They were young.
They were stupid.
What was originally supposed to be a one night stand turned into candlelit dinners and romantic walks in the moonlight.
Hanzo had been sick of life as a Shimada, so many rules, so many do's and so many don't's. He craved adventure and upon finding a rugged criminal cowboy belonging to a gang of all things, (a gang!) he couldn't resist.
Jesse found excuses to prolong leaving Japan but after a year it was time to move on. Overwatch was tracking him down, and he didn't want to endanger the one man he'd grown to love.
"It's for the best, y'know," McCree said softly, a thumb caressing a cheek belonging to the face that he cradled.
"I know," Hanzo replied softly, "But knowing does not make it any easier,"
"I'll be back," Jesse assured him, pressing a lingering kiss to his forehead, "Before you even know it I'll be back." Letting a rare smile slip onto his features the Shimada gave Jesse's chest a playful hit.
"You better be, silly cowman."
He had stayed strong for Jesse's sake, but the second he returned to his bedroom his facade slipped and he sobbed until he couldn't cry, and then he cried some more.
"Daddy?"
Hanzo glanced across at Hiroka, smiling despite himself. She'd grown up in America for her mother was American and, while having a Japanese accent, spoke English.
"Hm?"
"Can you tell me the story again, about the prince and the cowboy?" Her doe like dark eyes blinked up at him expectedly and he sighed as his heart dropped. Hanzo had made the mistake of telling her this story once, and now she wouldn't let it go.
"Alright, are you comfortable?"
She nodded furiously and he smiled again, finding himself doing it a lot more now that a child had come into the picture. "There once was a prince, he wasn't allowed to leave his castle, and everyday he had to train and do chores."
Hiroka made a face at the mention of chores and he chuckled, continuing. "But one day he met a cowboy, and the cowboy showed him many wonders that he'd never been allowed to see." The girl had the covers clutched in her tiny fists that were drawn up to her face in anticipation. "Alas, though, all good things must come to an end, and eventually the cowboy had to leave." She sighed, wishing that the prince had just followed the cowboy. She'd told her father this once but he'd merrily laughed, saying that it wasn't that easy.
"Every night since the cowboy's departure the prince prayed that his love would return."
Hanzo's voice had sounded sad, but now it took on a bitter tone. "But he never did."
Hiroka was obviously fake snoring, snorting before whistling out. Hanzo rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead, flicking the light off and closing her bedroom door gently as he left.
Sat in his own bed that night he stared blankly at the wall. He wanted to cry, he wanted to break down and scream at the sky until it answered his questions, but he remained silent. Twenty years had taught him to be tough, and besides, showing such emotion while looking after a child just would not do. He knew Hiroka looked to him when she was in trouble, because he was absolute in his decisions and strong. If she saw him in such a state...he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Sleep did not come easily but eventually he dropped into a slumber, a certain cowboy plaguing his dreams.
The next day he expelled all thoughts of cowboys of any kind from his mind, instead waking up his daughter, cooking her a hearty breakfast and then dropping her off at school with a reminder not to hit any of the other children. Bless her, she really was a sweet girl, but she had the temper of a bull which, unfortunately, Hanzo blamed himself for.
It was his day off work and so he went home, going about his day. He cleaned, went out ingredient shopping for dinner, cleaned some more and then cleaned again. The house was practically spotless anyway before he'd set about tidying so the end result was startlingly orderly and neat.
It had just gone half eleven when Hanzo decided that he should treat himself. At first he debated whether or not to just go buy something expensive from a shop nearby but hastily decided against it, taking a walk to a pub in the village. For a couple of months now he'd isolated himself from society. Not on purpose though, he was just so busy with his job and Hiroka that he didn't have time to have a social life. So, despite how he viewed pubs as filthy stopoffs for angry drunks and drug dealers, he sat down in the White Lion and ordered, of all things, a beer.
