The last few minutes of a class have a way of stretching into eternity. Jesse fights down yet another yawn as he glances at the clock. He could swear the minute hand hasn't moved at all from the last five times he's checked.
The professor is hell bent on cramming at least three more lectures' worth into the next five minutes. Jesse wonders if nobody told her she'd have all semester to talk their ears off. Or maybe, he thinks with dread, she's planning to cram a few years' worth of content into one semester. His stomach sinks at the thought. How much could there possibly be to English Comp anyway?
All she's doing is making it harder for the class to follow her now. Jesse wonders if he shouldn't record the lectures and play them later at half speed to even understand her. He glances to his left and sees the girl next to him frowning deeply at her notebook, scratching out every other word she writes.
He leans over once the professor calls it quits. "You alright there?"
The girl looks up, shoving her blonde bangs out of her eyes. "I don't know," she sighs. "I must have missed half of what she said by the end. Do you think it will be in our book?"
Jesse shrugs. "She seems intent on goin' above and beyond. Wanna borrow my notes? I think I got most of it."
"Oh, ja. Danke," she says, holding out a delicate hand for a formal shake. "I am Angela."
"Jesse," he says. "C'mon, I'll make you a copy." They chat idly as they find the nearest scanner. Angela admits to skipping the football game, shyly revealing she's much more interested in 'real football'. She's rabid about Everton and Jesse has to smile. "You should drop by our study group sometime. My friend's a ragin' West Ham fan, she has some backroad unlicensed feed up on her laptop from time to time."
Angela squints at him. "Does she know the Premier League is televised in the United States these days?"
"Yeah," Jesse says. "I think she likes to feel like she's gettin' away with something."
"Fair enough," Angela shrugs. They go their separate ways with a wave and Jesse ambles out into the mid afternoon sunshine.
He yawns again as he starts heading back to his dorm. Maybe a little caffeine boost wouldn't hurt, especially with his plans for tonight. He's got plenty of time to grab some coffee, drop off his stuff, and still make the bus. And it just so happens the little place he's started staking out as his new favorite study spot is on the way: Hanzo's coffee shop.
It's damn good coffee and a quiet place to work. That's all. No other reason.
He pushes the door open and can't help a flash of disappointment when he sees Mei alone at the counter. He covers it with a smile and ambles up to her. "Howdy, ma'am."
Mei giggles and hands him his usual cup. "Hello, Jesse! Long night planned?"
"Somethin' like that," he says. "Gonna head home for dinner with my family."
"Oh," Mei startles. "But how will you…" Jesse raises an eyebrow. Mei reddens. "You are not from Texas?"
"Nope. Live here in Pasadena. It's alright," he chuckles as she begins apologizing. "Everybody thinks that. Though it's hard to imagine why." He winks.
She gives him a rueful smile. "Well, I hope you enjoy it."
"Thanks," he says and waves as he heads out the door. He walks back to the dorm trying to pretend he hadn't been hoping to catch a glimpse of Hanzo at the shop. If Jesse can't find him there, who knows where he could be. Certainly nowhere near Jesse.
This means he's completely unprepared to shove open his door and find Hanzo settled in at his desk. Jesse trips over the threshold in his surprise and loses his grip on his bag. It hits the floor with a crash and heavy textbooks spill across the floor. Hanzo spins around in time to witness Jesse lunge to catch one of them and slam his toes into a dresser.
"Ah, shit," Jesse shakes out his foot as Hanzo slowly slides his headphones down from his ears. "Fuckin' hell."
"Are you alright?" Hanzo asks.
"Yeah," Jesse says, flapping a hand in his direction. "Just fine, don't mind me. Sorry to interrupt."
"It is nothing," Hanzo says, rising to collect a couple of the books that had slid over to his side of the room. He sets them on Jesse's desk as Jesse drops the rest down beside them. "Though you may wish to consider actually zipping your bag closed in the future."
"Thanks," Jesse smiles sheepishly at him as he sweeps his hat off and tosses it onto the book stack. He picks out one from the pile and slides it back into his bag. "Hey, I'm probably gonna be late gettin' in tonight. I'll try to be quiet."
Hanzo inclines his head as he sits back down. "Do not concern yourself. It will not bother me."
