shimada. Take a seat by the table, and enjoy the spectacle that is me cooking food!"

Sombra waved towards a chair, sitting down by a laptop that was on the table. "Don't worry, amigo, Gabe's a good cook. He just likes to make it more dramatic than it is. Especially when guests are here. So-” she held up a finger at Hanzo as he sat down “-did anything catch your eye on the website? Wanna make sure that you have a good time here. Four days, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.” He looked around at the kitchen. It was big enough to have some people running around and cook, thought it was only Gabriel cooking at the moment. Beside the counters, the fridge and the freezer, there was a smaller dinner table where he supposed people could sit by and be social. “I saw the website mentioning sheeps and horses.”

Sombra grinned and tapped on her laptop. “Yeah, we got them. If you’re really lucky, you will even get to see some lambs!”

“That sounds very lovely.”

Hanzo barely noticed as the hour went past. They had finished talking about what he wanted to do on the farm and switched over to casual conversation when a man with blonde hair and streaks of gray in it walked into the kitchen and over to Gabriel.

“Smells good, Gabe,” the man said and kissed Gabriel on the cheek before he seemed to notice Hanzo. Hanzo rose up as the man approached.

“I’m Hanzo Shimada,” he said and stretched out his hand. The man smiled and shook his hand.

“Hello, Mr. Shimada! I’m John Morrison, but you can call me Jack. Everyone does. Welcome to our farm! I would’ve met you earlier, but things needed my attention out there. Have Gabe and Sombra treated you well?”

Hanzo nodded and sat down when Jack took a seat by the table.

“They have been very good. You have good employees.” The burst of laughter around him made him realize that he might’ve had jumped to conclusions. Clearing his throat, he bowed slightly to hide his embarrassment. “My apologies, it seems like I got the wrong impression.”

Jack waved a dismissive hand, clearly holding back more laughter. “Well, you’re not wrong. This is a family company, Gabe’s my husband and Sombra are our daughter.”

Sombra leaned on one of her elbows. “Speaking of family, where’s Jess? Aren’t he coming?”

Jack shook his head. “He said he didn’t feel well. Wanted to take it easy for the rest of the evening.”

Sombra hummed and Hanzo glanced between them.

Jack turned towards him. “You’ll meet him tomorrow probably. He doesn’t stay down for long.”

“Well, he’ll miss the paella I made. Sombra, take some plates and put them in the dining room. We aren’t eating here!” Gabriel said as he walked up to the table. He put a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Cariño, could you get out a plate for Jesse? If that boy not feeling well, he’s not gonna cook any food.”

Jack nodded and got up. Hanzo glanced at him as he filled up a container with the food but his attention was drawn back to Sombra as she motioned at him to follow. They entered a big room with a table in the middle, leaving plenty of room in the room. Probably so they could carry in a longer table if there were more guests visiting. The decoration made it feel like home, with all of the photos on the walls and different paintings. Hanzo hummed in appreciation. He took a seat and watched as the dinner was being served.

“Tonight it’s paella. Enjoy!” Gabriel said and sat down too. They all had taken food when Jack returned.

They soon engaged in small talk and Hanzo found them easy to talk to. The hours passed faster than Hanzo had expected, so when he yawned they agreed to take the tour the following morning.

When he got to bed, he was looking very much forward to the following days.

---

The morning was slow and just what Hanzo needed. He woke up at seven, at eight Jack knocked on the door with his breakfast as they had agreed on and by nine, he was dressed and out.

The farm was more alive than on the previous day, sound coming from all over the place. He gazed over the other buildings and the fields before he turned to the main building. Sombra was out on the porch, tapping on her laptop and bobbing her head in sync with music that was escaping from her headphones. He had barely stopped by her side before she held up a finger, continuing tapping on the laptop with her other hand.

Hanzo watched her work, seconds ticking by before she closed the laptop and pulled the headphones down.

"Ready for your tour?"

He nodded, watching her putting away her things. "Ok, let's get this done!"

Sombra dragged Hanzo around, happily explaining all of the history around the farm while pointing out different parts as they tied into her story. Eventually they reached a stable and Sombra stopped them outside.

"Here we have the horses! Most of them are outside now in the paddock, but there should be one inside still. She got hurt and are under room arrest until she's healed up. Wanna meet her?" Hanzo had barely opened his mouth before Sombra opened the door and gestured him inside. He chuckled, walking inside. He was greeted by a small room with a lot of boots and some protective coats.

"I suggest that you switch to some boots. Are you squeaky about poop and getting dirty?" Sombra said as she took out a pair of bright purple boots from a locker.

"I do have chosen my clothes in preparation for them to get dirty. So no, I'm not 'squeaky' about getting dirty." He eyed the row of boots, eventually choosing a pair and changing into them.

The next room was the stable. There were several empty stalls to the sides and a big open doorway at the end of the building. In the middle of the hallway was a black horse, mottled with white and brown spots, being tended by a man in a cowboy hat.

"Ah, Jesse! There you are!" Sombra quickened her steps and was in front of the man when he turned around.

Hanzo's breath hitched when he got a good look on the man. The scruffy beard, the tan skin, a slightly crooked nose and warm, brown eyes. A hint of familiarity. His expression was bright as he was speaking to Sombra, but it turned odd when he lifted his head and locked eyes with Hanzo. It was gone after a second and a charming smile had taken its place.

He tipped his hat. "Mr. Shimada I take it?" He stretched out a hand at Hanzo's nod. "I'm Jesse McCree. Pleasure to meet you." They shook hands and Jesse rolled his shoulders. Hanzo narrowed his eyes as a nagging feeling got stronger the longer he watched him.

"Sorry that I couldn't make it to the dinner last night. If you're feelin' a bit under the weather, you ain't gonna be around guests, you know?"

Hanzo blinked and cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. I take it you feel better now?"

"Yeah, luckily enough. Now, I think you have a tour to finish, and I have help Betty to take her medicine. If you want to take a ride with a horse, come here and I'll help you," he said with a nod and began to turn away.

"Wait." Jesse stopped in his movements, turning to look back at Hanzo. He felt both Jesse's and Sombra's questioning gazes on him and he met Jesse's eyes head on. "Have we met before?"

If he had blinked, he would've missed how Jesse's eyes darkened ever so slightly, and then he had closed his eyes, rolling his shoulders and shaking his head.

"Sorry, can't say we have."

Hanzo hummed, slowly nodding. "I see. I must've mistaken you for someone else then. My apologies." He lowered his head in a small bow but Jesse waved it away.

"It's fine. That happens," he said with a shrug.

"Yes. I will let you return to your work, I won't disturb you anymore." He nodded to Sombra who gave them both curious glances but was quick on taking his arm and beginning to drag him out.

"Ok, see you later then, Jess!" Sombra called over her shoulder before she pushed Hanzo into the small changing room, closing the door after them. She turned towards him and tilted her head. "You know Jesse?"

Hanzo sighed, kicking off his boots and pulling on his normal shoes. "No. He simply reminded me of someone," he said with a dismissive tone as he put the boots back to their place.

"Huh. Alright, you wanna go and see the chickens? Or maybe we can find out where the cats have hidden, if you wanna see them," she said as she changed shoes as well.

A smile slowly crawled onto Hanzo's face. "Cats?" Sombra looked absolutely delighted.

"Come on, they love to hide in the hay."

Hanzo glanced back at the door leading to the stalls, the nagging feeling still present despite Jesse’s reassurance. He sighed and nodded to Sombra. "Yes. Let's go."

Chapter Text

The next day Hanzo woke up early, unease making him unable to fall back asleep. The sun had barely risen when he gave up, got up and dressed with a frustrated sigh. His book failed to keep him interested and he hadn’t brought any work with him to occupy himself with in moments like this, so when he noticed that people were up and about in the main house, he decided to walk over.

Before he got the chance to knock on the door, someone behind him cleared their throat.

“You’re awake early,” Jesse said as Hanzo turned around to face him. The man was dressed in clothes similar to the day before, just in different colors.

“Ah, yes. I couldn’t sleep.”

Jesse frowned and opened his mouth as to say something before he shook his head and gave him a smile. “Well, while Jack and Gabe are awake, Sombra ain’t gonna wake up in a couple of hours still.”

“I see. I’ll go back to my room then,” Hanzo said and bowed his head slightly, starting to move away.

“Hold on, I wasn’t saying that you weren’t welcome inside.” Hanzo paused and looked at him, but Jesse wasn’t meeting his eyes. He scratched his chin. “Just, Jack and Gabe have some stuff to attend to during the mornings, so you won’t have anyone to entertain you.”

Hanzo chuckled and shook his head. “I’m fine with not being entertained. I merely want some breakfast.”

“Then come inside. Gabe won’t mind staying behind for a bit to make sure you get some grub.” With that, Jesse walked inside the house, leaving the door open behind him.

Hanzo stood there for a few seconds before following him.

“Gabe told me you were up early today,” Sombra said as she joined him by the tables outside, a big pasture where a few horses had been strolling around in giving them a wonderful view. Some of them were waiting by the gate they had been let in through earlier, most likely waiting for their friends that had yet to be released.

“Yes. I didn’t sleep well tonight,” he said and took the thermos Sombra held out to him. He opened the lid and took a sniff.

“It’s that chai tea you said you liked. Figured that you would want some more.” Sombra took a bite of her sandwich before pointing at him with it. “So, what’s bothering you? Too much sound? A bad bed?”

Hanzo finished filling his cup and taking a sip before he let out a sigh. “The bed is perfect and the city is far noisier than this. It’s just,” he trailed off and gestured in the air before he let the hand drop.

She hummed and tapped her nails on the table. “Sometimes people just have a hard time sleeping in a new place, you know?”

“Yes, perhaps.” His eyes were drawn to the stable doors as they opened up to reveal Jesse walking out with two horses behind him. He watched him walk them to the gates of the pasture where the other horses where stomping impatiently. Hanzo could hear Jesse’s laugh from where he was sitting and it made his heart ache with familiarity.

“We could ask Jess to take you on a tour with the horses. There are nice views outside the ranch,” she said as Jesse opened the gate and let the horses loose inside the pasture.

Hanzo kept watching Jesse for a few seconds before he turned towards Sombra, a mischievous grin on her face, the one that only younger siblings could make.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “No, thank you. I think I would much rather stick to the plan we’ve already made.” Turning his attention to the tea, he listened to the sounds around him.

“Suit yourself.”

Hanzo heard some tapping on a phone and he relaxed his shoulders. He was looking forward to the day.

---

“ So, barely two days left on the ranch. How are you liking it so far? ” Hanzo glanced down at the phone on the table, taking a bite of the cookie before answering.

“I like it. Different pace from the city, it feels like it’s not as stressful. Even if they wake up just as early.” He could hear Satya’s chuckle and her tapping on the laptop.

“ A good present then. I have to admit, I was a bit sceptical when Amelié mentioned that this would be your gift from the school. It just seems a bit… A bit messy for you. ”

He smiled around the cookie, watching some people making the last preparations of the day. “You haven’t seen me as a kid. We were always outside, especially after it had rained or stormed, playing in the mud. Favorite trips? Hiring a cabin in the woods, or just downright camping.”

“ Oh? How come I’ve never heard of this? ”

The smile on his lips turned sad, his eyes looking down at his lap. “When we met it wasn’t something I wished to talk about and then it just never came up.” Shrugging, he took the last bite of the cookie.

“ ... I see. Do you wish talk about it now? ”

“You know these annual trips I usually make to meet my family? It’s because of him.”

“ Oh. No need to say more, Hanzo. I understand. ” Something sounding like a door slamming shut was heard in the background and someone calling out. “ Ah, Fareeha is home. Sorry, I got to go. Talk to you later? ”

“Of course. Go to your girlfriend, she’s probably been missing you,” he said, looking fondly at the phone.

“ She sees me everyday, ” Satya said but Hanzo heard how happy she was.

“She’s your soulmate, no? Of course she’s missing you. Go and make her day,” he said and reached out to end the call.

“ Hanzo. ” He hovered his hand over the phone. “ You’ll find yours too someday. You have your mark. ”

Hanzo was silent for a few seconds before he sighed. “I know. Goodnight, Satya.”

“ Goodnight, Hanzo. ”

He ended the call and leaned back in his seat. Thoughts crawled around his mind, reminding him of things he hadn’t activatly thought about for some time. Of days where the two of them had no worry in the world, where he had spent almost every day with him.

His eyes landed on Gabriel standing by some crates, talking to Jesse. Whatever they were talking about, both of them seemed to be in a good mood. Hanzo found himself watching Jesse.

Slowly he began to realize why he felt familiar.

---

Hanzo watched Jesse heave hay to the horses, cooing at a speckled one and scratching under its chin as the horse clearly wanted him to do it. Even from this distance Hanzo could see Jesse's eyes squint from the smile on his lips. His heart clenched and he let out a slow but shaky breath, it was all too familiar.

He watched Jesse feed the rest of the horses, giving all of them the attention they demanded.  How happy and at home he looked among the animals.

The dimmed smile he gave Hanzo when he was done with feeding them made it clear that he most likely knew what Hanzo wanted to talk about. The lump in Hanzo's stomach threatened to come up.

A soft meow and a bump against his leg caught his attention and he couldn't help but smile at the white and brown tabby lady rubbing against his leg. She meowed again and bumped her head into his hand as he reached down to pet her. Low purring was heard as she made it known that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

The sound of boots approaching made Hanzo straighten up and face Jesse.

"Sorry for the wait, they are rather hungry at this time," he said with that smile of his. It looked more rigid than it did a minute earlier. It made Hanzo debate if this would really be worth it, if he just should talk about something else.

Jesse chuckled when the tabby let out a loud meow in protest that he stopped petting her. "Seems like she likes you, Mr. Shimada."

"It seems like that," he agreed and bent down to give her a final pat. When she recognized that she wouldn't get any more pets now, she scampered off. Hanzo and Jesse watched in silence as she disappeared around the corner.

"So. You wanted to talk to me?"

The lump in his stomach was relocated to his throat, and Hanzo found it hard to swallow. "I- Yes. Yes, I wanted to talk. Preferably in private.”

The smile dropped and Jesse motioned around them. “We ain’t getting more alone than this. The others are finishing up in other places and they let me take care of the horses alone, don’t come here unless I ask them to. Now, what’s the problem, Mr. Shimada?”

Hanzo lifted his chin and looked Jesse in the eyes. He still had time to ask something else entirely, the mask on Jesse's face told him that it probably would be for the best. But he had to know. He had to know why .

"Your name isn't Jesse McCree, is it."