Hanzo's taste when it came to liquor was very select, he rarely enjoyed anything that wasn't strong or expensive, but his growing concern to fit in had him ordering a pint of German beer, which he had heard was particularly strong.
One pint had been enough to get him tipsy and staggering from the pub mumbling to himself about princes and cowboys. He would have bought more alcohol but strictly reminded himself that he had a daughter to pickup in half an hour and so left it at one drink.
Thirty minutes to sober up.
Hanzo flicked through various letters and bills that he had yet to pay, sorting them out into piles of wanted and waste. As soon as he had got home he'd changed into something more comfortable, traditional Japanese wear. He smiled faintly to himself when remembering that his brother used to mock him for leaving one arm out of his kyudo-gi. His hair was tied back with a yellow ribbon, but there was always one large stubborn lock of hair that would slip out and he blew it away from his eye with a huff as he stood to take the waste pile outside.
After several minutes rummaging round in the front garden for the little green recycling bag that the paper was supposed to go into he finally found it, stuffing the envelopes inside with unnecessary violence. Hanzo straightened and wiped his forehead, it was a hot day. It was as he was considering buying a hat to help with the heat that he spotted somebody very odd looking. He had initially started to stare because he was admiring the man's hat but then his gaze drifted to the strange outfit he was wearing.
..Well, if anybody saw Hanzo they'd say the same thing.
Most of the man's clothes were brown, save for the red serape that lay on his shoulders. Hanzo shook his head, thinking it foolish to wear such warm clothing in summer. He turned back round to return to the cool air of his house but froze suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rising.
Somebody was watching him.
Hanzo opened his front door and glanced over his shoulder to find that the man was looking back at him, he was making a weird, sort of pained, expression that Hanzo dismissed as he closed the door.
"How was your day at school?"
It was Hiroka's last day before the summer holidays began and so she had rushed out of the gates with arms full of schoolwork and a happy smile.
"It was the bestest! We played games alllllll day and Mr Bronhall brought in cake!"
Hanzo laughed at her excitement and, not wanting to bother her good mood, ignored her mistake, instead squeezing the small hand holding his and smiling down at her. "Daddy..." Hiroka's voice wavered and Hanzo was instantly on alert. "There's a man staring at us."
He had made sure to teach her about stranger danger when she was very young and she wasn't stupid so knew that it was strange for a man standing on the other side of the room to be fixated on the pair as people pushed past him.
Hanzo's eyes and the man's met and for a second neither moved, but then Hiroka tugged on her father's hand and he quickly led her away.
Something unsettled the Shimada about the man, earlier in the day he hadn't been able to see his face but just minutes ago he'd seen it all too clearly. It seemed familiar, the kind of familiar that he just couldn't put his finger on. There was something unnerving about how confidently the man had maintained eye contact and his purposeful stance.
When they made it home Hiroka asked if she could go round a friend's house and immediately Hanzo had said no, worried that the strange man might try something, but she knew all too well how to pull his heartstrings and after peering up at him with her big dark eyes promised that she wouldn't leave her friend's house, not even to go to the park, and that there would always be an adult in the house with her...She also then offered to wash the dishes. Hanzo knew full well though that she wasn't tall enough to even see into the sink let alone wash dishes, and that it would be him scrubbing plates that evening.
Hanzo Shimada insisted walking her to her friend's house though, even going as far as to give her a mobile, with him as the only contact, for emergencies. Perhaps he was being overbearing but he didn't care, not when he saw a flash of red cloth disappear round a corner. He walked Hiroka right up to the front door and explained to the parent that he expected his daughter never to be alone and that an adult should always know where the pair are, and what they're doing. Hiroka, when hearing this, had rolled her eyes but nevertheless rushed over to hug his thigh, as that was all she could reach, and mumble her goodbyes.
