Hello, my peeps uwu
How's everyone doin?? Anyhow here's the next chapter so I hope that y'all will enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Ready? Ready--let's go!!
Peace UwU
In your tiny little apartment room in Switzerland, you kept the light as low as you could at all times, even though McCree had informed you the night before their departure to Japan that the landlady knew he would have a friend stay over there while the were gone, that friend being you, and that said landlady was more than fine with it. However that did not mean that you were free to just go about your business here and there. What if Overwatch were to show up? Or a cleaning man who loves watching the news comes in and recognizes you as the supposed princess who should have died a year ago?
As the days passed, you felt more at ease with the whole situation around you, and very soon, you found yourself to be comfortable in the silence of your own company. You used Jesse's back-up accounts to surf the web and see your home once more through the monitor of his laptop, and though the view may not compare to the real thing, to being actually able to feel everything around you, it was all that you could get, and even for that, you were thankful.
While surfing on a website dedicated to sharing interests concerning visual arts and home design, you stumbled upon a section that narrowed the images down to Japanese prints, and you were in awe at the beautiful works that one could do with simply a paintbrush and canvas. Some designs were fairly traditional, with the grunge adding to its overall appeal of the piece, and some were more on the modern side. Either way they were all amazing, and you got a surge of inspiration bursting inside you, wanting to manifest itself into a great artwork of your own. You had the design in mind, and you were hurriedly scrambling from the floor to rise back up on your feet to get started.
Heading to the kitchen, you looked for some materials that you can use to make your own paint, and to your luck you remembered about how you had seen a paintbrush in this room during your scouting a year ago; you believed it was in the same compartment as the broken tooth brush. You wasted no second and set off to work, the enthusiasm in your system almost mistakable for a sugar rush. But you did not pay any mind to that, what was important was that you manage to get this done as soon as you can before this thrill ran out. You only needed two colors after all, red and black, and you figured that those should be easy enough to acquire. Looking up online recipes for homemade paint you set off to gather what you needed, and after finding the perfect flat surface to paint on, you were an unstoppable force of art that did not tire from the many twists and angles that the painting required.
Some hours have passed and you had the television running for about half a day already, using it mainly for background noise to make you feel less alone, as well as to keep you updated in any case, for perhaps there may be urgent news popping up about your family or your home country altogether.
One stroke after another, another swirl here, you were on the verge of completing this task you've set yourself up to, and you couldn't be more excited for Hanzo to come back and see this workmanship, this labor of love, this reminder of what you two once had before this mess took over and completely tumbled your shared worlds upside down.
If the brothers' falling out had not happened...you would have been married for a year then, maybe you would be in the Shimada castle together, or better yet--had a baby together.
Your child would have born around this time.
Without thinking you've stilled, and the hand with the paintbrush froze mid-air, inches away from the last blank patch on the decorated wall, while your other one dipped down, hovering lightly over your stomach. Would he look more like Hanzo or like you? Who would he act more like? Will your child share his father's lopsided smile or blush when they shy away as you do? What will his first words be? What would he think of the world around him--his hopes, his dreams, his grievances?
You could not wait to meet him.
"Haruto," you sighed with a smile. "It's perfect."
But while in the middle of your happy trance, a word mixed in among what sounded to you like the usual monotone gibberish of a news reporter stood out to you, and it had you whipping your head around to the television screen immediately, where to your horror, an image of you and your lover's old home, the Shimada palace, was showcased being quarantined by the military of both Japan itself and Overwatch's forces.
You dropped your paint brush in sync with your heart, and you felt it like solid stone dropping to the bottom of your gut. You could not breathe, and when your body finally did, it was in tearful heaves, frantic gulps of air that did nothing to soothe the tightness of your chest. Your sorrow heightened further at the blurred images of bloody and dead bodies that littered the interior of the house, and once the roll call came in, you recognized the names of some of the elders, with most of the casualties being the clan's guards, who you knew would put up a fight against any foe that threatened the safety of their masters. Sadly you were even close friends with some of them, and who would have thought that the next time you would see them again, it would be like this.
They were actually gone.
To your relief, you saw that Hanzo was not within the list of fatalities, but a new worry rose in you at the realization that perhaps Overwatch has had a hold of him, that he was being locked up as of the moment, and that you would not be none the wiser. You were helpless, unable to do anything about the situation no matter how badly you wanted to: All you could do was pace around frantically until your vision blurred and dark spots began appearing here and there. How could fate do this to you? Take the love of your life away again just when things were doing well?
