#jesse x anela

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“Nice shot, kolohe.”

“Aw, shucks.”

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10 minutes into coffee and chill and he gives you this look

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im in the process of writing a wild west au for these two. ran into a block so i drew them instead

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Jesse has two thoughts here. Thought one "Now that's just rude, threatenin' a man with his own gun." Thought two "The villagers did NOT mention the witch was this pretty"

i had a strong urge to draw monster hunter mccree and witch anela. i am ready for that halloween event

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Tattoos (Jesse McCree/OC)

Fandom: Overwatch

Rating: T

Pairing: Jesse McCree x OC (Anela Kahale)

Summary: Anela is told a tidbit of information and she wonders what do do with it.

He likes tattoos.

 Bryn McFinnigan had whispered those traitorous words to her one day in the women’s locker room. Bryn had known Jesse longer than she had, so she knew the information was most likely valid.

 The medic was loathe to admit she developed a crush on the resident cowboy. Somehow, someway, the sweet talked his way through her defenses and befriended her. With her occupation, it was dangerous to get too close to the soldiers she looked out for. And then she had to be stupid enough to notice how sharp his jawline was one day. Or how his hair barely fell into his eyes. She knew it was bad when she started to think his cinnamon brown eyes were pretty.

 Or how he always managed to cheer her up or make her laugh.

 How he was always there for her and was now one of her most dependable friends.

That’s what was shitty about this. He was her friend. And then she had to get this damn crush. And she never could figure out if he was just being his charming self when he threw flirty comments toward her or if he meant it.

 And that’s what made everything so damn frustrating.

 And then Bryn just had to mention the tattoo thing. Anela stared at herself in the mirror in the locker room. She had yet to put on her shirt. She ignored the little bit of softness she had right above her hips and she turned around, looking over her shoulder. She had recently got her tattoo touched up, so it stood out clear and defined as ever. Anela had loved seeing the manta rays during her childhood. Her grandma would always go down to the water with her and Anela remembered watching in awe as they swam by.

 “All life is sacred, Anela. From the tiniest fish to the brightest of humans. Remember that.”

 The manta ray on her back spread across both of her shoulders, and the head was right below the nape of her neck, easily hidden when she wore a shirt. The tail curled along her spine, ending at the small of her back. The swirls and circles reminded her of the ocean back home. As beautiful as it could be in Gibraltar, the ocean wasn’t the same here.

 Anela bit her lip, wondering if she should be bold for once concerning Jesse McCree.

 Huffing, she pulled her shirt on and tried to ignore those damn words.

 He likes tattoos.

  Blackwatch had a rare day off not even two days later.

 The op the group just ran was successful and Anela didn’t even have to pull out her med kit once and she was able to offer support from a distance. Her nanotech was finally proving to have other uses other than healing. She would have to tell Ana that their experiment worked. She already was jotting down notes to make a bigger version of the anti-healing bomb. Anela had started to sketch out walls of fire, thinking about Pele the whole time.

 The op was in Italy, so they all were able to go to the beach in one of the seaside towns.

 Reyes even went, which was a surprise.

 Every one split into different directions when they got to the beach. Anela immediately went to the water, feeling drawn to it. She stood at the edge of the water, feet already covered by the waves. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, letting the soft breeze blow her hair back. Her t-shirt clung to her skin and the wrap she wore over her swimsuit flowed around her legs.

 “Well ain’t that a pretty sight?”

 Anela rolled her eyes, looking over her shoulder at Jesse. “I know, she’s beautiful.” She gestured to the water.

 Jesse smiled crookedly and tilted his hat up. He was wearing a t-shirt and swim trunks, a rare sight. It was strange not seeing the usual bandana, jeans and boots.

 But the damn hat stayed.

 “Wasn’t talkin’ ‘bout the water, Angel.”

 She shook her head in amusement, heart skipping a beat at the nickname. He stood next to her and she watched him playfully bury his toes in the sand.

 He likes tattoos.

 Those damn words popped up into her head and Anela swore to get back at Bryn McFinnigan for torturing her like this. After debating about it in her head for many moments, she finally thought ‘screw it’.

 She pulled her shirt over her head, showing her bikini top. She rolled it into a ball and threw it toward her beach towel and bag before looking back at Jesse. “Well, Santa Fe, I’m gonna go and enjoy the water. You’re welcome to join.”

 Anela convinced herself that she didn’t hear his breath hitch in his throat, and she tried not to see that his eyes had widened and was openly staring at her back. She untied her wrap and threw it over with her shirt, acutely aware of how Jesse was seeing more of her skin than usual.

 She walked further into the water, pulling her hair up and getting ready to pull it into a bun. His silence was unusual, so she looked at him over her shoulder.

 His wide eyed, dumbstruck look was flattering, and the light dusting of pink on his cheekbones was enough to make her own cheeks warm up.

 “You okay, Santa Fe?”

 He likes tattoos.

 “Didn’t know ya had a tattoo,” he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

 Anela tried to feign indifference, shrugging. “I’ve had it since I was 16. I love manta rays.”

 She walked further out into the water, having it lap around her knees now. She gave him another teasing look. “Are you coming in or what?”

 Jesse McCree always quickly recovered, she had to give him that.

 “Now hold yer horses, a man should enjoy the sights as they come,” he drawled, giving her that crooked grin again. He tossed his hat over by her bag, then he pulled his own shirt over his head and Anela couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight.  God, she was just as bad as him. She knew every one of his scars now, and she even helped some of them heal. His skin was tawny and a light dusting of hair covered his chest. He had his own tattoo, the Deadlock symbol over his heart. Anela always itched to ask the story behind it, but she knew Jesse wasn’t too keen to talk about that part of his past.

 He stretched before bending over and picking up his sandals and tossing them over toward her bag.

 It took an actual damn effort to turn away from him.

 Splashing was her only warning before brawny, strong arms wrapped around her waist and she was picked up.

 “Jesse McCree don’t you dare!” she yelped.

 Too late.

 He tossed her the rest of the way in.

 Anela stayed under the water, swimming out into the deeper part. She could see his silhouette above and barely hear his laughter. She couldn’t hold back her smirk if she tried.

 “Angel?” Even though his voice was muffled, the low timber still managed to reach her.

 Anela swam back as he started to hurry forward and she quickly swam behind him. The water was up to his shoulders now.

 “Anela, this isn’t funny.”

 Yes it was.

 Anela swam down to the bottom, planted her feet against the sand, and kicked off. She burst from the surface, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and dunked him.

 She couldn’t stop laughing when he resurfaced, spluttering. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Angel! I thought you were hurt,” he huffed, pushing his hair back from his eyes.

 Anela started to swim in circles around him. “The ocean is my domain, Santa Fe.”

 Jesse rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah, ya got me.” He splashed her. “Fergot ya were half fish.”

 “Does that make me a mermaid?” Anela cheekily asked, splashing him back.

 Jesse gave her that damn crooked grin again that made him look adorable. “Prettiest one I’ve seen.”

 “Flatterer.”

 “I like to call myself the speaker of truths.”

 Anela shook her head with an amused smile before taking a deep breath and diving beneath the water again, trying to avoid the fluttering feeling in her stomach. God, she just had to start liking him, didn’t she?

 Jesse had dove after her and was blinking rapidly. Bubbles floated out of Anela’s lips as she laughed at him. Poor guy wasn’t used to salt water. He quickly swam up again and she took pity and followed him. “Dammit that stings,” he yelped, wiping at his eyes. “How d’ya do that?!”

 Anela pushed her hair back, grinning. “I’m used to it.”

 He rolled his eyes again. “That just confirmed my half fish theory.”

 They swam back to where they both could touch and they sat in the water, letting it lap around their waists. Anela leaned back on her hands, enjoying the feel of the water surrounding her.

 “Why a manta ray?”

