Chapter 31
"A fire?" Nikolo asks in disbelief as he, Thomas and some of their colleagues share a drink after work "How!?"
"Dunno" his superior who never acted like it replied "No one does, apparently. No clear evidence pointing to anyone or anything has been found; for all we know, it could've just been an unfortunate electric failure."
"Or the damn devils set it up" Nikolo knew someone would suggest that, which is why he managed to keep his face from betraying anything when he heard it. Or so he hoped, but he no longer put it past Thomas to notice even the smallest of changes. Thankfully, the guy wasn't looking in his direction right now.
"Why would they do that?" Thomas asks "If they wanted to start something, they wouldn't need to bother using petty tricks. They have the Founding Titan, so they have the rumbling. If they wanted to get rid of us- "
"-They would" their superior finished, and Nikolo noted the few very pale faces at his table. Small part of him found it pleasant, even though he was fully aware that this would only make their fear of Eldians grow.
"That's exactly why I think it was an accident" the man continued "They have no need for little tricks like that, and no one in our own ranks would be dumb enough to do something so provoking on their turf."
"No one?" one of the guys Nikolo's known since he was stationed to the ghetto asks "Not even Jonas?"
Their superior chokes on his drink before cursing.
"Right, Jonas…" he mutters "Surely not even him… right?"
It takes Nikolo a moment to realize that everyone is looking at him. Right, of course they were; he was Jonas' partner after all.
"Not even Jonas" he confirms with a shrug "He's a troublemaker, not an idiot. He knows to pick a time and a place for his tricks."
What he left unsaid was that there was a possibility no one had brought up yet, one that he considered very likely. In Nikolo's opinion, it was possible that someone from Paradis who didn't like the current arrangement and actually wanted the rumbling to happen might have set the fire.
"And if that's the case, they might strike again"
XXXXX
Nikolo hadn't been on the ship this time, either. Sasha had only realized to check after the ship had unloaded its passengers and taken new ones in, which was a first. She'd been so preoccupied with her goodbyes that she had forgotten to keep a keen eye on who walked down the ramp, or even get her hands on the list. She'd only done so the day after, when Jean had already gone through it and informed her that there was no one they knew.
But she'd wanted to check, just in case.
And of course, his name wasn't there. As always, Sasha was disappointed, but she felt like she wasn't as disappointed as usual. It made sense, of course; by now, it's what she'd come to expect. It made things easier and yet, at the same time, she was afraid. Afraid that every time it got easier, she'd be closer to not caring, and every time she became closer to not caring, she'd become closer to forgetting.
She didn't want to forget. Not now, not ever.
"You look a little sour" Samuel comments "Did you miss lunch?"
"Never" she answers "I was just… thinking."
Samuel quirks an eyebrow.
"About?"
Sasha opens her mouth to tell, but then closes it. Samuel didn't really know Nikolo, she wasn't sure if they had even met each other or not, so it was unlikely he'd understand. Or maybe he'd just tell her to forget about him like everyone else did. She didn't want to deal with that now.
"…Stuff" she just said, averting her eyes "No worries; it's nothing that concerns you."
Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Samuel frown, but he doesn't comment any more on it. Instead, he changes the subject.
"Do you think we'll be stuck working closely with a pair of Marleyans again?"
"Could be, and I wouldn't mind" she says with a smile "Went well with the last pair too, no?"
"Excluding your head injury and Jonas' leg, sure" Samuel snorts "How is your head, by the way?"
"Fine" she answers, touching it "It still hurts a little if I touch the specific spot, but other than that, fine."
"And she didn't seem to get any dumber, either" Jean points out as he comes over "Fortunately."
"Go back to your stables, Horse face!" Sasha snaps, making Jean snort "All these years working together and that old insult is all you can come up with?"
"Working on insults isn't exactly a soldier's task" Samuel says, trying to break up the upcoming fight "Speaking of which, did you seek us out for a reason?"
"Yeah, actually" Jean says, getting Sasha's full attention. She could get back at him later "Emil's team is helping with the cargo, but he gave me a heads up that there's two in the bunch who might pick a fight with the Marleyans, so- "
"You want us to babysit?" Sasha sighs "Can't someone else do it?"
"Unless you want to ask the captain for me, no" Jean says "Besides, you need to take it easy for now, so keeping an eye on things and just giving orders when needed is good for you. I don't think you should get too physical just yet."
