#kaicree

As they contemplated the modification of their own body for the sake of cooling off, the motel door was pushed open, a familiar knocking warning them as to just who it was who was entering. Turning their head, they watched as Jesse McCree wiped his own sweat ridden forehead off with the hem of his button down shirt as it clung to his form with desperate, humid stickiness.

"Ice just about melted halfway to the damn room." He muttered as he threw a medium sized bag at the bed Kai was resting on. Kai scrambled to grab it, the immediate cool of the plastic a welcome change to their current temperature. Without thinking about it, they pulled open the bag of ice and plunged their hand into it, the immediate cooling sensation drawing a hefty and adoring sigh from their lips as their muscles relaxed in the pleasantness. They just barely registered the sound of the mini fridge door opening, the sound of clanking glass a distant echo compared to the euphoria of melting ice around their arm. They pulled a few of the cubes out and dropped them onto the back of their neck, shivering as the ice melted and dripped cold water down their bare back.

Another cold sensation pressed into their arm, making Kai startled and turn towards the offending object. A single beer caught their gaze as Jesse waited for them to accept his offering. The cap had been popped off already, the hissing sound of alcohol permeating the otherwise quiet white noise of the room around them. With a smile to their lips, Kai accepted the offering and pressed the cold glass to their lips, swinging their head back to take a much needed, refreshing gulp of the bitter tasting liquid. It burned their throat and left the taste of piss in the back of their palette, but fuck if it wasn't the best damn thing that they had tasted in the days that the two of them had been stuck in this dumbass heat wave.

Jesse took a seat at their side, his weight making the bed groan and bend in his direction as he took a chug of his own icy beer, a satisfied groan leaving his lips as he did so. Kai watched as he put the bottle to the side in favor of shrugging off the offending fabric of his shirt, its coiling threads far too conductive to the heat surrounding them. They pressed their bottle of beer to their forehead, rolling it in an effort to replace the sweat with condensation on their face as they offered over the bag of ice towards their lover with a smirk.

"I'm telling you," Kai teased, "Mei said that watchpoint down in the North Pole was still functioning if we ever wanted to head over and use it."

"Sounds like a dream, darlin'," Jesse chuckled in return, his human hand grabbing a fistful of ice to dump along his neck while his metal one held the bottle of beer firmly between its fingertips, "Just me, you, and a hundred miles of ice on either side of us."

"God, don't describe that," Kai groaned, "It's making me hotter."

"Ain't possible," Jesse declared, "You're already hot as can be."

Kai couldn't help the bubble of laughter that echoed through their mouth as they leaned on the other's side, their shoulders touching together. The sweat of their skin acted as a glue to keep them that way for a moment, sticky and unpleasant for a few seconds but manageable because - well - it was them that was doing it. Jesse could not stop his arm from going around Kai's shoulders and bringing them in closer, a sloppy kiss placed on the top of their head as he smiled. They touched their  cold beer bottle to his chest in return, making his own laugh chortle through the edges of his kiss.

"How much longer are we staying here?" Kai wondered as they pulled away from Jesse enough to take another sip of their beer, "We already have enough evidence that the guy we've been tailing is working with Talon. Shouldn't we just report to 76 and be done with it? I miss our air conditioned base."

"I did call him," Jesse's voice bordered on annoyed as he spoke, "and he told me that Talon's doubled air patrol guard in this area in suspicion of Overwatch activity so, until they get us new landing coordinates to haul our asses to, we're stuck in Dallas."

"Fuck that!" Kai declared with an angry huff, "We're so using the company card to order takeout tonight."

"Who do you think paid for the ice and these beers?"

Kai grinned at the other with a fond expression. Jesse could only admire just how handsome they were like this; even with their hair stuck in tendrils around their forehead with sweat and their bare chest softened with glittering perspiration, they were by far the most amazing thing he had laid eyes on. From the day that they met to the years that followed afterwards, Jesse couldn't recall a time where he didn't enjoy their company. He didn't want to recall a time where he did not have them at his side.

Those were dark days without them. They had their dark days too, but then they had found each other hadn't they?

Yeah...

Jesse blinked down at Kai, as if realizing something for the first time. The look did not go unnoticed by the other's observant and empathetic gazes. Kai's brow furrowed in return, their body shifting slightly to face the cowboy better as they tilted their head. They asked their question only after grabbing another handful of ice and pressing it to the back of their bare neck, the edges of water streaming down their shoulder and making wet spots on the hotel room sheets as they did so:

"What's up, Cowboy?"