Despite knowing that she would be taken care of Hanzo still felt uneasy, he sat down and tried to warm himself by rifling through the pile of paper that Hiroka had brought home. It worked...for a little while. He smiled joyously and chuckled at badly drawn pictures of him and soppy fairy tales written about a prince and a...and a cowboy. A cold shiver ran through him, he'd have to discuss this with her later as she'd drawn him as the prince. Hanzo panicked and crumpled the paper up, breathing heavy. He had to annihilate the story from her mind, these little fantasies that she'd obviously been having where he got together with a cowboy had to stop. Maybe once upon a time he would have been happy to imagine being together with a certain cowboy, but not anymore. Jesse McCree played no role in his life anymore and had made that clear when he left and never returned like he promised.
Suddenly feeling guilty Hanzo flattened the paper back out, smoothing out the tiny crisscrossing creases that scarred the character's bodies.
There was a knock at the door, immediately Hanzo tensed and then forced himself to relax as he stood. He opened the door.
And then closed it straight away.
It was the man.
That god damn man!
The one with a spiky beard and unruly hair peaking out from his cowboy hat, coloured the same deep chocolate brown as his eyes, with the golden skin that radiated even when the sun wasn't out. Hanzo's back hit the door and he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, forcing back tears.
Not here.
Not now!
There was another polite knock.
"Hanzo?"
His eyes shot open and he bit back a sob. That voice. Any hope he'd clung onto that this man was just a look alike disappeared when hearing his voice, deep and rhythmic and lazy in that slow, drawling Southern accent. "Come on now, open the door, Hanzo." That god damn voice that melted him with every word he spoke.
"What do you want?" Hanzo replied shakily, refusing to even face the door let alone open it. A small part of him hoped with all it had that Jesse had returned to renew their relationship but a larger side of Hanzo suspected that there was a possible bounty on his head, and that he was in trouble.
"Can you let me in?"
"I-Uh...No." The Shimada finally managed to say, moving away from the door slowly and as quietly as possible to find the bunch of keys he usually kept on the kitchen counter. He snagged the keys and rushed back to the door, fumbling desperately to find the one belonging to the front door. It was as Hanzo victoriously held the key up that the doorknob turned, and a figure shoved their shoulder in the gap to stop the door from closing.
McCree slowly but surely inched himself further into the room as Hanzo pushed against the door, trying to force him out. Jesse dove forward and the door snapped shut with a loud bang as Hanzo staggered, falling against it. The realisation sunk in when Jesse picked up his hat from the floor and returned it to his head.
"You-you can't be here," the Asian stated, voice wavering. "This is my home." He ignored Jesse's hurt expression. "Get out."
"Oh, Hanzo," McCree said sadly, moving closer and ignoring the other man's demands. "What happened to you?" This bitter Hanzo was not the one his memory recalled.
"You left me, remember?" He spat and Jesse frowned, stepping closer still until they were chest to chest. He smiled to himself when seeing that Hanzo was still shorter, and that he hadn't grown much. Gently he cupped the Shimada's face. "You...you left me..." Hanzo repeated, and his features broke as a sob wracked through his throat and burst out through his mouth. He buried his face in McCree's neck to hide the tears and the other responded accordingly, stroking his hair and speaking quiet words of encouragement when appropriate.
When he eventually pulled back Hanzo was extremely embarrassed and pushed on Jesse's chest, trying to distance them, however the cowboy had his arms securely wrapped around him and cuddled Hanzo to his chest. "I can't do this," The Shimada mumbled into his neck. "You should leave, we're not going to do this."
"Yes we are, darlin'." McCree said with determination, "I didn't search for twenty years just for you to push me away y'know."
Hanzo shoved hard until he was able to look up into Jesse's eyes.
"You searched?" He asked in disbelief and the cowboy gave him a strange look. "I always thought that you had just...left."
Knowing that words would fail him Jesse leaned down and captured Hanzo's lips in a gentle kiss that, while he'd never admit it, left him wanting more. Hanzo stared dreamily up at the rugged man but then suddenly his stubborn nature returned and his features hardened. He managed to wriggle out of Jesse's arms. "No is my final answer. I have started a new life and I suggest that you try to do the same."