"But I'm fine" Sasha protests, yet sighs in defeat "But sure, we'll do it. Anything to avoid trouble, with all that's been going on."
"Speaking of trouble" Jean starts, his face serious as he lowers his voice. That's not a good sign, Sasha knows "We talked with some Marleyan higher ups. By now, it's clear that the fire wasn't an accident. Someone tampered with the electric wires."
Sasha gulped. She had feared that it wasn't an accident, but for it to be confirmed…
"Who?" Samuel asked "Was it a Marleyan? Or…"
"We don't know yet" Jean cuts him off "Which is why this will be known only by a few. Besides the three of us, the only Eldians who know are Commander Hanji and Captain Levi. The Marleyan officers are also careful on who they tell, so for now, not a word to anyone. Not even those you trust the most."
Sasha didn't miss the pointed look she just got, one that clearly screamed "don't tell Connie." And she wouldn't, but only because that was the order.
"Understood" Samuel says "But since you're telling us, I take it you want us to do something?"
"Just keep your eyes open. More so than usual, that is" Jean says "If you notice something suspicious, do not act on it on your own. Inform me, the commander or the captain and wait for further instructions."
"Got it" Sasha says, an idea coming to her "I know you said not to tell anyone, but shouldn't we talk about this to Armin? He's so smart; he could come up with something."
"That's a last resort" Jean says "To come up with something, he'd have to come here. The Marleayns wouldn't take well to being near the Colossal Titan, especially after the fire. It could cause even more tension, and perhaps make even more people to act out."
Jean sighs.
"And to be honest, I don't want him to know" he says, much to Sasha's surprise "If at all possible, I'd like him to live the rest of his days in peace, reassured that everything will be fine even after he's gone."
Sasha smiles at the man's words, though her smile is a sad one.
"Yeah, you're right…" she mutters "We shouldn't get him involved."
"Glad that we're in an agreement" Jean says "I need to head back. Find me if you notice anything."
"We will" Sasha assures. After Jean is gone, Samuel asks: "Do you really think that whoever caused the fire is from our side?"
"It's possible" she says "We've had our fair share of troublemakers… not that I want to suspect our comrades, but we have to be realistic."
When Samuel didn't say anything to that, Sasha looked at him with a frown.
"I mean it, Samuel. As much as I don't want to suspect them, we can't overlook anything" she says "So if something seems suspicious, report it, even if it's from one our own, okay?"
It wasn't okay, she could tell. Samuel looked extremely uncomfortable.
"…Alright" he relented with a sigh "You have a point after all. And if it's one our own, then at least we don't have to fear being directly attacked."
Sasha shuddered.
"Yeah…" she says, but inwardly, Samuel's words had made her realize that that might not be the case. If someone wanted the peace to break, what better way than causing causalities? And if the culprit was one of their own, it'd be easier for him or her to sneak up on one of them than on a Marleayn. If the person thought that a life or two was an acceptable sacrifice… "I need to bring this up with the commander."
XXXXX
"Yo"
Finishing up his shift, Nikolo hadn't expected to see Jonas waiting at the gates, but there he was, leaning against the outer wall.
"Are those crutches next to him?" Nikolo wondered, immediately wondering if the guy had some trouble in Paradis or if he'd hurt his leg on the way back. Hopefully the later, but knowing him…
"What happened to your leg?" he asks. Jonas snorts.
"What, no hello?" he says "Everyone starts with that. And here I thought that you, since you're well, you, would at least greet me before asking."
Nikolo had a pretty good idea what the man meant with his jab, but knew better than to take the bait.
"Right, hello Jonas" he says, rolling his eyes "And the leg?"
"Just an accident while on duty, and totally not my fault" he answers "You've heard about the fire by now, right?"
"Who hasn't?" Nikolo says with a sigh. He'd been a bit down once he'd realized that it would hinder the plans of Eldia building a pace on Marley, but kept telling himself that, considering their history together, there was bound to be setbacks. As long as another war didn't break out, all should be good "You were in the building during it?"
"Yeah, I was carrying stuff out when it started, but had trouble getting out when things suddenly got worse" Jonas said, and he looked like he wanted to add something, but he didn't. He just changed the subject "So, I take it you're my stand in?"
"Sure thing" Thomas says, holding out a hand "Thomas."
"Jonas" he says as he takes the hand "Has there been any trouble while I was away?"
