Hi Cassie! It me! Your Jesse letter anon! I really hope you enjoyed the letters and I hope you’ll enjoy this little fic that’ll tie it all up <3
Jesse felt like he’d 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 wasn’t going to make it home. That he believed the very dirt beneath his feet would be where he’d 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.
It’s done and over now, no use sittin’ 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, he’d ached to be back with his girlfriend, Cassie. All those letters he’d sent hadn’t even begun to do any sort of justice for the amount of times he’d 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. Shouldn’t 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 wasn’t 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 didn’t have his left hand didn’t mean he couldn’t 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.
“Jesse,” she breathed against him, the immediately familiar smell and presence of just her flooding Jesse’s senses. “Oh my God, you’re finally here.”
If Jesse could smile any wider, he was sure that his cheeks would burst. He hugged her tighter, only regretful that he couldn’t wrap both arms around her properly.
Jesse laughed, all deep chuckles and hoarseness, “I am, sugar. I’m here. I told you I’d come right back to ya.”
Pulling away after a few more moments, Jesse’s 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 Cassie’s 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.
“Ya taste even better than I remember,” he muttered heatedly against her lips, the sweetness of her own tongue on his. His smiled grew as she giggled. “And damn, did I have to do hell of a lot of rememberin’ of ya.”
Cassie pressed her lips firmly against his once more before, almost reluctantly, pulling back and grinning widely at him, “Right back at’cha, cowboy.” But her smile began to fade, “Your letters had me worried..”
At that, Jesse’s own smile faltered as he gave a sigh, “I know, I know. Maybe I should’a kept things a little more comfortin’; should’a fluffed it. But I didn’t wanna lie to ya either. Thought you deserved to be in the know.”
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.
“God, Jesse..” she whispered, her voice shaky. “How..?”
Jesse sighed, “I can’t tell ya all the details. But I got shot at… a lot. A sniper turned my arm to a shitty mess. Doctor’s couldn’t salvage it. But it’s alright. Really.”
Trying his best at a reassuring smile, he attempted to lighten his tone, “If anything, I’m more upset at my hat gettin’ ruined than my arm.”
It seemed to work. A little. Cassie’s 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.
“Ya found it!” Jesse exclaimed, using his hand to adjust it with a toothy grin. “You know just how to make me happy, Cassie.”
Suddenly, her arms were around his shoulders once more, pulling him closely into her. He didn’t hesitate before he was returning the hug, the feeling of Cassie’s fingers weaving into the hair at his neck and tightening as she buried her face into his neck.
“Welcome home, Jesse McCree,” she whispered against him, the heat of her breath making Jesse shiver with happiness. “I love you.”
Jesse’s arm tightened around her, holding her close, “And I love you, pumpkin.”
