Fairies are odd creatures, similar to what they are in fairy tales but with a few differences. They look like normal humans, just like you or me, but they can shrink to whatever size they wish and sprout translucent wings from their backs. Fairy wings are mesmerisingly beautiful, from their pastel colours to their intricate patterns. Because of this, fairies are hunted worldwide, their wings used as decorations.
To avoid being killed, most fairies seek refuge in people's houses, shrinking to what seems like impossibly small sizes to avoid being seen. The trouble with this, though, is that it takes a lot of energy and fairies will revert to their original size to restore energy. This leads to them being caught and usually killed.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, this is the story of a fairy who was discovered by a cowboy.

.—•—.

A small creature flew threw the air, guns firing behind it. The being willed its wings to move faster and take it away from certain death. Its wings would not comply.
The fairy did not lose hope.
Instead, he tapped into his inner power. There was a blinding flash of light, and then he was gone.

.—•—.

Slowly blinking the sleep out of his eyes, the fairy looked around to familiarise himself with his surroundings. The only thing he knew was that he was in a small room.
And that someone was in the same room, snoring loudly.
Suddenly filled with panic, the fairy shrunk to the size of a five pound note and sprouted beautiful blue wings from his back.
He flew out of the room, shrinking even more to fit under the door. He then reverted to his original size and folded his wings to look around the house he was in easier.
The fairy looked around to find that he was stood in a small hallway, probably on the second floor of a house. He took a single step forwards and the floorboards creaked loudly beneath him.
Cursing under his breath, he sprouted his wings again and began to hover slightly above the ground. The fairy flew to the end of the corridor and down a flight of stairs, careful not to touch the dusty banister with large dents on three different places.
In all honesty, he didn't remember much of what happened before he ended up here. There were gunshots, shouts of anger and a bright light.
Then he was in a house with seemingly nobody but a human who makes odd noises. With all that he'd forgotten, you'd think he would even have forgotten his own name.
Wait... what was his name?
Sighing to himself, the fairy landed on the floor in front of the last step. It was carpeted, so the floor wouldn't creak underneath his weight (which was nothing other than a healthy weight, thank you very much).
He found himself in a ramshackle living room containing two dusty sofas with unidentifiable stains, a most likely broken TV and a Border Collie with immaculate fur, too clean for the room it was in.
The fairy quickly realised he had pockets in his clothes, and things in those pockets. Frantically searching for an I.D card or something similar, he finally found a small card.

Hanzo Shimada
Age: 38
Height: 5'8"
Sex: M

They all seemed like normal things to find on an I.D card, but the rest of the card held information that would confuse a regular human. It would probably confuse a normal human anyways as it says age instead of date of birth, but that's because it was made for fairies. You know, magic.