A roll of his shoulders and averting his eyes for a second. "I have no idea what you're on about, Mr. Shimada."

Hanzo wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh so badly, but a bitter taste that rose in his mouth prevented him from doing so. "You have never been a good liar, Joel."

The change was instant. The polite mask that he had on was gone and an irritated, borderline angry, expression took its place. "What do you want, Hanzo?"

"What I wa- What I want? What I fucking want?” The brief relief he felt with the confirmation that it was in fact Joel evaporated. “I want to know where you’ve fucking been, that’s what!”

“That’s none of your goddamn business! What gives you the fuckin’ right to just waltz in here and demand answers that ain’t got anything to do with you?”

“Am I not allowed to care? Am I not allowed to wonder where you have been all those years?”

“What I do with my life ain’t any of your goddamn business! I know you fuckin’ saw that I didn’t want to talk to you, so why did you even decide to invade my life?”

“We-” Hanzo’s hands clenched into fists- “We thought you were dead!”

Hanzo didn’t realize he was shouting until the silence fell back in place. His chest was heaving as he all but gasped for air. The nervous stomping from the horses in the stable reached his ears and he forced himself to take a deep breath. “We thought you were dead, Joel.”

He refocused his eyes on Joel, a stunned look present on his face. “For the past 15 years, we’ve held memorials for you, because we thought you were dead. Me, Genji, our friends, my parents. Your parents. I- we have missed you so goddamn much, and you have-” He chokes on the words, feeling as if the air refuses to go down into his lungs. “You have been alive this whole time.” He feels his eyes burn so he closes them and take a few more deep breaths.

“Hanzo, I-” Joel began but stopped just as quickly he began. Hanzo opens his eyes and looks at him. He could see the anger lingering in his face, but it was not as vivid as before. The silence seemed to be stretching out forever before Hanzo slightly lowered his head.

“Fine. Be as angry as you want at me. I deserve it. But at least call your parents and tell them that you’re alive. That’s the least they deserve.” He raised his head but when it was clear that Joel didn’t intend to speak again, he turned his back to him and started to walk away.

“My name ain’t Joel anymore. It’s Jesse now.”

A bitter taste rose in his throat. “Whatever you call yourself now, please call your parents. I’ll be going back home tomorrow by 11 am. You won’t need to worry about seeing me again, I’ll stay clear of the farm. Goodnight.”

Joel didn’t say anything and Hanzo wasn’t sure if he wanted him to. The thoughts were spinning around in his head and had not been relieved by the time he crawled into bed.

He let out a bitter laugh and pulled the blanket closer. This wasn’t how he had imagined how his vacation would end.

---

Jack and Gabriel had been the ones to send him off in the morning. Hanzo didn’t see a sign of either Joel or Sombra. Joel he could understand, and considering on how good terms they seemed to be, he wasn't surprised by Sombra's absence. Though he wished he had been able to say a proper goodbye to her before he left

The drive from the farm had been rather boring, but with the boredom his thoughts drifted to the night before. The scene replayed inside his mind and eventually he had to stop on the side of the road to put on a documentary to distract himself.

When Hanzo came home he kept distracting himself, first by dumping dirty clothes in the laundry and putting away the other things where they should be. A quick shower followed and then he sat down in the couch with a good book.

By the time Hanzo checked the clock, two hours had passed and someone was ringing on his door like the world was about to end. He grumbled and was tempted to leave the person hanging, as he had a good guess on who it would be. He carefully placed the book down and took his time to make himself presentable as he walked towards the door as slowly as possible.

“Can you be any slower?” Genji asked, deadpan, while Lucio was giggling beside him.

“I could always close the door and go to the bathroom before I come and open it again.” The door didn’t move much before Lucio held up a hand and let out a laugh.

“He’s just impatient, don’t mind him. Can we come in?”

Hanzo hummed and pretended to think about it. It earned him a scowl from Genji. “Well, since it’s you asking, I can let you in,” he said and motioned them inside.

“Thanks man!” Lucio walked into his apartment without hesitation and quickly made himself at home.

Hanzo turned towards Genji and rose an eyebrow in question when his brother didn’t walk inside. The scowl had softened to a worried look and Genji took a step closer.

“Are you alright?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You weren’t answering your phone, so we kinda got worried. We were in the area so Genji wanted to come by to see if you’d gotten home yet,” Lucio called from somewhere in the apartment. It made Hanzo frown sightly before realization hit him. He turned around and searched in the pockets on his jacket, quickly finding said phone without an ounce of power in it.

“It seems like my phone is dead. Apologies, I didn’t intend to ignore your calls.” He put the phone in his pocket and looked at Genji just in time to see the other’s shoulder sag and the worried expression ease up.

“You’re trying to make me go gray, brother.” Genji straightened up and walked towards the living room,

“One,” Hanzo began and closed the door behind Genji, “ you’re the one who tries to give me gray hair. Two, blame any gray hair on Father. He’s the one you got your genes from.”

Lucio gave them a mischievous grin as they took a seat, Genji beside Lucio in the couch and Hanzo in the armchair. “You know, mais querido, I think pepper and salt hair will suit you. Would make you appear more grown-up.”

Genji raised an eyebrow. “Am I not a grown up already?”

“Nah, you’re more like a big kid.” Lucio laughed when Genji let out an offended noise and pouted.

Hanzo averted his eyes, lightly biting the inside of his cheeks. “I’ll go and make some tea,” he mumbled when he noticed Lucio leaning in towards Genji, standing up and hurrying to the kitchen.

He could hear Lucio and Genji continuing to talk, but at a much lower volume than before. His body went on auto-pilot, taking down his kettle and preparing the tea. The memory of Joel’s face resurfaced in his mind and he had to ease his grip on the mug and put it down gently. He shook his head and focused back on making the tea.

“I picked something I think you will enjoy, Lucio,” Hanzo said as he walked back into the living room, carrying three mugs, the teapot and some sweets on a tray. “It’s something Satya made. It’s a bit sweeter than my normal teas, but it’s good nonetheless.”

It was silent during the minute it took for Hanzo to serve the tea and sit down, but when he was seated, Genji sighed and gave him a serious look.

“Are you sure you are alright? You never turn your phone off, let alone letting it run out of power. At least not without a warning.”

“And you have never shied away when I showed affection to Genji. What’s up, man?”

Hanzo stared blankly into his mug, Joel’s face once again popping up in his mind. Closing his eyes, he leaned back in his armchair and exhaled slowly. “Joel is still alive.”

“Joel?” The confusion in Lucio’s voice was clear as a day but it was the silence from Genji that made Hanzo open his eyes and look at his guests.

Genji’s look of disbelief slowly changed into a frown. “You’re lying.”

Hanzo shook his head, feeling the bitterness from yesterday come crawling back. “No. He’s alive and well. Got a new family that obviously loves him and a job that he adores.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice, he was well aware of it, but he suspected that Genji wouldn’t mind.

“Wait, hold on a sec. Joel? Isn’t he your dead boyfriend?”

“Well, yes.” Hanzo faltered and bit the inside of his cheek before he sighed and dragged a hand over his face. “He just isn’t as dead as we first thought. I’ve met him and he was doing just fine.”

Genji let out a frustrated noise. “How can you be so sure that it was him?”

“He confirmed it. He knew me and wasn’t exactly happy to see me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh indeed.”

“Aren’t you happy for him?” The question from Lucio left an empty feeling inside Hanzo’s stomach, which soon began to fill with guilt.

“I-yes. Yes, I’m happy for him. I’m happy that he’s alive. I just-” he waved a hand as he tried to grasp words. “I just wish he hadn’t disappeared .”

“I understand why though,” Genji mumbled and Hanzo had to ease his grip on the mug full of cooling tea.

“I agree.”

“Listen, I don’t wanna destroy this gloomy mood, but he had a reason to do so, even if it wasn’t the best idea, right?” Lucio began to play with Geji’s hair. “Be happy for him and that you know he’s alive. If he wants to contact you, he’ll make it happen when he’s ready.”

Genji looked at him with half lidded eyes. “You’re starting to sound like Zen.”

“Well,” he began with a smirk, “he’s a wise man. You should listen to him more.”

Hanzo watched the two talk as he mulled Lucio’s words in his head. He knew that. He shouldn’t had confronted Joel in the first place. Rubbing his face in frustration, he picked his phone from his pocket and stared blankly at it when it didn’t respond. “Oh, right.” He turned his eyes to the other two. “Are you planning to go home or do you wish to sleep over?”

Genji and Lucio looked at each other before they nodded and turned towards Hanzo at the same time. “We’ll take the guest room preferably.”

“Good, I’ll go and prepare it then. Takeout?”

“We’ll order while you prepare the bed. The usual?” At Hanzo’s nod, Genji wiped out his phone and Lucio rose up from his seat and began to gather the mugs and the teapot.

After putting the phone in its charge station and gathering new bedsheets, Hanzo went to the guest room to prepare it. It was comforting that they would be here for a bit longer. At least his mind would be more distracted than if he were to be alone.

Content, he returned to the living room, looking forward to an evening with some casual games.

Chapter Text

“-and can you believe he dared to question my taste?” Amelié drank a bit from her tea and nodded. Satya huffed and smoothed her blouse a little.

“I wonder what he was expecting, since he was asking a professional designer,” Amelié said with a shake of her head.

“You’re right to be angry at him. What are you gonna do with him?” Hanzo asked, giving the waitress a ‘thank you’ as she gave him his sandwich.

Satya sighed, giving the waitress a polite smile. “He’ll be taken care of by one of my colleagues. I just wished he had been more specific from the beginning so we wouldn’t had wasted time on all this.” She gave them a tired smile and waved her hand a little. “Despite that, I love it. How’s the end of the school year coming up for you?”

Hanzo groaned, making Amelié snicker delightfully. “Someone leaked Hanzo’s tests, so he has been trying to come up with new ones. I’m just waiting for projects to be sent in, so I’ve tried to help him.”

“They’re investigating the whole thing, I was just lucky that I have some students that actually like my class so they told me about the leaked tests. At least I still got time to do this, and not be left days afterwards to deal with the aftermath.” He finally took a bite of his sandwich and felt the lingering stress fade a little. It was always relaxing to spend the morning with Amelié and Satya.

“On a different note, how’s Fareeha, Satya? I haven’t seen her in a while and Angela have been wondering how it went with that nasty wound on her thigh,” Amelié said, tilting her head slightly.

Satya chuckled and looked down into her tea. “Angela must’ve shaken her up a bit, since she actually listened to her.” The pleased look on Amelié’s face made both Hanzo and Satya chuckle. “The wound have healed well, thanks to her advice. It’s not even bothering her anymore. Let us invite you to dinner sometime soon.”

Amelié nodded, pulling out her phone out and quickly tapping at it. “Angela are at work right now, she’ll come back with a date after she checked her calendar.”

“Oh, Amelié, Hanzo!” They looked up and around, spotting Mei waving at them with a radiant smile.

“Hello, Mei.” Hanzo rose from his seat and dragged another chair to the table.

“Hello, miss Zhou. Pleasure to meet you again,” Satya said with a nod when Mei sat down.

“Miss Vaswani! Long time no see! And please, call me Mei.”

“Then I insist you to call me Satya. Having a pleasant morning?”

She clasped her hands in excitement. “Oh, yes! In fact, I got wonderful news today! I got to know when and where the annual team building exercise will be!”

Amelié raised an eyebrow. “Have Mr. Harrison sent out the email today?” At Mei’s nod, Hanzo took out his phone to check out his mail. He listened as she continued to talk.

“I’m so excited for this! We’re going to the Morrison Farm!”

Hanzo’s breath was caught in his throat and he stopped hearing what Mei was saying after that.  He stared at his phone, his mind blank, at the email sitting there innocently.

He forced himself to relax and looked at the others. “I think I won’t be able to come.”

Mei’s excitement dulled a bit and Amelié raised an eyebrow.

“You spoke rather highly of the place, it would be a shame for you to miss it,” Satya said, tilting her head slightly.

He gave them a polite smile. “Indeed it would, but I’m afraid it can’t be helped.”

“You have to speak to Mr. Harrison either way, he needs to know,” Mei said and he nodded.

“Of course.”

The conversation soon drifted into other topics until it was time for them to part their ways and deal with the daily responsibilities. For Hanzo it meant a little change of plans this time.

“Hanzo, what a surprise! What can I do for you?” George said with a smile as Hanzo entered his office. He gave a polite smile back and George motioned towards the seat on the other side of his desk.

“I’ve come here to discuss the team trip,” he said as he sat down, George looking at him curiously.

“Is something wrong with the choice?”

Hanzo chose his words carefully. “No. The Morrison Farm is a good place, you made a good choice.” He paused, watching George raise an eyebrow, and folding his hands in his lap. “I just need to inform you that I won’t be able to come.”

He looked surprised but his expression soon turned into concern. “Has something happened?”

“I have a commitment the day we’re going, and I’m unsure if I can walk out of that.” Hanzo watched George scratch the back of his head.

“That’s troublesome. The date for the trip hasn’t changed, you have known this for quite some time. And it’s all paid for.” He turned towards his computer, a frown present on his face.

The hope Hanzo felt when he walked in was quickly disappearing.

“And you know that the trip is obligatory anyway. As long as it isn’t a funeral, I’m afraid that you have to come.” He turned his head to look at him. “I hope that this won’t affect you that much, whatever you were planning to do.”

Hanzo kept his back straight and his face neutral. “I see. Thank you for the information.” He bid George farwell and it wasn’t until he had reached his office that he let himself slump into a chair and curse.

---

Hanzo had to admit, it felt a bit surreal that he was back to the farm even though he had said he would never return. During the travel, the others in the car kept asking him questions as he became the unofficial leader of the trip since he had already been there.

When they arrived, George greeted Jack and Gabriel with a lot of enthusiasm which they seemed to share, but the moment they saw Hanzo, that enthusiasm turned more subdued, more professional. He wasn’t sure if the others noticed, he himself only did because he had seen how they acted normally.

But he did consider himself lucky that Joel wasn’t there to greet them. Sombra was missing too, and Hanzo had to count that as a blessing as well, since he wasn’t sure she would’ve held back a lecture if she had seen him.

“You’re rather lost in your thoughts there. Are you alright?” Hanzo blinked as Amélie’s voice broke through his haze. Looking down at the bag he had mindlessly been unpacking, he cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, you were saying?”

She frowned, stepping closer to put a hand on his shoulder. ”You’re more stressed than I thought. Come, Laura, Peter and I have asked for a bottle of wine to get delivered to our porch.” The hand on his shoulder tightened slightly when he didn’t give an answer immediately.

