[Jet seemed to think about it for a moment but then shook his head...only that was a bad idea. He pressed a palm to his temple till his brain stopped spinning then got back to his feet to follow Albert.]
You were making something, though. I could just lay on the couch till you're done.
[He didn't really care so long as 1) Albert was near and 2) he was horizontal.]
[Another so very patient sigh and Albert shakes his head.]
No, it's alright. The automatic food is better anyway.
[He half leads half drags Jet towards the bedroom. He'd mostly been cooking as a form of nostalgia, missing his old team, their family, but this member of his family here now - the one dearest to his heart - needs help and he'll drop everything to tend to Jet.]
I'll get you some water in a moment. How much did you drink?
It's alright. I'm not surprised, considering. As long as it's not a habit.
[He gets Jet laying down, wondering if it was Molotov that he spoke to and deciding that it must be. A few minutes later and he's back with a glass of water and something akin to saltine crackers.]
Drink this. You don't have to eat the crackers if you don't want them, you just have to finish the water glass.
[Jet shakes his head and sits up a bit when Albert comes back. He's pretty sure Albert's well aware it would never be a habit, but he answers anyway.]
No. And if it does, I've already told you what you should do with me.
[Push him off a roof that doesn't have a forcefield. At least, he was pretty sure that was what he'd said, maybe it wasn't quite that. But it still applied.
Either way, he reached for the water and drank down nearly half of it in one go before sitting up all the way so his legs were crossed and setting the glass down on the bedside table.
Without looking up at the German (the light would be too bright if he did that) he reached up and tugged on his partner's shirt to get him to sit down. He snagged the crackers too while he was at it. Might as well try and eat something to absorb this shit.]
[Albert grunts, but there's no way he'll actually kill Jet for something like that. Get him help, yes. Forbid him ever drink again, yes. But nothing more drastic and he's certain Jet knows this.
He's about to go get Jet a hairband in case his body decides to dispel all the American had ingested - it'd make things a little less messy, anyway - but instead he's tugged into sitting next to his fiance on the bed. With yet another small sigh, he runs a hand through that blond hair.]
Was it the arena or something else?
[There could be any number of things to cause Jet to overindulge. Albert wants to know which demon he's dealing with.]
[He rested his head on his partner's shoulder, one of his hands finding a tight grip on the other man.]
The arenas.
[His voice got quieter.]
I'm tired. I can't keep watching you die, Al. I'm afraid you won't come back when I wake up.
[But it wasn't just that. Maybe if there weren't alcohol running through his system, he'd keep his mouth shut and keep his fears to himself. He was supposed to be strong for his partner and keep supporting him so Jet wouldn't lose him again. Wouldn't lose him like he'd almost lost him on Valhalla. But with his two biggest fears seeming to constantly hang over his head, it was hard not to think about them.]
...I'm afraid that something they do'll be too much--like those zombies or whatever they were--and I won't be able to help anymore. You'll pull away from me. You'll go where I can't follow.
[He could take care of Albert all he wanted, protect him, do everything in his power, but if that darkness won out, there wouldn't be anything Jet could do to keep the man he loved with him. And that scared him more than his partner dying. Dying Jet could do.]
[At first, Albert thought it was Jet feeling how he'd felt all these years, having to stand aside and watch the American greet death more than once, hating himself for not stopping it, for not protecting the person he cared for most, and that he can relate to all too easily.
But it's not the same monster, not entirely. What Jet's talking about is something he's thankfully (and miraculously, given his history) never experienced. Something that's plagued Albert for so many years and rears its ugly head suddenly when things become too much. It closes in, blocks out the light, and leaves him in utter and complete darkness. Jet may not completely understand it, but somehow he's always been the one to shine through. Albert lives in fear of a day when it doesn't work.
Jet apparently does too.]
I'm sorry...
[What else does he say? He's silent for a long moment trying to figure it out, filling the silence with shifting so he can hold his fiance close.]
I know it's difficult. If there was some cure, I would take it in a heartbeat, but what I can promise you is this.
[He fills Jet's hands with his own, looking his inebriated partner in the eyes white to blue.]
If I feel that I'm slipping, I'll tell you before it happens. I promise I'll do everything I can to hold on.
[He squeezes Jet's hand, the metal of the blond's ring digging into the gap between his fingers.]
[Oddly enough, that helped. Maybe it was Albert looking right at him so Jet knew it was the truth, maybe it was that squeeze of his hands, but he did feel honestly better for it.
He straightened up and leaned their foreheads together, nodding slightly.]
Okay. I'm holding you to that.
[Maybe, as long as he had warning, he could fight off those demons tooth and nail.]