 Anela grinned, looking over her shoulder. She could barely see the black fin of the manta ray on her skin. “When I was 12, I was getting ready to go off to med school. I had already done all my pre-recs at college and Stanford was more than happy to get a genius in their med school. I was terrified.” Anela rubbed at her shoulder, grin turning wistful. “My grandmother and I used to love going and watching the manta rays swim near the shore. And she told me the words that kept me going when I doubted myself.”

 Jesse leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “And what was that, Angel?”

 “She said I am the only thing I can control and I shouldn’t let anything else bother me.” She hunched over, mimicking her grandmother’s stooped position. “Act with grace and strength, Anela.”

 She gestured to her back. “So when I was old enough, I got the manta ray on my back. It reminds me of her.”

 Jesse reached out and started to trace one of the swirls on the wing of the manta ray. “It’s beautiful.”

 Anela suppressed a shiver and her skin started to heat up where he was touching her. She wasn’t new to physical intimacy. She had plenty of fun nights and a couple relationships when she was in the Navy Seals.

 This, though, was like diving into new waters and she didn’t have any idea how to swim.

 No one’s touch caused goosebumps to rise on her skin.

 She never wanted someone to touch her more, and not even in the sexual way.

 She just wanted to hold his hand, dammit.

 “Thanks,” she managed to croak out, looking at his face.

 His eyes were hooded and thoughtful as he traced the lines of her tattoo. His hair was pushed back and she found herself liking the look a lot. Her heart gradually started to thump faster in her chest as he moved his finger up toward where the manta ray’s horns ended below the base of her neck.

 “So that’s what a real tribal tattoo looks like? I’ve only seen the ones white assholes get,” he stated, snickering.

 Anela couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter. “Don’t remind me of those inked disasters.”

 The medic thought she was in the clear now after the joke, but she made the mistake to look him in the eye.

 And dammit, it was turning out to be one of those moments that made her wonder if she should tell him how she felt or not.

 Jesse was painstakingly transparent in that moment, and Anela wanted kiss him so bad. Anela never had anyone look at her like he was looking at her. It was overwhelming and amazing at the same time. A gentle smile came to his lips and Anela felt her breath get caught in her throat.

 “¡Entrado en caliente, cabrón!”

 Anela almost couldn’t process what happened. One moment, Jesse was staring deeply into her eyes. The next, he and Reyes were wrestling further into the water after Reyes basically football tackled him.

 Anela stared at the sight with bewilderment and annoyance.

 Both men were cussing in Spanish and Anela finally just rolled her eyes and stood up, walking back to her spot on the beach.

 Bryn had settled down next to where she and Jesse left all of their things and she spared Anela a look from her tablet as she plopped down beside her. “I see you took my suggestion to heart,” she stated, wiggling her eyebrows.

 Anela furrowed her brows, flicking some water onto the redhead. “Yes, and I hate you for it.”

 “I was trying to help! He’s a dumbass after all.”

 While both Anela and Bryn knew Jesse was far from dumb in many things, Anela had to admit that he may be dumb in this certain area.

 The two women watched as Jesse had somehow managed to dunk Reyes.

 “Shitheads,” Bryn huffed, looking back down at her tablet again.

 Anela couldn’t help but smile.

 Even if the moment was ruined, it was still a perfect afternoon.

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Missed Shots (McCree/OC)

Fandom: Overwatch

Pairing: Jesse McCree/ OC (Anela Kahale)

Rating: T

Summary: No one ever accused Jesse McCree of not taking opportunities as they appeared. 

At least....until he met Anela Kahale 

There were fond memories of Blackwatch, even McCree had to admit that.

Like the time he and some of the other agents shot fireworks off the roof when they weren’t supposed to. He and his closest friend, Bryn McFinnigan, were the ones who took the fall when Reyes came storming up on the roof, but they got through their punishment together.

Or the time he and Reyes had a long heart-to-heart on the Dia de los Muertos one year.

He and Genji being shitheads.

Anela.

She was the best thing that came from his time in Blackwatch, and of course he screwed that up, just like he screwed everything else up. He pondered it, riding on the top of yet another train. Winston had contacted him and McCree promised to look into a potential lead in California before heading to Gibraltar. He looked up at the stars above, wondering what Anela was doing now.

The first time he saw her could have been taken right out of a cheesy movie, as Bryn so kindly put it.

It was just another day at the base.

Just another day, doing the same ol’ assignments and chores with the same ol’ people. Until Reyes radioed him into the main aircraft hangar.

Jesse usually wasn’t present when new recruits came along, so one could imagine his surprise when Reyes told him they were greeting a potential new Blackwatch member.

“What’s so special ‘bout this one?” Jesse asked, tipping his hat up.

Bryn was there too, probably to get the new recruit registered in the computer systems faster. She was their tech genius, after all. Got a computer or tablet problem? Get the Irishwoman. Is your scope actin’ funny? Get Bryn. She hated it, but she helped anyway.

Reyes glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, crossing his arms. “This medic is on Angela’s level when it comes to fieldwork. She’s efficient and the Navy Seals suggested her to Overwatch.”

Jesse arched a brow. A medic? Not many medics wanted to help Blackwatch, for the obvious reasons. Their ops were dangerous and their people were twice as dangerous. Hell, Jesse didn’t even want to think what one of the agents could do with only a copper wire. He glanced at Bryn.

“I may be hearin’ things, but I thought I jus’ heard you say medic.”

“No shite. A medic?” Bryn grumbled, tapping on her holopad. “Yep. A medic. Damn good one if her stats are accurate. Specializes in field medicine. Graduated from Stanford with honors at the age of 20. IQ of 180. What’s she doing joining Blackwatch?” Bryn turned the tablet, almost as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her mane of curly red hair fell over her shoulder as she started to tilt with the tablet.

“You heard right, ingrates. You should be grateful we have a medic willing to work in the field with us at all.” Reyes’ mouth turned down into a frown.  “I’m assigning her to you for her orientation, cabrón. I want a full report on her fighting abilities and what we need to work on with her by the end of the week. I can’t have a medic we need to coddle.”

“Sure thing, Jefe.” Jesse scratched his head. “Why me though?”

 “Apparently she prefers a pistol, like another idiot I know.”

 Jesse made the ‘okay’ sign with his hand. “Got it.”

The transport landed and Jesse reached up to hold his hat on his head and his bandana whipped up to smack him in the face. Bryn snickered and he elbowed her. He heard her mutter, “Shithead,” before she stood at attention. He smoothed his bandana down, holding back a yawn. Great, now he had to babysit a soft medic, US army or no, she probably didn’t know much beyond protecting herself. She was going to have to know more than that for Blackwatch.

Reyes put on his ‘commander’ face and Jesse tried to school his into something slightly resembling interest.

The transport opened and time seemed to stop when the passenger hopped out.

“Oh,” Jesse breathed, eyes widening.

She was…something.

It was an extremely rare occasion for Jesse McCree to be at a loss for words, and this was sure as hell one of them.

The woman had her black hair pulled up into a bun on the back of her head, and she was looking around with big, round eyes. She looked Hawaiian, if he had to guess, with warm, copper toned skin and round features.

She was the most gorgeous thing in the hangar.

His bandana flew up in his face again.

Reyes scoffed and elbowed him. “Keep it in your pants,” he growled before moving forward. Bryn snorted out a laugh, sending him a teasing glance before adjusting her goggles and following him.

Jesse quickly pushed his bandana back down and stepped forward behind Reyes. Shit, he had to pull it together.

“Agent Kahale,” Reyes shook her hand, “Welcome to Blackwatch.”

Jesse barely listened as Reyes went through his usual speech and gruff warnings. He was too focused on sizing up the new recruit. She was about 5’5”, give or take. Her arms and legs were stockier than he would expect of a medic and her face was stoic as Reyes continued his speech. She actually kept eye contact with the bastard, which was a feat in itself.

Jesse found himself getting distracted by other things before long. She had full, round lips that were set in a firm line and her golden brown eyes held a determined, intelligent light that wasn’t common in new recruits. Bryn was talking to her now, getting her into the Blackwatch system. Kahale glanced over at him and Jesse felt his heart skip. Damn, he was screwed.