He shrugged her hand off, continuing to unpack. “I’ll come out as soon as I’m done with this.”

Amélie lingered for a few moments before she nodded. “Alright. Others will join us a bit later too. Don’t make me come back in and get you.” With that she left, leaving the door open behind her.

Hanzo listened to the other’s chatter to not let his mind wander too much, but soon it had turned into a background noise despite his effort. It wasn’t before someone shouted his name that he mustered the strength to go outside and join the others. They made it cozy outside, with small lanterns scattered around the tables lightning the porch as the sun was setting. A blanket was in the chair in case it got chilly while they were out, although he highly doubted that it would be necessary. After making himself comfortable, Laura handed him a glass of wine. Nodding a thank you, he took a sip from it.

“Took you long enough,” Peter said teasingly after Hanzo let out a satisfied sigh. He gave him a one shoulder shrug, avoiding Amélie’s questioning look.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s us toast for another successful year!” Stefan, who must’ve joined the group before Hanzo, said as he rose his glass.

“Aren’t more going to join us?” he asked before they got to cheer.

“The others are tired and George went to discuss the plans they have for us over these couple of days with the hosts.” Peter looked over the group and rose his glass again. “Go us!”

Everyone raised their glass and, with a collective cheer, they took a sip. Amélie snickered and Hanzo had to hold back a smile when Laura let out a groan of satisfaction. Peter patted her shoulder.

“We all agree with you,” Stefan said with a big grin, raising his glass once more.

“So, what are you gonna do over the summer?” Peter asked, turning towards Hanzo and Amélie.

“I’m planning to do some study, otherwise I will mostly be at home,” Hanzo said with a shrug, sipping on the wine.

“Angela and I will go and visit her family, depending on how long we will be there, we might also drop by mine too.”

Turning his gaze towards the darkening sky, he watched how the stars slowly got revealed, only turning away from them to engage in small talk with his colleagues.

It was almost completely dark when Stefan leaned in, expression a bit too bright from the wine. “So, you seem rather distracted today.”

Hanzo tensed and by the look Amélie gave him, he knew that she noticed. Forcing his shoulders to relax, he met Stefan’s look and opened his mouth.

“Howdy everyone! Hope everything’s fine?”

Hanzo startled at the new but familiar voice. He looked up to see that Joel had approached the porch. The stetaston on his head was tilted slightly downwards in a greeting and a charming smile was in place. He wasn’t really looking at any of them, but Hanzo couldn’t tear his eyes away from the man.

“Oh, hello! Yes, everything is fine. It’s lovely place you have prepared for us here.” Laura’s reply reminded him that he wasn’t alone and that’s probably why Joel was here.

Stefan rose up from his seat, a hand stretched out. “I believe we haven’t been introduced. I’m Stefan, that’s Laura, Peter, Amélie.” He gestured towards Hanzo. “Hanzo have been here before, so I think you two have met!”

Joel nodded and shook Stefan’s hand. “Yeah, we’ve met before. Name’s Jesse, was busy when you arrived here so I couldn’t come and greet you.”

Hanzo closed his eyes, he had forgotten about the whole thing with the name ‘Jesse’. Perhaps it would be for the best if he just went along with it.

Stefen laughed. “Eh, that happens! So, anything you wanted? We have a good time over here and aren’t in need of anything else.”

“Well, I was actually wondering if I could borrow Mr. Shimada for a while.”

He blinked in surprise and looked at Joel- Jesse. Jesse was looking right back at him with an expression he wasn’t sure how to read.

Hanzo opened and closed his mouth a few times before he simply nodded. The smile he received was a relieved one, making him wonder what Jesse wanted to talk about.

He ignored the curious gaze from Stefan, the concerned one from Amélie and the confused ones from the rest as he got up from his seat.

He motioned in front of him. “Lead the way.” With a nod, Jesse waved to follow him.

The silence between them was heavy and tense, but the walk to the smaller house made the air easier. Hanzo stopped by the door whereas Jesse walked right in.

“No need to stay outside, come in,” he called over his shoulder before he disappeared around a corner.

Hanzo hesitantly walked into an open room, inspecting it and all the decor. It looked like it was the living room with a couch and a couple of armchairs facing a TV and a coffee table in front of them. A staircase was to the left of the room, leading to things Hanzo could only guess about. Below the stairs were a doorway with no door in it, seemingly leading to a small corridor. To the right of the doorway the wall was more of a divider than a proper wall, showing what he realized was the kitchen. He could see Jesse moving round in there.

The man looked up from what he was doing, nodding towards the couch. “Take a seat, I’ll be right there.”

Doing as he was told, he continued his inspection of the room. There were surprisingly a lot of photos, but none of them were from the time when Jesse was Joel. Most of them were of Sombra, Jack and Gabe, and some were group photos with all four of them. He did notice a few people he didn’t recognize.

“I know you just drank wine out there,” Jesse began as he approached with two cans in his hands, “but I grabbed a beer for you anyway.” He didn’t really look at Hanzo while handing it to him, giving him a small shrug. “Leave it if you don’t want it.”

Hanzo stayed silent as he watched Jesse plop down into an armchair and opening the can. He looked down at his own can when Jesse finally lifted his eyes to look at him.

The silence seemed to stretch, turning seconds into minutes and when he finally braced himself to speak, it felt like it had been an eternity.

"I'm sorry-"

"Sorry for-"

Hanzo was startled, and looked up in surprise. Jesse blinked at him, giving him a sheepish smile when they met eyes. Hanzo felt a smile tug at his lips and so he looked down to hide some of the relief mixed with awkwardness that he was feeling. He glanced back up. It was strange to sit like this in what he assumed was Jesse's home, with someone who looks so much like Joel but yet so different. More grown up. The beard certainly helped.

The wrinkles around Jesse’s eyes crinkled as the smile turned teasing. "I know I'm handsome, no need to stare like that."

Hanzo leveled him an unimpressed stare, making Jesse chuckle and, in return, made him soften his expression.

"Sorry, you just kinda stared hard at me there and seemed rather deep in thought." He was rubbing his neck, looking rather sheepishly.

Hanzo shook his head and finally opened his beer. "No, I'm the one to apologize. Got lost in thought for a moment." He took a swing of the beer, not holding back the grimace of the weird taste.

"Hey now, that's a good beer. Hand it over, ain't letting that go to waste," Jesse said and reached out, making a grabby gesture towards the can.

"It's a free beer, I'm not giving it to you," Hanzo said with a frown and took another swing. This time he at least tried to hold the grimace back.

The sigh Jesse let out made him focus back at the other man and straightened his back at the serious expression.

"Hanzo, I'm sorry. For reacting like I did when we last tried to talk. That was goddamn childish of me, completely unnecessary. And for not contacting you, at least to say that I'm alive-"

He stopped at Hanzo's raised hand, at the silent plea to stop talking. The seconds of silent it took for him to put his hand down felt too long.

"Joel-" He cleared his throat at the raised eyebrow. "Jesse. It was my fault to even approach you to begin with, your anger was justified. And it was my fault to make you feel the way you did."  Hanzo took a deep, steadying breath before bowing down. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all the grief I've caused you. What I did, there's no excuse and you had all the right to do what you did. I'm so sorry."

He slowly straightened his back but refused to look at Jesse. "I tried to keep my promise of not returning here, but it was required of me to go with my colleagues. I apologise for that. And for my outburst, too, from last time. It was not right for me to yell at you."

"Yeah, that hurt like hell." His voice was quiet, almost too quiet. When Hanzo looked back towards him, the stetaston was on the coffee table and Jesse was running his hands over his face.

"It goddamn hurt and I didn't know what to do and I was lucky Gabe found me and I just." He sighed and let his hands drop into his lap. Hanzo listened closely, listening for every single hint of emotion he could possibly notice.

"But it led to good things, you know? Look where I am. I have a good life, I'm co-owner of this farm and I got my own house and this job is good . And I'm happy. I'm really happy, Hanzo." He looked up and their eyes met. Jesse was afraid, Hanzo could see that, but for exactly what, he was unsure.

"And I'm happy for you, you deserve it." The fear slowly melted away from Jesse's face at his words. A smile, tired but more honest than the others during the evening, graced his features. Hanzo smiled back, hoping to show that he really meant it.

The silence this time around was easier than before, it was comfortable enough for him to drink some more of his beer.

Eventually Jesse put down his can, probably empty, and made himself more comfortable. "So, how have you been? You have kinda seen what I've been doing for the past 18 years, but what about you? Your company don't look like they are lawyers."

He thought back to his colleagues out there and couldn't help but to smile as he was sure that they were very confused at the moment. "No, all of them are teachers and professors. I did a bit of a career change, I enjoy it much more than I would've as a lawyer." He took a swing of the beer, frowning when nothing came out from the can. Empty.

As he was putting it down, he looked back to Jesse, only to see him laughing.

"You being a teacher? Hell, you were so hellbent on becoming a lawyer that I'm honest to god surprised. What changed your mind?"

Hanzo's smile faltered and Jesse froze for a moment before he shook his head. "Nevermind, don't answer that question. At least you're happy with it, right?" At Hanzo's nod, he stood up and moved back to the kitchen. "Let's celebrate our happy lives with another beer, eh?"

"I suppose."

The second beer was better than the first, Hanzo had to admit. Same brand, but he most likely gotten used to the taste. When Jesse sat down again, he motioned towards Hanzo. Specifically towards his arm.

"How's, uh, what's her name again? Holly? Yeah, how's Holly?"

Hanzo took another swing. "Her name is Helen. And I have no idea." At this Jesse frowned. He let out a tired sigh, turning his eyes to a photo of Jesse. He was much younger and while he was happy, Hanzo could see how weary he was. He must’ve recently gotten to the farm. “It’s a complicated mess. But what’s important is that she isn’t my soulmate.” Jesse’s eyebrows rose in surprise and it was obvious what he wanted to ask about. “She was incredibly good at makeup, somehow she got a good photo of my mark and succeeded in copying it. Caught her red handed without it one day, threw her out immediately.”

He fell silent when Jesse held up two fingers. “First; that’s goddamn messed up. Why would she do that?” One finger stayed up. “Two; ain’t that illegal?” His hand closed into a fist and was lowered to his lap.

Hanzo nodded. “Yes, it’s illegal, we have already dealt with that a long time ago. As for why? She knew from which family I come from, and she wanted in on that.” He shaked his head and smiled. “Enough talk about bad things. I want to know how you’ve been.”

Jesse smiled big, agreeing on that notation. Then he started to talk. Hanzo found himself listening with rapt attention, asking questions which made Jesse talk even more. He got to know the names of the faces on the photos, how he had figured out how he wanted this house and how he built it with the help of Jack and Gabe, and how he became a co-owner of the farm instead of an employee.

When they were joined by a white and brown tabby, cuddling up against Hanzo’s side, Jesse broke out into a story about the animals around the place and all their adventures.

In return, Hanzo talked about the career change, about his colleagues and his friends, enjoying the bright shine in his eyes when he told Jesse about Genji and his two soulmates. It was late when their conversation lulled into a comfortable silence.

At Hanzo’s yawn, Jesse chuckled and got up from his seat, stretching out his back. “Dunno about you, but I’m ready to hit the hay. Here, let me save you from your predicament.” He slowly approached the cat sleeping in Hanzo’s lap, cooing at her when she let out a protest of being lifted before snuggling right back into his arms.

“She’s very lovely,” Hanzo said as he took the chance to stand up.

“Lola’s the best with the right people.” He hesitated for a few seconds. “I called mom and dad a couple of weeks after your first visit.”

He wasn’t sure how to react to such news, and the embarrassed cough Jesse made didn’t really help either.

“So, uh, you know, you confronting me wasn’t all bad. Had to turn it into a video call for them to believe me.” He was staring at Lola, scratching behind her ear. “They were happy, made me promise to call them more often at least. So, thanks, I suppose.”

At that Hanzo couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “At least something good came out of it. Don’t keep them hanging for too long.” He grinned. “Thanks for the beers, I suppose I’ll see you around?”

Jesse let out a laugh. “Yeah, see you around. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

No one was out on the porch when he returned to the guest house and his roommate was fast asleep. He knew the others would ask questions in the morning, but he was in such a high spirit that he didn’t care. With the air cleared between him and Jesse, it would be a much more pleasant stay.

Chapter Text

The letters in the document seemed to blur together, words kept being jumbled, making the paragraphs almost impossible to read. It was frustrating Hanzo to no end, and he finally gave up after reading the same paragraphs for the tenth time. Leaning back, he stretched out his back with his arms over his head. Flinching and grimacing at the loud crack that came from his back, he slowly lowered his arms. He carefully moved his back to see if he pulled anything and relaxed when nothing hurt.

A knock on his door frame made him look up, giving Laura a smile as she waved at him. “Laura, what can I do for you?”

She shook her head. “Nothing for me, but you have a phone call. Should I send it here or do you want to come over to answer it?”

“Oh?” Hanzo frowned. “Why didn’t you send it over in the first place instead of walking here?”

Laura gave him a teasing smile. “Because you usually have the phone on silent, wanted to make sure you got it.”

This surprised him. “Is it an important call?”

“Kinda.” She giggled at his confused expression. “You’ll see. I’ll go and send the caller over to you, tell him hi from me.”

He watched her walking away, not sure what to make out of her words. A couple of minutes passed and then the call got through. Without hesitation, he answered it.

“Professor Shimada speaking, I apologise for making you wait.”

“ Uh, hi Hanzo. ” He almost dropped the phone as Jesse’s voice greeted him. “ I’m sorry for calling you at work, but I kinda need your help and I didn’t know how else to get in contact with you. ”

He straightened his back with a frown, trying to figure out what was wrong. “Uh, sure. What do you need help with?”

Jesse’s awkward laugh put him at ease. “It’s nothing serious, I promise. Well, I suppose it depends on who you’re talking to, but-”

“Jesse.” He chuckled and smiled at Jesse’s splutter. “You’re rambling. I’ll help you, just say what it is.”

“ Okay. ” A deep breath on the other end. “ You remember Lola? ”

Hanzo smiled fondly at the memory. “The lovely tabby lady that wouldn’t stop following me? How could I forget her?”

The laughter this time was more relieved. “ Yeah. Good to hear that you like her. ‘Cause I was kinda wondering if you wanted to adopt her? ” The questioning tone told Hanzo that Jesse were nervous. But it did made him frown.