Clan: Forest
Job: Head of the Guards
Rank: Beta

Memories were slowly making their way back into the fairy's mind.
His name was Hanzo Shimada, beta of the Clan of the Forest. He worked as a guard, eliminating any threat to the clan.
What he couldn't remember, however, was why he had strayed so far from the Clan's village and how he had survived this long.
Hanzo realised he had more pressing things to worry about right now, one of those things being the laughter coming from the next room over. There were people here.
Adding to his worries, the floorboards creaked upstairs. The man from earlier was up and moving.
Hanzo shrunk to about an eighth of his size and hid under a conveniently placed blanket, praying he wouldn't be found.
Loud footsteps echoed throughout the poorly furnished house.
"There's my serape! I thought I'd gone an' lost it."
A hand reached down and picked up the serape that was not a blanket.
"Well, that's a weird lookin' bug," said a man with a thick southern accent.
The man then walked away, seemingly ignoring Hanzo's presence. He sprouted his wings and went to fly away when he saw a tall man in a flannel shirt and jeans holding a red serape and a fly swatter.
"Jesus, it flies."
The man had a thick mane of brown hair and a beard framing his face, complimenting his tan skin.
He attempted to hit Hanzo with the swatter, but the fairy was too quick.
"Tricky one, ain't ya?" He said under his breath.
He tried again. He missed. This carried on for about a minute before the man grabbed Hanzo.
He opened his hand and examined Hanzo closely.
Meanwhile, Hanzo was terrified. Fear was etched into his facial features, making it painstakingly obvious.
"Well, I'll be damned. You ain't no bug, yer a weird lil' fairy!" he exclaimed, excitement clear in his voice.
"Ha! Look at yer fancy lil' clothes!"
Hanzo looked down at his attire. A loose lime v-neck with a thick white hem covered his torso and arms while similarly loose forest green pants covered his legs. He wore no shoes.
A door being opened loudly interrupted his train of thought as a man who looked a few years younger than the one holding him burst into the room.
The man gently but quickly put Hanzo in his breast pocket, concealing him from the other man's sight.
"Jesse, who in the hell are ya talkin' to?" He said.
The taller man, seemingly named Jesse, replied with, "Uh, Belle. The dog. Nobody else. There ain't nobody else in here but you. Jus' her. Don't worry yerself none, James."
The other man, James, didn't seem convinced, but he also didn't seem to care.
"Uh, alright, jus' don't be too loud. I'm tryna play Monopoly in 'ere."
Jesse nodded and tapped Hanzo, signalling that it was ok for him to come out.
He flew out of the small pocket, stretching his arms above his head for a moment before looking at Jesse.
"Don't worry yer pretty lil' head, I ain't gon' hurt ya. The name's Jesse, what's yours?" He said politely.
"Hanzo," he replied.
"What? I can't hear ya," Jesse said.
Hanzo decided it was because he was too small, so he returned to his original size, folding his wings in the process.
"My name is Hanzo," he repeated.
Jesse was shocked for a moment, before remembering that he was literally talking to a fairy.
"Well, Hanzo, it's a pleasure to meet ya," Jesse said, extending his hand.
Hanzo shook his hand warily, standing in awkward silence once the handshake was over.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Hanzo finally asked.
"I don't see why I shouldn't. Yer away from yer lil' fairy friends for a reason, right?"
Hanzo hesitated, willing himself not to think about it.
"Most people would just kill me on the spot."
"I ain't most people though, am I?"
James burst through the door again, catching Jesse talking to Hanzo.
"Jesse Ashley McCree, what are ya doin' talkin' to that thing? I knew you were lyin', I knew it!"
Two more men looked out from behind James, more annoyed that their game of Monopoly was disturbed than anything else.
"Kill it."
"No."
"Kill it or I will!"
Hanzo sheepishly hid behind Jesse.
"You wouldn't dare kill him, James."
"Him? Where are ya gettin' this bullshit from, Jesse? That thing is an it and yer gonna kill it!"
"I ain't, and you ain't."
Angered beyond what Hanzo had thought possible, James pulled a gun out of who knows where and Jesse did the same.
"Move outta the way, an' I might share the profit."
"Get back to yer game of Monopoly, an' I might not shoot ya."
James smirked.
"Ya wouldn't dare."
The safety on Jesse's gun was removed and it slowly dawned upon James that his brother wouldn't hesitate to shoot him if he got too close to the fairy.
"Why does he care about me so much? Is he just protecting me now so he can kill me later?" Hanzo thought.
James removed the safety of his gun, determined not to show fear in front of his friends.
Hanzo suddenly realised what he could be doing to help calm the brothers down, but his thoughts were silenced by a gunshot.
It wasn't Jesse who got shot, nor James. In fact, it was Hanzo.
Blood trickled down his leg and dripped onto the carpet.
"Probably not the first time this carpet has seen blood," Hanzo thought.
James was slightly scared by Hanzo's lack of reaction to being shot in the leg.
"Ah, humans never cease to make me laugh," Hanzo said whilst chuckling. He reached down to where the bullet was embedded in his skin and pulled it out, much to the shock and disgust of everyone witnessing it.
"Waíse heill," Hanzo muttered.
"Be healed."
A small light covered his wound, but just as soon as it had appeared, it was gone. His leg was just as it was before he was shot, as if nothing had ever happened.
Meanwhile, Jesse was getting angrier by the second. His brother just shot the man he was clearly protecting, and for what? Money? Jesse knew that James had never cared about money, so what was the point?
James stole a glance at his brother, suddenly terrified about what was going to happen to him.
"Jesse, ya know I wou-"
He was cut off by a gunshot. Blood ran down his forehead and across his face, slowly making its way onto James' shirt.
"Damn it... Jesse. Now... now I gotta... buy... a new shirt..."
James dropped the floor with a thud and then there was silence, but not before weakly shooting his gun into a random direction, somehow hitting Jesse just below his collarbone.
Jesse turned to face Hanzo as James' friends ran past them and out of the front door.
"B-brothers, am I right?" he said before collapsing onto Hanzo.