"Just small things; nothing to worry about" Thomas assures. Nikolo almost adds that it's because Thomas isn't the type to look for trouble, but decides against it. Annoying Jonas right away would be petty, especially when he hadn't done anything yet. Keyword yet; he'd do something in time.
"Good; I wouldn't want to be stuck doing paperwork while there was a full-blown rebellion going on" Nikolo honestly wasn't sure if it was because Jonas hated paperwork or because he'd want to be out there to beat and restrain the Eldians. Or both "Paperwork is such a pain already as it is."
"Of course, even if he wanted to beat people up, he's smart enough to not say it out loud here" Nikolo thinks "Shouldn't you be doing paperwork right now, too?"
"I already finished for the day" he says with a shrug "So I thought you and I could catch up since I saw your schedule. You're free right now, no?"
He was. He'd been planning to go for a run, directly from work so that he wouldn't need to deal with Ulrich, but it's not like he'd promised to meet up with his friends specifically today or anything. Now the question was, did he want to deal with Jonas or should he come up with an excuse?
"Why not?" he decided "I haven't seen him in a while and it's not like I hate him. Plus, I need to confirm if he delivered the letter or not."
With Jonas, it could've gone either way but who knows, if he'd delivered it, then maybe Sasha had sent him a reply.
Suddenly in a good mood thanks to the possibility, even though he knew he shouldn't get his hopes up, Nikolo answered: "Yeah, I am. I'll just need to get changed."
"I'll see you tomorrow, then" Thomas tells him, adding for Jonas: "And I'm sure you and I will see each other around as well."
"Sure thing" Jonas said "You go on ahead to change; it'll take me a while to catch up anyway."
"Got it" Nikolo says. While he often went home with the uniform on, he always had a change of clothes in the base, fortunately. With that, it didn't take him long to get changed, and when he walked out of the small dressing room, he saw Jonas waiting for him.
"Where to?" he asks, eyeing the crutches "Somewhere close, I take it."
Jonas rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, but I could walk far if I needed to. The doctor said not to strain it too much, though" he says, and Nikolo smirks "Sure thing."
Jonas glares at him, but the look is gone as soon as it comes.
"You know, you're the first one not to blame this injury on the Eldians or to ask if they did it" he says and Nikolo freezes, but only for a few seconds before he regains his composure "Well, I did ask you what happened, immediately, like you complained, and you said it was the fire. What reason would I have to doubt you?"
"None, I suppose, but you could've asked for more details" Jonas answers, getting up from the bench and taking off with his crutches. Nikolo follows "Or even commented on how I shouldn't have gone there in the first place."
"I was the one who dared you to do it" Nikolo reminds him "Sorry about that, I suppose. Seems like it was a bad idea."
"Not really; what happened to my leg was nothing but an unfortunate accident" he snorts "Or well, maybe calling it that is an understatement; I nearly died after all."
Nikolo nearly trips, both because of the information and how lightly Jonas says it, but catches himself.
"You what!?" he asks "Just what the hell happened!?"
"Lower your voice will you; people are staring" Jonas hissed, and Nikolo glanced around, seeing that it was true. With a slight blush of embarrassment, he coughed, saying: "Sorry. So, how did that happen?"
"I was carrying stuff out from the burning building, like I said earlier. Things got worse suddenly and the place started collapsing. I got stuck" he shrugs "I would've died in there had I not gotten help; there's no way I would've made it out on my own."
Jonas tried to play it off like it was no big deal, and at first, he had managed to fool his partner, but now Nikolo could hear the faint tremble in his voice, could see the not quite there -look in his eyes. Signs of trauma. It wasn't all that severe, he supposed. If it were, Jonas would avoid talking about it, wouldn't he?
"Should I call his bluff?" Nikolo wondered. He didn't want to make the man uncomfortable, but he was clearly pretending to be finer than he actually was, and Nikolo knew from experience that if one kept bottling up their negative feelings, it'd be only a matter of time before they got out of control. Like the time after he'd gotten out of the isolation cell at Paradis and-
"No" he told himself "It's fine, I'm fine. I've cleared it all up, together with Sasha and the others."
For the most part, at least. Certain memories still haunted him, but that was normal, he was sure. He was able to cope just fine with them.
"Nikolo? Are you okay?" Jonas asks, drawing Nikolo out from his thoughts "You can say something, you know. It's not a sore subject."
"Liar" Nikolo thought, but didn't press on it. Instead, he said: "It's not that… I just remembered some things."
