At first, the other’s reply only garnered a chuckle. Hanzo realized as well with the lift of the tea cup that Jesse had finished the entire meal without issue - an encouraging sign. Once the cup was set down, he would take up the tray, balancing it with one hand on his own lap for the moment.
“I do not doubt it.” Hanzo’s free hand settled, with the gentlest pressure, on Jesse’s chest, encouraging the hunter to lay down. “Rest. There will be time for talk tomorrow. Perhaps your clothing will be dry by then,” he added, that small smirk sneaking back onto his face.
His palm retreated and he stood, holding the tray of empty dishes in both hands now.
“I will leave the heaters here.” A brief nod toward one of the squat squares of cast iron in the corners of the room. “Nights are often cold on the mountain. If you need anything, call for me.” Hanzo stepped out into the hall, and gave a little nod when he glanced back at Jesse, smile lingering but softer now. “Sleep well.”
With that, Hanzo shut the door and made his way back to the kitchen, where he would wash the dishes before sitting against the outdoor-facing wall of Jesse’s room to keep watch.
Jesse allowed himself to be pushed back down onto the bed… and tried very hard not to feel a little disappointed when the hand was removed. Even more so when he caught that teasing smirk on Hanzo’s face. Oh hell… look at him. Someone comes along offering a little kindness and a nice smile and he’d already started falling. For a demon, no less. Foolish. The hunter knew that. This guy might be amused by him, but Jesse couldn’t imagine it being anything more than that. If Hanzo wanted human company of any sort he wouldn’t be living up here all alone, now would he?
All of these thoughts rushed over him as the demon spoke of talking more tomorrow. “T’morrow,” he agreed, shifting to get more comfortable in the bed. His eyes drifted to the heaters, and he found himself wondering what Hanzo was going to do to stay warm. He mentally entertained the idea of offering to share the bed. No hanky panky. Just… for warmth (and so he wouldn’t feel quite so alone.) It was probably a good thing the demon made such a quick exit before Jesse had the chance to truly embarrass himself.
Sleep came a little less easily than it had earlier. Jesse tossed and turned and kept starting awake convinced that there were shadows that didn’t belong. At least once, still half asleep, he spoke out, “Reyes, if that’s you, tha answer’s still no…” He half expected that familiar laughter in reply… and when it didn’t come, Jesse drifted back off to sleep.
Although he didn’t keep very good track of the days, the hunter was fairly sure several passed with him doing little more than eating, healing, and struggling with old nightmares. And talking - when Hanzo was available and Jesse was feeling up to it. But he didn’t want to keep his host at his beck and call, either. The demon didn’t deserve to have his life completely uprooted by Jesse’s unexpected arrival, after all. Sometimes he worried about the thing that had attacked him, but he trusted that Hanzo would keep him updated, so he tried to just focus on healing. The sooner he could be up and about, the sooner they could plan whatever came next.
//I was going to put this in the tags… but then it got long. LOL!
So, I love all of these ideas! I went ahead and jumped forward - hope that’s alright? Anything you want Hanzo to have discovered about the Ushi Oni is a-okay with me. :) I sort of left it open so that you could semi-start with Hanzo updating Jesse and/or returning with Jesse’s arm. Hopefully that works, but if not, just say so and we can talk about how I need to adjust things. ^_^;
Also, yes to the idea of helping with repairs! I headcanon that the arm is more magical than mechanical in origin, so to get it working properly again, Jesse’s got to mix a special kind of paint (that Hanzo might have to help him find some of the ingredients for?) And then, with the arm attached to his body, the entire arm (both flesh and metal) has to be decorated with specific runes - something that’s much easier to do with an extra set of hands. ^_^