.—•—.

It had taken a while for Hanzo to find out that humans reacted differently to magic than fairies did, and even longer to find out how to stop Jesse from bleeding to death.
Having lived deep in the forest for most of his life, Hanzo knew nothing about phones, television or hospitals.
Jesse had woken up a few hours after he had been shot, greeted by Hanzo's worried face and a flaming pain spreading throughout his torso.
"Ah- you are awake!" Hanzo exclaimed.
Jesse tried to speak but his throat burned, so he instead attempted a smile which turned out as more of a grimace.
"I may have used magic to try and heal you, and that magic may not have worked. Are you able to move alright?"
Jesse tried to sit up, but lay back down almost instantly as the pain in his chest doubled.
"I assume not. Your familiar is okay, do not worry," Hanzo explained.
Jesse tried to speak again but it just came out as a weak croak.
"Wait here, I will get you a drink," Hanzo said as he got up to leave the room.
Jesse took a look around. He was lying on one of his dusty couches, his head propped up on a cushion. Blood stained the carpet by the staircase but the body of his brother was gone.
The realisation the he had killed his own brother hit him like a truck, but he pushed those feelings aside for now. He had other things to think of.
"What's takin' Hanzo so long? He didn't manage ta drown himself, did he?" Jesse thought, somewhat alarmed by where his train of thought was going. He looked around the room again, spotting Belle lying peacefully by the other couch.
Jesse turned his head to see a lamp, a notebook and a pen on a small table. He reached for the notebook, careful not to drop the pen resting on top of it. After ripping out a page, he wrote 'do you know how to use a tap' on it and patted the leather cushion beneath him, causing Belle to walk over to him.
Jesse tucked to note into her collar and weakly pointed to the ajar door leading to the kitchen. Seeming to understand, Belle walked into the kitchen.
Less than a minute later, Hanzo emerged from the kitchen, soaking wet.
"I do not know how your utilities work but I have this, drink it."
Hanzo walked over to Jesse and put the glass of water on the table next to him.
"Do you need help sitting up?" Hanzo asked.
Jesse nodded and Hanzo wrapped his arm around his back, carefully positioning him so he was sitting upright.
The southerner nodded his head in thanks as Hanzo handed him the glass of water.
"Ono weohnata néiat andask," Hanzo said, confusing Jesse.
"You will not die."
After drinking some of the water, Jesse asked, "What's that language?"
"It is the ancient language. It is mostly used for spells, but it is also used to find the truth. You cannot lie in the ancient language," Hanzo explained.
"Well, what didya say?"
"You will not die. I just wanted to make sure."
Jesse let a small smile creep onto his face.
"Do ya need a towel or anythin'? Yer soakin' wet."
Hanzo was extremely confused.
"A... towel? What is that?" He asked.
Jesse let out a small laugh before explaining, "It's a thing we humans use ta dry ourselves. Kinda looks like a blanket."
The fairy just looked even more confused.
Forgetting about his fresh injury that almost killed him, Jesse sat up and went to get a towel from upstairs, deciding it was easier to just show Hanzo what he meant, but he was stopped by a sharp pain shooting through his chest.
Hanzo was up in a flash, arm around Jesse's shoulders, slowly laying him back down on the sofa.
Letting out a sigh, he said, "You need to rest. If there is something you need, I can get it for you."
Hanzo muttered something in the ancient language and he was dried.
Jesse didn't reply, slowly getting lost in thought.
"Why is he bein' so nice to me? Is he plannin' something? Hell, I jus' welcomed him into my house like it was nothin' outta the ordinary!"
He decided to confront the fairy about it.
"Hey, uh, Hanzo, why are ya bein' so nice to me? I only jus' met ya, an' ya watched me- watched me kill my... my brother. I, uh..." Jesse trailed off, tears building up in his eyes, threatening to spill.
Immediately picking up on his distress, Hanzo knew he had to comfort his newfound friend.
"Eka kenna ono eru osthato, mar-"
"I know you are mourning, but-"
He stopped himself. Magic only made Jesse's pain worse last time. Hanzo attempted a more human approach.
He carefully sat on the sofa next to Jesse and wrapped his arm around his shoulder in what he could only hope was a comforting way.
