Home is Where the Heart is

4:50 PM

What time is it? Damn; ten more minutes. Can't wait to get the hell out of here... I'll bet Hanzo is glad it's almost time to go home. Too bad Jesse's still on that business trip; Hanzo's suffocating without him. How long has it been? Two minutes; Jesus Christ. Hurry up, Time; I want to go home before my ass of a boss decides it's worth overtime pay to keep me busy. Thank God it's the weekend...

"Hey, Genji!"

Oh, it's Mei. Geez; don't scare me like that, woman...

"Hi, Mei. Need something?"

"I'm here for that report?"

Report? Wait, what report? Shit, fuck; did I forget- Oh fuck, that report!

"The expense report?"

"Right, right; sorry. Let me just..." Come on; where did I put it? "Sorry; I'm a bit of a mess today."

"It's fine! I imagine you're probably excited to go home, aren't you?"

You have no idea.

"Definitely. Do you have plans for the weekend?"

"I'm going to see a movie with Brigitte, Zarya and Angela tonight. Tomorrow, Brigitte and I are going shopping for a new dress, and I promised Zarya I would work out with her on Sunday. What about you?"

"I'm not leaving the house until Monday morning." Hopefully not the bed either.

"Oh, Zenyatta's home?"

Such a cute giggle... Mei's so adorable.

"Yosh! And he has the entire week free and- Ah, here's the report!" Thank God I didn't lose it.

"Ah, thank you!"

"He has the entire week free, and since I have Wednesday off after the meeting with Talon Defenses, we've planned a day-trip to the hot springs."

"Isn't your anniversary next week?"

Oh my God, she remembered that? I love you so much, Mei!

"Yes, but since I'm working Friday, we're celebrating at the hot springs on Wednesday."

"That sounds wonderful! Well, it's five after, so I won't keep you; go home to your husband!"

"Thanks. See you Monday, Mei; have fun at the movies!"

"Bye!"

I have to hurry up and get home. Don't forget my keys... my phone... Any new messages? Don't need that... or that... Spam... Should just delete that app already... Ooh, email from Jesse. What do we have here? Wait; do I have my wallet? Can't leave it behind again... Okay, good. Grab my coat... I'll take the elevator today.

Okay, what's new with Jesse? Mm... Oh, he's back in town! Took him damn long enough... And just in time; I'm not sure Hanzo would have survived another week without him.

'Welcome back! We should hang out this week sometime; '

Wait, should I mention the anniversary? No; if he remembers, he remembers. We'll figure out a time that works with all our schedules. Delete that semi-colon, add an exclamation mark... Send. Good.

Ah, ground floor. Let's not forget to clock out this time... Got it. Get out my keys... Do I need gas? I might top off the tank anyway. And I can swing by Bastion and Orisa's flower shop on the way home; Zen needs another lavender bush in the garden. Ooh, I wonder if they carry mint? I should check; I'm sure he'd love some more herbs to cook with.

Honestly, he and Jesse are too good to be real... I'd burn water if I tried to cook...

Looks like I'm good on gas; straight to Bastion and Orisa's, then. Oh, oil. When is the next change due? I still have a couple hundred more miles; I'll take it in Monday after work, I think. Probably do a full checkup on the engine and tires and everything too.

Such a nice day today... I wonder if Zen will be up for a walk through the neighbourhood. We might need jackets though; it's a bit chillier-

Fuck!

"Jackass!" Don't cut people off like that, motherfucker... Geez...

Thank God for good brakes. I'd better make sure those get checked too, just in case.

Some people...

I hope Zen didn't have to deal with anyone like that on his trip. Why are people so rude to perfect strangers?

Oh, don't miss my turn; is this it? Yep, good. And the flower shop is... right there, perfect.

Such a quaint little place; so colourful. Orisa really knows her craft, that's for sure.

"Good afternoon; I'll be right there!"

"Hello, Orisa."

THUNK

Ouch? That sounded like it hurt...

"Genji? Is that you?" Who else, silly woman? "Genji! So nice to see you again! Your order for next week is coming along nicely; Bastion said he should be able to harvest the flowers by Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on how cold it gets this weekend."

And this is why I love you, Orisa.

"Perfect; thank you! But I'm actually here to see if you have any lavender bushes or mint? Zenyatta came home today and I want to surprise him."