“This is Agent McCree, he’s going to be your guide during your orientation. If he gives you any shit, kick his ass,” Reyes huffed, an amused glint was in his eye.

“Hey now, I happen to be a nice person,” Jesse drawled, grinning. “Nice to meetcha, darlin’. Name’s Jesse.” Jesse held out his hand.

Agent Kahale glanced at it before looking him in the eye and shaking his hand firmly. “Anela.”

Reyes excused himself and went off to do other important stuff. Bryn muttered something about doing some work on a new weapon in the lab, leaving Jesse alone with the new recruit.

Jesse gestured to the entrance to the hanger. “Well, I suppose I should show you the barracks and the med bay, shouldn’t I?”

Kahale arched a brow. “Show the medic the med bay? You’re full of great ideas.”

While her low, smooth voice was almost monotone, Jesse could hear the faint hint of sarcasm in it.

“I usually am,” Jesse retorted, winking at her.

She only gave him an eye roll back, but a hint of a smile was showing up on her lips.

Their conversation after that was pretty professional. Jesse told her the rules and showed her everywhere she needed to know and told her to report to the training room at 0600.

He didn’t know how bad he was going to have it until later.

Winston’s lead in California held true. Both Vishkar and Talon had their claws into the major cities of the state and there were whisperings about a new God Program being created.

McCree sent in what he found and he snuck onto a plane heading for Spain. It wasn’t hard to come up with a disguise and alias. Didn’t mean he didn’t sleep with one eye open the whole ride. Jesse looked out to see the clear blue of the ocean below them halfway through the flight.

Anela loved the sea.

“So what made you want to join us rough folk?”

Jesse had asked the question during a break in their training session. Kahale was proving to know how to take care of herself and she almost gave Jesse a run for his money a few times. Despite her short stature, her stocky build helped give her leverage in a fight. And she had pretty damn good aim too. Jesse was pleasantly surprised to find out that he would give Reyes a good report for once.

He also was surprised he was able to keep his head on straight during the whole session. Didn’t mean he didn’t look at how her hair curled when a few locks fell out of her bun. Or how the sweat made her skin glisten.

Nope, he didn’t need to focus on that.

The question hung in the air between them for many moments. Jesse had dropped to the floor, leaning back on his hands. Kahale just sat on the bench nearby, drinking from a bottle of water.

“I joined because I worked for the Navy Seals in the US. This is familiar to me.” She played with the cap to the water bottle, not meeting his eye.

Jesse arched a brow. He knew something else was up. “And?”

Kahale huffed. “And what?”

“Ya know that Reyes forces most of us to be able to read people?”

She rolled her eyes. She rubbed the back of her neck with a big sigh. “I also knew that if I went to Overwatch, all my research and work would be second to Zeigler’s. I wanted to make my own mark without being in anyone’s shadow.” She gave him a look that said, ‘Happy now?’.

“I can respect that,” Jesse stated, taking a drink from his own water bottle.

“What about you?”

Jesse let out a laugh. “Let’s just say I really had no choice, darlin’.”

“Hm.”

She didn’t push it, and Jesse was grateful for it. They fell into a comfortable silence and Jesse decided break time was over. He stood up and stretched, letting out a groan as his muscles loosened up and his shoulders popped.

“What part of the US are you from?” she asked.

Jesse glanced at her over his shoulder, seeing that she stood as well. “Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

Kahale grinned. “Thought so.”

Jesse huffed out a laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She reached out and grabbed his hat from it’s spot on the bench and plopped it on his head. “I recognized the accent. I worked with a bunch of good soldiers from the southwest.” She crossed her arms with a smirk. “And the cowboy look is a little overkill.” She gestured to his boots.

Jesse tipped his hat up. “Darlin’, I’ll have you know that a lot of folks aroun’ here love the cowboy look.”

Her arched brow was his only reply.

“What? Don’t believe me?”

“No.”

Jesse let out a dramatic gasp and covered his heart. “Darlin’ yer so cruel!”

And for the first time that morning, he finally got a laugh out of her. His heart skipped with the sound and he couldn’t help but grin at her. “So where are ya from?”

The started to pick up the equipment they used and she blew a lock of hair out of her face. “I’m from Honolulu.”

“Honolulu, huh? Bet it was pretty nice,” Jesse mused, thinking about all of the pictures he saw of Hawaii. He dumped the dumbbells and fake guns into the bin near the equipment rack.

Kahale’s face fell a little. “It was...I wanted to get out and see the world though.” She put the equipment back carefully, looking solemn. She looked out the window at the bay and Jesse noticed the longing look she gave the sea.

That wouldn’t do.

“Didja swim a lot in Honolulu?”

She gave him a deadpan stare. “Of course.”

“Surf?”

“Yes, I love the ocean.”

“Didja hula dance? Always wanted to watch that and—“

A snort of laughter and a light punch to his arm ended his questions. “Yes, I know how to hula,” she moved so she was in front of him. “And no, you cannot see.” She pulled his hat down.

“Damn, worth a try though.” He grinned at her as he pushed his hat back up.

Her giggle was his only answer.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Gibraltar was just like it was the last time he was there.

McCree whistled as he strode through the streets. It was strange to not be completely on the run right now. While the bounty on his head wasn’t international, that didn’t mean he didn’t need to be careful. He kept his eye on the various shops and restaurants of the downtown district.

He slowly stopped in his tracks in front of one shop.

He stared at his reflection, almost not recognizing the scoundrel staring back at him.

The memory of a younger scoundrel and a beautiful young woman took it’s place.

Jesse was getting sick of the crap in the kitchen at the base and he had to get something that wasn’t the same ol’ same ol’.

He was munching on a candy bar from his almost overflowing bag of groceries, almost groaning in delight. It’s been way too long since he had chocolate.

He almost choked on a piece of hazelnut when he saw a familiar face walking down the street toward him.

Anela Kahale didn’t seem to expect to see him either, but her surprised expression soon became a big smile.

It had been about six months since she joined up with them and she melded in with the group in no time. She was a damn good medic too. Their agents already had better morale because they knew she was watching over them. Some started to call her the Black Angel, to counter Angela Ziegler’s angel routine.

And, damn, she was looking angelic at the moment.

Her long, black hair was down and it fell past her shoulders in frizzy waves. She was wearing a blouse and a long skirt with sandals and she looked happy to see him. Her skin glowed in the warm, Gibraltar sun and her smile was growing by the second.

Jesse considered himself blessed.

“Well, fancy meetin’ you out here,” Jesse laughed, stuffing the candy bar back in the sack.

Anela plucked it right back out. “I love this brand! Where did you find it?”

“Just a little ol’ store down the street here.” Jesse readjusted his grip on his bag. “You can have the other half. I bought at least three of ‘em.”

She beamed up at him before breaking off a piece of the chocolate bar and popping it into her mouth. “That’s dangerous information, Jesse McCree. Who says I won’t take them all?”

Jesse laughed. “Darlin’, I’d happily give ‘em up.”

She rolled her eyes again, gesturing to his bag. “Well, I’ll let you get going, I was going to explore for a little bit.”

No one ever accused Jesse McCree of not taking opportunities as they appeared. He leapt on this one. “How ‘bout I show you around a little, darlin’? I know all the good places and I’ve been speaking Spanish since I was old enough to walk.”

Anela perked up at that. “You don’t mind? I mean, you have your groceries. “

Jesse laughed, holding out a box of snack crackers. “Darlin’, it’s all non-perishable junk food. I needed my fix.”

A thick, dark brow arched. “You know all the crud in those is bad for you, right?”

“Yep. Still gonna eat ‘em.”

Anela snorted out a laugh before popping another piece of chocolate in her mouth. “Lead the way then, Santa Fe.”