Now quietly crying and shaking, Jesse sank into Hanzo's chest almost immediately. The fairy wrapped his arms around Jesse's back and said, "Do you hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that."
Jesse did as he was instructed and his breathing slowed slightly as Hanzo tried to think of something to say.
"Just breathe. Everything is okay. You do not have to be alone, do you want to talk about it?"
Hanzo repeated what his mother had once said to him, hoping it would do something to ease Jesse's pain. He felt his friend's breathing return to normal and he stopped shaking, but he didn't make an attempt to move away from Hanzo.
Then a wave of memories swept over him.
His mother comforting him on a cold night.
His father trying his best to do the same when his mother wasn't home.
His brother trying to tame a leopard.
His brother trying to carve an owl into a log.
His brother trying to cheer up Hanzo when their parents were no longer around to do it for him.
His brother.
Hanzo stopped the tears before they even threatened to fall. Now was not the time.
"Are... are you alright now?" Hanzo asked, trying to distract himself.
He could feel Jesse nod as he said, "I'm... better. P-prob'ly gonna take a while for me to be alright."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Are ya sure ya wanna hear?"
"Yes, if it makes you feel better."
Jesse sat up, instantly missing the warmth and safety he felt in Hanzo's arms. He cleared his throat.
"Well, there ain't that much to tell, really. My b-brother needed a place to stay for a while, so I let him stay here. He had ta sleep on the couch. T-this couch, actually..."
He took a moment to regain his composure before continuing.
"He, uh, always had his friends over an' kept me awake all night with their yellin'. I had to, uh, sleep in the day when he wasn't in. I hadn't seen him in so long. I finally got the chance to talk with my brother again, a-an' I ruined it."
Jesse seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Hell, I haven't even known ya for a day, an' here I am, pourin' my heart out to ya."
Hanzo smiled at that.
"That is good. It means you trust me. It means a lot, since you are the only friend I have," Hanzo said, immediately regretting it.
"Your... your only friend?" Jesse questioned.
"Yes, um, friend. Is that not what we are now?"
"Well, yeah, but it's hard to believe I'm yer only friend. Don't ya have any friends where back where ya came from?"
Hanzo tried his best to change the subject but no words would come and his sudden downheartedness was evident.
"Guess it's my turn to comfort you then, huh?" Jesse said softly.
Hanzo looked up at Jesse, starting to think. He had only known the man for a few hours and he was already closer to the cowboy than he was to some of his friends back in the village.
The village.
He couldn't hold back the tears any longer.
Jesse wrapped his arms around Hanzo just like the fairy had done for him only minutes ago.
Hanzo seemed to regain his composure before saying, "My village, it-"
He broke down crying as Jesse slowly traced shapes on his back, hoping to calm him down.
"It- it was at-attacked," Hanzo managed to force out before crying into Jesse's shoulder once more.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, Jesse trying to comfort Hanzo.
"Everyone- everyone except me was killed," Hanzo said after his breathing somewhat returned to normal.
"I was o-out gathering supplies when it h-happened."
Jesse moved his hand to Hanzo's head and absentmindedly started playing with his hair.
"You'll be alright, darlin'. No one can hurt ya now," he said, pulling away slightly to take a look at Hanzo. His eyes were puffy and red and tears stained his face. Although Jesse wasn't quite sure why, he felt the need to protect this man, no matter what.
"How can you be so sure?" Hanzo asked him. Jesse's hand moved from Hanzo's head to his shoulder.
"I'm gonna protect you," Jesse said, determined.
Hanzo laid his head on Jesse's chest and sighed. He had never looked this weak in front of anyone, but he was so trusting of the man he'd known for, what, 7 hours? He then remembered Jesse's earlier question.
"I am being nice to you because you spared my life. You earned my trust in such a short amount of time, but I am grateful."
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Jesse said, "Man, this has been one hell of a therapy session."
Hanzo cocked his head.
"Therapy?"
Jesse chuckled as he rested his head on the back of the sofa, quickly drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

.—•—.