“But doesn’t she like it out there on the countryside? I live in apartment, wouldn’t she feel trapped in there?” He quickly pulled out his laptop and started to search about cats.

“ Well, yeah, but I have never seen her fall in love with someone else beside me and Jack so quickly. She normally hates people, or tolerate them at best. I think it would be much better if she was with someone she liked in an apartment than being on a ranch or farm where she doesn’t like anyone. ” Jesse took a deep breath and exhaled.

This made Hanzo paus in his searching, his eyes fixating in an empty stare on the site he just pulled up. “Why are you adopting her away?”

Hanzo was taken aback by the venom in Jesse’s voice.“ She scratched one of our guest’s kids and they are threatening to sue us. ”

“Did you warn them about her?”

“ Yeah. We even have a part in the booking that they have to accept that they will not disturb the animals without one of us being present. ”

Hanzo pushed himself away from the laptop with a frown. “Then they have no ground on suing you. You don’t need to give her away.” He stood up and walked over to his small bookshelf, looking through it.

“ Well, they’re not the first to complain that Lola’s scratched them. And frankly, neither Jack nor Gabe wants to deal with a lawsuit, even if they would win it. ” Jesse sighed. “ If you don’t want her, I’ll give her to a neighbouring ranch. Just wanted to ask since she liked you. ” It sounded like he was about to end the call.

“Hold on.” He glanced at the clock. “I’ll end my shift in five hours. Can you call me back then so we can discuss details? I’ve been thinking about getting a pet for a while now.”

He could hear the relieved grin in Jesse’s voice. “ Great. That’s great. Should I call back to this number or? ”

He grinned too, rambling up his private number and with a promise that they would talk later, he ended the call.

Going back to work was easier since he had something to look forward to, but by the end of the day he was googling on how to take care of a cat.

---

“You finding your way up?”

Jesse huffed over the phone. “ I do have some sense of direction, thank you very much. ”

Hanzo chuckled as he took out the food and water bowl he had bought earlier during the week. He and Jesse decided that he would come during the weekend with Lola, giving Hanzo enough time to get the stuff he needed to house a cat.

He filled the bowl with some water. “I’m sure you do. It's just that you parked the car some time ago, you should’ve already be here.” The doorbell sounded and he narrowed his eyes. “Hold on.” He walked to the door and opened it, only to face Jesse himself.

Jesse were grinning. “Yeah, I’m holding on.” He started to laugh when Hanzo gave him an unimpressed look and ended the call.

“You’re a bastard,” he said and let Jesse into the apartment.

He laughed loud, carefully carrying a carrier with him. “Well, you always knew that! No need to point it out!” A loud meow came from the carrier and Jesse cooed back to the lady in it. “I know but we’re here now!” He looked up towards Hanzo as if to say something, but paused before he grinned. “What’s with that expression?”

Hanzo realized he had been smiling softly at the scene, and immediately made a neutral face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Jesse’s laugh was contagious and Hanzo soon relaxed with a smile. “So, we’re letting her out now or? I’ve tried to put away some stuff to cat-proof the apartment,” Hanzo said as he followed Jesse to the living room.

Jesse took a look around the place. “Where did you put the litter box? We’ll open the carrier in there so she can see where it is. And then we let her roam while I’ll help you to cat- proof the rest of your home.” Without a word Hanzo showed the way, watching Jesse putting down the carrier and letting Lola out.

He cooed and apologised to her as she walked out complaining loudly. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Hanzo, staring at him with big eyes. He gave her a smile and hunched down, reaching out with a hand. That got her in motion again, her running up to Hanzo and complaining even louder than before.

He chuckled as she pushed against his hand, and so he patted her. “I’m sorry, my lady, for the troublesome journey the cowboy has given you. I hope my simple home will be enough for you.”

He looked up when Jesse cleared his throat. “Ready to begin? I imagine this will take some time.”

Hanzo nodded and walked back to the living room, pointing at a couple of rolls with nets and some boxes. “I want some help with putting the net over the balcony so she won’t jump down accidentally. They recommended to be two persons when you install it.”

Jesse let out a low whistle as he saw the stuff. “Good, you’re prepared at least! Let’s get started, shall we?”

With a nod, Hanzo picked up one of the rolls and moved towards the balcony. Laughter made him look over his shoulder to see Jesse holding the leash.

“Did you buy a leash for Lola?” he asked with a big grin. Hanzo slowly turned around, feeling a bit embarrassed, and nodded.

“I thought that since she likes to be outside, I can take her out so she can burn some energy beside playing with toys,” he said and cleared his throat in an attempt to conceal the embarrassment. “Of course it won’t be easy, but I think she would love it in the end.”

The grin Jesse was wearing didn’t diminish - instead he turned towards Lola, who walked curiously up to him. He cooed at her, letting her smell the leash before he carefully put it on her.

Hanzo snorted before full on laughing when Lola froze in place and fell over.

“Aw, poor sweetheart!” Jesse chuckled and helped her up on her feet again. She gave him a look of betrayal and let him know about it. He took pity on her and took the leash off.

Hanzo found himself staring at Jesse, how happy he seemed. He snapped out of it when Jesse rose to his feet and Lola running away.

“Let’s get to actual work,” Hanzo said and Jesse agreed. He easily picked up the second roll and without anymore distractions, they started putting the net up.

The work went smoothly even though it took some time to get it done, especially with Lola coming up to them and interrupting by playing with the things. Neither did it help when Jesse propuresly failed at something just to make a joke out it, but Hanzo enjoyed it. It took them several hours to install the net and to go through the apartment to make sure it would handle Lola, and Jesse laughed at the amount of scratchboards and toys Hanzo had bought.

“Thank you for helping me,” Hanzo said as he stirred the rice and vegetables. He had invited Jesse to stay for dinner as a thank you for the help.

Jesse made a cooing sound to Lola who was in his lap, playing with his fingers. “I’m the one who should thank you for agreeing to take care of her. With the amount of things you have gotten and looked up, she’ll be in good hands.” Lola agreed with a loud meow, making Hanzo smile. “But if it doesn’t work out, you can just call and I’ll pick her up.”

Hanzo poured the fried rice and vegetables on two plates and took them to the table. Jesse shooed Lola away from his lap, who disappeared into the living room.

Jesse thanked him when Hanzo put the plate in front of him. “I must be honest, I was doubtful when you offered to cook us some dinner, but this smells good!” He giggled when Hanzo hit him on the shoulder.

Hanzo shook his head, but a smile crept to his lips anyway. “Simple recipe, not even you would fail on this.”

A sound of approval came from Jesse after he taken a bite along with a nod. Then his expression turned serious, and the spoon was pointed towards Hanzo. “Don’t underestimate my inability to cook. I promise you, I’ll burn water!”

With a roll of his eyes, Hanzo dug into his food, “I highly doubt that. Even you learn skills as you get older.” He raised an eyebrow at Jesse. “But of course, the fact remains to be proven.”

Jesse leaned back with a grin. “Fine, you win. I’m a decent cook myself, Gabe and Jack taught me some tricks.” The grin softened to a smile. “But thanks for making some dinner. Was planning to stop and get some fast food on the way home. I appreciate it.”

Hanzo opened his mouth to reply before he stopped himself. Shaking his head, he took another bite of his food. “You’re welcome.”

Their conversation lulled into a halt, but judging by Jesse’s smile, he didn’t mind. Hanzo himself didn’t at least.

Eventually Jesse had to go back, it was getting late and it was still a three hour drive back to the farm. He turned down Hanzo’s offer of sleeping in the guest room, saying that he was needed in the morning at the farm.

Hanzo held Lola in his arms so she wouldn’t run out with Jesse when he opened the door. She squirmed in his arms, only allowed to jump down when the door was closed. She rushed to the door, pawing at it while meowing loudly.

He smiled softly at her, walking over to pick her up again. “He’s not coming back anytime soon. Come, I’ll give some treats and then we can relax on the couch.”

She didn’t stay long in his arms, escaping just to disappear somewhere into the apartment. He sighed and went to the kitchen, to prepare a cup of tea. It was going to be odd, to not be the only one here now.

---

“So, when did you get a cat?” Genji asked as he played with her with a feathered toy. She kept jumping on and off the couch, hunting it and had been doing so for a couple of minutes now.

Hanzo watched the two go at for a few seconds, lifting his arm as Lola ran across his lap. “Jesse gave her to me.”

This made Genji to look up in surprise. “Jesse?”

Lola batted at the still toy, staring at it intensely. “Yeah, Jesse. Works on the farm I went on vacation to.” He took the toy from Genji and Lola leapt at it. Smiling, he made her chase it around before he let her take it and run away. “He gave her to me a couple of weeks ago. It has been an experience,” he said with a chuckle. He had barely blinked before Genji was up in his face.

“You’ve had a cat for two weeks and haven’t told me?” he said before dramatically falling across Hanzo’s lap. “My own brother doesn’t trust me!”

Hanzo rolled his eyes and pushed Genji off. Genji made a small ‘eep’ just before he hit the floor with a thud.

He pouted and crossed his arms. “You’re mean, Brother.”

“And you’re a nuisance.” He stood up and stepped over Genji. “Come, you promised to help me with lunch.” Without helping his brother up, he walked into the kitchen. In there he met Lola sitting on the counter, staring at him with her big eyes, toy in her mouth. The moment he stepped closer, she jumped down and ran off. The toy was left behind. He shook his head and pushed it down, making sure to wipe the counter from any cat hair.

“She’s very active, isn’t she?” Genji asked when he got into the room, walking past Hanzo to the fridge.

Hanzo nodded as he took out cutting boards. “Of course, she’s from a farm. Used to hunt rodents and being outside. Can’t blame her for running around that much,” he said, accepting the vegetables from Genji. He handed him a knife and a cutting board in return.

“How does that go with living in apartment for her now?” They started to work together without much of a hassle.

“It’s a nightmare to come to, she has already destroyed four flower pots despite my effort to make the apartment cat-proof. I’ve been trying to get her used to being on a leash so I can burn her energy through walks, but it’s a slow process.” He shrugged and put the vegetables in a bowl. Leaving the rest to Genji, he turned to prepare some sandwiches. He could hear Lola running around in the living room.

“Why not take her to the university? I’m sure your students would love to have her around!”

Hanzo hummed in thought. “Perhaps. I need to talk to the principle first.”

They finished preparing the lunch and carried it out to the living room. Genji was quick to take the remote control and jump to netflix.

Hanzo glanced at the tv screen as he filled his plate with the salad. “What are we gonna watch this time?”

“There’s a new season out of Maryl’s Story .” Hanzo’s head snapped to Genji, who was now wearing a shit eating grin.

“Hit play then! I’m not going to wait any longer to know how Lien’s story will end!” Genji laughed and did as he was told.

Later, when they had slumped into the couch and watched several episodes, Lola joined them. She curled up against Hanzo and he absentmindedly started to pet her.

He glanced towards Genji when he heard a photo being taken. He was smiling, his phone was out and directed towards Hanzo. Shaking his head, Hanzo smiled softly and relaxed into the couch as Lola was purring up a storm.

---

Hanzo had arranged his office the day earlier with a litter box, some toys, water and food bowl, and he made sure to install a small gate so if someone were to open the door, Lola wouldn’t escape immediately.

He had gotten curious looks and questions from his colleagues, especially from Stefan and Amelié. To Amelié he said that she had to wait until tomorrow, to Stefan he had simply shrugged and ignored the curious man.

Now, Lola was exploring the space while Hanzo was sorting through his papers. He kept glancing at her, but she seemed content with what she was doing.

The sound of the door opening made him look away from his papers, a quick glance up revealing Mei standing in the frame and staring at Lola with big adoring eyes.

“Oh my gosh! You have a cat! So cute!” She stepped over the gate, closing the door behind her. She was about to reach out when Hanzo stopped her.

“I don’t recommend you to try to pet her. Lola’s not too fond of people, there are only a few she let touch her.” He shook his head, giving her an apologetic smile when Lola hid.

Mei quickly snatched her hand back. “Oh. I see.” She pushed up her glasses and looked at Hanzo. “Well, I just going to see if you wanted to follow us for lunch at 11?”

He noticed Amelié walking up to his door before he got to answer, waving her inside. She raised an eyebrow at the gate but stepped inside at Hanzo’s insistence.

“Are you finally going to tell me why you have installed a gate in front of your door?”

“Well-”

“He has a cat!” Hanzo and Amelié looked at Mei after her sudden outburst, red rising to her cheeks. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to burst out like that.” Hanzo smiled and Amelié patted her shoulder.

Hanzo waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “It’s fine, it just surprised us.” Mei smiled a bit uncertain.

“So, what were you saying? Hanzo has a cat?” Amelié said and turned towards Hanzo. At his nod, she started to look around.

Hanzo looked around too, noticing the tail poking out from behind a box. “Got her about two weeks ago. Didn’t really want to tell anyone if it wasn’t working out at first, but she’s slowly coming to terms with staying with me.” The tail twitched back and forth. He shook his head and took out a toy, tossing it towards the box. The three of them watched it for a few seconds before Lola rushed out and attacked the toy.

“So you decided to just bring your cat to work?” Amelié said slowly. Lola froze at Amelié’s voice before she ran away to try to hide again.

“Yes, she’s been rather destructive right now, so was thinking that I would be able to keep an eye on her a bit better if I brought her with me. Already talked about it with George.” He smiled fondly before shaking his head. “So, when are you going for lunch?”

“In two hours, if that’s alright for you?” Mei asked and Amelié nodded.

He rubbed his neck, smile fading. “I’m sorry, I have a class in two hours. Maybe another time, okay?” His hand fell and leaned on his desk.

Mei bounced a little on her feet. “Okay, sounds good! Good luck with the class and with, uh, what’s her name?”

“Lola.”

“Lola, right. Good luck with Lola!” With a promise that he and Amelié would meet up later in the day, Mei and Amelié left to continue their own work.

Hanzo turned back to his papers, only glancing up when Lola crept out of her hiding spot.

Lola had been making a bit of a fuss when he put the leash on her, but as he was walking down the halls with her on his shoulders, she kept staring at everything curiously. Some bribing with a few treats helped her to get convinced that the leash wasn’t such a bad thing.

He stopped outside the classroom, knowing he was a few minutes late. Giving Lola a scratch behind her ear, he opened the door. The idle chatter in the room quieted down as he walked towards his desk. “Good day everyone. I hope everyone has read up on yesterday’s lesson, since we will jump right into it today.” He put his bag on the desk and turned towards the whiteboard, feeling how Lola almost stumbled on his shoulder but was able to stay on.

