Home Again [Anusha]

It had been nearly three decades since she'd seen her brother in person, not in phone calls or video calls or letters...actually face to face. There was a little twinge of both nerves and excitement in her stomach at the thought, she wondered what had made him change his mind to come back. She'd suggested it before but he'd always had excuses, whatever had made him change his mind, she was glad for it.

She stood near baggage claim for the flight recently arrived from Chicago, scanning the crowds looking for her brother, she wasn't entirely sure what he looked like these days. She knew she'd gotten older and didn't look quite as she had before, and she imagined it had been the same for him.

But then she spotted him through the crowd and it almost felt like if all that time hadn't passed. She smiled brightly and waved, bouncing on the heels of her feet to try and stand a little taller over the crowd. "Harley! Over here!" She called out, working her way closer to him.

Harley was getting ready to go and start looking on foot when he heard a voice calling his name, clear as a bell even of the din of the airport, "Nushie!" He waved back to her eagerly as he started to quickly slip his way through the crowd, trying not to push too much in his eagerness, though that was hard to do and he had to give a few apologies for toes tread on and shoulders bumped.

When he finally got to her he laughed and hugged her tight, giving her the tightest squeeze he could manage before letting go, "Goodness Nushie you have grown!" But she still seemed as lively as he remembered her being. He laughed softly and swallowed an emotional lump as he ran a hand over his eyes, "gods I have missed you so much..." He chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear with a grin, "I am sorry for not coming sooner...Between work and everything else I have been...Very busy..." He laughed and wiped at his misty eyes again, "and what about you? Have you been well?" There was an eager tone in his voice, eager to hear about what she'd been up to.

She laughed happily, all but jumping into his arms and hugging him back tightly. "It's so good to see you!" She smiled, but also found herself shedding a few tears that she wiped away a little sheepishly.

"Well, I got old, if that's what you mean by growing." She teased lightly. "It has been a couple years after all..."

She stepped back, looking up at him, taking him in. "You're always busy, you always have been." She chided a little, but the smile never slipped. "You're looking so good." He really was, whatever his was up to in his current life was obviously agreeing with him.

"I've been busy too, and well. Things are going really well for me. I can't wait to tell you everything, show you everything, have you meet everyone." She looked back to the conveyor belt. "Do you have any luggage? We can get your things, then get out of here."

Harley chuckled and gave her a rather cheeky grin, sticking his tongue out at her childishly, "Ha! If you are old what does that make me?" It was strange seeing her looking so mature and grown, though he imagined that feeling was mutual, she was still the same person he knew, even if she was older, "you have not aged a day. It is so good to see you face to face again." He was glad he wasn't the only one getting teary eyed, noting her wiping them away.

He ran a hand through his curly hair and laughed, nodding, "it is true, life has been...Interesting...As of late." He knew it wasn't wise to give her too many details about Overwatch and his involvement, "life has been much better as of late, yes." This was thanks in whole to Ian's presence, he wondered what she would think of the idea, she'd always been a bit more traditional than himself.

He shook the thought away and smiled, looking over to catch his bags coming down the belt, grabbing them, "yes! Just this, I am eager to talk more without all of the background noise of the airport!" He grinned and nudged her, "lead the way! You can tell me all about it on the way, yes?"

"Interesting?" She asked, looking up at him as she linked her arm with his and started heading out of the crowded airport. "Interesting good? Looking at you I'd say interesting good." She remembered the few times they'd talked when he'd seemed so beaten down, she was happy to see that he looked like he was in good spirits and health now.

"Well, work has still been keeping me busy. You'll finally get to meet your nephews for real!" She beamed at the thought, they were teenagers now and had never actually met their uncle face to face, she realized with a bit of a twinge. So much time had passed around them. "I've told them all the stories about you. And about us as children...we used to be incorrigible!" She laughed.