Jesse woke up groggily, greeted by a dark living room and a warm weight against his chest. He had momentarily hoped it would be Hanzo, for reasons unknown to him. Of course, it was none other than Jesse's dog Belle resting on his torso.
Carefully moving away so as not to disturb the sleeping dog, Jesse stood up and stretched.
"Where's Hanzo?" Jesse thought, walking over to the small clock on the wall.
3:47am.
For some reason, he thought it would be the best idea to go for a walk. At night. In a town where crime rates are high.
Jesse stepped outside, the bite of a cold breeze against his skin somewhat refreshing.
"You are up early," A calm voice said, startling Jesse. He turned to see Hanzo sat on the pavement, looking as if he had just been deep in thought.
"I could say the same about you," Jesse replied.
"How does he still look so good this late into the day? Wait, what am I thinking?"
Jesse felt his face start to heat up. He was probably just sick and it was messing with his head.
Yes, that was definitely it.
"Well, I do not need sleep," Hanzo said, pulling Jesse out of his thoughts.
He replied almost instantly, "Well butter my ass an' call me Shirley, ya learn somethin' new every day."
Hanzo was very confused for the umpteenth time in the space of a few hours.
"Shirley? I thought your name was Jesse. Butter- butter your..." Hanzo muttered to himself.
"It's a, uh, weird thing humans say. Don't mind it. Anyway, how about you try sleepin'? Jus' cause ya don't need to, doesn't mean ya shouldn't."
"...Alright. You will have to show me how, though."
Jesse held out his hand and Hanzo grabbed it almost before he'd even removed it from his pocket. He held the southerner's hand for a few moments before realising he was supposed to be standing up.
He quickly shot up and dusted himself off, reluctantly releasing Jesse's hand. Why was he acting like this? It must have been a side effect of being so far away from home, he decided.
Then again, he didn't even have a home anymore. Jesse would probably kick him out soon, leaving him to fend for himself in a world where everyone wants to kill hi-
His thoughts were interrupted by a worried cowboy.
"Are ya alright there, Hanzo? Ya look a bit down," he said, concern etched into his features.
Hanzo saw this as an opportunity to study Jesse's face. He slowly became mesmerised with every tiny detail and every tiny speck of colour in his eyes.
"O-oh, um, yes, I am fine. Just deep in thought," he said quickly, realising what he was doing. Flustered, he stepped back, putting more distance between him and Jesse.
He wasn't like this because he was away from home. He'd already worked that much out. It was probably because he had never seen a human up close before. He just wanted to see what humans were like. Yes, that was definitely it.
Hanzo spoke up, "So, how do humans sleep?"
Jesse opened the door to his house and gestured for Hanzo to go back inside.
"Sleepin' is easier if it's warm," he explained briefly.
Hanzo stepped inside and Jesse followed him in, closing the door behind them.
"We sleep on beds. Do ya know what they are?" Jesse asked.
Hanzo looked a little bit confused as he said, "Yes, familiars sleep on them. Why would humans sleep on such small things?"
Jesse shook his head and smiled, "Human beds are different. Follow me, I'll show you."
Jesse led him upstairs and Hanzo found himself in the room he had teleported into.
"This is a human bed," said Jesse, gesturing to the king-size bed occupying most of the space in the room.
It was quite a simple room, filled with nothing but a bed, two small tables either side of the bed and a wardrobe. An open window above the bed let in a cool stream of air.
"Wait... what are familiars?" Jesse asked.
Hanzo was getting more confused by the second.
"What? You have a familiar. Belle is her name, correct?"
"Belle is my pet. I don't really like ta say I own her, we jus' chill."
Hanzo didn't say anything, he only nodded.
Jesse cleared his throat before saying, "Humans change into special sleep clothes. Do you mind, uh, turnin' around for a moment?"
Hanzo turned around and stood awkwardly as Jesse got changed.
"You can, uh, turn around now," Jesse said.
Hanzo turned to see Jesse wearing a loose white top with the words 'Save a horse, ride a cowboy' written on it and baggy sweatpants.
"You can look at the art as much as you want, but you can't touch," Jesse announced, smirking. Being Jesse, he flirted with almost anyone, Hanzo included.
Hanzo turned his face away from the southerner, his face heating up again.
Was he allergic to humans?
No, no, that mustn't be it.
The fairy recalled the legend in his village that he'd thought to be an old wives' tale.
The legend of soulmates.
His grandmother had told him that when he met his soulmate, it would be like talking to someone you've known your entire life.
Could Jesse be...?
"Hanzo? You're, uh, zonin' out again," Jesse called out to him.
"Yes, sorry. So, how do humans sleep?" Hanzo asked.
"Well, they get into bed," Jesse got into bed, motioning for Hanzo to do the same, "then they close their eyes and think about either nothin' or everythin'."
Hanzo did that for a few second before saying, "I am not asleep. This is not working."
"Ya have to do it for a while before you fall asleep," Jesse replied.
"Alright."
After about a minute, Jesse stood up and walked to the door.
Alerted to his movement, Hanzo opened his eyes and sat up.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"I'm gonna go sleep on the couch, you can have the bed," Jesse answered.
Again, Hanzo was confused.
"My familiars sleep on the same bed because they are close friends. Even though we have known each other for less than a day, we are close friends, correct?" He said innocently.
"Well, humans normally only share a bed if they're havin' a sleepover of if they're, uh, lovers," Jesse responded.
"What is a sleepover?"
"When a bunch of friends sleep in the same room an' eat snacks at midnight."
"That sounds fun. We should have a sleepover."
"Alright, but we might have to miss out on the snacks. It's way past midnight an' I'm tired."
Jesse climbed back into bed beside Hanzo and soon fell asleep to the sound of light snoring.