After he written down some of the key points from yesterday, he turned back to his audience. “So, any questions before we dive into it?”

The room was oddly quiet, usually it was always someone who had a question. And everyone was giving each other odd looks. “No? Well, this is unusual. Last chance to ask anything, if any arise during the lecture, write them down until the midway break.”

A hand was slowly raised. Hanzo pointed at the young woman. “Yes?”

“Uh, Professor Shimada, I think you got, ah, a cat on your shoulders.”

He slowly raise an eyebrow and looked to his right, where only Lola’s tail was poking out. “I see no cat.” Giggles and choked laughter erupted through the room when her tail bended itself and landed under his nose, giving him a long mustache. He chuckled and carefully picked Lola up. “This is Lola, she will be accompanying me for a while.” He held her in his arms, but she squirmed so he let her down on the table. “So, here’s a challenge for you today. As usual, I encourage discussions, but today I want you to keep your volume down. Let’s not scare Lola on her first day, hm?”

The chorus of agreement made him smile, a sense of pride filling him. With a nod, he took the questions they had about the previous lesson, while he set up a bowl with water and one with food on the floor to Lola.

“So, let’s begin!”

Hanzo sunk into his chair in his office, feeling spent from the time lecturing and keeping an eye on Lola. She had done good, the students had kept the volume down, but he had seen that she had been uncomfortable. He figured he should take a box with him next time. Now she was curled up on the cat bed he had brought, snoozing away from the adventurous day.

He looked at her for a while before taking out his phone, snapping a photo of her. Smiling fondly at it, he opened the text messages with the thought of sending it to Genji, but he found himself hovering over Jesse’s name.

Before he let himself hesitate too long, he wrote a message to go with the picture.

‘ She’s a bit spent right now, being at the university is exhausting. ’

He turned towards the last papers he needed to work on for the day before he got to go home.

It didn’t take long for his phone to chime.

‘ Aw, look at that sleepy lady! Seems to me she’s right at home ’ Hanzo smiled at the text from Jesse, sending back an agreement.

By the time he and Lola got to go home, Hanzo were in high spirits from the texts he and Jesse exchanged during the afternoon.

Chapter Text

Hanzo glanced at the clock in his office, leg bouncing as he silent counted the seconds. When it striked 3PM he rose from his seat while putting away the papers he were grading.

“Come, Lola, time to put on the leash,” he said as he grabbed his jacket, bag and said leash. He paused when she didn’t come out from her hiding spot. Sighing, he put down his bag and walked to the small climbing tree he had seen her sleeping in earlier, but he didn’t see her there at the moment. Frowning, he continued to search his office only to find her sleeping under his desk.

He chuckled. “Come now, my lady, it’s time to go home.” She opened one eye, gave him a look before she curled into a ball even more. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the cat and took her out from her hiding spot despite her loud protest.

“Stop that, you know we have to go,” he lightly scolded her and put the leash on her. She glared at him and when he put her on the floor, she flopped down and refused to move. Shaking his head, he grabbed his bag again before he picked her up in his arms. He locked the office behind him and started to walk towards the reception.

Soon he heard voices talking excitedly and when he rounded the corner, he could see why. Jesse was surrounded by Mei, Laura and Stefan. He didn’t seem uncomfortable with all their questions though.

Hanzo knew the moment Lola recognized Jesse as she began to struggle in his arms, wanting to get down so she could greet him. He let her jump down and run as far as the leash let her, shaking his head with amusement.

“I hope you’re not interrogating the poor man,” he said as he approached the group. Lola meowed loudly as she pulled against the leash. Everyone turned towards them and Jesse smiled big.

“Hello there, Lola!” He cooed as he hunched down and gathered her in his arms.  He smirked and turned his head up when Hanzo joined them. “And hello to you too, Hanzo.”

Hanzo rolled his eyes and Mei giggled. “I promise, Hanzo, we weren’t interrogating him.” Mei paused and giggled again. “Not that much, anyway.”

“Nah, just pleasant talk really. Don’t you worry,” Jesse assured as he stood up with Lola pushing her head against his beard.

“So, why is the farmer here?” Stefan asked with an eyebrow raised.

Hanzo gave Jesse Lola’s leash. “Jesse will be watching Lola while I go away for the weekend. I don’t know many people that she tolerates enough who could cat-sit her when I’m gone.”

Laura hummed in thought and tapped a nail on her chin. “Right, going to your parents’ home, right?”

“Yes, but I’ll be back on Sunday evening.” Hanzo nodded towards Jesse. “We better get going so I won’t miss the plane.”

Jesse let Lola climb up on his shoulders. “Right. Let’s go.”

They bid farewell to Hanzo’s colleagues and moved towards the parking lot.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport?” Jesse asked as Hanzo pushed the door open and held it for him.

Hanzo shook his head. “Genji will pick me up, so there’s no need to worry. He’s been nagging me about wanting to do it.”

Jesse chuckled and balanced Lola in his arms as he fished up his car keys. They soon got to the car and Hanzo took Lola from Jesse, so he could easily get inside without the need to balance her.

The drive to the apartment wasn’t long, but the small talk was nice and Hanzo didn’t realized they were there until Jesse parked the car.

“The ride’s gone faster than I’ve thought,” he said as he gathered his things and let Lola out.

“That’s what happens when you have someone to talk to,” Jesse said with a grin as he locked the car.

“I suppose.” Hanzo lead the way to his apartment. “Thank you for watching Lola. It doesn’t interfere with your own work?”

“I already told you, there are plenty other people who can work my shift this time around. I’m usually just staying on the farm, it’s kinda nice to go away from time to time, too.” They stopped to untangle Lola from a bush and joked around for a bit as they got up to the place.

Hanzo took off his shoes, released Lola from the leash and pointed in the general direction of the kitchen. “I’ve filled the fridge with food for you and Lola’s food are in the pantry. Make yourself at home, I’m going to pack some of the last things before I go.”

Jesse walked after him when he left the hallway. “Is Genji coming up here?”

“No, he’ll just pick me up by the road. He’s on a tight schedule so he doesn’t really have time to stop and say hi.”

Jesse looked disappointed. “Aw. Hoped to at least see him for once.”

“I’m sure you’ll get the chance to do that another time.” With that he went into his bedroom. He grabbed his laptop and a book he’d been reading for a while now, hoping to finally be able to finish it. A quick change of clothes and he was ready to go. He grabbed his luggage and walked out to find Jesse making himself at home in the guestroom.

Lola sat on the couch, staring at Hanzo. He smiled at her and walked over to give her a few scratches.

“Ready to go?”

Hanzo looked up to see Jesse walk into the living room. He nodded and straightened his back. “Yes. I trust you to not destroy the whole place.”

A boisterous laughter left Jesse. “Pretty sure you can trust me. I’ll take care of your princess too,” he said with a big grin.

Hanzo couldn’t help but to grin back. “Good. I’ll see you on Sunday then.”

“See you later,” Jesse said and stayed in the living room as Hanzo went into the hallway to get dressed again.

He didn’t have to wait long before Genji drove up to him.

“You’re slow,” he said as he got into the car. Genji gave him the middle finger and started driving when the door closed. Chuckling, Hanzo made himself comfortable and prepared for a long journey back home.

---

The travel went well and when they finally arrived home, Wakaba and Sojiro insisted that they relax in the living room after the dinner. Neither of them argued against it.

“How’s work been?” Sojiro asked as they settled down; tea, coffee and some cake on the coffee table. Genji was pouring a cup of coffee to himself as Hanzo took a slice of the cake.

“It’s going good. Nothing new really,” Genji said with a shrug and carefully took a sip of the coffee. Hanzo chuckled at Genji’s groan of satisfaction as he savored the taste.

Sojiro turned towards Hanzo. “And you? You seem to shine brighter lately.”

Hanzo hummed in thought. “Well, it’s very much the same. Though I have some students that seem interested in specializing in the law of soulmates.”

Sojiro looked surprised. “Really? There aren’t that many interested in that lately since the laws have barely changed.”

“Time change, love, and honestly? Those laws do need some updates,” Wakaba said as she entered the room.

Sojiro smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek when she sat down beside him. “I’m inclined to agree with you.”

Hanzo’s phone chimed and he took it out, reading the message he’d gotten.

It was a picture of Lola playing with what he assumed Jesse’s foot. ‘ Look at the cutie ’.

He chuckled and smiled, replying with an agreement.

“There it is.” Genji’s voice made Hanzo look up with a confused frown. He was wearing a shit eating grin.

“What’s here?”

“Who were you texting?” Wakaba asked, trying to hide an amused smile behind her hand.

Hanzo opened his mouth but didn’t get the chance to answer before Genji answered for him.

“I bet it was Jesse.”

Rolling his eyes, Hanzo took a bite of the cake. “He’s watching Lola while I’m here, and he sent me a picture of Lola attacking his foot.”

“Doesn’t he live far away from you?” Sojiro asked as he sipped his tea.

“It’s about three hours away,” Hanzo said and took another bite of the cake. He didn’t miss the look Wakaba and Sojiro shared. “What?”

“Bro, you got someone who lives three hours away to come and watch your cat. Couldn’t you get someone in the city to watch Lola?” Genji’s grin was only growing bigger.

“I’ve told you, there are very few she likes and there’s even fewer that wants to watch her a second time. And besides, it’s not like that this is his first trip to town.”

Wakaba’s amused expression made Hanzo narrow his eyes. “Does he visit you on these trips?” She asked.

He almost hesitated to answer. “Yes?”

“Are you sure that those aren’t dates?” Genji dodged the swatting hand, laughing his ass off.

“Genji, please don’t spill your coffee all over the place,” Wakaba said as she sipped from her own cup.

Shaking his head, Hanzo leaned back into the couch again. “They aren’t dates. He needs sometimes to get away from the farm and I offer him to come and visit. Usually he accepts.”

“Come on, Brother. You’re visiting him too on regular basis, there’s no way this isn’t one way offer.” Genji shuffled away from Hanzo, giggling, as Hanzo raised an eyebrow.

“Of course it isn’t. We’re good friends, we keep in contact regularly. Like what I do with my other friends.” Hanzo leaned forward and poured himself a cup of tea.

Genji put down his cup of coffee and slowly turned towards Hanzo, a serious expression on his face. “But you only do that dopey smile when it’s Jesse you’re texting with.” He squealed of laughter as he vaulted over the back of the couch, dodging the pillow Hanzo threw after him and ran away.

“Children, behave!” Sojiro said loudly but his following chuckle eased the meaning of his words. Hanzo sighed and leaned back while dragging a hand over his face.

“But are you happy spending time with him?” Wakaba asked when he grabbed his cup again.

He sipped slowly at the tea, nodding.

“That’s good. That’s very good.” Sojiro closed his eyes,nodding as well.

Wakaba put away her cup and folded her hands in her lap. “Perhaps you should consider asking him out.”

Tensing at her words, Hanzo gave her a blank stare.

She held up a hand. “I know, I know. But you seem happier with him in your life. It’s been many years since we’ve seen you smile like that.”

Hanzo bit the inside of his cheek. “I’ll… think about it.”

They moved on to other topics and he tried not to think of his mother’s words, but they lingered in the back of his mind. Genji joined them soon enough, with a new cup of coffee in his hand.

The evening turned into night and their pleasant talk turned into watching TV together. Eventually, it was turned off and everyone called it a day, going to get some rest.

As Hanzo was about to fall asleep, his phone chimed. Grumbling, he picked it up and opened the message. It was a photo of Jesse cuddling with Lola, the text ‘ Goodnight ’ accompanying it. Chuckling, he replied.

‘ Don’t spoil her too much. ’

It didn’t take long before he got a new message. ‘ I’ll spoil her as much as I want ’

Rolling his eyes, a smile on his lips, Hanzo replied. ‘ Dork. Goodnight. ’

Chapter Text

The supermarket was busy, everyone trying to find the right things for the weekend’s fancy dinner or the right snacks for a game with their friends and some good drinks to go with that.

Finding the ingredients for the food wasn’t a problem for Hanzo, but a proper drink wasn’t as easy. If it had been Genji and Lucio visiting, or Amélie and Satya, he would’ve known what to pick. But since it wasn’t any of them this time around, he found the task much harder.

Some beer was already in the shopping basket, but he was unsure what else to pick. He was reading the labels of some of the wines Amélie had suggested once upon a time, when an annoying but happy tune came from his pocket.

Without much thought, he answered the call while putting the wine in his hand away. “Hanzo speaking.”

“ ‘Hanzo speaking’? How distracted are you, on a scale from 1 to 10? ” Genji asked, Hanzo only half listening as he looked at another wine.

“I think it’s a solid 5,” he said, frowning at the text. Not what he wanted. He put it back and reached for the next one.

“ Well, since you actually answered me it lowers the points, but it still sounds like a solid 7. Like, you’re getting a blowjob 7. ”

Hanzo stopped his movements before he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a sigh. “Really, Genji? That’s what a 7 is?” He heard his brother snicker on the other side and grinned mischievously. “Isn’t that a 9 for you?”

The splutter was followed by contagious laughter, making Hanzo giggle for himself.

“ Okay, I will put you on a 4 just for that. You’re not doing anything important then. ”

“Well, I’m out shopping food at the moment, so I have time to talk.” He put a wine he knew tasted good in the basket while glancing at one he hadn’t tried before. He didn’t want to buy too much either, especially since he planned to buy a flask of whiskey too.

“ You can put that food away, I’m in town since Lucio is doing a gig tonight. Know it’s kinda sudden, but hey, I’ll pay for the food if you come along! ”

“One, I’ve already put all the food in the basket.” Hanzo did a mental ‘screw it’ and switched bottles of wine. “Two, I can’t go tonight. I’m preoccupied.” Before he could regret his choice, he walked away to the next aisle.

“ Oh? You’re busy? Wine night with Amélie or hanging with Satya? ” Hanzo stopped by the whiskey, scanning the brands. Before he got the chance to opened his mouth to answer, Genji dramatically gasped. “ Hold on! Is Jesse in town? ”

Hanzo rolled his eyes. “Yes, Jesse is in town. He got some business to do, so he’ll drop by later tonight. Promised him food and drinks.” He found the brand he was looking for and put it with the rest of groceries.

“ As much I would love to come by just to meet the man for once, I don’t want to impose on your date. ”

Hanzo held back an annoyed sigh, quickly counting things he intended to buy, and moved towards a cashier. “I’m not preventing you from visiting. I think Jesse would love that, in fact.” When he saw the line, he internally groaned, but he knew what he was heading into when he went out to shop.