I knew I should not have let him go! I'm a fool, and now Hanzo will be taken away from me again. I have lost him too many times, I can't go through that again--I CAN'T!
Breaking out into a cold sweat you mustered the last strands of sanity you had left to come up with another plan to save Hanzo, but try as you might to think, the strain on your body brought upon by this news was too much and your system could not cope up with your rising levels of stress. In the end you were left with even fewer ideas than when you initially began brainstorming.
You lamented, and just when you actually had the chance to process that you have completely neglected your painting, you were overcome by a cold force that was not your own and you were soon crashing onto the floor. There was no pain in your speedy collision with the ground, and the thought had not crossed your mind at all. All you registered was a sensation that seemed like landing on a pile of clouds and that you have become immobile, all parts paralyzed--a cruel metaphor for the helplessness you felt deep inside; before long your body could only submit to the heaviness felt by your eyelids, not knowing what else to do...not knowing what else you can do.
The array of voices coming out from the television became more blurred and incoherent until such time that you heard nothing. There might have been an explosion or a commotion just outside of your building and you would not have had a clue about it.
Not even the sound of Hanzo's distraught calling managed to draw you back into consciousness.
"(Y/N)!" He hurriedly dived down to cup your pallid face. "(Y/N) wake up!"
The Shimada hastily discarded the heavy backpack that he had on his person and set you down as soon as he was able onto the decent couch that sprawled on the right side of the small living room. He elevated your legs, and with McCree's help minutes later, he managed to stabilize your condition as best as he deemed it to be; your chest was elevating up and down at a steady pace and the vibrance brought upon by blood came back to color your face. All in all these were very good indicators, and it finally gave Hanzo the reason to worry no further and to instead sit down. He has done all that he could, and he will do more once you wake up.
Fortunately for them you were immediately taken care off only minutes after you've passed out, and once Hanzo saw the signs of your recovery through your steadily fluttering eyelids and minute arm movements, he was able to breathe off a sigh of relief and a heavy load of bricks disappeared from his shoulders.
"(Y/N), how are you feeling?"
In your stupor, you groggily blinked back at him before finally letting off a tired smile. "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
Hanzo smiled back, albeit more sadly as he stroked your flushed cheeks. "You are not beloved...we found you passed out on the floor. What happened? Were you sick?"
"I..." you began, gripping his hand as you struggled to remember all that you could before the void took over. "I saw on the news that some of the Shimada elders have been killed along with the staff that resisted--"
"What?!" Hanzo's booming voice shocked you with its intensity and you hesitated on whether or not you should continue telling him what you saw on the TV.
"That's what was on the news a-and I panicked because I thought Overwatch has finally caught up to you--I thought they were wiping off all that remained of your legacy, Hanzo...and I thought they've captured you too."
"Doll, whatever ya heard, Overwatch had nothin' to do with the killing of the people at the Shimada palace," McCree interjected as he walked out of the kitchen, bringing you a steaming cup of tea. "It ain't us I promise--me and Han were already nearing Switzerland by the time of the incident. Overwatch also had no idea until just an hour ago."
"I can believe the cowman's claims," Hanzo sighed as he furrowed his brow in both bewilderment and disbelief. "We know we have a lot of enemies, but none of them would ever dare do this direct assault on us, but perhaps they are confident in the knowledge that the clan . We are a valuable asset to many syndicates world wide, and Overwatch eliminating us would benefit them nothing--they will not have access to secret files, to our other partners, important figures associated with us, and such. We are better to them alive.
"I'd much rather have confidence in the suspicion that this was all a political move made by another rival clan of ours, or better yet a spy working from the inside of our organization."
"(Y/N), Hanzo here is safe--he wasn't followed ever." The Blackwatch member gave you a gentle grin. "I made sure of it."
"Thank you, Jesse," you said. "This all means a lot to me."
"Actually I should be thankin' you, doll," the man replied, drawling on the pet name he gave you as he reached inside his side pocket and fished out a thick wad of cash, which he then proceeded to wave enticingly in front of your face. "You see this dough, darlin'--this is all thanks to you."
