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[...LISTEN, HE...]

...I'm not sure what else to tell you, other than "I'm not a terribly charming person." I'm sure Elda can tell you all about it.

[...HE IS AWARE OF THIS and it actually doesn't bother him any, it's still reasonably light. he just kinda sucks at this.]

Oh, that's alright! I'm not expecting charm! Oh, but speaking of Elda...

[That dampens his good mood a bit, though he doesn't pull away from Wesker.]

I did tell her I was staying at your place and she looked at me strangely. I didn't tell her anything more, though I suppose I probably should since she invited us both to Thanksgiving.

...I see.

[...And then he just kind of keeps looking at Jaeger expectantly, like he is waiting for some sort of explanation of why the hell any of this is apparently an issue.]

[...]

It might be sort of awkward if we don't tell her we're dating. It'll probably be awkward even after we tell her, but it's most likely better to be upfront about it.

[He's used to lying his way through everything, but this seems like the sort of thing he should probably be honest about. Right?]

[...]

I suppose that makes sense, yes.

...Do you want to tell her or should I?

...I'm honestly not sure which would be best.

[At least he understands why this is going to be awkward?]

[That's definitely a good thing!]

I'm not sure either. I have no idea how she'll take that.

...She does want to speak to me soon, though I don't know that the topic she wants to discuss will lend itself well to that sort of conversation.

What are you two going to discuss? If you don't mind sharing, that is.

She wants to know what my memories have been like for me.

[...]

She...saw the incident with Excella, in the same way that you did.

Ah, I see...

[That's not going to be a fun conversation at all.]

Good luck. You're probably right though, I doubt there will be any point to talk about this. We can work out who would be best to tell her later, I think.

That seems best, yes.

[...]

I'm not particularly looking forward to the conversation with her. She does seem to agree with you, though, on the notion that I don't deserve to die for what happened. At least for now.

[At least for now...

His grip tightens on Wesker's hand.]

I'm glad. I'm sure the conversation won't be pleasant, but it might be good for her to know.

[It might be good to have another opinion on all of this too.]

I do trust her with it.

[So at least there's that.

He's quiet for a moment once that's out there, though.]

I've been trying not to dwell on it as much. The notion of what I do or don't deserve. It's...difficult, and seeing as it's something that I used to be preoccupied with back then as well, it's apparently just something that's always going to be on my mind.

But whether I believe I deserve it or not, the fact of the matter is that I don't want to die.

[He just kind of...breathes for a moment; tries to gather his thoughts.]

I still don't understand why it happened the way it did, but I have reason to believe that I killed myself in my past life, with those viruses I told you about. Whatever the reason was back then, if I've already died once, I'm willing to accept that as penance for whatever it is that I've done. It doesn't feel like enough, and I really don't believe that it was, but at least I was removed from the equation eventually and as it stands, that entire world is dead now, if we can believe Retrospec.

And even if dying before wasn't enough, I don't want to die now. Regardless of what I deserve, I want to stay here, at least for the time being.

[Jaeger listens to all of that quietly. He's not sure he knows what to say to that or how to react, but after a moment of silence and staring at the ground he forces himself to meet Wesker's eyes and he nods.]

I'm sorry to hear that's what happened, but... I think I understand. You've already died once and I don't want to see any harm come to you in this life, so... Thank you. For telling me.

[It's not exactly stunted, but it's obvious he's still working through all of that. It's sort of a lot to take in. His grip on Wesker's hand is tight though; he doesn't want to let go.]

[Wesker stops walking altogether at that, though he doesn't pull away or try to make Jaeger let go of his hand; he simply tugs him gently to a stop before reaching out with his free hand, letting it run lightly over Jaeger's hair for a moment.]

I'll make sure that no harm comes to me. I want to stay here with you, for as long as I'm able.

[Jaeger stops when Wesker does and when Wesker runs a hand through his hair he shivers a bit, though it's not from the cold.]

...I'd like nothing more, Albert.

[He leans into that after a moment, his eyes sliding closed.]

It really is a relief to hear it. I... Thank you. It means so much to me.

You're often saying that you don't want me to be alone - I don't want that for you, either. I won't leave you, all right? For any reason.

[He's still messing with Jaeger's hair a little as he says it; it's nice.]

[He leans into that and hums a bit, the sound pleased.]

I know you won't. I trust you, ja? I'm just so happy to hear it.

Good. I'll do what I can to make sure nothing happens - to take care of myself as best I can, and make sure no harm comes to me if I can prevent it. I think I can promise you that much again.

[Which is definite improvement over that night he first asked you to stay with him.]

[Jaeger's grip tightens on Wesker's hand for a moment and he nods.]

I'm happy to hear it. I'll do everything I can to help, of course! But that... That's a promise I really hope you'll keep!

[He sounds sure that Wesker will keep it. Wesker wouldn't promise unless he thought he could keep it, after all.]

I wouldn't bother making it if I didn't intend to, anyway.

I know. If you weren't absolutely positive, you wouldn't have said it in the first place. It's really nice to hear though, so thank you!

[Again, that gets a quiet assenting noise out of him, though he doesn't leave it at that this time.]

Has it been troubling you?

[Maybe not all the time, but on some level, he thinks it may have, particularly in combination with the network post from several days ago - after all, you're doing the..."confirming things a lot" thing again.]

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