“ You’re not denying that it’s a date, ” Genji said with a teasing tone. Once again Hanzo rolled his eyes.

“What’s the point of denying it when you will still insist it is one?”

Genji’s laugh was loud enough to make Hanzo wince. “ Ah, you know me, Brother! ”

“I grew up with you, of course I know.” He moved the basket to the other hand, glancing behind him. “Should I expect you to turn up?”

“ Nah, will meet up with Zen in an hour, both of us will go to Lucio’s gig tonight so we don’t want to be late. ”

“Ah, I see. Well, say hello to both Lucio and Zenyatta from me then. And tell me about Zenyatta’s travels later, haven’t talked to him in a good while.”

“ Will do. Talk to you later, and have a good date with Jesse! ”

Hanzo shook his head. “And you have a good evening with Zenyatta, and a good date with Lucio after his gig.” The call ended at a good time, just as he reached the cashier. Giving them a polite smile, he unpacked his basket.

---

Hanzo was in the middle of cooking when the doorbell went off. Frowning, he glanced at the clock and quickly checked the saucepan over. “Come in!” He shouted over his shoulder, quickly turning his eyes back to the food. He heard how the door opened and closed, a loud meow followed by a laugh.

“Hello to you, Lola.” Footsteps were heard some minutes later.

“Now, that smells like a feast,” Jesse said as he entered the kitchen.

“Good, otherwise you would pay for the takeout.” Hanzo glanced to his side as Jesse walked past him towards the fridge, carrying a white package in his hands. “What’s that?”

“Gabe made too many cupcakes yesterday so I took some with me, figured that since you were making the food, I could bring some sort of dessert.” Jesse flashed him a smile, putting the package into the fridge.

He hummed in thought. “Hm. Are you sure that wasn’t his intention?”

“If I know Gabe right, he definitely made more so I could take some with me. Need a hand with that?” Without an answer, Jesse moved to an empty space and took out a cutting board.

Hanzo half smiled before shaking his head. “Yes, you can chop those vegetables.” Jesse soon did as he was told. “Hello, by the way. Sorry for not coming to the door, I was expecting you at a later time.”

Jesse let out a laugh. “Hello to you too! And I should’ve messaged you earlier, but yeah. The affair went faster than I first thought, they weren’t too eager to discuss the price that much, just wanted to get it sold so I got it at the price I hoped to. I’ve been welcomed anyway, Lola didn’t let me pass her without the proper, ah, entrance fee.” He handed Hanzo some of the chopped vegetables.

Hanzo put them in the blender. “Lots of scratches?”

“Lots of scratches.”

Hanzo chuckled and smiled to himself. A bump into his legs made him look down to his feet. His smile grew bigger. “Hello there little lady. What have I said about being in the kitchen when I cook food?” He got a loud meow and purr as an answer, as Lola continued to rub against him. He shook his head and focused back to the beans in the saucepan. When he was satisfied with them, he covered the pan and lowered the heat.

Looking up, he noticed Jesse watching him with a small smile and a soft look. Before he got a chance to decipher the expression, Jesse cleared his throat, his cheeks the faintest hint of red, and nodded towards the pan.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Hanzo grinned and nodded, watching Jesse’s expression shift from slightly embarrassed to excited. He stepped closer to the pan, watching the beans for a bit before grinning at Hanzo.

“Holy shit, I haven’t eaten mom’s fava bean soup in forever!… It’s mom’s recipe, right?”

At that Hanzo laughed, giving Lola some scratches as she continued to lean against his leg. “Of course it’s Emily’s recipe. She’s the one who taught me how to cook after all.” Despite Lola’s protests, he moved over to the faucet and washed his hands.

The soft smile was back on Jesse’s face. “I really don’t have anything against Gabe’s cooking, but he can’t make fava bean soup like mom.”

Hanzo shooed Lola over to Jesse, who immediately picked her up. He had to hold back a laugh when she climbed up on Jesse’s shoulder and stayed there. “Good to see that she does that with others and not just me.” Jesse just gave him a grin.

“Okay, I have some beer in the fridge, take one and sit down by the table. I’ll finish cooking.”

Doing what he was told, Jesse carefully settled down. Hanzo watched Lola jump down into his lap before he turned around to continue with the food.

They spent the time it took for the food to cook on idle chat, Jesse eventually setting the coffee table in the living room as Hanzo made the final touches. An old samurai flick was chosen despite Hanzo's protests, both laughing at it's ridiculousness -Jesse butchering the lines and Hanzo doubling over in laughter, not even trying to correct him.

It felt too soon when they’d gotten through their second movie and relocated to the floor on the balcony. Jesse had whiskey in his glass, while Hanzo turned towards the last of sake he had home. The conversation lulled into a halt, the sound of the city around filling the space between them.

It felt nice. Hanzo closed his eyes and leaned back, taking a deep breath of the city air and slowly exhaling. All the beers he consumed during the evening were buzzing pleasantly through his body, not to mention the cupcakes, as they were long gone.

Jesse's voice broke the silence. "Hanzo."

"Hm?" He opened his eyes and looked at Jesse, to see the other man leaning on his arms against his knees, staring at the floor with a grave expression, his glass put on the ground. The smile Hanzo had dropped, and he felt worry beginning to gnaw inside of him. "Jesse? Something's wrong?" he asked with a frown.

"Not... Not exactly wrong. It's just-" Jesse let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his face. Hanzo slowly put down his own drink, straightening up and staying silent as it seemed like Jesse struggled for words.

Jesse dropped his hands, keeping his arms crossed. "I think I'm in love with you."

Hanzo's breath hitched, his heart pounding and his ears ringing, and yet it felt like the silence was deafening. And he didn't know what to say.

Jesse looked up and gave him a small smile, but it lacked the happiness, the charm that it usually had. And he also looked a bit paler than before. "Ironic, isn't it? That I've fallen for you again, even though I promised myself that I wouldn't?" A humorless laugh.

"Jesse, I-" Hanzo wasn't sure what to say. As he watched the other man and how the low light from the living room lit up his profile, highlighting the pain and fear in his eyes, he wanted nothing more than to brush all of his worries away. His heart ached, and as he was about to give in, Jesse shook his head.

"You don't need to say anything, Hanzo. This is on me, you know? I honestly don't know what I was hoping to achieve." Shaking his head again, he straightened his back and gave Hanzo a proper smile. "Just wanted to let you know, I guess. What was it we said when we began to hang out again? No secrets?"

Dread shot through Hanzo at Jesse's dry laugh.

"Listen. I enjoy hanging out with you, it's a nice change of pace- No. It's fun to be with you again. I've missed it-"

"Jesse, stop-"

"-but I think that's what we should leave it at. Us being friends. We don't want to repeat the  last time, right?" The fear in Jesse's eyes was gone, but defeat and hurt were left in its wake.

It felt like Hanzo couldn't breathe.

"Right. We wouldn't like that," he echoed, slowly nodding as he turned his head away.

"I'm sorry, Hanzo, but I don’t know if I could handle it, if we were something more and then you would find your soulmate. I’m sorry." Jesse sounds almost desperate. Or perhaps that was just his wishful thinking.

Hanzo shook his head and gave Jesse a weak smile. "You don't need to explain yourself or apologise, Jesse. I understand and agree." It hurt to admit, but he was right. Neither of them would be strong enough for such a deja-vu. He clenched his fists before forcing them to relax. "It would be for the best if we stayed friends. Thank you for being honest, I appreciate it."

He looked back, meeting Jesse's gaze. They gave each other a small smile before turning their eyes over the city, taking in the view. Hanzo picked his drink back, taking a big gulp of the sake. He grimaced and took a deep breath.

As he watched the night traffic go on down below, he realised why Jesse's words hurt so much, why it almost felt like he was losing him all over again.

He was in love with him.

Chapter Text

The papers kept Hanzo enough distracted to not to notice the knock on his doorframe. He only was aware of someone walking in thanks to Lola’s loud meow of greeting but he chose to ignore them and focus on the paper.

“Hanzo.”

He hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t look up. The person sighed and Hanzo was not prepared for a folder getting slammed over his papers. Looking up, he saw Peter giving him an annoyed look.

“You missed a meeting. Here you got the notes of it, but please just get them yourself next time.”

Hanzo frowned. “There was supposed to be a meeting today?”

Peter shrugged. “Yeah, didn’t you check your phone? Boss sent out a text message.”

Hanzo glanced at his phone, a green light blinking for unread messages. “No. I haven’t.”

“Whatever. Stop being so goddamn distracted, Mei’s getting worried.” With that Peter left the room.

Hanzo stared into the empty air, snapping out of it when Lola jumped up on his desk and buffed her head against his arm. Giving her a sad smile, he scratched her behind the ear. She purred and leaned even more into his hand.

Eventually he grabbed his phone and checked it. Three unread messages. One from George about the meeting, one from Satya asking to have dinner tonight and one from Jesse. He sent a short message to Satya, agreeing to the dinner.

When he returned to his work, the phone continued to blink.

---

Satya's and Fareeha's apartment complex was much nicer than Hanzo's own and his was already at a high standard. That Satya was a high regarded designer probably helped to get them the place they wanted.

Hanzo greeted the neighbours and even stopped to chat for a bit with one of them. They were nice enough people and pleasant to talk to, yet he couldn't bring himself to move here despite the assurance from Satya that she wouldn't mind and promising she could put in a good word for him.

Saying goodbye to Mr. Falk, Hanzo took the stairs up to the correct apartment. As he was about to ring the doorbell, the door opened and he was met by a black-clothed chest. He blinked and tilted his head up just a little, so he could look Fareeha in the face.

“Oh! Hanzo, welcome! Satya is waiting inside,” she said with a big grin and motioned him inside. As Hanzo passed her, he noticed her gym clothes and bag.

“You're not staying for the dinner?” he asked as she took a step through the door. She shook her head.

“Nah, going to practice with some from the basketball team and afterwards we're planning to have dinner together. Have fun you two, Satya should be in the kitchen.” With that, Fareeha closed the door and Hanzo could hear her footsteps going further away from the door.

Shaking his head, he smiled and took off his shoes, walking deeper into the apartment. Passing the bathroom and a storage room, he took the left ajar door to the kitchen and found Satya setting the table.

She looked up and gave him a smile. “Food’s done in 5 minutes, can you go and grab the speaker from the living room? Found some new music that we can play during the dinner.”

Hanzo nodded and walked to the living room. It took a few minutes, but he found the mini speaker and returned to the kitchen. Satya took the item from him, giving him a quick thank you as she turned on the music. He gave her a hand when she started to remove the food from the stove. Soon, they had filled their plates and chatted between bites.

Eventually Hanzo’s phone let out a chime, letting him know he had received a text message. He pulled it out of his pocket, checking who sent it. Jesse. Hanzo bit the inside of his cheek before putting it face down on the table and looked back to Satya with a smile. “Sorry, I-” he faltered at her raised eyebrow.

“You didn’t answer the message.” It wasn't a question.

He shrugged and poked his food with the fork. “Wasn’t anything urgent, it can wait until later.”

Hanzo felt Satya watch him for some time and when he frowned at her, she snatched the phone from its position and leaned backwards.

“Hey!” He reached over the table, trying to take it back, but she was too far away.

She unlocked his phone and tapped on the screen, a frown present on her face. “It’s from Jesse. And you didn’t even open it, how can you know it’s not urgent?” She looked back at him, disapprovement and worry mixed together.

“Satya, give me my phone back.” Stretching out his hand, he knew he wasn’t able to hide the desperation in his voice. “Please.”

Her expression softened as she handed it back. He had to call every ounce of his strength to not snatch it from her, and he gave it a quick look when it was back in his hands. The conversation was opened and the first thing he saw was the text ‘ Sorry you’re probably busy today. ’. Backing out of it, he let out a sigh and looked at Satya.

“I’m sorry, Hanzo, for just grabbing your phone like this, but I’m worried about you.” She folded her hands in her lap. “You always answer any text messages and calls when you get them if you aren’t busy.” Delaying her words, she put a few loose hair strands behind her ear. “Did you and Jesse have a fight?”

That wasn’t what he was expecting to hear. “I- No? Why would you think that?”

“You’ve been rather down the last few weeks, and you’re my friend, yet you haven’t talked to me. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

She was worried, Hanzo saw that. And he understood it, he just wasn’t sure what to do. He hadn’t told anyone what was going on and he didn’t know if he wanted to let anyone know, even.

Yet, the words came out of his mouth before he realized it. “Jesse and I knew each other when we were younger.” He stared, horrified, at his plate before he glanced up, only to see Satya nodding encouragingly. Relaxing his shoulders, he continued. “I suppose ‘knew each other’ might be a bit of an understatement. In fact, we used to be boyfriends.”

He shook his head. “Our parents lived in the same neighbourhood and were good friends, so we basically grew up together. After my soulmark was revealed, we decided to date anyway.”

“He didn’t have a matching mark?”

Hanzo chuckled bitterly. “Let’s say that.”

At this Satya tilted her head, frowning a bit. “May I ask what happened between the two of you?”

“I… I did a stupid and big mistake.” He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. “In university, I thought I found my soulmate. She insisted on us being a couple and didn’t take a no for an answer. I didn’t know what to do and for whatever reason, I decided I wanted to talk to Jesse about this face to face and not over the phone. And since I lived in another state, I needed to do that when I went back for the holidays.”

When he opened his eyes again, Satya was staring at him and he knew she knew where he was coming from. “Of course, my so called soulmate wanted to come too, and booked a ticket without me knowing. Jesse was the one to pick us up.” Hanzo forced his hands to relax. “Before he got the chance to introduce himself or me introducing him, she said she was my girlfriend and soulmate. To say the ride back home was chilly and awkward was an understatement. He left us at my parents place and went home. After receiving a scolding from my parents in private, my ‘soulmate’ refused to leave my side for a couple of days.

Succeeding in getting Genji to distract her, I went over to his parents house only to be greeted with a horrible surprise. Apparently, Jesse told them that he and I were going out camping and that I would pick him up a couple of hours later. That’s when we discovered that he had disappeared.”

Satya closed her eyes. “Oh.”

Hanzo nodded. “We searched after him for a couple of years before we started to mourn him as dead. We couldn’t find any trace of him, but now, I suspect it’s because Gabe, Jesse’s boss, helped Jesse to disappear.” It felt nice to talk about this, he had to admit. It didn’t feel as heavy as it had before.

She hummed in thought, tapping a nail against her arm. “But what about now? You’re back together, aren’t you?”

Shrugging, he picked up his fork again and prepared another bit. “Yes, we spend time together from time to time, but that’s as friends.”