"Ah" Jonas let out. Nikolo could see understanding in his eyes, and while he wasn't completely sure what the man understood, he had a feeling he was on the right track. Deciding that things were getting too heavy, he says: "Well, it's good we have such reliable comrades. I know you can be an ass sometimes, but surely even you would thank whoever saves your life properly."
Jonas doesn't reply to that, so Nikolo raises an eyebrow. The injured man isn't meeting his gaze, looking anywhere but at him.
"…You did say thank you, right?"
"Of course, I did!" Jonas pauses "…I think."
"Oh, dear lord" Nikolo says, unsure if he should be amused or ashamed of his partner's thoughtlessness "How could you forget something like that!?"
"It's not that I forgot" he says "I did thank them! …Just never tell anyone I admitted that."
"Huh?" there was absolutely no shame in thanking someone who saved your life, that Nikolo knew. He was missing something here, he was missing something big time "Think, think!"
Frowning, he stares at Jonas, but the man doesn't say anything anymore. If he had thanked whoever saved his life yet wanted to hide the fact, then-
"Ah, of course" Nikolo realizes, his eyes widening "Your life was saved by the locals!"
"Not so loud!" Jonas protests "Honestly, only a few people know. I don't want the word of this to get out; people would consider it way too weird."
"So, I was right" Nikolo says, but quieter this time, knowing that drawing too much attention wouldn't help either of them. For a moment he hesitates, but as he fails to keep the grin from his face, he decides to add some fuel to the fire "Still think that all Eldians are bad and trash and what not?"
Jonas glares at him.
"You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"No" Nikolo grins "C'mon, admit that you were wrong."
Jonas sighs.
"Fine, sure. I was wrong" he admits, and his partner blinks "Come again?"
"No" Jonas flat out refuses "I said it once, but I won't say it a second time."
"But you did say it" Nikolo says, noting that he probably looked really stupid with the wide grin on his face "Did you, by any chance, make new friends?"
"…"
The answer wasn't an immediate no, which Nikolo had honestly expected no matter if it was honest or not, so when Jonas didn't say anything, he was at a loss of words, too. The man just hopped ahead with his crutches, not saying anything, an uncomfortable look on his face.
"I take it that in this case, silence means yes" Nikolo finally said as he walked by the man's side. His grin was gone, but he was still smiling. As fun as mocking Jonas was, he was genuinely happy that the man's views seemed to have changed a little.
"No, not little" he corrected himself "If he actually made Eldian friends, that's a big change."
"Like you're one to talk" Jonas finally said "You are friends with the woman I was supposed to deliver that letter to!"
Nikolo froze, but as his gaze met Jonas', he relaxed. There was no real anger in his eyes, and now that he thought about it, his tone, while annoyed, hadn't seemed all that hostile. He wasn't making an accusation; he was stating a fact. And while a small part of him warned him, told him to deny it, the soldier didn't have the heart to do so. Taking a leap of faith, he admitted it.
"Yeah, she is" he said. And now that it was out, he saw no need to hold back from taking another risk "So you delivered the letter?"
Jonas looked away, frowning. That was a no, Nikolo supposed. Had the man just not admitted to having made friends with Eldians, Nikolo wouldn't have been surprised, but since he did, he found it odd that his partner hadn't delivered the letter "Jonas?"
"I considered it, I really did" he says finally "I found her pretty quick, but since I'd read the letter- "
"You what?" not that he hadn't expected it; that's why he wrote it the way he did.
"I got curious, okay?" Jonas snapped "And that's not the point here."
Nikolo didn't say anything to that, though he still looked at the man accusingly. Crossing his arms, he waited for the injured man to continue.
"Your letter was pretty rude, so I thought that handing it could cause trouble, could get me in trouble, so I planned to wait until a day or two before I could leave the island" Jonas seems to hesitate, and Nikolo's just about to urge him on when he continues: "I had it with me pretty much all the time, didn't want wrong people to see it, and that kinda ended up being a mistake. I had it in my pocket during the fire, and it got destroyed at some point."
He rubs the back of his head.
"Sorry, I guess."
Nikolo bit back a sigh. Sasha not getting his letter was disappointing of course, but-
"It's fine" he says, and is only the tiniest bit surprised that he actually means it "The important thing is that you're okay. Better the letter burned than you."
"…Never knew you could be so sappy."
"Oh, shut up" Nikolo said with a slight blush "Now, tell me of the last three months."