.—•—.

It had only been a week since Hanzo had met Jesse and became his housemate, but he was already closer to the southerner than he had been to anyone else in his entire life.
He fully believed that they were soulmates, it went along perfectly with the legend.
Two people meet. They feel as though they had known each other their entire lives. They become very close. They marry with the blessing of the spirit of their clan.
Wait... the spirit of the clan! She would still be alive!
Hanzo put down the book Jesse had given him and rushed into the kitchen, almost colliding with Jesse, who was holding a bowl of cereal and a mug decorated with cartoon horses.
"Y'alright, Han? Heh, what am I sayin'? Ya certainly look fine," He flirted. Not even Hanzo could escape from Jesse's flirting.
"Yes, I am fine. I remembered something and there's a place I'd like to show you," Hanzo replied.
"Okay. I was gonna cook for ya but I made cereal instead cause it's the only thing I can't burn."
Hanzo took the cereal with a grateful nod and sat back down, Jesse sitting next to him.
They sat in comfortable silence, Hanzo eating cereal and Jesse drinking coffee.
They finished up and went to get changed. When they got into the bedroom, Jesse said, "Ya look mighty fine wearin' my clothes all the time but we should really get ya some of yer own."
"We can get some on the way back, what I want to show you is important."
Jesse nodded and they got changed, the southerner taking not-so-subtle glances at Hanzo while doing so.
Hanzo wore a plain white shirt far too big for him, jeans that were, again, far too big for him and a soft black jacket that surprisingly fit him.
Jesse was strangely wearing the exact same outfit he'd worn on the day he'd met Hanzo, except now he was wearing a cowboy hat and a ridiculous belt buckle.
"Why are you wearing that outfit?" Hanzo asked, coming off ruder than he'd meant to.
"Ya said we're goin' somewhere special, and the day we met was special so I decided to wear this."
"...What does 'BAMF' mean?"
"It could mean whatever ya want it to. I like to say it means 'Badass motherfucker' but it could also be 'Bad at making friends'. Oh, I should introduce ya to my friends! They think I've been off work sick, but they'd love ya!"
"What do you even do for work?"
"I'm a bounty hunter, armed and dangerous."
"You do not strike me as a professional criminal."
"That's what makes me so good at it."
Hanzo sighed before making his way to the door.
"Come on then, cowman."
"That's new."
They got to the entrance of the house and put on shoes, much to Hanzo's distaste. He wore simple black trainers while Jesse wore ridiculous cowboy boots with spurs.
They walked a good 12 feet out of the house before Jesse abruptly stopped and said, "I forgot my wallet. You need clothes, we need to pay for 'em. Be right back."
He ran back into the house faster than Hanzo had ever seen him move and returned, clutching a small brown pouch to his chest.
"I-I got it. Let's go," he managed to get out, catching his breath. He put the wallet in his back pocket and followed Hanzo.
"Do you even know where you're going, darlin'?" Jesse asked.
"I am taking us far enough away from your house so that I will not blind Belle or any of your neighbours," Hanzo answered.
Jesse was confused, but didn't ask Hanzo to elaborate. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the edge of a forest.
"Close your eyes and hold onto my arm. If you let go, you will die," Hanzo said bluntly.
"Aw, would ya miss me?" Jesse teased.
The fairy nodded so quickly Jesse almost missed it.
"Last time was a mistake. I didn't say the word and just let myself teleport somewhere. This time will be different." Hanzo thought.
"Orpin." He said after taking a deep breath.
"Warp."