"Hanzo-"
"Do not "Hanzo" me, Jesse. You cannot just step back into my life like you didn't leave. I have-I have a daughter now, Jesse, a daughter! She needs me, her father, not some cowboy who dances in and out of fairy tales pretending to play hero only to dump the rescued party as if they are nothing!"
McCree opened his mouth to speak, feeling wounded, when the phone rang. They both froze and then, almost mechanically, Hanzo picked up the mobile and, when seeing that it was his daughter, relaxed.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, it's me."
"I know that you told me only to ring only if something serious was happening but...Can-I-Stay-At-Stephie's-House-For-A-Sleepover-Tonight?" Hiroka's words came out gushed as she was trying to contain her excitement. Hanzo heard snuffling, and then giggling. Was that a dog? He groaned to himself, turning away from Jesse and hiding half of his face in his free hand, knowing how much Hiroka loved dogs and had always wanted one.
"Yes," Hanzo finally said, sounding tired. "Is her mother okay with it?" Hiroka replied with a yes and then thanked him and ended the call.
The Shimada sighed.
"I didn't know you felt that way," McCree mumbled, suddenly too close for comfort, Hanzo could hear his silky voice right beside his ear. For a brief second he was confused but then realised that the cowboy was talking about his little rant.
"I don't want to talk about it," He responded curtly. Jesse nodded to himself, respecting the other's privacy.
"So who was that ringing you?"
"My daughter, Hiroka."
"And?"
Hanzo felt fingers slide up to his waist and across his stomach, linking together just above his pelvis.
Hanzo sighed again.
"She asked if she could stay at her friend's house for the night."
"Aaaaaaaaaand?"
"I said yes."
Hanzo felt the warm breath on his neck from the chuckle that left McCree's lips.
"Perfect," he breathed, turning the man in between his arms around so that they were facing each other. Hands now positioned just below the other man's buttocks Jesse hoisted him up, trusting Hanzo's instincts to kick in.
Automatically Hanzo's legs wrapped around McCree's waist and his arms locked behind his neck. His natural response was to press their bodies together and he did so, timidly, telling himself that he was only doing it because he didn't want to be dropped, and not because he enjoyed being so close.
After a couple of awkward failed attempts at locating the bedroom Jesse found the correct room and dropped Hanzo onto the bed where he harmlessly bounced, a little dazed. Jesse knew that if he gave the other time to recover he'd return to his bitter persona and so dashed forward, pushing him from a sitting position to a lying down one so that he could pin Hanzo beneath his body.
Flustered, Hanzo could only whine as McCree suckled on his neck, he pushed weakly and half-heartedly on his chest and tried to pull himself together but slowly he was coming apart under the warm, and slightly chapped (not that Hanzo minded), lips. The patches that Hanzo had sewn over his heart slowly started to dissolve and the many stitches: hatred, resentment, bitterness, anger, loathing, disgust and animosity, disappeared. There was just him, a prince and his cowboy.
Hanzo didn't realise that he'd been daydreaming until McCree clicked tanned fingers in front of his face and mocked him with a cocky grin. The Shimada blushed ferociously, when had they got naked?
Jesse eyed the body beneath him greedily, and then his attention drifted up to the inky black hair sat atop Hanzo's head. He fiddled with the golden ribbon and then pulled it out, mumbling to himself that liked Hanzo's hair down far better.
His fingers ran across shoulders and collarbones, across plump pectorals, over the ridges of ribs and down the smooth skin of his stomach to finally dance around his pelvis, teasing in a way he knew got Hanzo hot and bothered. McCree chuckled upon seeing that the Shimada still obtained his pubic hair in the same neat, tidy patch. Whereas Jesse found it impossibly cute how Hanzo tried to cover his modesty when seeing where the cowboy's gaze had wandered, the Shimada was aflame with embarrassment, face and neck bright red.
