Since Nova left with Genji, Jesse had a hole in his heart and he missed the kid. He saw him as a little brother and it hurt to wake up to him gone, but if he was with Genji, he knew Nova would be ok. It had been years since he'd seen the two and he'd been on the run since the explosion that "killed" Morrison and Reyes. He was an outlaw, had a bounty of sixty million on his head and couldn't afford to stay in one place for very long, he damn sure couldn't afford to have contact with anyone from Overwatch. Even in the brush up with Deadlock and awakening Echo, he still couldn't go back. "Jesse, I am sure he misses you. If we've been recalled, you know Genji will be there and he will be with Nova." "If I put him in danger, I'd never forgive myself." "Just consider it at least." That was the last intentional interaction he had with Overwatch. For two months, he heard rumors that someone, two someones actually, had been tracking him across three states, the last place he heard their whereabouts had only been twenty miles away from him and caused him to panic a bit.

He paid for the food, packed up and rode away. He didn't stop to sleep anywhere he had to leave a name and tried to wait them out, but it ended up backfiring. He found a tiny hole-in-the-wall place that was run down, just disgusting to look at, and was the only place for miles that would take no names and no questions asked. He huddled down on the ground and hoped they passed by quickly. He got woke up by something thumping against the ground and a quiet "oof, ouch." And he lurched up, gun grabbed and aimed at the intruder as he cocked it. The person yelped and dove behind the...omnic. "McCree, relax. You are not in danger." Genji? The other person peeked around Genji and gave a tiny wave but he couldn't really see in the darkness. He set the gun down and fumbled for a light switch. He was happily surprised to see his cyborg friend and the person he considered a brother. "Jesse...can you um...do something with that?" Nova motioned to the gun but remained behind the ninja out of fear. Uncocked and set at a safe distance away from his body, Jesse turned to his friends.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He finally croaked. "I had to find you, When I...when I heard about the explosion, I got scared to death. I had to make sure...to see for myself." Nova dug his fingertips in Genji's sides. "Aw hell, come here kid." At the open-armed invitation, Nove dove onto his friend and nuzzled at his chest. "God I was so scared. And what happened with Reyes...I didn't...I couldn't think..." "I'm alright. I'm alright, I made it out fine." Nova squeezed his friend tighter and breathed a shuddery sigh against him. "What y'all been up to? You look different." "As do you. You have put on a bit of weight, my friend." He went to protest but Nova nuzzled at him again, rubbing on him like a cat. "Yeah you have. There's more of you to hug now. Genji I think you've been replaced." Jesse chuckled and ran his gloved hand through Nova's hair. "Genji's all growed up now, loving his body and everything!" "Oh yeah?" The cowboy cocked a brow at the ninja who removed his visor and helmet.

"It is thanks to both Nova and my teacher. And Nova has learned to better control his empathy. He has been most useful on missions." "Oh really? What am I feelin' now?" Jesse hugged his friend tightly against him and Nova didn't even need a second to focus his energy. "You're happy to see us but don't wanna put us in danger cuz of the bounty, you think I've gotten even cuter, your arm hurts from not being able to take off the prosthetic thingy, you're hungry for actual food, a little paranoid, scared-" "Alright I get the picture. Damn. How did this happen? You're all grown up too. And you have piercings now." He ppinted at the nose ring and lip studs, Nova didn't want to let go of his friend and they both knew it, Genji sat on the foot of the bed. "Were you the ones followin me the last few months?" "Yes, he was determined to find you and was ready to go alone if he had to. He went on every mission near places you have been seen hoping to find you, and went by himself on his breaks. You mean the world to him, Jesse." "I can see that."

Nova decided to lay on Jesse, head on his lap and body curled up by him. "Nova, I missed you too but you can't stay here." "Watch me. I've missed you for too damn long to leave you alone now." "Genji can't you do something?" Jesse nearly pleaded with the cyborg who had gotten comfy on the bed. "Why would I? There is no rush to get back and we can help if you are in danger. Right, kitty cat?" Nova meowed at Genji and nuzzled Jesse's thigh. "There, you see?" Jesse's heart melted at the sound and he rubbed Nova's shoulder and back. "What the hell was that?" He asked, a smile on his face. Genji chuckled and stretched out. "It is his way of communicating when he is comfortable with someone, he really missed you." Genji reached out and Nova carefully sat up, keeping a hand on the gunslinger's body, and nuzzled into Genji's open hand. "He's your pet now?" "Uh no?" Nova huffed at that and in an act of defiance toward the answer, licked at Genji's fingers and tried to nibble on one, but the cyborg moved his hand away and wiped frantically on the blanket.