XXXXX
"How you can stand those arrogant, insulting bastards all day long month after month remains a mystery to me" Emil complains to Sasha as they both sit down after work. The woman chuckles, saying: "It gets easier eventually; after they've spent some time here, the Marleyans tend to stop being as rude."
Well, most of them, at least. And the group this time seemed worse than usual, but she didn't need to tell Emil that.
"Well, you did say that Mr. Nikolo was a jerk at first, too" Emil says with a shrug "Do you know what Kaya's been up to?"
Sasha blinks at the sudden change of subject.
"No" she frowns "Why?"
"I happened to have a task at the place Connie's situated at" he grins "She was there."
It takes Sasha a few seconds to connect the dots, but when she does, she smirks. Kaya was on the offensive!
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
She was about to answer with an excited "yeah", but stopped herself just in time. Kaya wouldn't want her to gossip about her business, especially if Emil didn't even know about Kaya's feelings yet. How much did he know?
"Erm… depends on what you're thinking."
Emil eyed her before frowning, saying: "You know something."
"I know a lot of things" Sasha said, avoiding his gaze.
"You know what I meant" the young soldier said "What's up with Kaya?"
"…" if she said something now, she'd mess up. Sasha was sure of it.
"She has a thing for Connie, doesn't she?"
Don't react, don't make a face, don't say anything-
"I knew it! She does!"
…Trying to ignore him probably just confirmed it all. Damn it.
"Fine, yes she does, now shush!" Sasha hissed "She'll kill me if she finds out I told you!"
"Really? The war veteran who fought against titans, in the uprising and in Marley, is afraid of one farm girl?" Emil was clearly not impressed "Besides, it's not like you told me. I guessed it myself and confirmed it from your poor poker face and acting skills."
Sasha groans.
"She's still going to be mad" she says, covering her face with her hands. Deciding to do some damage control, for both her sake and for the sake of Kaya's feelings, she soon raises her head "Emil, don't say anything to her or anyone."
Emil snickers.
"Really? You're that scared of her?" he laughs "I won't tell her that you had anything to do with this, but there's no way I can keep myself from messing with her for this."
"Emil, no" Sasha says firmly, surprising the young man "You probably don't know about things like these, but love is a complicated thing. It mustn't be taken lightly or made fun of."
Of course, Sasha had done plenty of that in her life, both in her younger days and rather recently, but Emil didn't need to know that. And she did regret all her bullying a little, although it had been fun most of the time. Especially when the target had been Jean.
"Like you're one to talk" rats, he knew "Hypocrite."
"I'm trying to be a better person, okay?" she huffed "I'm sure you'll understand once you end up in the same situation."
"That so?" the boy grins "Is that what made you understand?"
Sasha freezes, and Emil starts laughing. The woman huffs.
"You already knew the answer to that" she says "Jerk."
"If I'm jerk now, just wait what's in store for the both of you once Mr. Nikolo comes back" Emil says with a grin. Sasha groans again, but then Emil's words sink in. He believed the Marleyan would really come back, too.
"Ha, bring out your worst" she tells him "There's no way you can beat Connie. Hell, you might even lose to Jean!"
"Challenge accepted" Emil salutes "Now we'll just have to wait for him to drag his ass back here."
Yeah, that they did.
XXXXX
"And then?" Nikolo asks, eager for Jonas to continue his story of his time in Paradis. The man hadn't actually said any names, but by now Nikolo was convinced that the woman he'd been teamed up with and was talking about was Sasha. The description and the stories were so Sasha like that it couldn't be anyone else. He wasn't sure about the guy though, but it couldn't be neither Connie nor Jean. Since it had been a Garrison soldier, Jonas had mentioned the roses in the man's jacket, it was highly likely he didn't even know the guy.
"She didn't even realize she was carrying the boxes back when she was supposed to be unloading the shit!" Jonas laughs "Had to go point it out to her. Honestly, that woman has a few screws loose."
"Definitely Sasha" Nikolo thinks with a snort. That airhead. Thinking that it wouldn't hurt to try and fish out information of his other friends too, he asks: "Did you meet their titans?"
Jonas shudders.
"No, and thank god for that" he says "They weren't allowed to the harbor."
"Not that you'd realize it was him even if Armin took a stroll right next to you" Nikolo thought. If he himself didn't know, he would never guess that the blond was the holder of the Colossal Titan. What Jonas said was probably true though; the scouts wouldn't want to scare the Marleyans with their titans nor would they want to risk a possible assassination "What about the so called "Humanity's strongest soldier?""
