Chapter Text
It was maybe 4 a.m when Jesse woke up, it didn’t really matter much to him. The air, still and a bit cold, seemed to drift into his joints when he stretched, giving him a bit of a shiver. This was a normal day for him, always had been for the past 9 years and he still had yet to be sick of it. Shuffling on a pair of worn overalls and a sweatshirt, he passed through the living area of his apartment, where his dog, Rusty laid on the couch. They made eye contact but the old boy was too tired to rise from his spot and greet his owner, so he let out a small chuff instead, earning a grin from Jesse. He continued on his way to the door, which led right to the backroom of his job.
McCree was the proud owner of Delight Cafe, a coffee shop that’d been in his family for longer than he could ever know. Before he could get his bearings about things, there was an urgent rapping at the front door. Now who could be here this early in the morning? Jesse, though a bit confused, briskly made it to the front of the store to see that it was one of his employees, Genji Shimada, trying to wave him over. His bright green hair still managed to stick out in the dark of the early morning. Jesse wasn’t too fond of it to begin with, but Genji had always been a good worker and person altogether, so he could put it to the side...for now. Still, what was he doing here this early?
“Boy, you nearly scared the daylights outta me, whatcha doin’ here s-”
“Can’t talk boss I gotta take a PHAT piss.” Genji shimmied passed a confused McCree, making a b-line to the staff bathroom without another word.
“Did..did he just curse at me?” Genji had a tendency to pick up lingo he heard on the internet, no matter where it was from, much to the dismay of Jesse, who just last week figured out how to flip the camera on his phone. He shook the thought out of his mind, heading back into the back of the store to start opening.
Tea leaves from last week’s shipment were running a bit low, Jesse noted, before Genji came stumbling in the back, obviously still tired despite rushing to the restroom. A puff of morning breath hit Jesse when he let out a huge yawn, he had to force himself not to gag. Still, it was unlike Genji to come in so early unless it was by request of Jesse.
“So what brings you here so early?” he asked, checking the stock on the decaf coffee beans.
Genji fumbled with his words at first, sleep still taking him hostage. “My brother got called in to work so he had to drop me off early. Didn’t even get a chance to brush my teeth or anything.” That was evident enough, with Jesse taking a step back to avoid the wave of stank escaping the boy’s mouth. “I feel bad though, today was his only off day.” This caught Jesse’s attention, giving Genji a worried glance.
He’d never had a formal meeting with Genji’s older brother, never even seen a picture of him. It was only when Genji came in late for the first time that he’d even heard about him.
Since then, Jesse learned that his name was Hanzo, that he also worked at a coffee shop, and that he was definitely overworked.
“Why doesn’t he, y’know, find another job?” Jesse asked, tossing a torn tea bag into the ‘to be composted’ bin.
“He’s tried. He’s a very skilled person and an even better barista. But with his schedule, it’s been impossible for him to make time.”
“Well if he’s such a skilled barista why doesn’t he work here? I’m always looking for another set of hands.”
Genji sighed, leaning against the doorframe of the backroom.
“His boss.”
===
“The least you could do, Hanzo, is get here in a timely manner when we call you in.”
Hanzo hid an irritated sigh behind his apron as he slid it on, somehow at 4:34 am, his boss was already on That Bullshit. Hanzo would probably love his job a lot more if the manager wasn’t so nitpicky about everything he did, even the way he asked questions made his boss not-so-subtly roll his eyes.
Of course, the store was already beginning to buzz with life. A corpse of a man stood at the register while one of the newer baristas rang him up with too much giddiness for this ungodly time of day.
What was her name, Lena? ‘Yeah,’ Hanzo thought, passing by her to get the morning routine started, ‘she’s been nothing but smiles and happiness since she got hired.’ He started checking for milks in the fridges, understocked, of course. ‘It’ll be a shame when she finally starts hating this dump.’
The day went just as he’d expected:
*Once 5 am rolled around, things really started picking up. The three of them did their best manning the store, dealing with hungover, rushing, and noncommunicating customers, putting on the best smile minimum wage could buy. Eventually a few more employees came in, late of course. But as long as there were people, Hanzo was thankful.
*Maybe every 5th customer, Hanzo would hand them their drink only for them to state that they wanted it iced.
*Lena gave a woman a cup of water a size smaller than her usual and got absolutely chewed out by her and the manager.
*Hanzo was sure he’d heard this song play 6 times in the past two hours.
*Someone ordered 10 drinks and then complained about how long the wait was taking.
With a overdramatic breath, Hanzo slumped into the rickety break room chair, happy to be off his feet. He instinctively took out his phone, ready to see what was happening on the other side of the drive-thru window. The usual morning text from Genji, asking how his morning was going, along with notifications on app updates and the like.
[Just terrific, we’re out of nonfat milk and no one’s able to get any more. You?]
He got a photo in response: a latte with a blooming design in the foam. Immediately, he was jealous. Hanzo’s store discouraged making art on drinks. ‘Takes too much time for something they’re just gonna guzzle down’, as his boss put it.
[First drink of the day! Bossman was hovering over me like a hawk, making sure I did it right]
Though Genji had been working at Delight Cafe for as long as Hanzo had been working at his store, he’d only heard about his boss in passing, and god was he jealous. On their drives home, Genji would gush about how relaxed he boss, Mr. McCree, was, and how deeply he cared about his job. Hanzo could easily recall the times his boss would mutter about how much they hated the job. More times than necessary if you asked him.
Another text popped up:
[He was actually asking about you earlier today, he’s looking for a new barista and I recommended you!]
Hanzo sighed deeply, then quickly typed his response.
[Genji, you know as well as I do that my boss is going to guilt me into staying, I can’t leave.]
He remembered seeing a job opening at a beautiful tea shop bookstore hybrid. Plants hung from the ceiling, crystal chimes adorned the front register so that whenever the door brought even the slightest gust of wind, the small twinkling would bring the whole store a new sense of life.
He remembered how quickly his boss shut him down, telling him that without his help, the store would be set into ruin and he’s have to live with it. So, Hanzo let that dream die. No hanging plants, no crystal chimes, no happiness.
[Well, maybe you could just come by to visit? Visiting won’t hurt you, will it?]
“Hanzo, we need you back, now!” Startled, Hanzo looked up from his phone to see a frazzled Lena standing with a singular receipt.
That touched the floor.
Maybe Genji was right, visiting won’t hurt.