Hi Cassie! It me! Your Jesse letter anon! I really hope you enjoyed the letters and I hope youāll enjoy this little fic thatāll tie it all up <3
Jesse felt like heād been through every single damned layer of hell, fighting past the horrors of a mission gone wrong in so very many different angles. There were times he legitimately thought he wasnāt going to make it home. That he believed the very dirt beneath his feet would be where heād be laid to rest. Jesse McCree never was a very pessimistic type of human but he knew what a deadly situation looked like when he came face to face with it.
The flashes of the memories still floated through his mind, lingering in disturbing ways. The bullets cleaving straight through his forearm, skin and muscle alike being torn apart relentlessly, the fear running as deep as the blood that quickly surrounded him, and only the faint reassurances of his commander keeping him from losing himself completely. And Cassie.
Suddenly his thoughts were jerked away from him as the jet landed, the hard thud of the landing gear hitting the runway bringing him back from the memories. He shook his head.
Itās done and over now, no use sittinā on it, Jesse thought to himself, chiding his thoughts for lingering on such terrible things when there were much more pleasant things to be thinking on today.
Ever since this mission had begun nearly three weeks ago, heād ached to be back with his girlfriend, Cassie. All those letters heād sent hadnāt even begun to do any sort of justice for the amount of times heād had her on his mind. In fact, it was just scratching the surface of how much he ached to be home. And now everything felt as though it was dragging, like time had suddenly slowed to a crawl as the jet taxied along the runway. Shouldnāt he be off the plane by now?
Slow up now, Jesse reminded himself, knowing that Cassie would be in his arms again soon enough. Soon. Soon. But his knee was bouncing in anticipation, the nonexistent fingers in his left hand tapping impatiently against the armrest. He still wasnāt used to that, mind you.
Jesse bit at his lower lip as the jet came to a halt, allowing him to finally unbuckle himself and stand once more. He stretched and quickly grabbed his carry on luggage, refusing any help carrying his stuff. Just because he didnāt have his left hand didnāt mean he couldnāt do this on his own.
Exiting the jet, walking through the airport, and down an escalator, his eyes seemed to have been magnetized to the sight of her. She was there. Right there. Even holding a sign with his name on it, looking to have been personally decorated by her. And his heart swelled up tenfold in that moment.
His gait sped up but hers seemed to outpace his by miles. In just a mere moment that separated them, their separation lasted no longer, her arms around him and his own around her.
āJesse,ā she breathed against him, the immediately familiar smell and presence of just her flooding Jesseās senses. āOh my God, youāre finally here.ā
If Jesse could smile any wider, he was sure that his cheeks would burst. He hugged her tighter, only regretful that he couldnāt wrap both arms around her properly.
Jesse laughed, all deep chuckles and hoarseness, āI am, sugar. Iām here. I told you Iād come right back to ya.ā
Pulling away after a few more moments, Jesseās eyes looked deeply into hers and he felt like everything had been worth it. These past weeks had all led up to this. Even losing his arm had been worth getting through just for this moment.
Before another word passed either of their lips, his mouth was on hers, melding passionately into one another. He suckled her lower lip lovingly, hungry for the taste of her, not caring who stared. His right arm wrapped around Cassieās waist, pulling her flush and secure against his form. She returned the kiss eagerly, seemingly as happy to have him back as he was to have her back.
āYa taste even better than I remember,ā he muttered heatedly against her lips, the sweetness of her own tongue on his. His smiled grew as she giggled. āAnd damn, did I have to do hell of a lot of rememberinā of ya.ā
Cassie pressed her lips firmly against his once more before, almost reluctantly, pulling back and grinning widely at him, āRight back atācha, cowboy.ā But her smile began to fade, āYour letters had me worried..ā
At that, Jesseās own smile faltered as he gave a sigh, āI know, I know. Maybe I shouldāa kept things a little more comfortinā; shouldāa fluffed it. But I didnāt wanna lie to ya either. Thought you deserved to be in the know.ā
Her eyebrows knit together, eyes trailing down to his left arm (rather, lack thereof) before she carefully and with uncertainty moved her fingers over his bicep. Jesse watched with a solemn gaze, something akin to shame filling his expression as her digits lowered. She stopped right where the sleeve of his flannel was rolled up, her fingertips wrapping around the end of his arm.
āGod, Jesse..ā she whispered, her voice shaky. āHow..?ā
Jesse sighed, āI canāt tell ya all the details. But I got shot atā¦ a lot. A sniper turned my arm to a shitty mess. Doctorās couldnāt salvage it. But itās alright. Really.ā
Trying his best at a reassuring smile, he attempted to lighten his tone, āIf anything, Iām more upset at my hat gettinā ruined than my arm.ā
It seemed to work. A little. Cassieās lips turned into the hint of a smile as she turned wordlessly to crouch down to the backpack just behind her. She opened it, rummaging inside as her boyfriend watched with curious eyes. And soon enough as she stood and plopped his old, brown hat onto his head, he was laughing. Just like that, the mood had changed.
āYa found it!ā Jesse exclaimed, using his hand to adjust it with a toothy grin. āYou know just how to make me happy, Cassie.ā
Suddenly, her arms were around his shoulders once more, pulling him closely into her. He didnāt hesitate before he was returning the hug, the feeling of Cassieās fingers weaving into the hair at his neck and tightening as she buried her face into his neck.
āWelcome home, Jesse McCree,ā she whispered against him, the heat of her breath making Jesse shiver with happiness. āI love you.ā
Jesseās arm tightened around her, holding her close, āAnd I love you, pumpkin.ā