Jesse laughed at the actions and wiped away a tear while Genji made noises of disgust and grumbled in Japanese. "I have told you a hundred times to stop doing that." "And I told you to bite me." "Y'all are somethin' else!" Nova turned with a shit eating grin and crawled back onto Jesse's lap. "He is far too cat-like to be considered anything but that. Ick." Nova giggled against Jesse's leg before biting his tongue. He grabbed his friend's metal hand, wondering about the story behind it, and threaded their fingers together. "Jesse please don't kick us out yet. I looked all over for you." With a sigh and gentle smile, Jesse gave in. "Alright. If Genji says you can handle yourself, then I guess I don't have to worry 'bout ya. You want the other bed?" There were two beds in the room, Genji was occupying one of them. "Nope. Not unless you're on it." Jesse cast a questioning glance at the cyborg, who was watching with a happy kind of expression, in search of an explanation. "He wants to sleep in bed with you. Not sleep with you, but with you." "Since when?"

Nova nuzzled at Jesse's stomach and it kind of tickled. "Since we met my teacher. If you do not want him in bed with you, just say so. He won't be upset." Nova looked up at Jesse, not a hint of anything but happiness on his face. "I'd...rather not." "Ok." Jesse felt a pang of sadness, and a little jealousy, as his friend got off him and crawled next to Genji. The cowboy easily noticed how well their bodies pressed and fit together, like puzzle pieces. Nova buried his face in Genji's shoulder and laid his head on Genji's arm. The ninja pressed a gentle kiss to Nova's forehead, Jesse wondered when the hell that started, and the pair curled up around each other. Nova giggled quietly against the ninja and reached back for Jesse. "Come on, I know you're jealous." There was barely room for two people on the bed, three felt impossible to the cowboy. Genji sensed his hesitance and kept a hand on Nova's back to keep him in place as he shifted, getting on his back and pressing himself against the wall as much as he could without being uncomfortable. Nova moved onto Genji's torso and curled up, reaching for Jesse again.

He still hesitated and Nova squeaked at him. "Please, Jesse?" He grumbled and inched toward them, easing his way onto the empty space, more than surprised to find the bed able to hold all of them and have some wiggle room left. He took Nova's hand and held it tightly, feeling like he could finally relax for a minute. "How did you get so brave?" He asked, pressing a kiss to Nova's knuckles. "I dunno. How come you got so pretty? Look at you. You're the prettiest thing around! After Genji of course." "Be quiet, Kitty. It is time for you to sleep." Nova made a tiny whining sound as he squeezed Jesse's hand and curled up a little more, shifting so he could hold his hand a little easier. "You too, Jesse." "Hey now, I don't recall you bein' the boss. Why do I gotta follow your orders?" There was only a teasing tone in his voice and he felt himself get more and more sleepy as he laid beside his friends. Genji played with Nova's hair to help him fall asleep faster and even Jesse was amazed at how fast it worked.

"He really miss me that much?" He asked quietly. "Well that, and he is only starting to learn how to sleep. He could not sleep as a child, the threat of murder always hung above his head. There is so much he did not tell us, and he has fought hard to overcome it all. Sometimes I feel that he is stronger than all of us." Jesse followed Genji's lead and ran his hand through the soft, mahogany hair and gave a gentle tug at the guidance of the more experienced ninja. Nova gave a tiny grunt and leaned into the touch. "How has he been doing? With...with...you know?" "You would be proud of him, he never hurt himself once. He got very close a few times, that was terrifying to watch, but he pulled through and didn't hurt himself." Jesse let out the breath he didn't mean to hold. "Thank god. That was a concern of mine." "Jesse, do you understand why he was so desperate to find you?" "Said he was worried, wanted to make sure I was alive and see for himself, right?" Genji nodded, touch becoming more gentle as he rubbed at Nova's right shoulder.

"His dreams are prophetic, that means they come true. For a solid week, he had a recurring nightmare that you and Reyes died in an explosion. Morrison wasn't in his dream, but Moira was." "Oh shoot. So as far as he knew, I died there." "Yes. The poor thing was scared straight for a while." "Don't you mean scared stiff?" "He is pansexual, it's apparently a gay joke he makes often." "Oh. What a weird little guy." Genji hummed and leaned to kiss Nova's head one more time. "He has become so brave, that he even met my brother." Jesse tensed at that, not wanting Nova anywhere near the kinslayer. "It went very well, Jesse. They are even closer than I thought they would be. But there will be time for that discussion later, we should get some sleep." Jesse draped his arm across Nova's back and rubbed as he fell asleep. He woke up to something poking at his side and arm. "Jesse...Jesse...wake up. Hermano, get up." His eyes slid open and he saw mauve irises about five inches from his face. "There you are. Hi there, Genji's in the bathroom." As he woke up and Jesse remembered what he was told, bringing Nova against him for a tight hug.