Jesse took his role as a guide very seriously. He showed her all the little shops, hole in the wall restaurants, and whatever else the tourist part of the city had to offer. He then helped her in the grocery store so she could get her own groceries.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had been in the fresh produce section of the grocery store, and he could feel himself detoxing with every breath.

“Darlin’, why’re we in this part?” he asked, looking at some apples.

Anela arched a brow up at him with an amused expression. “Because I need my fix, Santa Fe.” She put the coconut she was holding down, after turning her nose up at it.

Jesse never thought one person would need so much fruit as they walked out.

“And here I thought the pineapple and coconut thing was just a stereotype,” he laughed, helping her carry some of her bags.

Anela readjusted her grip on the bags she had, rolling her eyes. “They’re good for you. And do you know that coconuts have many uses? I burnt my hand on a stove and my grandma just had to put coconut water on it.” She grinned. “She made the best snacks from the coconut too.”

Jesse was suddenly reminded of his own abuela. She had the weirdest quick fixes too.

“Mi abuela was a fan of the aloe plant herself. She had at least 10 of ‘em growin’ around the house. She liked her cactuses too. Made the best grilled cactus.”

Anela’s eyes widened. “Grilled cactus?”

“Yep. Best stuff.”

Anela tilted her head in curiosity, causing her mane of dark hair to fall over her shoulder. “Was it just you and your grandmother?”

Jesse cleared his throat. Shit, he didn’t mean to bring up his past. The only people he really talked about it to was Reyes and Ana. He hadn’t even told Bryn much about his past, at least before Deadlock.

“Yeah, fer the most part. Never met my dad. My mom was barely around so…yeah.”

Anela always seemed to surprise him. She didn’t give him a sympathetic or pitying expression he expected. Instead, he saw…relief?

“Me too. My parents died during the Crisis. Just me and my grandma.”

A somber silence fell over them, and Jesse wasn’t going to stand for that. He reached inside his own grocery bag again and dug out another candy bar.

“Here darlin’.”

She grinned and took it from him with a snort of laughter. “Why do you call me that?”

“What? Darlin?”

“No, Anela.” She playfully pushed on his shoulder. “Yes, darlin!”

“Jus’ a habit o’ mine. I call Bryn darlin’ all the time. Why? Think yer special or somethin’?”

Anela went deadpan. “Thank god, and here I was thinking you singled me out.”

Jesse couldn’t stop his shit eating grin if he tried. “I could call you somethin’ else.”

A look of horror came to her face. “Oh god no.”

“Sugar?”

“No.”

“Sweetpea?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Buttercup?”

“That just sounds gross.”

“Dumplin?”

“Now I’m fat!” she huffed.

Jesse couldn’t hold it in any longer. He threw his head back and started to laugh. “That is the last thing I’d call ya, Sweetie.”

He yelped when he was suddenly yanked down. Anela had grabbed his ear and pulled him down to her level, which was a good 8 inches. “I detest Sweetie,” she hissed. The playful glint in her eye gave her away. She let him go. “But really, don’t call me that.” She grimaced. “Reminds me of all the old men I had to suck up to in school and the army.”

Jesse shuddered himself. Those same guys probably would’ve called him ‘son’. She still had the shittier draw.

“Hm…Sunshine?”

Anela playfully whacked him in the arm. “No.”

“Punkin?”

“What?”

“Sweetcheeks.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yer killin’ me darlin’! I’m gonna have to use Spanish soon enough!”

Her laugh was his only answer. And the crinkle of the candy bar wrapper.

“Give me one I like and I might share this with you!” she teased in a sing song voice.

Jesse caught up with her, wincing when a pineapple banged into his knee. “I bought that there candy bar, thank ya kindly!”

“And you gave it to me! So, HA!” she retorted, breaking off a piece. “Give me a nickname I like.”

“Puddin?”

“Nope.”

“Cupcake?”

“Wrong.”

“Sweetheart?”

“Old man sounding again.”

Jesse went through his whole repertoire of names. Finally, he got to one she liked.

He never knew saying ‘Angel’ would give him a victory so sweet.

McCree found himself walking out of that same damn grocery store with a couple of the candy bars and some other snacks he hadn’t had in a while, heading back toward the base. Damn, he was getting old if this walk was starting to feel long. It used to be nothing back in the day.

He munched on the chocolate, glancing down at his left arm, which was covered by the sleeve of his leather jacket. Being on the run meant he had to be ready to change his looks at any point. The leather jacket was a little warm for Gibraltar, but he knew he stood out less in the jacket than his usual serape. The gloves he wore covered up his metal left hand.

Anela even left her touch there.

“Jesse! Talk to me, McCree!”

Jesse could barely hear through the ringing in his ears. He groggily looked around, trying to push himself up on his hands.

That’s when he felt it.

The pain was the worst thing he ever felt. It was white hot and mind numbing.

He let out a choked scream, staring down at his left arm.

Or what was left of it.

“Jesse!”

Anela scrambled through the piles of rubble around them until she reached his side. She was bleeding from a cut on her forehead and dirt and god knows what else covered her. She looked down at his arm and her face went blank.

Jesse recognized the ‘doctor face’ by now.

Anela dropped to her knees and reached into her pack, pulling out a roll of bandages. She tore a long strip off and folded it many times. “Jesse, I hate to tell you this, but I can’t give you morphine right now.” She propped his arm up on her legs. “If I give it to you, it might slow your breathing and that’s really not good with the amount of blood you lost, okay? I’ll give you something else but it’s not as strong.” She quickly cleaned off a place on his arm and she stuck a syringe in.

She brought the cloth to his lips. “I need you to bite down on this.”

Jesse just did as he was told. He was starting to get tired. And his head hurt. Holy shit his arm hurt.

The pain only got worse as she tied a tourniquet above the end of the stump. His scream of pain was muffled by the bandage.

Anela brought her finger up to her ear. “Commander Reyes, I need transport. Jesse’s wounded.” Her face turned down into a scowl. “Five minutes isn’t good enough! I need that transport now!” she snapped. Jesse would’ve made a comment about her sassing off their commanding officer if he wasn’t so fucked up at the moment.

She grumbled and reached into her pack again. Jesse vaguely remembered how he and Bryn called it the Mary Poppins bag at some point.

She had the stump of his arm and everything cleaned up in no time and she already had bandages over the end. She cleaned off a place on his arm and stuck a syringe in. “This’ll help thicken your blood so you won’t bleed so much.” She then got out her canister with nanotech she helped develop and she opened it over his arm. The nanobots hovered over his arm like a flickering flame. Soon she had an IV stuck in his other arm and was holding up a bag of clear fluid.

Jesse felt his breathing just get quicker. Panic was starting to set in and he couldn’t stop it. He reached up for her and clung to her sleeve. “Angel.”

Anela stopped what she was doing and looked down at him. He finally saw the fear in her eyes. Shit, he must be getting ready to go up shit creek without a paddle if she was scared.

“I don’t wanna die, Angel.”

Anela started to blink back tears and Jesse could feel his heart thumping faster in his chest. She reached down and cupped his cheek in her hand. “I’m not going to let you die, Jesse McCree.” Her thumb ran across his cheekbone and Jesse felt his throat close up.

“Keep talking to me, Jesse. Don’t ever stop talking to me. I need you to stay awake,” she ordered, getting more of her tools out. How she did all of this while holding up that damn bag, he didn't know.

“I don’ know what to talk about, Angel,” he wheezed. He reached around with his hand. “Where’s m’hat?”

Anela grinned a little. “You and that damn hat.”

He let out a shaky laugh. “It’s part of my look, y’know?”

“I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Promise?”

Anela cupped his cheek again and rested her forehead against his. He was amazed to find some of his anxiety melt away with the touch. “Promise. Keep talking. Where did you get that damn hat? So I know where to go.”

The next five minutes felt like five years.

Reyes’ gruff voice suddenly sounded out and he came scrambling through the rubble too. “Jesse!”

Jesse absolutely knew he looked like shit if Reyes’ face fell as fast as it did. “Oh chiquito.”

