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Jesse was a new recruit when he first met the man who called himself Liao. If that was his real name...well Jesse very much doubted that. The man had a habit of telling tall tales. He wasn't a BAD guy just the kind of shifty that gave him a reputation for trouble among the other recruits.Their meeting had been arranged by Ol' Gabe, after Jesse had disobeyed orders to group up on a co-op mission. Long story short, he ended up getting himself hurt and royally pissing off Morrison. Jesse didn't think the uptight asshole was being fair so he mouthed off. Course, Morrison didn’t like that one bit. Gabe sent Jesse to Liao for disciplinary actions to prevent Morrison from chewing him up and spitting out his bones.“This is Liao.” Gabe had introduced them. “Not only is he our Chief of Security but he is also my friend. You will treat him with respect, understand boy?”The first day into Jesse's disciplinary period had been the standard punishment, double drills followed by swabbing duty. Liao hadn't even been around for most of it, well Jesse hadn’t seen him but he knew he was watching. He showed up in person when Jesse was grumbling while scrubbing a toilet. He had muttered some not so kind things about Morrison and almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the security chief’s dry chuckle behind him."Hey, would you say all that to his face, Sun-dance?" Clearly a jab at Jesse's cowboy hat and bandanna and the fact that he was a kid.Jesse went from being terrified to defiant. If that was how Liao tried to scare him then he was doing a lousy job. "Yeah, I would! Call him down from Mount Olympus and I'll do it right now." It was a stupid thing to say and Jesse wanted to slam his head into the wall as soon as the words left his mouth.Liao raised his eyebrows in apparent shock then smirked as he threw back his head and laughed. "Boy, how do you get your pants on in the morning?” He asked, still laughing.Jesse shrank back sheepishly. "Sir?""With those big balls of yours! No one talks to me that way, much less Morrison." He stopped laughing but was still smirking. "This is going to be fun."It really was no fun at all. Not only was Liao intensely strict when it came to training, he also carried around a riding crop that he wasn't shy about using. Especially when he felt that Jesse was slacking.Late to drills...SLAP!Try and cheat with the number of push-ups...SLAP!Miss a spot while cleaning...SLAP!Complain about anything...SLAP!What Jesse wouldn't give to get that annoying little whip away from him and turn the tables, see if Liao would still be smirking then.Though he supposed things could be worse, if Morrison had his way, Jesse would be in a cell. Liao kept things interesting or at least he could make Jesse laugh with all his ridiculous stories. Reinheardt Wilhelm also told tall tales but he had a way of talking that made it believable, Liao didn't seem to care if it sounded believable or not. Sometimes it sounded like he'd say anything that popped into his head."Don't turn your nose up at dinner, McCree. My team once had to eat our own boots to survive, and when those ran out we all drew straws and ate the one with the shortest. Ah...poor Richard.""One time, Lt. Wilhelm and I stormed a castle in order to rescue our friends but we ended up getting ourselves captured and thrown in the dungeon. You think this is punishment? Try surviving three nights with a snoring Crusader!""There was once a monster in a well at one of the safe houses. Ugly thing, looked like the deranged love child of cousin IT and the Grinch who stole Christmas.""Legends has it that every time Jack Morrison smiles, a kitten dies."Jesse sort of believed the last one."A team is like a chain, it's only as strong as its weakest link." Gabe had shouted during a co-op simulation. Liao stood at his side, smirking and tapping his crop. A silent threat to Jesse that if he didn't follow the group that there would be trouble. Jesse would not be the weakest link.Once the disciplinary period was over Jesse wouldn't be lying if he said he never wanted to see the man again. Still, he did undeniably learn a lot in their short time together. In all the sims afterwards, he made it a point to stay with his team. Appreciated having a tank shield him and a medic to patch him up. If he imagined the enemy team as Liao and his dreaded riding crop, it made things even easier.It wasn't until Jesse managed to piss off Morrison a second time that he saw the crazy bastard again. This time it wasn't even Jesse's fault but Morrison just seemed to hate him personally. Not that Jesse was surprised, clean cut, eagle scout, golden boy, Jack Morrison hated a dirty, trouble making, gang member like him. If the Strike-Commander felt that way, how would the rest of Overwatch see Jesse as anything else? "We really must stop meeting like this." Liao had said without his trademark smirk or any playfulness in his voice. "And here I thought you'd learned your lesson."The fact that Liao was disappointed in him hurt a lot more than Jesse cared admit."You know, I think I might have made a mistake when I took Reyes's offer." Jesse huffed balling up his fists. "I don’t belong here.”“That’s not true at all.” Liao shook his head. “You’re one of us now and we’re lucky to have you.”“Let’s face it, Morrison hates my guts. He wants me gone.” Jesse went on. "Compared to everyone here I'm just some punk kid. I aint like you!"Liao let out a huff that was almost a laugh. "Overwatch has six founding members, and Lucky you, you made enough of an impression to impress each one of us. Yes, even Morrison. Jack can see your potential, he just has no patience when he sees it being wasted.""Morrison can't--" Jesse was prepared to call bull shit on Morrison being impressed but he didn't miss the us in the security chief's statement. "Wait, you're a founder? But you're so...""Young?" Liao finished. "Tell me Sun-dance, how old do you think I am? I don't want you to answer, just subtract thirteen years and that's how old I was when I met the team."Jesse did the math in his head. He assumed Liao was in his mid-twenties but aged him up to thirty just to be safe. That put him at exactly Jesse's age when he started. But that couldn't be true, perhaps Liao was a lot older than he thought?"No..." Jesse shook his head. "You're not the only little delinquent that Gabe ever took a chance on." Liao said. "He took a chance on me and I don't think he's wrong taking a chance on you."Jesse snorted, a bit taken aback. "What's he see in me?""You're a quick draw, sharp shootin', barrel rollin', bad-ass for one thing." Liao shrugged. "You're also honest, brave, and eager to please, quite the charmer too from what Ana tells me." He smiled, genuinely this time. "What's not to like?""...You're just bein' nice now." Jesse couldn't help but crack a smile."Yeah well...Don't go spreading it around." Liao’s smirk returned. "I have a bad reputation to keep up.”“Wouldn’t dream of it, Sir.” Jesse sighed. “So, off to double drills then?”“Yep. I’ll whip you into shape, yet.” Liao snorted pointing the crop Jesse’s way. Jesse laughed at the bad joke, knowing it would be the first of many today. Liao placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Jesse felt a calm but warm energy through the man’s fingers. “Come on, Sundance, you can help me complete my rounds first. When I first joined Overwatch, Colonel Downs use to take me along during his. I learned something about myself, found out I was just as good at securing buildings as I was at breaking into them.”“That a TRUE story or another one of your tall tales?” Jesse sassed.Liao only scoffed, flashing that smirk. “All my stories are true, kid.”