"You weren't as shy when we were younger, darlin'~" Jesse all but purred and Hanzo sank further into the warmth of the bed he was pushing himself into, wishing it would swallow him whole.
Twenty years had taught McCree manners, self restraint and how to be a gentleman and, after he finally managed to separate Hanzo's thighs kissed tenderly up the flesh there, curious eyes glancing up and silently asking for permission.
Hanzo sighed, did he want this to happen? He was pulled from his thoughts by warm lips tracing from the middle of his thigh to his bellybutton and back again with short silly little kisses. He laughed at the absurdity of such a random action and nodded to the cowboy between his legs.
Suddenly feeling a lot less embarrassed, and really quite needy, Hanzo decided to grab a handful of brown curls and shove a surprised McCree into his crotch. His surprise muffled by a face full of erection Jesse could only grunt before getting straight to work. His tongue wasted no time in bringing Hanzo as close to the edge as he felt he'd ever been, eliciting many a lewd sound as he teased, tickled and caused the man beneath him to tense.
McCree stopped all of a sudden and Hanzo grunted rudely. He rummaged around in his discarded jacket pocket until he held little bottle hanging between his thumb and index finger proudly. Hanzo thought it suspicious that he'd arrived with lube...but quickly shook the thought away and sighed happily when feeling a finger line up with his entrance.
Within seconds he was seizing up and clawing at the sheets.
"C-C-Cold," he finally managed to stutter, trying to relax, but the startlingly cold lube against his warm insides was distracting. Jesse laughed and rubbed circles into his thighs with his thumbs, an action he knew helped the Shimada to loosen up. And Hanzo did, immediately, as soon as Jesse began he melted into the sheets, content once again.
McCree couldn't help but admire the man beneath him, unintentionally licking his lips. This was how he wanted him, not necessarily submissive, it didn't really bother him whether Hanzo was feeling like submitting or being stubborn and trying to hang onto dominance. After all, it was Hanzo who eventually chose how a steamy situation like this would go. If he wasn't happy with something, or just outright didn't want to have sex, he'd say so, and his word would be absolute.
No, Jesse just wanted to see Hanzo needy for him and wanting him. He wanted to see his toes curl and his head press into the bed as his back arched, his hands fist the sheets and his white teeth capture his bottom lip before he would then cry out Jesse's name.
But not today, he was just happy that he'd finally managed to find Hanzo, and so just wanted to familiarise himself with the man he'd come to love.
McCree was brought back to Earth when feeling a sharp pain on his chin. He stared in disbelief at the face in front of his. Did Hanzo just...just bite him?
Suddenly the Asian got very uncomfortable, flushing a deeper red than he was already. "I tried shouting your name but you were not responding-" he desperately tried to justify, fidgeting, "-but you are fine now, so continue."
Jesse wasn't going to let this just slide, he didn't get even nearly as embarrassed as Hanzo did, and so was going to question until he got a satisfying answer.
"You want me that bad, huh?"
Hanzo started to squirm.
"I would be lying if I said no," he mumbled quietly and McCree's grin widened.
"Or have you been hidin' somethin' from me, Han?" He could tell that he'd hit home when Hanzo's eyes widened but decided to continue the slow torture. "A certain kink, huh, Hanzo?"
"I do not know what you are talking about," the Shimada said, finally making eye contact only to flick his gaze away. "Now please can we just get back to what we were doing-" His sentence was cut off as a loud moan ripped through his throat. Hanzo looked more surprised than Jesse did, he didn't know himself that his body would give such a big involuntary reaction. McCree looked up from where he'd bit gently into Hanzo's shoulder and, curiosity satisfied, entered another finger.
"I'll ask you one more time, darlin', and then know that I won'' stop, not for wild horses, not for nothin', if the answer is yes," Hanzo took this in and kept silent, "Do you still wan' to do this?" Something flashed in Hanzo's eyes which could quickly be dismissed as need, but Jesse recognised it to be playful anger.
