||Thank god I was working. Is it weird for me to say that? 💧

His eyes rolled, he moved the conversation to a subject he considered a bigger priority.

“How are you feeling now?”

Though he has identified the shifts in Leon’s behavior, Chris was unsure if this changed naturally or under the beer’s influence.

“That hasn’t ended. But lately, I’ve found taking action to be more convincing than talking.”

He shrugged.

“Besides, doing it this way is more. . . Therapeutic than chatter.”

|| Wait I can’t send pics—

||Of course those creeps. I’ll send the DM. This happened over 2 years ago so I only have tidbit of that nonsense.

||Wait. Since when did you have a dang Seph?

||Noted.

He looked down at his second cup then pushed the drink to him. The soldier wanting to keep a clear head. . . and preventing himself from a potential fragile fuse being blown in his intoxicated state.

“Hmph. Whatever. I never said I was as sharp tongued as I used to be.”

||Got it. Now that we’ve both informed each other of our biggest icks, interactions onward will go smoothly. I can assure that.

||You’d be surprised. Nonetheless, so long as pedo or zoophilia isn’t involved (cause those make me cringe the hardest) I don’t have much discomforts. Too old for that behavior anyway. You can plot with me anytime you’re comfortable.

||Pffft. After all the crap I went through in FF verse I should be the shy one. Especially after the BS from those weirdos who lied about me causing someone’s self harm cause I refused to make Tseng kiss teen Seph. 💧

two cats are sitting on a white couch and one is standing on its hind legs ALT: two cats are sitting on a white couch and one is standing on its hind legs

||STOP. BEING. INTIMIDATED. OVER. ME.

||That’s respectable. Even more so if the people who interact with you voice their discomforts beforehand instead being automatically outraged over a dislike you weren’t made aware of in advance.

||If those types of people can’t, it makes me wonder how they became RE fans because most of that lore is fairly twisted. Regardless, I digress.

||Nothing wrong with that dynamic one bit. Enjoy yourself.

Grunting. He balled up a napkin from the table and threw it at Leon’s forehead.

“Eat shit. You wouldn’t know who’s full of it if they stood there clothed in neon.”

As common as he insulted so tactlessly, this one was more playful than usual.

“No.”

He said lowly with the cup still near his lips. His brow twitched from frustration. Of all the moments he could’ve let his emotions slip, he did it in front of Leon. A long sigh left emitted as he lowered the cup back to the table.

He groaned lightly while drinking more of his beer. Perhaps drinking a little more than usual in a desperate attempt to stop feeling bashful.

“Shut up.”

“Maybe. . .”

His head shook.

“But I’m not heartless. I know when to not push a body beyond its limits. In a case like yours, I have to take other factors into consideration.”

He paused before realization eventually hit him.

“Don’t take this as me going soft on you. This is anything but.”

—

Head tipped slightly while thinking.

“It’s not going to be intense, of course. But you know what they say about exercising helping the immune system a bit.”

“Heh. I guess that’s what age does to anyone. I train often, but I’ve dealt with my share of physical problems.”

His arms folded.

“That said. Maybe I can squeeze time in my schedule to train with you.”

—

He nodded once though his doubtful behavior didn’t match the accept. Taking a few more gulps of his drink. For a while, the were quiet until he eventually had a question in mind.

“Is there anything else I should know about your condition?”

He also took his cup and drank some of the beer. The man nearly choking on his drink when he saw how much Leon drank.

“Woah there. You definitely won’t be getting up anytime soon if you drank that fast.”

Though he wasn’t one to talk. He made that mistake before.

—

“I’ll have to admit. It feels good just having an ordinary time instead of piloting all the time.”

His laugh mild and bitter.

Chris looked at him with a smirk as he put the phone back in his pocket. Heading into the building with him. After a moment of finding a table that was near the window and ordering a couple of beers for the both of them, he finally relaxed a little.
—

—

parked near the front entrance door and turned off the vehicle.

Retrieving his phone out his pocket to delete some things while waiting for Leon to come out.

“Haha. Deal.”

As much as he enjoyed not allowing Leon to live that down, he really had no interest in the photo. So, though not telling him, he planned to delete the image when they got to their destination. Now at the bar, he

—

He let out a small laugh, turning his truck to the street that leads to a bar.

“We’ll see about that. Make sure not to sleep on the floor this time. Cause I still have that picture from the last time you did it.”

He nodded, thinking. An amused smirk appearing on his lips from memory.

“How about I offer you a drink instead like old times? We both seem to need it anyway.”

—

being, let’s focus on finding a way to slow down the symptoms while we search for the cure. And I do have medicine that’s powerful enough to ease pain temporarily.”

He lowers his hand and drove again when he noticed vehicles finally moving.