You looked at the bundle of paper bills with a loose jaw and set the tea cup down unto the coffee table before you'd mindlessly let go of it and create a bigger mess on the floor. "Wh-Where'd you get that? More importantly how is that my doing?"
"Well--" Jesse sucked on his teeth, orbs looking up to the lit ceiling of his room as he swayed about proudly, "--apparently old man Reyes has noticed a great improvement on my reports and figured that my efforts should not go unrewarded. Actually it was Commander Morrison that suggested the idea, Gabe just went along with it begrudgingly I reckon.
"Also--" the man abruptly added in, making you jump in your seat for a second time, "--those leads Hanzo 'ere gave me helped us track and shut down seven smaller crime syndicates that were involved in the shipment of specialized explosives and stolen omnic parts. Again, Morrison was impressed and insisted that I get a raise while Reyes just agreed with all the care he has for the world. But I can tell ya that guy was relieved his little investment, me, finally became a valuable asset to the team after so many years." McCree sighed in content and finished his little recount with a satisfied smile. "Yup, we did good here y'all."
"I'm so happy for you, McCree." You shared his joy and beamed as wide as you could.
Hanzo, on the other hand, was more skeptical. "And they did not notice these drastic changes on your part? Not one of them?"
You nudged Hanzo hard on the arm as a warning but Jesse was already giving his answer in a heartbeat.
"I'm sure they're all a shocked bunch right now but they didn't treat me any differently afterwards. They just thought I got an edge in the field, y'know--no biggie, happens to the best of us."
McCree's attempt to make light of every situation thrown at him was very admirable and you found yourself thanking the cowboy once more as you steadily rose up from the sofa to observe Hanzo's new garments with a much better eye. He was wearing the familiar kyudo-gi that he would wear during archery practices with his brother and father, and it was colored in a dark grayish hue that featured designs of lightning flashes amidst stormy clouds. You smiled at how appropriately the outfit represented your beloved and looked down to notice that he has gotten a matching hakama fastened around his waist, with the seigaiha pattern spread out all over the dark textile. Even lower still, Hanzo has worn strong metal greaves that not only protected his legs but also emphasized the delicateness of his ankles, which glowed a blue neon thanks to the modifications brought upon by the accessory.
Though you knew how much of a skilled and deadly warrior the Shimada was, you could not help but credit miracles and the divine for the fact that he has gone on for so long without breaking those ankles even once.
He broke an arm and a wrist but never an ankle--truly there must be someone up there watching him.
"Hanzo, what is that?" you softly called out to him after a few minutes and lifted your hand to point at a yellow knot decorating the part behind his head where his black hair was gathered.
Without even looking at where your finger led, Hanzo already knew what you meant and tried to suppress the smile of pride that threatened to shape his handsome face.
"My love, do I have a story for you later." He smiled and kissed you. "But for now, I want you to look at some of the things I managed to smuggle out of the palace; I brought some of your old things, some of mine, and even some other things we can use while we stay here."
Hanzo rushed to his almost overflowing backpack and started pulling the contents out one by one, putting them on Jesse's simple dinner table so that all of you present may view and appreciate it better. You smiled at the sight of your old clothes, as well as of the boxes of tea that you would pass by all the time in the kitchen during your time as a servant girl. It was all coming back to you, and in your nostalgia you failed to recognize that the TV has been running all this time, sending off words of commentary and news that once again, you had not much care for.
Hanzo was finally back in your arms..and if he thought that he was the only one with surprises to show, well--he has never been more wrong.
***
A pair of angry eyes looked from the dark shadows of a pedestrian alley just one block away from Jesse's apartment. He stared at the lit room he knew the cowboy was in and did not take off his burning gaze even as the snow steadily piled up on his hoodied head and shoulders. Every limb on his body tensed with unbridled anger, and there was a thinning patience somewhere at the back of his mind, one that threatened to snap at any minute.
He tightened the fist inside his pocket and the gears in his head worked themselves in full; there was urgency in the air, and he had to take any chance he could to get closer to McCree. There was more to the cowboy than what he first saw when they initially met, but that was going to change soon, it had to--for his peace of mind. He may not strike until he was fully ready.
"I'll find out what you are really hiding Jesse McCree...and I'll make sure you won't see me coming."
Hey guys! Thanks for reading the chapter. Kinda anti climactic and not my best work yet but I'll make up for it soon :<
peace out y'all!! :*
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