"Yes, you foolish man!" His arms wound behind Jesse's neck and pulled the man closer until their lips were almost touching. "I do, Jesse. Yes, God yes, I do." He pecked McCree's lips once, "Now hurry up and...and-" His eyebrows scrunched up, falling heavily over his eyes as he struggled to find the correct wording. "-And just fuck me already!"
Everything after that happened too slowly for Hanzo, he wanted to be fucked senseless into the bed until he couldn't speak his own name, but McCree lined himself up and slowly slid in, stopping every now and again to allow Hanzo to adjust.
"Jesse-" Hanzo whined but he was cut off by a whimper when feeling a pathetically tiny touch on his prostate. Hanzo's neediness slowly washed away as he found himself just simply enjoying the gentle sex. McCree kept the pace slow and steady, rubbing circles with his thumbs into Hanzo's back, and when he felt his orgasm building he angled his thrusts a little differently so that instead of brushing against Hanzo's prostate he hit it head on each time.
In response Hanzo's sensual moans increased in volume and he started to rock his hips back, a hand tentatively reaching underneath him to stroke himself. Hanzo was on the brink of orgasm until McCree leaned forward and bit the top left side of his back firmly, sending him over the edge. He came with a cry, tightening around McCree instinctively. Jesse went to say something and then stopped, conflicted. Having a good idea of what the cowboy was thinking Hanzo mumbled that "it was okay, that he didn't mind," and Jesse even felt the Shimada intentionally clench to keep him inside but he still slid out as he came.
Hanzo groaned when feeling the hot substance shoot all over his back, he shivered and then grunted. Hanzo knew that the cowboy knew he hated it when he came on his back, as it was near impossible for him to clean up, and he'd have to ask McCree for help.
"Need some help there, Han?" McCree asked mockingly, chuckling to himself.
"You know that I do," Hanzo responded, faking anger. He patiently lay on his stomach as his back was cleaned up before rolling over to make room for the cowboy that flopped attractively onto the bed. The action reminded Hanzo distinctly of a whale, but he kept the thought to himself, deciding to instead close his eyes and snuggle down with his long lost cowboy, relishing in the heat that Jesse radiated.
Hanzo stretched, yawning loudly. He was pleasantly surprised to find that when he stood up there wasn't even the tiniest bit of discomfort, and was glad that McCree chose to go at it slow, for he didn't think that he would get away with trying to disguise a sore ass as back pains to his daughter. Speaking of McCree...where was he?
The curtains were open, his clothes were gone...The bathroom was empty, but the shower was wet and had been recently used.
Fear shot through him.
It wasn't happening again...was it?
He didn't think he'd be able to handle it if the cowboy left again.
He rushed to pull on some clothes and hurried down the stairs when hearing a male voice.
What if Overwatch had followed Jesse?
What if they had his daughter?
What if-
Hanzo stopped, and a soppy smile found its way onto his features as he stood in the doorway to the living room. Hiroka was sat atop McCree's back and her heels pushed into his sides as she wildly bucked. She wore his hat atop her head, every now and again it would fall over her eyes only to jump back up as she bounced.
"I'm the real cowboy here, giddy up horsey!" She shouted, letting loose a loud "Yeeeee-ha!"
McCree looked up at Hanzo from where he was positioned on his hands and knees, eyes desperate to be saved. Hanzo sent him an apologetic look but then his lips curled into a snide smirk as he turned and left the room.
That night when Hanzo was tucking Hiroka in she leaned up and whispered, "Is that the cowboy from the story, Daddy?"
Hanzo thought about what to say, before nodding and speaking back quietly, "Yes, Hiroka. His name is Jesse."
It was then that McCree stumbled into the room, he wanted to make a good impression and help Hanzo to tuck his daughter in, but instead tripped over a toy left hazardously on the floor, and landed flat on his face. Hiroka giggled at his pained groans and then leaned back into her pillow.
"I'm glad that you got your happy ever after, Daddy," she mumbled and then her eyes closed as she slept.