“Ain’t so bad, jefe. I’m all right now.”

Anela didn’t even chastise him for the bad pun.

Jesse found himself on a transport with Anela barking orders to the other medics. Reyes stood by his head, holding onto his remaining hand. The rest was a blur. Jesse remembered fading in and out of consciousness. Anela told him they were giving him a drug to sedate him and he barely nodded in understanding before passing out.  

His mouth was dry as hell when he woke up. And there was something shoved in his mouth.

“Jesse!” The damn tube was pulled from his mouth. “I need you to wake up now.”

Anela’s low, smooth voice barking orders at him was the sweetest sound in the world. That meant he wasn’t dead.

His answer wasn’t too dignified. It came out as a groan.

“That’s it. Wake up, Jess. I’ll let you sleep in a second, okay?”

Jesse forced himself to open his eyes. Anela looked like hell, then again, he probably didn’t look better. She had bags under her eyes and her hair looked frizzier than usual.

“Keep your eyes open, Jess.” She adjusted some of his IV bags and she started to type things into a holotablet she was holding. “Your vitals are stable, thank god.” She mumbled something that sounded like ‘heart rate still too high’ and ‘probably from blood loss’ and he just brushed it off. She was the genius doctor here, not him. “We’ve got you on fluids, pain meds, and antibiotics right now. God knows what you could have possibly picked up.”

Jesse looked over at the tube they had in his mouth. Damn, good thing his gag reflex was shit. He wasn’t new to surgery. He knew why they shoved the damn thing down his throat. Still bothered him to see it.

“Okay Jess,” she stood up and went to the foot of the bed. She pressed down on the tops of his feet. “Push up.” He did. She moved her hands to the bottom of his feet. “Push down.”

He knew how it went. She did her assessments and when she finally deemed him stable, she messed with his IV again. “You lost a lot of blood. Thank god you and Reyes are the same blood type. We had to run a transfusion. You almost went into shock.”

Jesse stopped paying attention, looking down at what was left of his arm. Everything from the elbow down was just…gone. An empty, hollow feeling started to slowly radiate from his chest. Was he going to be okay? Was he ever going to be able to run ops again?

He tried to move it, but Anela’s fingers snapping in his face stopped that. “I need you to keep that arm on the pillow. If you move it, it could get contracted and that makes the possibility of prosthetics and therapy harder.”

Right. There was a reason it was propped up high on a pillow for everyone to see. Even if the crowd was only Anela, he still felt a little ashamed.

Anela seemed to realize how quiet he was because she sat in her chair on his right side again and she cupped his cheek so he was forced to look at her. “Talk to me, Jess.”

Jesse shrugged, suddenly feeling very tired. “Not much to say. Just lost an arm.”

Anela’s thumb brushed across his cheek. “I’ll let you sleep, then we can talk, okay?”

To be honest, he wouldn’t want to talk about it with anyone else, he knew Blackwatch’s Angel well enough to know she would never think less of him.

Hot tears started to blur his vision. “I lost an arm,” he choked out.

Anela’s hand moved to the back of his neck and she pulled him toward her, resting her forehead against his again.

They stayed blessedly silent until Jesse fell asleep from exhaustion.

Anela had helped him through every step of the rehabilitation process for his arm.

She was the stern voice barking orders when he needed motivation and the kind hearted soul he needed when that empty feeling would come back.

Anela had let him put the skull on the design, glaring at Angela, Morrison, and anyone else who objected.

McCree had come to terms with the loss of his arm, and he was back to fanning the hammer and running ops again in no time.

He had her and Angela to thank and he sent a small thanks their way whenever his new arm came in handy.

McCree pulled up the cuff of the glove, looking at the metal that peeked out between it and the end of his jacket. He owed Anela plenty of things. It was only after the arm incident that he realized his feelings for her ran deeper than friendship. He had thought his attraction had only been a short term thing. He was a charmer, as Ana put it. He never truly invested in anything of that sort.

But, Anela��that woman just wiggled her way around his defenses and latched onto his heart without even trying.

She didn’t need to put up with the likes of him, though.

McCree had made the decision early on to spare her the trouble of being with a scoundrel.

Everyone seemed to be focused on teasing Jesse.

Ana started to send him teasing glances more frequently during their training sessions and Jesse didn’t indulge her.

Reyes rolled his eyes whenever he and Anela were close to each other.

Bryn, Angela, Fareeha, and god knows who else teased both of them. Even Jack Morrison teased him once. Reinhardt was just downright embarrassing when he saw them, spouting stuff about young love and all that. Jesse started to hang out with the new sniper, Jaramogi, more and more simply because she didn’t seem to care. Jesse assumed that was due to the mental training from the illegal group she came from, though. She even gave him a confused look when he said he and Anela were just friends.

Ana was the one who finally broke the ice.

“Jesse,” she said, putting her rifle aside, “I want you to clear something up for me.”

Oh no.

Jesse quickly holstered Peacekeeper and moved to start walking out of the shooting range. “Welp, would you look at the time!”

“Jesse McCree, I will not hesitate to use a sleep dart.”

That stopped him in his tracks.  

“Look, ma’am, I know what yer gonna ask about and—“

“I want to know why you won’t take the opportunity in front of you,” Ana started, not batting an eyelash, she walked around so she stood in front of him. “And if I recall, you said you never shy away from an opportunity.”

Dammit.

He let out a long sigh, turning slightly and putting his hands on his hips. He tipped his hat up a little. “Whatcha want me to say, ma’am? It ain’t meant to be.”

Ana arched a brow. “Says who.”

“Says me.”

“Why?”

Jesse knew he couldn’t glare at her because the woman taught him most of her tricks and she saved his ass more times than he could count. “Ya don’t need to know why.”

“Jesse, you’re not in trouble. I just want to know why my favorite gunslinger looks like a kicked puppy when the woman he loves isn’t looking his way.” She set her gun aside. “You and I both know the answer.”

A heavy silence filled the air and that dreaded word echoed in Jesse’s ears.

It had been a long time since Jesse even entertained the idea of love. Shit, it took him forever to care about the people around him here at Overwatch. Ana and Reyes managed to break down the walls he built. Bryn and Fareeha came along and basically obliterated the walls with both of their no shit attitudes. It was something that was familiar.

But love, in the sense Ana was talking about, was something completely new and unfamiliar to him.

His flings in the past had no true meaning to him. It was an itch to scratch. And he didn’t really have time for that in Blackwatch. He was either busy or spending his precious free time with his friends.

But Ana was like a bulldog when she got her teeth into something and Jesse knew he wasn’t getting out of this easy. He pulled his hat down. “Rascal like me don’t deserve her. Sparin’ her the trouble.”

The silence continued and Jesse could hear his own heart in his ears. Saying it aloud was different than thinking it, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t being a yellow bellied chicken about it. And the fact Ana saw right through him and just wanted him to admit it was humbling in itself. That woman had an intuition greater than his abuela’s.

“And you are the only one who gets to decide?” Ana said softly, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re mistaken if you think you can make any decision for her.”

A huff of a laugh escaped him before he could stop it. Trying to make Anela do anything was a joke.

“I just want you happy, Jesse, and so does everyone else.”

She left him blessedly alone, the soft tap of her feet the last thing he heard before she closed the door.

He slapped his hat on his thigh. “Shit,” he hissed.

Ana was right, but he was going to stand by what he said.

He was still working through his own past, regardless of what anyone assumed. He knew Anela knew about Deadlock, but he wasn’t going to tell her that shit anytime soon.

McCree walked through the main gate of Gibraltar’s base.

The familiar towers, aircraft, and roads were comforting in their own way, even if they seemed lifeless now. He had many memories in these walls. And he was glad to say most of them were good.

And, of course, a good majority of them involved Anela in some way or form.

<hr>

One of his and Anela’s traditions was to watch movies during the little free time they had.