I'll always fight for you. Even if that's forever.
[Because just as Jet may be worth living for, Albert was worth fighting for.]
[That, in turn, makes Albert feel safe somehow. That Jet will keep fighting for him against any odds, against his own demons. And the way his partner says it makes it sound possible for him to win.
Albert's eyes fall shut, just feeling Jet's forehead against his own comfortably as he holds the blond close.]
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You were making something, though. I could just lay on the couch till you're done.
[He didn't really care so long as 1) Albert was near and 2) he was horizontal.]
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No, it's alright. The automatic food is better anyway.
[He half leads half drags Jet towards the bedroom. He'd mostly been cooking as a form of nostalgia, missing his old team, their family, but this member of his family here now - the one dearest to his heart - needs help and he'll drop everything to tend to Jet.]
I'll get you some water in a moment. How much did you drink?
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He didn't actually answer his partner until he'd found a seat on the mattress. He shrugged, sluggish mind trying to dredge up an answer.]
Dunno. Had a few drinks with this chick--who's got the worst name in the world--then had a few more. I don't remember.
[He winced as his own words filtered through his head.]
Too many. Sorry.
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[He gets Jet laying down, wondering if it was Molotov that he spoke to and deciding that it must be. A few minutes later and he's back with a glass of water and something akin to saltine crackers.]
Drink this. You don't have to eat the crackers if you don't want them, you just have to finish the water glass.
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No. And if it does, I've already told you what you should do with me.
[Push him off a roof that doesn't have a forcefield. At least, he was pretty sure that was what he'd said, maybe it wasn't quite that. But it still applied.
Either way, he reached for the water and drank down nearly half of it in one go before sitting up all the way so his legs were crossed and setting the glass down on the bedside table.
Without looking up at the German (the light would be too bright if he did that) he reached up and tugged on his partner's shirt to get him to sit down. He snagged the crackers too while he was at it. Might as well try and eat something to absorb this shit.]
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He's about to go get Jet a hairband in case his body decides to dispel all the American had ingested - it'd make things a little less messy, anyway - but instead he's tugged into sitting next to his fiance on the bed. With yet another small sigh, he runs a hand through that blond hair.]
Was it the arena or something else?
[There could be any number of things to cause Jet to overindulge. Albert wants to know which demon he's dealing with.]
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[He rested his head on his partner's shoulder, one of his hands finding a tight grip on the other man.]
The arenas.
[His voice got quieter.]
I'm tired. I can't keep watching you die, Al. I'm afraid you won't come back when I wake up.
[But it wasn't just that. Maybe if there weren't alcohol running through his system, he'd keep his mouth shut and keep his fears to himself. He was supposed to be strong for his partner and keep supporting him so Jet wouldn't lose him again. Wouldn't lose him like he'd almost lost him on Valhalla. But with his two biggest fears seeming to constantly hang over his head, it was hard not to think about them.]
...I'm afraid that something they do'll be too much--like those zombies or whatever they were--and I won't be able to help anymore. You'll pull away from me. You'll go where I can't follow.
[He could take care of Albert all he wanted, protect him, do everything in his power, but if that darkness won out, there wouldn't be anything Jet could do to keep the man he loved with him. And that scared him more than his partner dying. Dying Jet could do.]
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But it's not the same monster, not entirely. What Jet's talking about is something he's thankfully (and miraculously, given his history) never experienced. Something that's plagued Albert for so many years and rears its ugly head suddenly when things become too much. It closes in, blocks out the light, and leaves him in utter and complete darkness. Jet may not completely understand it, but somehow he's always been the one to shine through. Albert lives in fear of a day when it doesn't work.
Jet apparently does too.]
I'm sorry...
[What else does he say? He's silent for a long moment trying to figure it out, filling the silence with shifting so he can hold his fiance close.]
I know it's difficult. If there was some cure, I would take it in a heartbeat, but what I can promise you is this.
[He fills Jet's hands with his own, looking his inebriated partner in the eyes white to blue.]
If I feel that I'm slipping, I'll tell you before it happens. I promise I'll do everything I can to hold on.
[He squeezes Jet's hand, the metal of the blond's ring digging into the gap between his fingers.]
It's easier with something to live for.
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He straightened up and leaned their foreheads together, nodding slightly.]
Okay. I'm holding you to that.
[Maybe, as long as he had warning, he could fight off those demons tooth and nail.]
I'll always fight for you. Even if that's forever.
[Because just as Jet may be worth living for, Albert was worth fighting for.]
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Albert's eyes fall shut, just feeling Jet's forehead against his own comfortably as he holds the blond close.]
We'll make it through this. Together.