A bright light encompassed him and Jesse. When it cleared, they found themselves outside what looked to be a village.
"Y-ya gotta warn me when ya do that," Jesse said, stumbling forwards.
"This is what is left of my village," Hanzo said, walking towards a seemingly ruined gate.
It looked torn down, but there was a magical barrier that looked as if it had recently been put up.
"Beta Hanzo Shimada requesting entrance," he called out.
The barrier dissipated and he walked in to the ruins, gesturing for Jesse to follow him.
They stopped at what used to be a large house with two surprisingly intact gravestones in front of it.
"This... this was my house," Hanzo muttered. He knelt down in front of the gravestones.
"...My p-parents."
Jesse knelt down next to him and rubbed the fairy's back comfortingly.
"Let's... let's move on," Hanzo said quietly.
The two men stood up and Hanzo walked briskly to the centre of the village. A statue of two dragons stood untouched among the rubble.
"This statue was built after my familiars saved the alpha from an assassin. The larger dragon is Glaedr, the smaller one is Fírnen."
Hanzo sat down and admired the detail of the small blue scales. Jesse sat next to him and wrapped his arm around the fairy's shoulders, happy that Hanzo trusted him enough to bring him here.
Resting his head on Jesse's chest, Hanzo began to quietly sing.
"Skulblakas, kausta eom edtha. Ach néiat verda aí manin. Waíse iet hernskja, waíse iet vinrs."
"Dragons, come to me. Do not become a memory. Be my armour, be my friends."
In the distance, two roars could be heard. Almost straight away, two dragons flew into the village, heading straight for Jesse and Hanzo.
Jesse panicked until the dragons actually got there. They were far smaller than he had expected.
The two dragons sniffed Jesse, excited to be meeting someone new.
"They-they're just like puppies!" Jesse exclaimed.
"Don't let yourself be fooled by their innocent demeanour. They can change their sizes, just like I can. Instead of shrinking, though, they can get bigger. They are ferocious in battle," Hanzo explained.
Jesse petted the head of the bigger dragon, Glaedr, while Fírnen rested on Hanzo's shoulder.
"They look like noodles," Jesse finally said.
Hanzo looked Jesse dead in the eye for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.
"He looks cute lauging. He should laugh more." Jesse thought. He didn't question it this time, though. He'd accepted he had a crush on the fairy the day after they'd met.
"There is someone I would like you to meet," Hanzo told Jesse after he'd recovered from his laughing fit.
Jesse removed his arm from around Hanzo and stood up, offering his hand. The shorter man took it and stood up. Jesse realised the height difference between them and started laughing.
"What is so funny? Hanzo asked, Glaedr flying to his unoccupied shoulder.
"I-If you were any shorter you'd fade o-out of existence," Jesse managed to say in-between laughs.
"I'm 5'8"!" Hanzo shouted defensively.
"Well, I'm 6'1" so yer tiny next to me, which you are most of the time," he teased.
Hanzo sighed, "Let's go, I'm sure she'll want to meet you."
He didn't elaborate on that and walked away quickly, leaving Jesse to try and catch up.
They approached a small wooden door, also protected by magic.
Like before, Hanzo shouted, "Beta Hanzo Shimada, requesting entrance!"
This time, a feminine voice giggled and replied, "A few problems there! One, there is no Beta Shimada, two, someone else is there with you!"
Hanzo thought for a moment before he realised something.
The alpha died.
He was the alpha now.
The alpha of a clan that didn't even exist.
"Alpha Hanzo Shimada and, uh, human Jesse McCree requesting entrance." Hanzo said.
"Much better!" The voice responded.