They took turns every Friday they didn’t have an op. He would pull out his worst spaghetti westerns and old movies and she had various favorites.

This Friday was a treat.

“I’m sharing something extremely dear to me, Jesse McCree, so you better not make fun of it,” Anela had warned, sticking the movie in.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Angel.”

She rolled her eyes and sat next to him on the couch. They sat shoulder to shoulder, her leaning heavily against him while eating popcorn out of the bowl in his lap.

Jesse almost laughed when he saw the cartoon main menu. “Lilo and Stitch? Never heard of it,” he said, tossing popcorn in his mouth to stop himself from teasing her. A kid’s movie? He never thought he’d see the day Anela Kahale would watch a kid’s movie.

“It takes place in Hawaii and it has aliens.” She looked up at him with an arched brow. “What? Didn’t think I enjoyed cartoons?”

“You sure complained during Fieval Goes West.”

“Because it’s animation is so old.”

Jesse tugged on a lock of her hair. “Movie snob.”

“I like to call it superior movie taste, thank you very much,” she playfully quipped, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

She pressed play and leaned against him. Jesse decided to drop their ‘debate’ and focused in on the movie. The movie actually turned out to be hilarious and heartwarming, all while showing the beauty of Hawaii. Jesse even recognized some of the Elvis Presley songs.

“Ya know, for as long as I’ve known ya, I still don’t know many Hawaiian words,” he teased when ‘ohana’ was brought up again. He flashed her a wink when she gave him an amused look.

“Really? I can teach you some.”

They traded Hawaiian and Spanish words throughout the rest of the movie.

“Let me guess the movie you picked this week,” she said when Lilo and Stitch ended. She tapped her chin in fake thought. “True Grit?”

Dammit. She knew him too well.

Halfway through the movie, Jesse looked at her to say another Spanish word, but his mouth clamped shut when he realized she was asleep.

Her head was on his shoulder and he could hear her evened out breathing. She nuzzled into his shoulder a little before letting out a soft sigh. Knowing she didn’t get much sleep in the first place, Jesse let her be, watching the movie.

The gunslinger kept getting distracted, opting to look at what he could see of her face and the top of her head instead of watching the movie.

Jesse had always been an impulsive person, and that hasn’t changed.

He leaned forward and pecked the top of her head. His heart raced and his throat threatened to close up as he stayed close to her. Her hair smelled like flowers and her warmth radiated through him. He couldn’t ever let her know he cared about her, but damn did he want to. Keeping his lips close, he barely breathed out a, “Love ya, Angel,” before pulling away and watching the rest of the movie.

He assumed she never heard, since she never mentioned it when she woke up.

Getting back into the swing of being part of a team again was easy enough.

McCree was glad to see old friends and to make new ones. Tracer had been one of the first to greet him, along with Winston. Angela eventually came along, not happy at first but willing to help. Then Genji showed up with Zenyatta in tow. Bryn came back, and it was so damn good to see her. Fareeha waltzed in one day, eager to help. Jaramogi came back, smiling and laughing more than she did in the past. Reinhardt and Bridget raced in, the old man bellowing at the top of his lungs.

The shock of seeing Jack and Ana again made everything more bittersweet.

It was almost strange, being part of the mixed-matched family only Overwatch could provide.

One face never showed back up, though, and it caused McCree to be worried yet relieved at the same time.

“Heard anything about her, Brynnie?” he asked, one night, nursing a beer with his favorite Irish woman.

Bryn tipped her own beer back, looking out at the sunset. The sun looked like it was drowning in the sea on the horizon. Anela would have loved the sight. She always did like coming up here with them.

“She was helping people in the New Zealand area, last I checked. Doing damn good work out there,” Bryn reported, giving him a knowing look.

McCree nodded, feeling a little relief.

“Have you at least contacted her, Jesse?”

Tipping his hat down, he grumbled, “Can’t talk to the people yer close to on the run, Brynnie.”

Bryn snorted. “Then what does that make me? You called me all the time.”

McCree gave her a wide grin. “Yer hell personified when you’re threatened. You can take care of yerself.”

She huffed, but she had a wide grin on her face now.

McCree sighed, thinking about the last time he ever saw his Angel.

They were standing on the roof of the Switzerland Base, looking out at the moon.

“So you’re going to do it?” Anela asked, not looking at him.

Jesse flinched at how cold her words sounded. Blackwatch had been going downhill lately. With every op he ran, Jesse felt like he was back in Deadlock more and more. Reyes was starting to scare him, and Jesse was ready to do the only thing he could think to do to save his skin.

Run.

“I can’t stay here, Angel.” His throat closed up as he tugged his hat down. “I feel like I’m back at Deadlock.” He took a shaking breath. “And I can’t go back to that, Anela. I jus’ can’t.”

“But—“

“I can’t.”

A tense silence fell over them, and Jesse could feel her looking at him. They’ve had this conversation many times, about how things were changing around them and how they didn’t like it. He meant it this time. He was going and was ready to give hell to anyone who tried to stop him. His fingers curled around the railing they were leaning against. He stiffened when he barely felt her fingertips running along his left arm. The prosthetic dulled the sensation.

“Wait here.”

Jesse watched her walk back inside, wondering what she was going to do.

His thoughts swirled through his mind as he waited, wondering what she was thinking, what exactly he was going to do when he got out, wondering how Bryn was going to get out too.

The door opened again and he turned to face her, almost feeling like he was facing a firing squad. She was carrying a small bag and she wiped at her eyes.

Dammit.

Jesse’s heart dropped when he saw more tears forming. She sniffled a little. His throat clenched up and he tried to swallow down his own tears. Dammit, he didn’t want to leave her behind. He didn’t want to risk not seeing her again. But he had to get out.

She was by his side and Jesse looked down at her face, trying to remember every detail. His heart swelled in his chest when she smiled through the tears. Before he could stop himself, he reached up and cupped her cheek, wiping some of her tears away.

God, as much as he wanted to get out, he didn’t want to leave her.

Tears started to form in his own eyes when she reached up and rested her hand on the back of his neck. It was such a familiar gesture now, and he knew what she wanted. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and just breathing her in.

“Stay safe, Santa Fe,” she whispered.

He took the bag from her, gulping down the lump in his throat as they pulled away from each other.

Jesse had many regrets in that moment. He regretted not spending more time with her. He regretted not telling her how much he appreciated her. His biggest regret was never telling her how much she meant to him.

It would be shitty of him to do that now, so he did something shittier.

He pulled her close and pressed a long kiss to her forehead. “Come with me, Angel.”

“Jesse—“

“Come with me,” he urged, resting his hand on the back of her neck. “Things are ‘bout to get real ugly aroun’ here, and I’ll sleep better knowin’ you ain’t in the middle o’ it.”

Anela gestured to the base. “I have patients here, Jess.” She took a shaky breath. “I can’t just leave.”

Jesse knew it was stupid to argue with her, so he took the next best option. “Promise me, then.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Promise me that you’ll leave. Get outta here while ya can.”

They stared at each other for many moments, but Jesse wasn’t going to budge on this.

Finally, she nodded, blinking rapidly as she tried to stop her tears. “I promise, Jess.”

It was physically painful to pull away from her and bid her one last goodbye before he went inside.

When he was finally on the train going out of Switzerland, he looked in the bag she gave him. His heart constricted in his chest when he saw the first aid supplies and extra tools to maintain his arm. He even saw some of her special canisters full of her nanotech. He noticed a letter, but he wasn’t going to read that just yet.

He never did.

McCree looked down at the letter in his hands. He sat on the edge of his mattress, leaning his arms heavily on his thighs.

He kept it for 7 years, always keeping it folded in the breast pocket of his shirt.

Now, he felt stupid enough to actually read it. Using his metal thumb, he carefully opened the envelope, taking great care to not rip the delicate paper. Right as he moved to pull the letter out, he got a message on his communicator. Grumbling, he raised a finger to his ear. “Yeah?”