"Oop! Aw bear hug." Nova made a purring noise in the back of his throat and nuzzled at Jesse's shoulder, hugging back. "I am proud of you, hermanito. Genji told me you didn't hurt yourself, I was real worried about that." If Nova hadn't mentally prepared himself for the encounter, he would have been a puddle of tears in Jesse's arms. "I was worried you drank yourself to death." "Pff, naw. No way. I had to stay alive to see you." Neither of them seemed to be ready to let go and when Jesse had to stand up, Nova clung to him like a frightened child. "Please come back to us, Jesse. I want you back." Hearing the pain in his voice, Jesse's heart broke. "I can't yet. I gotta figure out how to get a bounty off my head without killin' people to get it done." "Jesse...I won't take no for an answer and we all miss you." Jesse sighed and gently set Nova on the edge of the bed before standing and removing his serape. "Gimme six months, alright? Hang onto this for me til I come back and get it." Jesse wrapped the item around Nova's shoulders and laughed; he was still five sizes too small for it and he looked like a swadled baby in it.

"Y-you promise you'll come back?" "Yeah. If I'm not back in six months, it's yours to keep." "Oh Jesse..." Tears streamed down Nova's face and he wrapped his arms around Jesse's middle, under the gunslinger's arms, and cried against his torso. It brought tears to the cowboy's own eyes and he hugged Nova to him, Genji watched from the bathroom doorway. "You guys should get back. Give everyone my best." Nova whimpered and let his arms drop. "Cheer up, kid. You know I'll come back if you got somethin' of mine." He took a brave step and leaned down to kiss Nova's cheek, Nova closed his eyes. "Alright, go on now. Get outta here before I follow you home." Genji, fully suited, helped Nova to his feet. "Thank you, Jesse. We eagerly await your return." Jesse waved him off with one hand and wiped at his eyes with the other. "Nova...one more thing. Boss missed you too, he just had a hard way of showin' it."

They finally set out, going their separate ways, and Nova worked on getting his emotions leveled out again. "It will be alright, he will return to us." "I know. I feel better, now that I know. Before it was like...he was Schrödinger's cowboy. He was either alive or dead or both until we found him." "What is Schrödinger's cowboy?" Nova chuckled. "It's actually Schrödinger's cat but you can use it for any unknown situation. Schrödinger was a scientist who made a test about something, I can't remember what, and he put a cat in a box, saying it was either alive or dead or both and you would only find out by opening the box." "Ah. When applied to this situation, the box was a reference to finding Jesse in order to discover whether or not he was dead." Nova nodded, the hole in his heart now stitched up a bit. He snuck outside and climbed on the roof about a week later and found he wasn't alone. Hanzo was sitting on the edge and Nova backtracked to go inside, the eldest Shimada still didn't trust him completely around Genji. "Wait." He paused, Hanzo turning his head a bit, then nudging his head toward the ledge.

"Come sit." "Are you sure?" Hanzo nodded once, so Nova inched his way over and plopped himself a safe distance away from the other, getting comfortable and taking a look out at the city beneath them. He let himself smile at the sight. He could feel Hanzo's concern for Genji and caution around Nova, but he never told the elder about it. More often than not, Nova didn't ask others about the emotions he felt from them unless it looked like he needed to; that the emotions needed to be addressed. His shoulder was starting to ache and he leaned further away from Hanzo to pop it, biting his lip to prevent himself from making any noise of pain. Hanzo frowned at the crunching sound it made and watched Nova tremble for a few seconds before relaxing. "Sorry, it was starting to hurt." The sound always made people uncomfortable and he tried to pop his shoulder away from other people. "It is fine. You do not need to apologize for easing your pain." Nova drew a leg up to his chest and hugged it, letting the other leg dangle and swing off the edge.

It was silent again for a while, until Hanzo noticed Nova was playing with something he was holding. He recognized it as something he'd seen Genji with before. "What is that?" He asked, attention fully on Nova, who held his hand open to show the dagger in his hand. "Genji gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago. He asked to borrow it a couple weeks ago. Can't remember why." It was a small weapon, but it fit perfectly in Nova's grip. The twenty five year old pocketed it once again and sighed softly. "Nova. Tell me how I feel." "You wonder why Genji trusts me and lets me touch him the way I do. You don't trust me because, as his older brother, you worry for his safety, and part of you wants to apologize because you trust his judgement of me. You don't need to apologize for anything. If...if I were you and my situation was different, I would probably act the same way." Hanzo, like most other agents, knew nothing of Nova's past. Only Genji and Zenyatta knew the entire story, Jesse knew what Genji told him. "Why does he trust you?" It came out cold and accusing, but Nova knew it came from a place of good intent.

