Jack stood in the Hell Creek forest building, Kaa draped over his shoulders, his dismissal weighing in on his mind. He stood, as still as a tree, as Kaa slithered down Jack's shoulder, nosing through the folds of his shirt and slowly moving around the body.
After a few minutes, Jack noticed that Kaa, coiled around one of his arms, was looking at him, as if concerned. Jack sighed and said, "Nothing, nothing. Just something happened with Leon. I said a few things, we had an argument and, well, you'll be seeing a lot of me for the foreseeable future." Kaa, at this statement, cocked her head curiously.
At this, Jack gave the snake a look, "You think I should apologise? Why? It's not my fault he couldn't handle the truth." Kaa stared back, silently, and Jack sighed, gently picked her up off him and placed her back into the tank.
Leaving the Hell Creek forest building, he headed off to find Leon – he would try and talk to Leon, apologise maybe.
And he would mean it.
. . . . . .
Leon sighed in defeat as he sat on the front step of his bungalow, staring despondently at the ground. "Well done," he thought to himself, "My first mission after my ankle, and I get suspended." He shook his head and sighed, "Sometimes I wonder if the universe is out to get me." This was not how he'd hoped to end his day.
"Hey there, mate."
Leon tensed and looked up...and narrowed his eyes at the sight of Jack walking towards him. "Hello," he grunted. "You here to gloat?"
"Nope."
Jack sighed, shaking his head side to side as he made his way over to Leon.
"Then what are you here for?"
"Simple."
It was at this point that Jack reached the front steps of the bungalow and sat to Leon's right, the autistic keeper still directing a wary glance towards him. Jack sighed, "To talk."
Leon raised his eyebrow. "About what?"
Jack looked away.
Leon, still staring at him, said, "Why do you want to talk to me?"
Jack paused, before sighing "I suppose that's a fair question". He nodded his head. "Partly because, Drew's going to give us some, undoubtedly humiliating, team-building exercise…"
Leon nodded his head. "Yeah," he admitted.
"And, also...", he sighed, almost spitting out the words, "I'm sorry."
Leon recoiled in surprise, "Come again?"
"You heard me," Jack grumbled before sighing once more. "Now look, don't let this get to your head – we were both in the wrong." He shook his head. "But some of the stuff I said was just uncalled for – I shouldn't have brought up Yolanda. She's my friend, you know – I am glad you helped. Even if your contribution was grossly overstated."
"Well, I suppose that's one thing we have in common," Leon agreed. He nodded his head. "I don't have many friends, but the ones I do have I take very seriously. I like being by myself… but it's nice having someone else to talk to every now and then. And, thanks for the belated thanks – better late than never."
"Ain't that the truth?" Jack nodded in agreement, "Man, it gets more embarrassing the longer I think about it. The only friend I had before Novum was my sister. I should know better than that."
Leon raised his eyebrow once more. "You? Friendless? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe."
It was at that moment that Jack realised what he'd just said and who he'd said it to. For a brief moment, he paused, uncertain as to whether or not to try to change the subject or dismiss it as a slip of the tongue, before he sighed, thinking "Well, can't get away now."
He looked directly at Leon. "Everyone assumes that, when people laugh at your jokes, they like you. They don't. There's a difference, a big difference."
Leon stared blankly at Jack for a minute, before nodding. "Well, that's something else we have in common. Before Drew and Adrian, I couldn't trust anyone outside my family. At best they'd just ignore me. And at worse..."
He clenched his fists, eyes narrowing and teeth gritting at the memory, "They'd tease me. Or mock me – anything I failed at."
Jack winced. "Jeez."
At this, Leon sighed, "And get this? All this was before I was even diagnosed. I was just a brainiac freak who didn't fit in."
"Ouch," Jack stated, wincing again at the thought, "And I thought I had it bad."
"Let me tell you," Leon grumbled. "Being constantly called a retard or freak was not at all fun." He glared back up at the moon. "And even after I ended up befriending Drew, the people who'd teased me switched to dismissing me – I was just Drew's flunky, stooge… hanger-on." He shook his head side to side. "Yeah, I'd heard that, a thousand times – and that wasn't the worst of it."
Jack raised his eyebrow, equal parts surprised and intrigued, "I'm not sure if I should be flattered or worried."
Leon nodded his head. "Honestly, there were times I thought I could be the class clown. I thought people liked them. But… no." He looked directly at Jack. "That isn't really a guarantor of popularity."
"Like I said, there's a big difference between liking someone and just laughing at their jokes." Jack nodded his head. "Really, jokes are more of a coping mechanism than anything else. I mean, in my experience, all you have to do is make light of the humour in any situation and you'll be OK." He looked to Leon. "I did mean what I said though. About you being a stiff."
Leon briefly snorted, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance, but not giving a small smile, before nodding, "I know. And I'll admit, I could have been a lot more polite. But… I was just concerned. You've done all these reckless things…"
Jack chuckled. "I suppose I can't argue with you on that…. Or at least, not this time."
Leon chuckled, a cheeky grin forming on his face. "Well at least you've got some common sense."
Jack rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. You've got plenty of issues, too."
"Guess it's a good thing we'll be seeing a lot of each other?"
"Possibly," Jack admitted and extended his hand towards Leon, his eyebrow raised. "So...truce?"
Leon nodded his head. "Truce." The two shook hands. "But fair warning," he stated immediately afterward. "Be a bit more civil next time – because it's not going to end well for you."
"Right back at you." Jack chuckled, before his tone became serious, "We're not friends, though. Too much stuff to work out."
"Yeah, I understand." Leon nodded his head. "But could we?"
"Maybe…" Jack then said. "But… let's focus on working things out. Clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good to see we understand each other."
Jack nodded his head, and then looked at his watch. "And on that note, we should get some sleep."
"Something else we can agree on." Leon yawned, "See you around, dude," he said as he got up from his sitting position and headed up to the front door to his bungalow.
"Right back at you, mate," Jack stated as he departed to return to his flat.
In that moment, as the two former rivals went their separate ways – things had changed. However, the future still remained unknown.