“Shithead, get up here. We have another old face coming back,” Bryn ordered, sounding deadpan.

McCree frowned. “Why do I gotta be there?”

“Winston told me it’s an old Blackwatch face, so he wants us there. Don’t make me come down there, gobshite.”

McCree rolled his eyes, taking her threat to heart. He folded up the envelope, yet again, and tucked it in the breast pocket of his shirt. He threw his serape over his shoulders and grumbled more as he put his hat on. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he started to amble up to the transport bay.

He wasn’t surprised to see Hana sitting in one of the main corridors close to the bay. Apparently the wi-fi was better up there or something, so she was always up there with a handheld game.

“Hey, Eastwood,” she greeted, not looking away from her screen.

McCree liked Hana. She had a no shit attitude and still managed to keep a brave face in most situations. The girl knew no fear sometimes and she reminded him of himself back in the day. And ever since she and Lucio had caught him watching The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, he earned the nickname. He didn’t care though. If they got entertainment out of it, it didn’t bother him none.

“Hey Squirt. Beat that high score?”

“Nope.” She furiously mashed at the buttons on the handheld. “Bryn walked by here looking really happy, not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.” She finally spared him a glance. “Make sure she isn’t about to kill someone.”

He tipped his hat. “Gotcha.” He gestured to the game. “Don’t play too hard now.”

She gave him a wave of her hand before going back to her game.

McCree kept walking, wondering who in the hell could make Bryn happy to see them.

When he reached the hangar, he saw Bryn, Winston, Angela, Lucio, and Ana standing in a group. He couldn’t get a good glimpse of who was in the middle of them, but he started to get suspicious at how all of their medics were there.

There was no way.

He walked cautiously, trying to get a good look at who had arrived.

Then he heard it.

Her laugh.

Just like when he saw her for the very first time, it was cliché.

Bryn caught his eye and stepped to the side, nudging Angela. Angela noticed him and smiled brightly, stepping to the side as well.

And there she stood, looking as beautiful as ever.

McCree felt his heart pounding in his chest and he swore he felt lightheaded when their eyes met.

The brightest smile he had ever seen showed up on Anela’s face and he was running toward her. She gently pushed her way through the group, almost sprinting. When she got close, he opened his arms, catching her. He let out a soft laugh as he spun her around. Her laughter in his ears was the sweetest thing he heard in years. They finally stopped and he set her down, resting his hands on her waist.

“Well, ain’t you a sight for sore eyes, Angel,” he declared.

Amusement filled her eyes, which now had slight crow’s feet, and she tipped his hat up. “What is on your face, Santa Fe?”

McCree smirked and reached up to rub at his beard. “What? Ya don’t like it?”

She hummed in thought, going deadpan.

McCree stepped back and put his hands over his heart, making a pained sound. “Not even five minutes and yer hurtin’ me already, Angel!”

He earned a playful shove for that and his heart felt too big for his chest as she threw her head back and laughed.

Gibraltar finally felt like home.

McCree didn’t let anyone else show Anela around and reorient her to everything.

He introduced her to the new members and he knew she liked Hana and Lucio just as much as he did.

Eventually, they ended up at one of their usual spots. This time, it was their spot on the beach at the base of the cliffs. Anela was standing in the water, letting the water lap at her feet. She managed to somehow talk McCree into taking off his boots and stand next to her.

God, it was almost as if they had never been separated.

“So, Santa Fe,” she started, putting her hands on her hips. “How in the hell did you get a 60-million-dollar bounty on your head?”

Her eyes were narrowed in amusement as she smirked at him.

McCree sighed and retold the tale of that fated train ride. Her face fell when he mentioned how he recognized old Blackwatch agents among the Talon agents he confronted on the train. She stared out at the water for many moments. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, tilting her head up as the breeze swept over them. McCree took that moment to truly drink her in again. She cut her hair since he last saw her. It fell just past her shoulders instead of halfway down her back. She had faint laugh lines and crow’s feet. Her figure was curvier than he remembered and she was just as gorgeous.

She let out a deep sigh and he looked away before she could catch him staring. “I was worried about you,” she said quietly, looking up at him again.

“Aw, darlin’, I’m flattered.”

Her expression didn’t change. It remained somber. “I’m serious, Jess. I worried about you.”

McCree gulped down the lump beginning to form in his throat. “Worried about you too,” he admitted, finally looking her in the eye.

Her lips turned up into a sad smile and she looked out at the sea again.

Just like the old days, that wouldn’t do.

“Your gift came in mighty handy. I never got ta thank ya properly fer it,” he stated, stepping closer to her.

“Good,” she glanced up at him with a grin, “Knew you would need it.��

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close to his side. “I really did miss ya, Angel.”

He could feel her stiffen next to him before she relaxed again. She wrapped her arm around his waist and they both looked out at the sunset.

The letter seemed to burn in his pocket the whole time.

“So, you and the new medic, huh?”

McCree almost spat out his coffee. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and praying for patience while holding back a groan.

Lucio had innocently asked the question about a week after Anela’s return to Overwatch. She already made a big impact on the team, which was no surprise. It was hard to not like her and she was a damn good teammate.

McCree had been wondering when the questions would start again, and his heart would ache a little more every time. It didn’t help that Anela had kind of blew him off the past couple days. He knew the difference between when she was mad at him or truly busy. It was the former in this situation. McCree could think of a lot of reasons why she could be irritated at him, but none of those reasons happened in the short time since she returned. He had absolutely no idea what he did to piss her off.

That soured his mood.

“What about us?” McCree asked, calmly taking another sip from his mug before sitting down at mess hall table across from the musician.

Lucio’s smile became teasing. “Aw, come on man! It’s obvious you guys have some history together.”

“She’s one of my closest friends.”

Confusion settled over Lucio’s face. “So you guys aren’t���”

“No. We ain’t,” McCree confirmed, feeling his mood going more sour by the minute.

With every moment he spent with Anela, the more he realized how much he still cared about her. He had hoped that time and them changing as people a little would make his feelings reduce a little.

If anything, they grew stronger.

Anela was still the same woman he knew, even if she was a little jaded now when it came to Overwatch’s ideals.

He stared down into his coffee cup. He then looked at his metal arm. Anela had scolded him earlier that week for not taking care of it as well as he should have.

“Sorry, Eastwood. I shouldn’t have—“

“Naw, don’t you worry ‘bout it. Ain’t the first time someone thought that way,” McCree quickly said, waving the apology off.

“Cool.”

A heavy silence fell over them.

Lucio, being the ray of sunshine he was, broke it again. “Why don’t you say something? I know she’s into you.”

McCree sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Drop it.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll drop it.” Another silence. “Didja see they’re making a new remake of True Grit?”

“Again?!” McCree groaned, crying inside. The last remake was awful.

Lucio’s words stuck with him the rest of the morning and his mood only soured more in the afternoon. He couldn’t go talk to Anela about it for obvious reasons. He already knew what Bryn or Ana would say. They would tell him to grow more chest hair and tell Anela how he felt.

Grumbling, he stomped around the shooting range, going through various simulations until he ran out of bullets.

He took a breather, leaning heavily back against a wall.

Dammit, he needed a smoke.

“Yo!”

McCree shouldn’t have jumped as much as he did. Genji used to do that shit all the time back in the day. He looked up, and sure enough, the cyborg was perched on one of the rafters above him.

“Really?”

“Yes,” Genji replied, dropping down to the floor. “I have to stay true to my ninja ways. Just as you must stay true to your cowboy ways.”

McCree waved him off, holstering Peacekeeper.

“I heard Anela is back. I’m sure you must be happy about that,” Genji said, crossing his arms.

McCree huffed out a grunt and put a cigar in his mouth. “Yep.”

“You don’t look happy.”

“Whataya want me to say, Genji?”

The cyborg tilted his head, and Jesse couldn’t tell what he was thinking due to the face plate and lack of body language at the moment.

They stood in a long silence, Genji barely moving and McCree gnawing on the cigar.