"He opened up to me first. I think he trusts me because he knows what I've been through, I have the scars to show for it, and I feel like I've been there for him. Plus he keeps my nightmares away." "So he trusts you because you know pain? You feel the same way he does?" "No. We feel nothing alike." That made Hanzo even more confused. Nova let him go through his emotions and tried not to wince of the feeling of betrayal directed at him, that flitted through the elder. He inched a bit closer to the archer and got his attention, but kept his gaze straight down onto the city. "Hanzo...he saved my life, and he helped me beat my addiction. I know damn well he wouldn't have done that if he was afraid of being hurt or angry at me. He wouldn't do it for a stranger...unless he felt...that it wouldn't come back to bite him on the ass. He knew from the night we met that I had no intention of hurting him or leaving him." "Beat your addiction?" Nova pulled his sleeves out of his sweater to show the archer over a decade's worth of scars from cutting himself.

"He helped me stop because he said I didn't deserve the pain of what happened to me...and I didn't need to hurt myself to deal with it. That I can't fight fire with fire." That didn't sound like the brother Hanzo knew from their younger years. "He's changed so much...I'm so proud of- oh sorry. I think that's your line." "I do not understand your relationship, but perhaps I am not meant to." Nova's chest ached and he rubbed at it, daring to move a couple inches away from the bothered archer. "Will you listen to me for a sec? Just hear me out." He gave another nod. "Genji loves you. No matter what happened, you are his brother. You didn't really have a choice in what happened, don't argue with me. Sit still and listen. He understands now, he realized the situation and he forgave you, and he wants you in his life. You do too, you still love him. You should be greatful you get to see him alive and living happily, but you're not. You still linger on what you did and it's gonna slow you down. I promise you, he doesn't regret anything. I swear on my life an an Empath, that he's happier to have you here than he was before this."

Hanzo could hear sadness in Nova's voice, but it was betrayed by a sincere smile. "If you want, I could read him and prove he wants you around." "No. That is not necessary, I believe you." Nova chewed at his lip. "If you want my advice, just have faith that he'd cut me out of his life if he didn't like me." He carefully stood and turned to head inside, but Hanzo called his name. "Tell me why you are sad. Talking about this has brought you a great deal of pain and I want to know why." He gave Hanzo a look. "You and Genji love each other and wouldn't dream of hurting one another. I'm not so lucky with my own family." He went inside to let Hanzo brew in those thoughts. "Is he bothering you again?" The youngest Shimada asked from inside the door. "Nah. Poor thing still hates himself for what happened. Wants to know why you trust me and now I wanna know why you trust me." Nova narrowed his eyes and pointed an accusing finger at the cyborg.

Genji scooped him up and carried him like a baby. "Oh dear sweet poptarts, what the hell are you doing?" Genji laughed and pet Nova's hair. "Treating you like the cat you are. I trust you because you were there for me and you didn't judge me, even in my darkest moments." He moved away from the door as it opened and Hanzo stepped inside. Nova tried to wiggle out of the younger brother's arms, but Genji wasn't having it and he shifted Nova so his legs were around Genji's waist and his arms were around his neck. Nova blushed in embarassment and covered his face with his hands. "Now stay still, Kitty Cat." Hanzo's brows shot straight up at the nickname, disbelief written all over his face, and Genji turned to the side so both he and Nova could see the eldest. "Kitty Cat? Why do you call him that?" Genji chuckled and rubbed Nova's left shoulder blade. "It would have been puppy but he is as cute as a cat and he acts like one as well." "Puppy? You are obsessed with animals, brother." "Yeah, but is it so surprising? Considering you were called Sparrow once upon a time." Nova nuzzled at Genji's exposed neck, Hanzo cringed at a stranger using Genji's old family nickname.

The look on his brother's face told him he liked being called that by Nova. "I would have called him a puppy because he has a very strong and painful bite, and he growls like a dog when he's angry. However, most of the time, he is curled up like a cat and can even make a purring sound. Want to see?" On one hand, Hanzo did want to see what made Nova cat-like, the rest of him thought it was something between Genji and Nova. A sudden noise pulled him out of his thoughts and he didn't realize he'd been spacing out. Nova was nibbling on and licking at Genji's metal finger, kneading at his shoulder and neck, and was indeed making a purring sound in his throat. "What in the world..."  "Weird, right? I have no idea why he does this. You should pet him." Hanzo leaned back a little at the suggestion. "You want me to...pet a human." "Yes. It's easy and kind of fun." "I really do not want to." Hanzo was just a little too weirded out by what Nova was doing, and opted out of petting him.