He chuckled and waved his hand, "you know, helping veterans...It is never a dull day." He wouldn't mention all the stabbing attempts, bold failed and succeed, "very good. I am happier than I have been since coming home." He could remember those calls where he barely had the life in him to muster up a decent conversation, "I have the job I wanted...And...Well I met someone." He laughed and ran a hand over the back of his neck, looking bashful at the admittance.

He glanced up with an eager expression, his eyes wide, "Oh yes! I am very eager to meet them...Gods they must be so big..." He shook his head, "I should not have stayed away so long..." His voice sounded sad at that, but he chuckled and looked up at her, "oh yes? Well we had plenty of stories to tell, eh? We were little terrors." They ran their parents and older siblings ragged trying to keep up with the pair, like a tornado, he remembered their mother affectionately commenting once.

She nodded. "Big...well, they are all far taller than I am, and they are hardly children anymore either...my youngest is 16...oof, when did that happen?" She sighed, but then laughed again. "When they were younger they actually reminded me of us quite a bit...feisty and a handful! But they've grown up to be such good boys!" She beamed as she spoke about them.

She looked up at him in sharp curiosity as he mentioned meeting someone. Her brother had never seemed to have much interest in romance or settling down, at least not that he ever mentioned to her. Maybe that was part of why he seemed so happy, and she was happy for him. He deserved to be happy. "Oh? Who have you met? You've never mentioned anyone before...tell me all about them!" She encouraged.

They headed out of the terminal, heading across the parking lot as they continued to talk.

Harley laughed and whistled at that, "goodness! Unlucky for them you knew all those tricks, eh?" He chuckled, their own childhood had been a good preparation for this he imagined. He smiled and nodded, "well they had the best mother to teach them to be. I am glad you have such a big happy family." He looked curious and tilted his head, "does your husband treat you well?" He better, Harley mused, even if they weren't that far apart age wise, they had always been extremely protective over each other, he supposed old habits died hard.

He laughed and looked away with a bashful expression when she inquired about who he'd met, running a hand through his hair, "his uh...His name is Ian." He smiled thinking about him, "he is the kindest man I have ever known...So gentle. He is a doctor." He looked at her and chuckled, "he has a son that is 20, they're both brilliant, really." He cleared his throat, "Ian was a patient of mine...It is really so unprofessional...But we clicked so well." He couldn't help a wistful sort of fond sigh as he followed her out to the parking lot.

She smiled. "He's a good man. He's always taken very good care of his family, and he's a very kind and reasonable man." Theirs had never been a traditional romance in the sense that most would think of it, more an arranged situation, but she had gotten very lucky with the man she had been married to, and she'd grown very fond of him over their time together, a good partnership between them.

She blinked in a moment of surprise as he explained who he was in a relationship with, but after that moment of pause she realized...it didn't really surprise her that much. In the back of her mind she'd asked herself that about him in the past and...well...there was her answer.

"And you care about him a great deal." She answered, looking up at him. "I can see it in your face...he's been good for you." She smiled. "I'm glad. You deserve to be happy."

Harley relaxed and looked pleased by her response, glad to see that she'd been paired with someone that suited her as well as it sounded like he did, "good. I am glad you have a good man at your side." He cast a somewhat sly, playful smirk in her direction, "I might have had to share words with him otherwise." The amusement on his face showed that he was mostly joking about that, regardless there was clearly no need to go protective brother, she was happy, "you are happy and I can see that in your face...I am glad you found that." He nudged her, "all while keeping your career too eh? Have you been as merciless in work as you always were?"

He was sure the relief showed on his face after that momentary pause and her words, he'd always been nervous to express these feelings to his family, when he finally realized that they were there, but he supposed he shouldn't be surprised, "he has been...It was him that urged me to visit...Said I could use a vacation." He chuckled softly then cleared his throat and looked to the side, "I do not intend to tell the rest of our family...So it is just between us, okay?" He smiled at her a little, they had loving parents, and he could respect their feelings enough to know when something just didn't need to be said. He knew there was a chace it would get to them anyway, but he would deal with that if it happened.