Jesse leans back against his own desk. "I'd hate to wake you, is all. You don't seem the type to like sleepin' in." Jesse is a veteran night owl, and most evenings Hanzo doesn't stop studying until he's about to turn in himself. Yet he still never sees Hanzo in the mornings. He's started wondering if Hanzo sleeps much at all. "I'm just not sure what time it'll be—"
"I said, it is no bother," Hanzo snaps, turning his head to give Jesse a sharp look. Jesse raises his hands instinctively.
"Okay, I gotcha," he says. He looks away and gets an eye full of the pages spread across Hanzo's desk. One on top contains what looks like an unfinished line drawing, the swooping whorls of blue and black ink graceful even though the subject isn't yet clear. "Hey, that's real nice—"
Hanzo slaps a hand on a notebook and shoves it on top of the drawing.
"Alright," Jesse says, folding his arms and slumping his shoulders. "I can take a hint."
Hanzo sits still for a moment before he sighs. He turns slowly in his chair and folds his legs beneath him. "I apologize."
Jesse perks up. "No worries. I didn't mean to pry or anythin'."
Hanzo looks away. "I am…not used to showing such frivolous things to others."
Jesse tilts his head. "Didn't look frivolous to me. What's it going to be?"
Hanzo hesitates. He then slides the unfinished drawing out and shyly offers it to Jesse. "They will be dragons."
"Well now," Jesse says, taking the paper like it's a priceless gift and perusing each artful line. "I think it's lovely. You not happy with how it's turnin' out?"
"It is a waste of time," Hanzo says, folding his arms tightly across his muscled chest. It sounds like he's repeating something he's heard many times before.
"Hey," Jesse says gently. "If it's something you want to do, it's no waste of time in my book. I think you've really got somethin' here."
Hanzo stares at him. Then he takes the paper back from Jesse and shoves it under the notebook again. But his fingers linger over it for a moment and Jesse smiles. "Life can't be all work all the time, you know. Gotta do something you enjoy now and then or you'll burn out quick."
"Yes," Hanzo says slowly, opening a thick textbook on top of the notebook to further bury the drawing. "Perhaps you are right." Jesse waits for him to continue but it seems he's done talking. So Jesse lumbers to his feet and hefts his lightened backpack onto his shoulder.
"Well, I better take off," he says. He slaps his hat back over his mussed up hair. "See you later." Hanzo inclines his head and turns back to his book so Jesse heads out of the room. Mako and Jamie are coming down the hall, leaving no room for passersby so he waits for his neighbors to enter their dorm. Jamie tosses him a cheerful salute as he clatters by and Jesse nods back.
The path now clear, he ambles downstairs into the late afternoon sunshine. Jesse can't stop thinking about that work in progress, and the way Hanzo acted like he'd been caught out doing something he shouldn't. Hanzo's gift for drawing is a surprise to Jesse, his talent undeniable. But how'd he get the idea using it to create pretty things like dragon pictures was doing something wrong? Jesse sighs to himself and tries his best to shake off the look of Hanzo's elegant features scrunched into uncertainty. He's got a bus to catch.
The ride is painfully boring. He does his best to focus on the music in his headphones over the roar of the bus engine, propping his physics textbook up on his knees to get some studying in for tomorrow's quiz. LA traffic is a shit show on a good day and he's in for a long ride. He's just lucky his last class on Thursday lets out early so he can dodge the worst of rush hour.
Jesse finally strolls through the back door and into a flurry of Spanish shouting that echoes into the kitchen from the front of the house. Genji looks up from his book at the island and doesn't seem the least bit surprised to see him. "Hello, Jesse," he grins.
"Howdy," Jesse says, dropping his bag onto the bench by the door. "Sounds like I'm just in time for the fireworks." He whistles sharply and not a minute later, Peacekeeper charges into the kitchen and leaps up against him. Jesse laughs as he vigorously ruffles the dog's sleek fur, trying in vain to dodge the slobbery tongue.
The shouting pauses long enough for Gabe to stick his head into the kitchen. He smirks when he catches sight of Jesse. "Couldn't even last a month, huh?"
"Feed me, I'm starvin' to death," Jesse says, crouching down to rub Peacekeeper's ribs. "You wouldn't want that, would you?"
Genji pretends to perk up. "I would get your room though, right?"
Gabe rolls his eyes. "You've already pretty much claimed it," he says as Jesse squawks in protest.