“So what's bothering you?”

Hanzo let the silence stretch as he chewed on the cold food, mulling over how he should phrase his coming words. “A month ago Jesse told me that he’d fallen in love with me.” Looking up, he gave Satya a sad smile. “We agreed to stay as friends.”

The sympathy Satya showed almost hurt. “You love him as well, don't you?” He looked away. “Oh Hanzo,” she said and rose from her seat, walking the short distance to his side. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I think there are some cardio workouts on the gym, are you up for some?”

Hanzo appreciated the change of topic. “Yes, that sounds great,” he said and started to pick up the plate. Satya nodded and did the same.

As they were filling the dishwasher, Hanzo bumped his shoulder into Satya's. “Thank you.”

She gave him a smile. “You're welcome.”

Chapter Text

“Satya told me that the two of you talked about why you’ve been so down lately.” Hanzo blinked and looked up at Amelié, who was standing beside the bench he was sitting on. He hadn’t noticed her earlier.

He looked away, subconsciously seeking out where Lola was tumbling around with her toy, the leash following her movements. “Not in the mood, Amelié.”

She let out an annoyed huff and with two quick strides, sat down beside him. “You haven’t been in the mood for a month, Hanzo. Is this about your soulmate?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hanzo refused to look at Amelié. He could imagine her pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Jesse. I’m talking about Jesse.”

“He isn’t my soulmate.”

“And how do you know that?” Control oozed from Amelié, but he suspected she wasn’t as calm as she appeared. They were in a park after all, although not many people were out and about.

It felt like a cup was being overflown. “Because he doesn’t have a soulmark!” Hanzo snapped towards Amelié, quickly biting the inside of his cheek and forcing himself to lower the volume of his voice.

She stared at him for a few seconds before leveling him a neutral expression. “I have seen you happy, Hanzo. But when you were hanging and spending time with Jesse, you were happy . In a way that people normally can’t be, not without their soulmate. And-”

Hanzo let out a frustrated sound. “He doesn’t have a soulmark . Didn’t you hear me?” He pulled his arm towards himself with a jerk when Amelié pinched him.

She looked satisfied with the frown Hanzo gave her while rubbing his arm. “Let me finish, or I’ll pinch you again.” She stayed silent for a minute just to see if he was going to say anything. “Good. Now where was I? Ah, yes.” She folded her hands in her lap, but Hanzo noticed how she was rubbing her thigh with her thumbs.

“Despite what you think, everyone has a soulmate. Everyone .” She gave him a look when he opened his mouth. “And people like Jesse? They do have a soulmark, it’s just not visible.”

Hanzo stared at her, only looking away when Lola pulled at the leash. She had pushed the toy out of her range. He mumbled an apology to Amelié and went to pick up Lola and her toy.

“Do you remember how Angela and I met?” Amelié asked when he sat back down with Lola in his arms.

At this Hanzo frowned. “Didn’t you go to the same high school?”

Amelié nodded. “Yes. But after that, we went separate ways and didn’t get in touch for quite some years. In fact, we didn’t met until I became her patient.” She smiled softly. “Did you know I never got my soulmark?”

Hanzo slowly shook his head. “I… You’ve never told me that.” He let Lola jump down, watching her lay down in the shadow.

“Now you know. I never got it, but I was lucky. I went to a doctor for another health related problem, and they noted that I had no soulmark and asked me about it. When I insisted that I never got one, they said they were suspecting I suffered from a Contentus Meam , a Content Soul. They suggested that I go and visit Dr. Zielger, a specialist on soulmates and soulmarks, the very one who coined the term Contentus Meam .” Amelié chuckled and played with her hair. “I booked a appointment, I was intrigued and wanted to know what it was all about. And that’s when I met Angela again, a brilliant woman who helped science understand the phenomenon of soulmates better in about no time.”

Smiling, she turned towards Hanzo. “Angela is examining people who don’t have a visible soulmark, and is doing research on what is causing that. If Jesse really doesn’t have a soulmark, take him to Angela. She’ll help.”

Staring blankly at the grass beneath him, Hanzo let his thoughts mull over what she said. He glanced up when he felt a hand on his shoulder to see Amelié giving him a comforting smile.

“Think about it at least. You have Angela’s number, give her a call if you ever need her help.” With that, she rose up from her seat and left him alone on the bench, her words echoing in his mind.

---

Hanzo had been staring at his phone for god knows how long, but it wasn’t until Lola pawed at him that he found strength to actually make the call.

It wasn’t until Hanzo was filling Lola’s food bowl that Jesse answered.

“Hi, Jess, “ he said, distracted by trying not to trip over Lola.

The low chuckle from Jesse made him smile. “ Jess, huh? That’s a new one. Ain’t I the one who usually gives out nicknames? ”

He rolled his eyes, his shoulders easing up from the previous tension. “Am I not allowed to give nicknames?”

“ ‘Course you’re allowed, just you never really gave them to anyone before. ”

He gave Lola a pat before he left the kitchen. “Are you doing something important right now? Otherwise I can call later.”

He heard some clatter from the other side. “ No no, you’re not disturbing! I just dropped some cutlery. What’s on your mind? ”

Hanzo took deep, steadying breath. “I’ve… I’ve talked to a friend. She thinks that you have a soulmark after all.” The silence from the other end made his stomach turn. “She insisted that I talk to you about it despite me saying that you had no soulmark and-”

“ Hanzo. Hanzo, I- ” Hanzo heard the shaky exhale. “ You said it yourself. I don’t have a soulmark. Why would she think that I had one anyway? ”

He remembered Amelié’s words. “Because she thinks you suffer from something called Contentus Meam . She didn’t tell me that many details, just asked for me to send you to Angela Zielger, a specialist on it.” He sunk into the couch with a sigh. “She said she suffered from it too, and I trust her.  That’s why I’m even calling you about this. Jesse, you could find out who your soulmate is, if you want.”

“Contentus Meam… What would you do? If I found my soulmate? ” What would you do if it isn’t you? Hanzo’s heart clenched and he swallowed against the lump in his throat at the unvoiced question.

“I would be happy for you. Always.” Even if it would hurt if you were to love them . He shook his head and focused his eyes on the black screen of the tv. “Listen, I’ll send Angela’s number to you. Do what you want, contact her or not, it’s up to you. But I’ll support you whatever you decide to do.”

“ ... Thanks, Han. I’ll think about it. ” Jesse ended the call without much of a goodbye.

“I love you, Jesse,” he whispered into the silent phone. He sighed, dropping his head to the back of the couch and his hand down to his lap. A soft meow made him look to the side, smiling sadly to Lola who was looking at him with curious eyes. He put his phone away and patted his lap, letting her climb up and cuddle with him.

“I love him Lola. Why can’t I just let him know?” She stared at him, meowing after a few seconds and bumped her head against his face. He chuckled and scratched her behind her ear.

“Love you too, Lola.”

Chapter Text

The clicking sound of Hanzo hitting the keys on the laptop was drowned out by the the show running on the TV. It was just something he let run without watching it, the show he intended to watch was long over and now he was inspired to just write.

He knew his tea had gone cold, so when he finally decided to take a break, he grabbed the mug with him with the intent of making a new one. He had barely poured the old tea into the sink when the doorbell went off.

Frowning, he slowly walked towards the door. He wasn’t expecting guests, Genji and Lucio were busy with their own life, Amelié was planning to take out Angela on a date and Satya was preoccupied with work.

Surprise and worry crept up when he saw through the peephole it was Jesse. He hastened to open the door.

The other man looked up in relief, stopping his fiddling with the hem of his shirt. “Hanzo! Good, you’re home!”

The nervousness coming from Jesse made Hanzo worry even more. “Is everything alright?”

“Ah, yes. I just- can I come in?” Without a word Hanzo pushed the door open and let Jesse in. Jesse gave him a big smile. “Thanks, Han.”

Watching Jesse take off his shoes and thin jacket, his mind rushed with possibilities on why he was in town. Jesse looked at him with a small smile, Hanzo returning the gesture, nervousness slowly getting matched by happiness.

Without much talk they relocated to the living room, Hanzo sitting down on the couch and Jesse sitting down in an armchair.

He couldn’t hold back anymore. “So, what are you doing in town? Wasn’t aware you were here.”

Jesse scratched his beard and didn’t quite look at Hanzo. The smile not quite disappearing. “I know, I just-” A deep, steadying breath. “I booked an appointment with Doctor Zielger. And I went to it. Today.”

Hanzo wasn’t sure how to decipher the feelings that welled up, didn’t dare to acknowledge the fear and dread that were threatening to overwhelm the positive, happy feelings for Jesse. “Oh? How did it go?”

The smile broadened into a big grin and Jesse finally looked at Hanzo fully. “I know who my soulmate is.”

Hanzo’s heart clenched but he forced himself to smile.”What are you waiting for then? Tell me about them!”

Jesse’s leg started to bounce and so he leaned his arms against the unmoving leg. “He’s amazing. Like, he’s probably one of the sweetest people I know, but you wouldn’t think so when you first met him.” His eyes seemed to focus on the coffee table, the smile still very much present. “Sure, he has some shortcomings, but who hasn’t? He grumbles every once in a while and sometimes he’s too serious about dumb stuff but honestly? I’m all for his small smiles, especially the ones he thinks no one sees, and how much he actually cares . He always tries to be cool about it and act like it’s not a big deal but when you know him well enough, it’s obvious how much thought he put into things.” An adoring chuckle. “Not to mention his looks because hot damn, his muscles make me weak, you know?”

With every word Jesse used to describe his soulmate, Hanzo’s heart felt heavier. He soon found himself tuning out the words and solely focus on every little way Jesse’s expression brightened as he gushed over his soulmate. It felt too much at once, as if his lungs didn’t want to expand properly.

“I’m going to make some tea. Want some?” Hanzo cut mid sentence, not waiting for Jesse’s answer as he stood up, the need to ground himself making him miss Jesse’s worried expression.

“Uh, sure. Let’s just move to the kitchen,” Jesse said and Hanzo heard how he followed him. He immediately went to the cupboard where the teapot was, taking it down carefully as he tried to buy the time to reorganize his thoughts.

“You seem to know him very well,” he said slowly, tapping his finger against the pot. Turning the faucet on, he waited for the water to get cold.

“Yeah, I already know how he is, we’ve met several times.” The deep chuckle sounded much closer than it needed to be, but Hanzo didn’t pay it any mind as he filled the teapot with water. “Did you know that he’s a professor and has a cat?”

The words didn’t registre with him immediately but when they did, he had to put down the pot carefully as not to drop it and turn off the faucet. He steadied himself against the sink, closing his eyes an exhaled slowly. “Jesse, I don’t appreciate the joke.”

A hand touched his shoulder, gently trying to persuade him to turn around. “Hanzo. Please look at me.”

Hanzo did little resistance against the hand, not sure what he was bracing himself for or what he was expecting, but seeing Jesse’s soft expression made him relax slightly. Jesse gently cupped Hanzo’s face in his hands, brushing his thumb over Hanzo’s cheek.

“I’m sorry for teasing you like that, but I’m serious. I wouldn’t even try to do that if you weren’t aware of it.” His small smile grew, but that he felt nervous was written all over his face. “ You are my soulmate. And I’m yours and I’m so goddamn happy, and I know what I said months ago but I-” A deep breath. “I want to talk about possibilities. I want to hear if you’re willing to be more than friends.” He was hopeful, and Hanzo couldn’t ignore the rapid increasing of speed of his heart’s beat.

Hanzo grabbed the hands cupping his face and brought them down in between them. He looked at their hands, Jesse’s palms faced upwards, as the seconds seemed to drag out. Eventually he let out a sigh, closing Jesse’s hands into fists. “Show me.” When he didn’t receive an immediate reaction, he looked up, locking eyes with Jesse with repetition of his demand on his lips.

The smile had diminished and turned more serious than it was before. Nodding, Jesse took a step back, already unbuttoning his shirt.

Hanzo said nothing, staring at the place where the soulmark, his mark, should be. He didn’t bat an eye when the shirt was removed, but sucked in a breath when he spotted a darker spot above Jesse’s heart. The tank top that was preventing a proper view was soon removed, revealing a small and unassuming brown snake sitting on the left side of his chest. He haven’t seen his soulmark without all of the colors from his tattoo covering it in a very long time.

He didn’t realise he had moved until he felt Jesse’s warm and hairy skin under his fingertips as he traced it. The hair on his neck rose and a shiver went down his spine.

“I promise it’s real, Han.” Jesse's voice was barely louder than a whisper, but Hanzo could hear him loud and clear. “If you don’t believe me, we can call Dr. Ziegler.”

The corner of Hanzo’s mouth twitched into a hint of a smile. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Her girlfriend would be very mad at you if you were to interrupt their date night.”

Jesse laughed at that. “Is that so?”

“Indeed. Amelié isn’t fond of her special time with Angela being disturbed.” Hanzo turned his eyes back to the soulmark, running his thumb over it. “No, I believe you, it’s just-”

“Hard to get?”

Words didn’t find him, leaving Hanzo with a simple nod. He closed his eyes, only opening them when he felt a weight against his forehead. Jesse had his eyes closed, resting his forehead against Hanzo’s.

He opened his eyes slightly when he started to talk. “I know what I said, Han. But I wanted to come here anyway, to ask you what you want to do.”

A loud meow made them look down at Lola, who was standing beside them. Hanzo let out a chuckle, bending down and gave her a few scratches. When she was pleased with the attention she trotted over to her food.

“Well, that destroyed the mood, didn’t it?” Jesse said, but he didn’t seem displeased. Shrugging, Hanzo turned back towards his forgotten teapot and began to prepare the tea again.

“We’ll continue to talk about it. Just, let us sit down in the living room again. With tea.”

Soon enough the tea was done and the two of them were sitting in the couch, side by side, and Lola curled up in Hanzo’s lap.

Hanzo was slowly stroking Lola’s fur with one hand and holding a cup with the other. “What do you want to do with this?”

Jesse was holding his cup in both of his hands. “If you’re willing, I want to try again.”

“A relationship?”

Hanzo could see Jesse nod in the corner of his eye. “Yeah. I’ve been happy for a very long time, but when I started to hang out with you again? I hardly remember a time when I felt this at peace.”

Humming and deep in thought, he took a sip out of his cup. “Perhaps,” he began but trailed off. Lola gave him a look and he shook his head with a smile. “I would like that, too.” He looked up, his smile getting brighter.

Jesse’s expression positively shined.