“Why do you hesitate?”

McCree almost growled in frustration. “Why’re y’all in my business anyway?”

“Because I’m confused. If you have a chance to be happy, you should take it.” Genji stepped closer to McCree, resting a hand on his shoulder. “So, my friend, I ask again. Why do you hesitate?”

McCree thought it was ironic that Genji was the one doing the talking for once. McCree was usually the one giving him pep talks in the past.

“I ain’t good fer her. I wasn’t then and I ain’t now.”

Genji tilted his head. “Oh?”

“Yeah.”

Genji stepped back again and crossed his arms. “May I be honest?”

“Go fer it, partner.”

“You’re an idiot.”

McCree took the cigar out. “Don’t need ya to tell me that.”

Genji shrugged. “I was just making sure you knew.”

They were silent again.

“You’re a good person. Do you truly think Anela would be this close to you if she didn’t think so? I believe she’s one of the smartest ones on the base.”

That…was not what McCree was expecting Genji to say.

“What? No lecture about how I need to get off my ass?”

“No. I’d be wasting the little breath my partly artificial lungs can make.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

Jesus, McCree forgot how much of a little shit Genji could be sometimes. The cyborg stretched. “Now, I need to go bother my brother, who also is being stubborn.”

“I ain’t being stubborn! I’m savin’ her the—“

“Trouble? I think you cause more of it by hesitating.” McCree could imagine the shit eating grin on Genji’s face.

“Shithead.”

“Just telling the truth!” he said in a sing-song voice.

“Git outta’ here and bother your brother already.”

Genji saluted and walked away, leaving McCree with his thoughts. He became acutely aware of the folded envelope in his breast pocket. Heaving a heavy sigh, he pulled it out and looked at the folded, slightly torn edge of the flap holding it closed. Finally, after seven years, he opened the damn thing.

He gingerly pulled out the letter and unfolded it.

As he read, his heart started to thunder louder and faster in his chest. She wrote about how he was one of her first friends in Blackwatch and how accepted he made her feel. Her words told him how he went above and beyond for her. He helped her through the hard times and she hoped she helped him too. She wrote he was her most trusted friend. The last lines were what caused his eyes to tear up and burn.

“I wish I had the courage to say this to you sooner, but I never could find the right time. I never wanted to lose what I had with you so I always kept my mouth shut. That is my biggest regret now.

Jesse, travel safely so you can make it back to me someday.

Aloha au ia ‘oe.”

From the little Anela had taught him, he knew exactly what that meant in Hawaiian.

Without a second thought, he started to bolt toward the medbay, cursing at himself the whole way.

“Look, I know why yer mad at me.”

McCree had busted into Anela’s office in the medbay and he instantly regretted it.

Angela, Ana, Morrison, and Anela were there and he didn’t know who looked more annoyed than a stepped on rattlesnake.

It was a tie between Anela and Morrison.

“You’ll have to be specific, Jesse,” Angela replied, looking confused.

Ana just arched a brow and she started to give him a knowing smirk.

That wasn’t a good sign.

“Angela, Jack, I believe we should discuss this later,” she said, primly picking up her teacup.

Morrison frowned at her. “But—“

“Jack, that wasn’t a suggestion.”

Ana was truly terrifying when she wanted to be. McCree was just wondering how Morrison didn’t shrink under her passive aggressive stare.

The vigilante grumbled before picking up some blueprints and walking out of the office, Angela behind him and Ana on her heels. Ana gave him a pointed look before she left, closing the door behind her.

“Jesse—“

Before she could say another word, he took out the letter. “It’s about this, ain’t it?”

Anela’s mouth clamped shut and her lips tightened into a thin line.

“Look, I ain’t gonna lie to ya. I didn’t read it until just now.”

She arched a thick brow, crossing her arms. Her face was blank, which meant McCree better think of something quick.

“I didn’t read it because I was afraid of what it would say. I’m a right bastard.”

He stepped closer to her desk, setting the folded up letter on top of it. The silence that sat between them was almost deafening and soon, the only thing McCree could hear was his heart thundering in his ears.

“And now that you’ve read it?” Anela finally asked.

McCree didn’t miss how her fingers tightened their grip on the sleeves of her lab coat. Or how her jaw clenched. It was her eyes that caused him to feel worse. He saw hurt, confusion, and just plain ol’ anger in them.

He missed the shot big time.

“Anela,” he started to move to her side of the desk. She didn’t move, which was a good sign. “I cared about you since day one. And-“

“That’s good and all, Jesse,” she interrupted, looking up at him, “But why didn’t you ever say it to my face?”

Wait, what?

“I’m not an idiot. You’re transparent sometimes,” she stated, turning to fully face him. “And maybe I heard you almost every time you did say it?”

Oh shit.

He knew saying it when he thought she was asleep was going to bite him in the ass.

“And maybe,” she poked him in the chest, “I never said a damn thing because I was waiting for you to work out whatever damn funk you got going on and say it to me for real.” She stepped closer, almost chest to chest and she put her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. “I knew I’d lose you if I did say anything. So maybe when I didn’t hear from you for seven damn years I assumed you didn’t mean it that way and you were letting me down easy. So you can’t expect to come in here and fix everything by saying ‘I cared about you since day one’ and for me to be happy about it!”

Well, McCree expected this. He knew this conversation wasn’t going to be all sunshine and daisies. “I’m not expectin’ anything from ya. I have no right to now, and I get that.”

“Then what do you want, Jesse?” she demanded. McCree saw her gulp heavily and tears were starting to form in her eyes. “Because I’m tired of this and—“

Before he could think, he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He buried his face into her hair, closing his eyes and gulping down the lump of fear forming in his throat. This was it. The moment of truth. “Cause I ain’t good fer ya, darlin. I never thought I was.”

She stiffened in his arms, and he could feel her fingers clutching at his serape. “What?”

“I did a lot of shit in my past, angel. I made mistakes and hurt a lot of people. I did even more shit for Blackwatch.” He gently pushed her back, turning to leave. “And I didn’t want you to have to deal with the shit that came along with being with me and—“

“You shut the hell up right now, Jesse McCree,” she snapped. Pulling on his serape to make him look at her again. “You’re not good for me? What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Angel, I didn’t want to make you—“

“Don’t ‘Angel’ me and let me talk dammit,” she huffed, “I happen to think you’re the most kind-hearted, loyal, and hard-working man I have ever known. And it hurts me to think that you were thinking you had to...” she paused and moved her hands as she searched for the word, “Protect me, or some shit.”

That damn lump in his throat wasn’t going away, and he was happy she let him back away a little and lean back against the bookshelf she had brought in.

“And who said you would have been making me deal with anything? Last I checked, I put on my own bra and I can make my own decisions,” she declared, crossing her arms and not breaking eye contact with him.

“And I decided to fall in love with you, Jesse McCree. And I’m still in love with you.” She stepped back so she could sit back against her desk. “So now the question is, what are you going to do with the cards you’ve just been dealt? Because I’m not going to wait for your sorry ass this time around.”

McCree stared at the toes of his boots.

His thoughts finally stopped swirling around in his head and he grinned with a sad chuckle.

A lot of people have accused Jesse McCree of not taking an opportunity as it appeared, and he made the decision to not miss the shot this time.

“I’m going to bet it all, angel,” he said quietly, looking up at her. “At least, I am if yer willin’ to.”

A small, barely-there grin started to come to her lips. “Well, Santa Fe,” she started, pushing away from the desk, “You have seven years to make up for. I hope you have a good plan.”

Tentatively, McCree moved toward her, reaching for her hand. Anela let him take it, giving him an expectant look.

“Let’s do it right this time. I’ll take ya out and treat ya.” He said, lifting her hand to press a kiss to the backs of her knuckles.

“Oh? What else?” She arched a brow.

McCree lifted his other hand, the metal one, and cupped her cheek, brushing away a lock of hair with his thumb. “This.”

A kiss had never tasted or felt so sweet.