"The hell's goin' on around here anyhow?" Jesse asks, trying to stay balanced on his toes as his dog rolls back and forth. "What happened now?"
Gabe scowls and drops an assortment of power cords onto the island countertop. Jesse rises to inspect them—or rather, what's left of them. Each cord has been neatly chewed in half, the pieces pocked with perfect little teeth marks. Jesse raises his eyebrows at Gabe while Genji clamps a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Sombra's damn cat," Gabe growls.
"He got my cords, too," Sombra grouses as she walks in behind them. "Don't act like you're the only victim here."
"Try controlling your menace next time," Gabe says, sweeping the cords violently into the trash.
Sombra gives him a disdainful look. "I want you to think very hard about 'control' and 'cat' in the same thought. Besides, you bought him."
"I lost an entire post thanks to him," Gabe says, grabbing the container of rice and slamming it on the counter.
"You didn't save?" Jesse takes the wok out of Sombra's hands and shoos her away from the stove before she can burn dinner by just being near it. She huffs and goes to sit next to Genji.
"I didn't know my damn battery was about to die. It looked like it was plugged in!"
The cat in question strolls into the kitchen next, rubbing up against Gabe's leg a few times before weaving between them. He sits down on top of Gabe's foot just as he notices the dog in the room. Reaper immediately leaps to his feet, scratching Gabe's shoe, and sprints over to Peacekeeper. He swats him once across the nose and turns tail, prompting Peacekeeper to give chase. Reaper leaps for high ground and lays down on top of the table, looking down his nose at the dog.
Jesse shares a baleful look with Peacekeeper as he down lays by the table to await Reaper's next move. He turns to Gabe, who's swearing in Spanish under his breath at the cat. "You thought about trainin' Keep to chase him off things you don't want him gettin' into?"
Gabe glares at him. "Don't get me started on your mangy mutt."
"Uh oh," Jesse bites his lip. "What'd he do?"
"Decided to pursue a career in interior redecorating," Genji says, turning a page he's clearly not reading.
"Huh?"
"Go look at the couch," Sombra says.
Jesse swallows and glances at Gabe's thunderous look. "Think I'd rather not know." He takes a cutting board and the vegetables Gabe throws at him to the island to get out of Gabe's way, knowing the only way the two of them can cook together is when they're each on opposite sides of the kitchen and aren't looking closely at what the other is doing. He leans close to Genji. "Is he bored? How much for you to run him every day?"
"You can't afford me," Genji says serenely. He waves at Sombra. "Ask her." Sombra gives Genji an incredulous look that has to be a perfect match to the one Jesse aims at him. Genji laughs and puts on a martyred expression. "The things I do for you people."
Jesse winks at him, taking his vegetable pieces over to where Gabe is aggressively shoving strips of beef around in the wok. "Hopefully that'll help."
Gabe gives him a mock surprised look. "You mean you're not taking him back to the dorm?"
"If I could, I would," Jesse says.
Gabe chuckles. "Well, at least I know what my next post will be about for sure."
Dinner is a warm and comfortingly loud affair, something Jesse has missed like a limb the past few weeks. The cafeteria is loud, but it's not the same chaotic quality of family dinner in his own circus of a household. He listens to Sombra complain about her history teacher and can't help feeling like there's more to the story. But he knows she won't thank him for prying beyond what she chooses to share. Besides, if Gabe's white knuckled grip on his fork is any indication, she's already got a heavyweight in her corner. Jesse's happy she feels comfortable enough to rant about her troubles in the safety of the homey kitchen.
Jesse helps Gabe with the dishes—the one kitchen chore they don't argue technique over—as the other two go back to their homework or, more likely in Genji's case, the video game console. It might be just a normal no frills evening at the house but Jesse feels better than he has in days. "Zenyatta on the night shift this week?" he asks.
Gabe nods. "Genji'll probably stay the night, if you don't mind him in your room." Jesse rolls his eyes and Gabe laughs. "I didn't think so."
Jesse tosses the towel onto the counter and crouches down to give Peacekeeper a head rub. "Nice having a full house at night, huh?" he asks slyly. Gabe shoots him a dark look but Jesse just smiles. "Speakin' of," he says with a hopeful tone. "Mind drivin' me back to campus later? You need to run out for new chargers anyway, right?"
Gabe groans as Jesse laughs and heads into the living room to bother the other two.