"Oh how sweet! I'm not sure if we have any lavender plants big enough to survive winter... Did you install that greenhouse yet for Zenyatta's garden?"

"That's one of the things we're finishing this week, while he's in town."

"Good, good. Then I think we might have a few good ones left; let me call Bastion. As for mint, we have a selection over on that shelf if you'd like to take a look; I'll be right back."

"Okay, thank you."

Hm. This one's cute. Ooh, but this one has bigger leaves. Mm, and this one smells nice and strong... Okay, it's between this one and this one; should I go for the bigger leaves or the stronger smell? Probably the stronger smell is going to be more potent; I'll go with this one.

Huh. Only six dollars; cheaper than a bouquet of flowers!

"Good news, Genji; we have three lavender plants ready for transplant! One of them is claimed already, but the other two are open. Would you like to see the pictures Bastion sent?"

"No, thank you; I trust your choice."

"Aw, Genji!"

Why are all the women in my life so damn adorable? I wonder how many other customers can say they've made Orisa blush like that.

"Bastion will be here in twenty minutes, if you can wait...?"

"Of course. In the meantime, I'll pay for that and this."

"Excellent! And for being such a loyal customer, Bastion and I have agreed to give you a discount."

"Oh, that isn't necessary..."

"Please! Only the best for our favourite customer."

"Thank you, Orisa."

"Alright; your total comes out to eleven-fifty-nine."

Even better than I hoped. I am never getting my flowers anywhere else now.

"Do you have plans for the weekend?"

Heh. Everyone wants to know...

"If I can get away with it, neither of us is leaving the house this weekend."

"Or the bed, I bet."

Oh hell... Don't wink at me like that, Orisa; you just read my mind and now I'm blushing to high heaven; fuck.

"Maybe."

"Haha! Looks like I hit the proverbial nail on its head!"

"I don't need this embarrassment."

"Wait, Genji, come back; I'm sorry!"

No you're not; you're still laughing. But that's okay; I still love you.

"Sure you are."

"You're correct; I'm not. But I couldn't resist!"

DING

Oh, it's Bastion.

"Hello, Bastion."

"Do you need help unloading, Bast?"

It's a pity he can't talk... but he probably wouldn't even if he could. Not that I blame him; who would want to talk to people in today's world if they didn't have to?

"Let me help; I'll be taking one of the lavender plants anyway, so we can load it directly into my car, and then I'll help you get anything else in here."

"Are you sure you don't want to hurry home to your husband?"

Damn. I really do...

"I can spare a few minutes."

Huh? Oh, that's right; Bastion does speak sign language. That's cool!

"He said it's alright; he only brought the lavender plant and a few extra pots for the storage room."

"Well I guess that settles that, then."

Mm. I can smell it even with the door closed; my car is going to smell like lavender for days now.

Oh damn; that's heavier than I thought it would be! Geez, Bastion must be ripped to make this kind of thing look so easy!

Oof... Finally.

"Thanks for everything; I'll be by on Wednesday for the flowers."

"Of course. Until then!"

Wow. Yep; definitely going to be smelling lavender for a while. At least the greenhouse will smell nice too.

I hope Zen likes it...

Hmm. I wonder what he's planning for supper tonight... Damn, I miss his cooking so much. I hope it's one of those traditional Nepalese meals again; I love those a lot more than I should. But I suppose I wouldn't mind some Japanese food either; it's been a long time since I've had a taste of home, and even Hanzo can't quite get the taste as close as Zen can.

Oh great, now that I'm thinking about food, I'm hungry...

What's the fastest way home? I think if I turn right up here, then left at that one turn and take that road all the way up to there... Yeah, that's what I'll do. What even is the speed limit around here?

Oh, well, fuck. Doesn't even matter now because there's a cop behind me. Jesus fucking Christ... I didn't need an anxiety attack today, thank you very much.

Come on; just pass me already.

Oh fuck! Lights!

I'm not speeding though??

Just pull over...

Oh thank all things good; not for me. Holy fucking hell, I just aged like forty years all at once...

Ugh... I just want to get home and see Zenyatta again...

Here's the turn.

Almost home; finally...

There it is. Ahh, it's good to be home.

Damn. Note to self: don't let Zen plant the mint next to the lavender. I might pass out just carrying this up to the front door, the scents are so strong!

I can't wait to see the look on Zen's face when I give him these.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Genji!"

Definitely good to be home.