Jesse took his time in responding, taking another drink of his beer and leaning back on one arm against the bed as he swirled the liquid in the glass before him. He watched as it danced on the sides of the amber glass, glimmering in the light that dared peek through the drawn blackout curtains.

"I was just thinkin..."

"About?"

"...Hey, would you wanna get married?"

Kai - who had been in mid sip of their beer - spit across the room in shock. The spray of their alcohol decorated the carpet on the floor in front of them as they choked in surprise, leaning forward to push the liquid from their lungs as their mind rushed to formulate a response somehow. Jesse watched them struggle to regain their composure, his hand reaching up to gently pat at their back in an effort to help them expel the beer from their esophagus. Kai's hand came up in a gesture of 'one second' as they finally cleared the burning in their throat. Tears had formulated in their eyes as they whipped their head around with a gaze of complete disbelief.

"I'm sorry, would I what now!?"

"Get married," Jesse repeated, "To... Me."

His hand rose up and rubbed at the back of his neck, the lackadaisical confidence he had in asking suddenly dissipating at the look they had given him.

"Never mind. It was a stupid idea. I don't know why I-"

"No! No you don't, hey," Kai reached out and grabbed at Jesse's leg with a raise of their brow, "I wasn't saying 'no', I was asking what... brought it on is all. I... Marriage? You wanted to get married."

"Well, yeah."

"To me?"

"Who else?"

"Plenty of other people," Kai laughed incredulously, "I... Jesse... would you be ready for something like that?"

"Would you?"

Kai shot him a pointed look, making the other sigh and throw his hand up as he assured them he understood.

"Look, I know what we got ain't the most 'normal' of relationships. We ain't ever gonna be the type to settle down or stay in one place for too long... But... I love you, Kai, and if there's any chance I can make that love last for as long as damn possible then - shoot- I want to do it. 'Sides, maybe one day we will get out of all of this Overwatch business... and we could settle down somewhere nice, ya know? If you ever want to."

Jesse paused and reached out, finding their hand in his own and giving it a solid squeeze as he licked his lips.

"I just know that there ain't ever gonna be another person as perfect for me as you."

Kai felt the redness of their blush creep up into their cheeks. It warmed the back of their neck and the tips of their ears as Jesse's confession fell with little filter through to their ears. To hear him think so much of them made their heart swell with a love they couldn't possibly begin to describe. It just made them... happy. Happier than anything had made them in their life and - God - it was all they could do not to start crying amongst the heat that was already pooling around them from the day's temperature. So instead they smiled, bright and excited and happy as they gave a tentative nod in his direction.

"...Alright, Jesse McCree... I'll marry you."

Jesse's grin grew wider than they had ever seen it. His face turned bright with blush and happiness as he leaned forward with a hoot of delight, wrapping Kai up in his arms and pulling them into his lap. Kai yelped as they tried to steady their beer glass in one of their hands, only to be interrupted when McCree's lips came crashing down on theirs with eager neediness. They grinned into the kiss as they returned it, the both of them tasting of alcohol and sweat as they sealed their proposal together with it like a letter.

"How do you want to do this?" Kai wondered as they separated. Jesse shrugged and leaned forward to kiss their neck instead, humming into their skin as his arms kept themselves firmly around them.

"Don't care. We should get it done quick, though. If that's what ya want, at least."

"Yeah, that's fine," Kai agreed with a tinge of thought to their words, "I don't want a big ceremony or anything like that... Hey, we could probably just find one of those elopement chapels here right? We'd have to do the paperwork for it all when we get back to Overwatch since we can't exactly give people our names and addresses 'round here but-"

"Fine by me," Jesse mumbled, nipping their skin gently, "So long as we get to celebrate the Honeymoon sooner than later~."

Kai rolled their eyes with a laugh, hitting his shoulder as he grinned up at them. They couldn't help the softness in their gaze as they ran their hands through Jesse's hair, pushing the locks back and watching them reappear in front of his face messily as they did so. Jesse smiled bright up at them, all blushes and puppy dog eyes of adoration as the held them on his lap close. Kai sighed with contentment as they leaned forward, kissing him one last, long and good time for good measure.

"I love you, Jesse McCree."

Jesse's grip grew tighter as they spoke, his nose nuzzling their own as he hummed.

"I love you too, honeysuckle. I always will."