The door opened on its own to reveal a staircase on what looked like the inside of a large tree.
"Follow me. There are not many stairs," Hanzo said, somewhat comforting Jesse. The two men walked up the stairs in comfortable silence for a few minutes and emerged at a large branch with many smaller, leafy branches protruding from it.
"Long time no see, Mr Shimada. The dragons missed you," said the voice. Only this time, the voice was accompanied by a body. A tall fairy with forest green wings and flowing blonde hair stood before them, her detailed dress in many shades of green billowing in the wind.
"Where are my manners? Hello, Mr McCree, my name's Yuelia! I'm the spirit of this place, although there's not much to it now."
Hanzo walked towards her and Jesse did the same, feeling slightly awkward.
"Aw, how cute! You brought your soulmate to me! Well, you have my blessing. Now, go get married someplace nice," said Yuelia excitedly, not noticing Jesse's confused yet flustered face or Hanzo's embarrassed... everything.
"N-no! You are mistaken, Yuelia-elda! We have not come for your b-blessing!" Hanzo shouted.
"Huh? He's your soulmate, though! You have the same aura!" Yuelia shouted back happily.
"What's this talk about soulmates? What does she mean, Han?" Jesse asked, confused.
"Well, you se-"
"Oh! Every fairy has a soulmate! A soulmate is someone you're destined to be with! You know they're you're soulmate, 'cause when you first meet, it feels like you've known each other forever. And you have the same aura, but only clan spirits like me can see that! But you're not a fairy. It's rare that a human and a fairy are soulmates," Yuelia said, interrupting Hanzo.
"Han... did you know about this?"
"I... yes."
"Why didn't ya tell me?"
Yuelia flew away to a higher branch, watching this play out from a distance. Glaedr and Fírnen went with her.
"I was scared you would reject me."
"Why on earth would I reject ya if we're soulmates?"
"Your soulmate can be a different sexuality. It can be purely platonic."
"Hanzo, there are a lot of stereotypes about southerners like me. Are we caring? Yes. Powerful? Yes. Charming? Definitely. But are we straight? Never."
"...What are you saying?"
"I'm sayin' that I seriously wouldn't mind if you just grabbed my face and kissed me. That'd be great, actually."
Hanzo did just that.
He took two long steps over to Jesse, grabbed his face and kissed him. Jesse's hands found his way into Hanzo's silky hair, while Hanzo wrapped his arms around his soulmate's neck.
They broke apart too soon for Hanzo's liking.
Hanzo was about to ask why, when Jesse said, "We still need to buy ya some clothes. The stores'll close if we stay here all day."
Jesse didn't pull away, though. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Hanzo's waist.
The fairy rested his head against Jesse's chest after receiving a loving kiss on the forehead.
"When we first met, I had no idea you'd be so damn important to me, Hanzo."
"Eka ástar ono."
"What does that mean?"
"I love you."
Jesse recalled Hanzo saying it's impossible to lie in the ancient language.
"I love you too, darlin'."

A/N - HOO BOY.
6478 WORDS.
Anyway, I'm so sorry for taking ages to update! This was originally going to be shorter, but I spent a few days making it longer as an apology!
So, here's something important.
THERE WILL BE NO UPDATES FOR TWO WEEKS.
I'm going on holiday and there will be no wifi. You can expect a lot of updates as soon as I get back, though.
Also, thank you so much for getting this book to 500 reads. That's insane! I never thought this book would get 50 reads or, hell, even 5!
The ancient language isn't mine! It belongs to the Inheritance Cycle, a really good book series! Without the English to Ancient Language dictionary, I'd be lost!
As always, leave your criticism in the comments. Cheers!