Jonas tapped his chin in thought, taking a swig from his beer as he did.
"Ah!" seems like he realized who he was talking about "That's what they called Captain Grumpy, right? I'm honestly skeptic about his title as the strongest, but with those injuries, guess one can never tell for sure what he was once capable of."
"He was pretty tough in his prime" Nikolo says, snickering at the nickname. Very fitting "Definitely the strongest man I'd ever seen."
"Huh…" Jonas muttered "Well, cripple or not, the midget was a little scary."
"Absolutely" Nikolo agreed with a shudder. He had nothing against Levi, but if you got on his bad side, which he had really been on at one point, he was scary as hell. Taking a sip from his beer, the soldier was glad that they had come to a bar. While Jonas wasn't drunk enough to say anything too careless too loudly, he was clearly tipsy enough to be honest with Nikolo. Of course, the former war prisoner was drinking as well, but he made sure to go slow, to not get drunk, preferably not even tipsy. So far so good.
"You know buddy, I have to confess something" Jonas said suddenly "You already know that I read the letter, but you see… I kind of lied about the reason I didn't give it to her. Or rather, it stopped being the reason at one point."
Nikolo had been listening to him earlier, no doubt, but now the man definitely had his full attention. What was going through his partner's head?
"Yeah, so at first, I hold out on giving it to avoid trouble. But then, I started to think that Sasha, I got teamed up with her by pure chance you know, wasn't all that bad of a person, for an Eldian at least. So, I figured that if I handed her such a rude letter, I'd be an ass" he takes a big gulp from his mug "Just the messenger, but still an ass."
Nikolo openly gaped, not knowing what to make of this information. He had prepared for the chance that Jonas would read the letter, which was why he'd made it so rude in the first place, but he hadn't even considered the possibility that it'd keep the man from giving it to her in order to spare her feelings.
"Dude, you look stupid" Jonas pointed at Nikolo's gaping face when he didn't say anything "Then again, nothing new there."
"Oh, shut up" Nikolo finally manages to say "You being sympathetic towards an Eldian on the other hand is new."
"Shh!" Jonas hissed, waiving his hand in panic "Not so loud!"
Nikolo knew for a fact that he hadn't been loud. Jonas on the other hand was, and got a few curious looks just now, but the people soon turned away to mind their own business, clearly taking it as just meaningless blabbering of someone who was drinking a bit too much. Lucky them.
"Sorry sorry" Nikolo said, making a point of keeping his voice very low "Won't say it again."
"Good good" Jonas says, drinking some more before motioning for Nikolo to lean closer. Raising an eyebrow, the soldier does just that, wanting to know what was so secretive.
"I know your secret" the drunken man whispers to him. The soldier raises an eyebrow, not too worried at this point since the man is so drunk. He's curious, though "And that is?"
Jonas grins, and to Nikolo, it looks a little wicked.
"You're in love with her" he says, and Nikolo gapes again, nearly dropping his drink. As he regains his composure, he asks: "Who do you mean by "her?""
"There's no way he knows, there's no fucking way" he tells himself. Even if Jonas had somehow figured out that he and Sasha were friends, there was just no way that he'd figured things out this far… unless… "Did Sasha say something to him? What the hell could she have said for him to jump to such a conclusion!?"
"Sasha, of course" oh shit oh shit oh shi- "Don't try to deny it, man."
He took a deep breath, hoping that it wasn't too obvious, and said as calmly as he could: "Uhhuh, and you're the Founding Titan."
Jonas laughs, hard and loud.
"Fine, deny it, then" he says "But I know it's true~! Though I don't know why you'd write her such a letter. Can't be a man and just admit, so you decided to bully her? Is this grade school?"
Unable to help it, Nikolo blushes. At Jonas' grin he groans, muttering: "You're impossible."
"Not as impossible as your sweetheart" the man says, throwing his arm over Nikolo's shoulders "C'mon, I'm not gonna tell anyone! Now's your turn to share some stories!"
Weighting his options, Nikolo decides that a few neutral stories of his time with Sasha wouldn't hurt. Besides, Jonas was drunk; he probably wouldn't even remember the things either of them had said at this point. Or if he was lucky, perhaps the man would forget the whole evening.
Everything was going to be fine.