“But I want to take it slow.” The happiness didn’t diminish from Hanzo’s words. “I want to go out on dates. Movies, dinners, walks in the park. To find us in all of this.”

Jesse let out a laugh, leaning his shoulder into Hanzo’s. “Of course. Nothing less. Taking it slow sounds good.”

Hanzo couldn’t stop smiling, not that he wanted to anyway. Jesse’s presence was comforting and now, with this, he felt peace he hadn’t felt in a really long time. “Do you want to stay the night? Or do you have a hotel room?” Glancing at Jesse, he watched him shake his head.

“Sombra gave me a ride. I need to go in a couple of hours since she’s waiting for me. But she knows I’m here.” Jesse placed his hand on Hanzo’s leg, stroking it with his thumb. “I promise that I’ll come back into town for a proper date, you ain’t getting rid of me that easily.”

He was a bit disappointed, Hanzo had to admit, but he knew that Jesse would keep his word. Giving Jesse a teasing smile, he leaned more into their shoulders touching. “Not if I come to the farm first.”

The laughter was infectious, enough so Hanzo needed to put down his cup of tea in order not to spill it. Lola jumped down and up into an armchair when she deemed Hanzo moving too much.

“Aw, I’m sorry Lola, didn’t mean to disturb you that much,” Hanzo cooed, receiving a meow from her but she didn’t move a muscle. He chuckled and leaned back, but fell silent when he felt lips against his temple.

“I’m happy,” Jesse mumbled against his skin, his arm draped around Hanzo’s shoulders.

He leaned into the touch. “Me too, Jesse.” Turning his head to face Jesse, he smiled softly. “Me too.”

Chapter Text

Hanzo watched planes take off and land, tapping his fingers against his thigh. The plane he was waiting to touch down was delayed by an hour already and he was hoping nothing more was going to happen or else they will be late for the dinner they had planned. He had already messaged Jesse (warning him) and also Gabe and Jack about it, and they all had reassured him that it would be fine, but he couldn’t quite stop worrying.

Relief washed over him when he saw on the monitor that the plane had finally landed. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the designated area for people waiting on the arrivals. It took about another 20 minutes before the first people trickled through the gate.

He grinned when he saw Genji with Lucio beside him, leading his parents and Emily and Anthony with confident strides. Lucio was the first one to notice him, elbowing Genji in the side before he waved to Hanzo. Hanzo chuckled and waved back, watching Genji’s expression light up and hurrying over.

“Hanzo!” Genji took Hanzo in his arms despite his weak protests, hugging him closely. After the hug he held on his shoulders. “Good to see you!”

Hanzo rolled his eyes, noticing the others coming closer. “I saw you three weeks ago.” He turned towards Wakaba and Sojiro with a smile. “But it’s been longer since I saw you. Hi, mom. Hi, dad.”

“Well, you never come and visit!” Sojiro said with a huff, but he had a small smile on his lips. Wakaba hit him on the arm before she turned towards Hanzo.

“At least we’re here now. Give me a hug,” she said with a smile, not leaving Hanzo with much of a choice.

“Thank you for inviting us over too, Hanzo,” Emily said when Hanzo was finally released from Wakaba’s embrace.

He gave her a smile and held out his hand for her husband, Anthony shook it. “Of course, you have been a big part of my childhood; I’m not going to leave you out.” Anthony nodded and took a step back.

“So,” Lucio said, dragging out the ‘o’. “Where’s your boyfriend? I don’t see anyone else here.”

Hanzo turned to Genji and Lucio, Genji narrowing his eyes at every man that walked a little bit too close to the group.

“Yes, where is this mysterious man we’ve heard so much about but never seen?” Wakaba chimed in.

Sojiro took his wife’s hand and gave it a kiss. “Relax, don’t pressure our boy. Let him talk.”

Shaking his head, Hanzo couldn’t help but to be amused at their eagerness. “He’s not here at the moment. He’s at the farm, finishing up his duties and preparing your rooms.”

“And we’ll be staying at the farm?” Anthony asked and Hanzo nodded.

“I have the car parked outside; we’ll be going immediately towards the farm. It’s a three hour drive and we need to get going so we get there on time for dinner.”

At the mention of food, Emily perked up. “Oh? Is it Jesse who made the food?”

Motioning for them to follow, Hanzo shook his head. “No, it’s one of his guardians that made the food. He’s a really good cook, I don’t think you will be disappointed.”

They found the car soon enough, and after they had made sure everything was packed, they were finally on their way.

The trip was filled with pleasant talk, a couple of questions about Jesse and even more about the farm itself. Lucio got everyone, including Emily, into a singing session after some digging around for some good music. When they finally arrived at the farm the sun had already set and the only lights they had were from the car and the houses.

Genji let out a loud groan when he finally got out of the car, stretching out his limbs. “Why don’t you have a better car?” he complained as the others got out of the car.

“Because then I wouldn’t fit all of you in it,” Hanzo said, unpacking the trunk. He blinked at the sudden brightness when the yard lamp lit up, turning towards the big house. Out of the door came Jack, a big smile on his face.

“Welcome everyone! I heard that your plane got delayed, I hope there wasn’t too much trouble?” He approached them, shaking hands with everyone but Hanzo when he reached them. Instead he gave Hanzo a hug.

“No, they just needed a check up on the plane. It’s very nice of you to host us, Mr. Morrison,” Wakaba said with a smile.

“We’re just happy to finally meet you. And please, call me Jack!”

Wakaba motioned towards each person as she introduced the group.“I’m Wakaba, this is my husband Sojiro. My youngest son, Genji, and his partner Lucio. This is our good friends, Emily and Anthony Morricone.”

“Once again, welcome! Gabe is making the final touches on the food, but we’ll have enough time to put away your luggage into respective rooms. Here, let me help you with the bags,” Jack said and took the one Emily had. She gave him a thankful smile.

“Oh, by the way, Hanzo,” Jack said as Hanzo was about to pick up his own bag. “Jesse should finish up soon, would you meet him at the house? Said he needed to talk to you.”

Hanzo nodded, picking up his bag. “Alright. I’ll see you at the dinner table then.” After giving his mother and father a hug, he left the group in Jack’s hands and walked to Jesse’s house.

When he opened the door, Lola came running up to him, purring up a storm as she pushed herself against him. Hanzo smiled, giving her a few scratches before closing the door.

“Jesse? You’re in?” He didn’t see him in the living room or in the kitchen but he heard movements coming from upstairs. Picking up Lola and letting her climb up on his shoulders, he carefully climbed the stairs. “Jesse?”

Hanzo directed his footsteps towards the bedroom when he heard a sound coming from that way. Opening the door, he saw Jesse walking in circles, not noticing him coming inside. He smiled softly at the open nervousness Jesse radiated and knocked on the doorframe, making his presence known.

Jesse looked up and his whole posture sagged in relief at the sight of Hanzo. “Hi, darlin’.”

Leaving the bag by the door, he walked to Jesse and gave him a quick kiss. “You ok?”

“Well,” Jesse began but trailed off when Lola meowed and demanded his attention. Shaking his head, he scratched her behind the ears. “I’m just nervous, Han. Sure, I’ve talked to mom and dad from time to time, but I have never actually met them since… You know. Not to even mention Wakaba, Sojiro and Genji.” He didn’t resist when Hanzo pulled him into a hug, making Lola jumping down.

He practically melted at Hanzo’s comforting touches, at his fingers running through his hair.

“It will be fine, love. I’ll be there, and so will Jack and Gabe. Promise.”

Jesse smiled, nuzzling into the space between Hanzo’s shoulder and neck. “How was I so goddamn lucky to have you?”

“You can thank your own stubbornness on talking as adults,” Hanzo said, humming happily.

Shaking his head, Jesse straightened his back and broke the embrace. Hanzo watched him steel himself, shoulders rise up and slowly getting settled.

“Nah, I think I need to send some flowers to your colleagues since it was their idea to send you to the farm.” Smiling, he bent down the small distance between them and kissed Hanzo slowly.

Hanzo’s eyes fell shut as he pressed into the kiss, savoring the closeness they had. Eventually he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Jesse’s. “Perhaps it’s time for us to join the dinner, hmm?”

The resulting groan made Hanzo laugh and he grabbed Jesse’s hand. “Come, they’re probably missing us right now.”

Jesse rolled his shoulders. “Fine. Let’s do this.”

Hand in hand they left Jesse’s house, only stopping right outside the door to the big house. Soft music and happy chatter came from the other side.

Hanzo turned towards Jesse and squeezed his hand. “Ready?”

Shaking his head, Jesse squeezed back. “No. Is it too late to turn back?” Hanzo raised an eyebrow and Jesse raised his free hand in retaliation. “No turning back, got it.” Exhaling, a roll of his shoulders and with a final squeeze of his hand, Jesse let go of Hanzo and walked inside.

Hanzo hanged back for a couple of seconds before he walked after Jesse. He could see the moment when Emily noticed Jesse walking towards the table. All of her movements stopped as she stared at him with disbelief before she slowly covered her mouth with her hands.

“Joel?”

All conversation ceased as everyone’s eyes turned towards Jesse. Hanzo could see the tension in his shoulders, but before he could do anything Emily hurried up out of her seat and with long strides walked over to Jesse.

“Oh my sweet darlin’ boy, mi sol, mi ángel,” she said as she grabbed his cheeks, pulling him down to kiss his forehead.

Jesse put his hands over Emily’s but didn’t pull them away, and Hanzo could hear the smile in his wavering voice. “Hi, mom.”

It was as if a dam had broken loose, everyone except Gabe, Jack and Lucio, rushed out of their seats and towards Jesse. Anthony enveloped both Jesse and Emily in his arms, hugging them closely. Wakaba and Sojiro stayed back a bit but Hanzo could see their impatience.

“So good to finally see you in person!” Anthony said as he ruffled Jesse's hair, finally letting go of his son and wife. In the light Hanzo could see the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Emily wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt, a big smile on her lips. “I can't believe this, I have you here right in front of me, alive . I know I've seen you in video calls but it never felt real.”

Jesse gave Emily another hug. “I'm so sorry, mom.”

She shook her head, taking a step back. “We've already talked about this, Joel. No more apologies.”

Jesse gave her a weak shrug before he turned towards Wakaba and Sojiro. Hanzo watched both of them giving Jesse a close hug, hearing Wakaba whispering something to Jesse but what exactly, he could not tell.

Hanzo's eyes turned to Genji, who was standing with his arms crossed and staring intensely at Jesse. His foot was tapping as he waited for Wakaba to let go of Jesse.

When she did, Jesse turned towards Genji and held his arms out. “What, not gonna give me a hug?”

A frown appeared on Genji's face and he didn't move a muscle.

Jesse lowered his arms and worry shot through Hanzo.

With two long and quick strides, Genji was in Jesse's face. Hanzo tensed and reached out with the intention of pulling Jesse away, but he let it drop when Genji enveloped Jesse with his arms.

“You motherfucking bastard! Do you have any idea how fucking worried we were about you? Fuck,” Genji said, obviously not intending to let go anytime soon. Hanzo relaxed and smiled as Jesse hugged Genji back.

“Sorry Sparrow. Not gonna happen again,” Jesse said, letting Genji go when he pushed himself out of the embrace but he kept his grip on Jesse's arms.

“If it does, I will hunt you down and kick your ass. You didn't even give us a call! Not once!” Then he looked over Jesse's shoulder and burrowed his eyes into Hanzo. “And you!” He let go of Jesse and walked up to Hanzo. “You knew Joel was alive! And you never told us where to find him! Couldn’t you just told us instead of tricking us that we were meeting your boyfriend?”

Hanzo looked at him for a few seconds before he ruffled Genji’s hair. “One, when we first met, he didn’t really want to talk to me, remember when I told you that?”

Jesse turned around and walked up beside Genji. “We only got back in contact when I was looking for someone to give one of the farm’s cat to. And luckily, he took her in,” Jesse said, giving Hanzo a small smile.

“But Hanzo only have one cat?” Anthony said, a frown on his face. Hanzo nodded.

Jesse cleared his throat. “I think everyone should sit down.”

Wakaba gave the two of them a worried look but moved with the others as they sat down again. Hanzo and Jesse continued to stand up, Gabe and Jack giving them reassuring smiles.

“I’m sorry, but there’s a few more things we kinda need to talk about.” Jesse took a steadying breath. “I don’t go by the name ‘Joel’ anymore.”

Hanzo could see who understood immediately, Emily and Sojiro, and who was waiting with baited breath.

“I go by Jesse now.” He grabbed Hanzo’s hand.

“So, yes. We’re boyfriends again.” Hanzo let out a shuddering breath. “You don’t need to give me the talk about how it ended last time. We’ve talked about this very seriously and agreed together to try again.” His hand was squeezed in a comforting manner, so Hanzo squeezed back.

The following seconds were filled with silence, only to be broken by Gabe clapping his hands.

“I suggest that everyone dig in before it gets too cold. Jesse, Hanzo, sit down. You two have goddamn worked hard lately and deserve some food.” Gabe’s tone were final, leaving no room for argument. Hanzo and Jesse shared a look before they joined the table.

Conversation quickly picked up, at first avoiding the topic of Jesse and Hanzo dating again, until Lucio clearly got tired of it and asked them every imaginable question he could come up with. After that, it eased up and became much more enjoyable.

“That was an adventure.”

Hanzo hummed in agreement as he pulled his shirt over his head. “I must say, they reacted better than I thought they would.” He threw it over his designated chair.

Jesse stretched out on the bed. “Well, I ain’t complaining. Just happy that ma and pa didn’t decide to go for your throat when you said we are boyfriends.”

“Mhm. Their looks were enough though,” Hanzo said and got into the bed. Jesse turned to his side, staying close enough that their legs touched, and started to trace the hidden soulmark within the tattoo. Hanzo started to play with Jesse’s hair, watching his expression. “Something on your mind, love?”

“Why didn’t you tell them that we were soulmates?” Jesse looked away from Hanzo’s chest to meet his eyes.

Hanzo continued to play with Jesse’s hair, being silent as he tried to formulate the words. “It felt like,” he began but trailed off. He shook his head and pulled Jesse into a hug. “I wanted for them to see just us making this decisions and not assume that we’re together just because of the soulmarks. And besides, they had enough surprises for today.” He smiled and kissed Jesse’s forehead. “Perhaps we should give them a day or two?”

Jesse chuckled, bringing his hand behind Hanzo’s head and pulled him closer. “Perhaps.” With that, he kissed Hanzo slowly.

Hanzo was happy to reciprocate it, pulling Jesse even closer.