Send a 👫 and I’ll write four headcanons I have about our muse’s relationship.
When Jesse was first drafted into Overwatch, he misjudged Jack very badly, subconsciously made him into the representation of every authority figure he ever felt contempt toward, the ‘have’ to every ‘have not’ he was ever resentful of, and for a solid year or so he maintained a steady, stubborn flow of rebellion and hostility toward him that was only held in check by his growing respect and affection for Gabe. Jack isn’t known for freely airing out his past or communicating his baggage, so it took a while for it to really come home to Jesse just where he’d gone wrong in judging him; that having parents doesn’t guarantee love and support, that having a hometown doesn’t guarantee having a place to come home and be welcome, that it can sting just as bad to know you should have had something but didn’t as to have never had a hope of having it at all. Realizing just how wrong he’d been about Jack - gritting his teeth through the humiliation of admitting to a mistake, trying to fix it rather than stubbornly sticking to his guns - was one of a handful of serious acts of humbling that marked a major turning point in Jesse’s personal development as a young adult.
And he did try to fix it. I’d say from about age nineteen going forward, Jesse genuinely, if clumsily tried to shove aside the presumptions he’d made and get to know Jack as he really was, only to discover - to his surprise and lingering, stubborn embarrassment - that he found him genuinely likable, even a little awe-inspiring. Because the legend he’d assumed was propaganda and bullshit actually ended up being pretty goddamned close to the truth.
No one would believe it, hearing it now, but there was actually a time when Jack Morrison was far more into vintage spaghetti westerns than Jesse himself was. The fact that he made the swap from biker trash aesthetic to OK Corral LARPer after meeting Jack is not a coincidence.
While Jesse ultimately liked Jack before the fall of Overwatch, he ends up finding him easier to relate to in a very critical - and cynical - way after he comes back as Soldier 76. Even when he knew him well, Jack Morrison always felt somehow untouchable, larger than life and too good to be true, the kind of person you almost didn’t want to touch for fear that you’d leave smudges. Soldier 76 is a darker, angrier, more bitter man, but his philosophy is one Jesse understands more innately than the shining idealism of years past, and while Jesse being older and more self-confident contributes to the feeling of being on equal footing for the first time, the fact that they’ve both been on the outside and at rock bottom is another important factor. Jesse hates what had to happen for that feeling of understanding and equality to be reached - but that’s life, and he’s always been one to play the hand he’s dealt to the best of his ability.