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[The expression he gives Jaeger then is a little...incomprehending of the question of whether he's doing okay or not; he's still smirking a bit, as he does, though it's vague. He'll run the now over the strings again, one at a time in rapid succession, before he deems himself satisfied and lowers the instrument to look at Jaeger properly.

He offers a bit of a shrug, maybe; he's doing well enough, probably.]

That's good enough for me!

[There are plenty of questions he wants to ask: where is Cumore, what is going on right now? Are the other people who are missing there with him? But he's honestly not sure Cumore is experiencing anything weird right now, because he's no longer on Retrospec, and the people who aren't on the network never seem aware that anything's off. Even if he did want to ask Cumore any of these questions, Cumore wouldn't be able to answer in a satisfying way.

So for now he just lets that go, and he focuses on how good it is to see Cumore, even if it probably won't last for long.]

I hope I'll get a chance to spend time with you properly in a little while. We've got a lot of catching up to do, ja?

[Or maybe it just feels that way because Cumore's memories have been altered now that he's off the network.]

[A bit of an odd look at that, perhaps; do we? It kind of takes him a while to work his way through it; it's been a couple of months, right, perhaps they have more to discuss than he thinks they do...

When he nods eventually it's a bit more decisive; he'll be looking forward to it, all right.]

Good, I'm sure it'll be fun! I'll be looking forward to it. I'll be sure to contact you once... things have settled down. You know how it is, I'm always incredibly busy!

[It's because of Retrospec breaking the world, but you know what, Cumore might not be aware of that so it's easier just to act like that's the problem.]

[It's not quite an eyeroll, but it's close. Yes, yes, he knows. He's a busy person as well, after all.]

Don't worry, I'll be sure not to pester you too much if you're busy~!

[It's gentle teasing for once.]

It's been nice seeing you again, but I'll let you get back to your violin. Thanks for humoring me!

[He seems to smile a bit at that, tipping his head a little; he doesn't mind, okay.

...That said, Wesker has been keeping an eye on Jaeger as he interacts with Cumore; he can imagine it's likely difficult for him - it hadn't been easy when it had been Silver - but at least he seems to be keeping himself together well enough. He'll address him when he returns.]

Are you all right...?

I'm...

[Is he all right? He feels sort of jittery, though he's not sure if he's anxious or just worked up.]

I think I'm okay.

[It sounds sort of unsure, but he doesn't seem to be doing badly.]

I... think I want to go home, though.

[He'll stand up easily; come on, let's go.]

It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it.

[It's not exactly a question.]

Yes, it is. I... really am glad I had the chance to see him though.

[He reaches out for Wesker's hand.]

[He'll accept it, all right.]

You'll be able to spend time with him again once this is over.

Of course. And it will be over soon, we don't have any guarantee that things will stay like this for long. It's best not to worry too much, ja?

[His grip is very tight and while the words are light, he's not nearly as confident as he wishes he was.]

Yes, exactly.

[...Come on, Jaeger, you can be a mess in the car if you need to; for now let's just go and try not to trip over Cumore's glitchball cat.]

[Sounds good to him!! He'll carefully avoid the glitchy cat and follow Wesker out. He's very quiet the entire way for once and his grip remains tight. He'll eventually let go once we reach the car and take his seat.]

[Wesker doesn't even like cats but still, that poor damn cat.

Either way, he'll get behind the wheel but he doesn't move to leave yet; just...]

Talk to me...?

I...

[Honestly, he's not really sure what to say for once.]

It really was good to see him again and it seems like he understood what I was saying, but... I don't know. I feel numb? I'm not sure why.

...For one thing, I imagine it's difficult when you can't interact with him properly or know how much he really understands about what's happening. It's hard to say whether he's actually all right or just thinks he is.

Yes, I think that must be it. I really hope he is okay, of course, it's just... a bit difficult to process right now, I think.

[...]

I'm sure he's all right, Jaeger. All of them are. We'll see them again.

Yes, I... I'm sure they are. We'll see them all again soon.

I know that you're worried about them.

[He...isn't sure if he's worried about them as well; that feels like a bit too strong a word. He knows he'll certainly notice if they don't see them again, but...

He'll deal with it later.]

...You know that if I'm ever taken off the network and you aren't, I don't fault you if you want me to be put back on it. You understand that, don't you?

[He knows Jaeger's had a problem with feeling guilty about things like that, with regards to Cumore.]

[Jaeger looks over at that, but his gaze is quick to flick away.]

I... No, I... I imagine you'd feel the same way, ja? It's a very difficult situation, and I don't think it's necessarily wrong to miss someone and wish they were put back on the network, even if that's not a good thing for them and even if they wouldn't like it.

It's just... complicated, I think.

[...]

Thank you, though. I... I'm sorry, I...

[He's doing his best, but that's about as far as he can get. He ends up shaking his head a bit, frustrated, as his shoulders shake.]

[...He'll reach over and run his hand through Jaeger's hair lightly; it's awkward to do anything else in the car, granted, but he can manage that easily enough.]

What are you apologizing for...?

[That's likewise gentle; it's okay.]

[He'll lean into it of course, just focusing on that for a moment to try to calm himself down.]

I didn't think I'd get this worked up...

[He figured things would be worse if Cumore hadn't shown up, but here he is working himself up even though things went surprisingly well. It probably doesn't require an apology, but he's never really sure how to handle getting worked up like this.]

It's all right if you miss him, and if you miss the way things used to be.

[He keeps it up with the hair-playing, steady and gentle.]

Perhaps you can talk to him about it someday, if he's ever put back on the network. Not necessarily about your feelings on it, if you don't want to discuss that with him, though I think that would be a good idea - but just to make sure he'll be all right even if it's difficult for him.

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