locked to manufactured

[scythegun]

[When Wesker didn't contact him a day ago he was worried, but worry has quickly turned to fear and Jaeger's never been good at dealing with fear. Repeated attempts to reach Wesker have failed, so Jaeger's taken it on himself to go looking for his boyfriend.

Thankfully Wesker cuts a distinctive figure and Jaeger's able to trace his location to the outskirts of the city. He's worried that he's going to find that something's happened to Wesker, that he'll be injured or dying, or maybe even already dead—

But that isn't the case, and when he finds Wesker the man looks perfectly fine.]

Albert!

[He'll approach immediately; the worry and concern is probably obvious just from that exclamation alone, but once he gets close he speaks up again.]

Are you okay? What are you doing out here?

[If Wesker will let him get close enough, he'll reach out to touch Wesker's arm, as he usually does.]

Comments

[scythegun]

[That gets him to laugh, anyway.]

No, of course not, I didn't think you did!

[manufactured]

Well, I never can tell. I wouldn't have predicted a fair amount of the other decisions I've made here.

[scythegun]

Oh? Like which ones?

[manufactured]

Profession, for one. To the best of my knowledge, I never cared much for that kind of work unless it dealt with personal projects.

...I've never been much for dating either, with no offense meant.

[scythegun]

Well, I can't tell you much about your job, but you did date at least a little before you met me! I couldn't tell you anything about who you dated, though.

[manufactured]

It's less that I've never done it, so much as it is that they didn't last.

[scythegun]

It happens.

[He almost says that they've only been dating for six months, that something could happen, but he stops himself. He doesn't want to think like that, even if it is true. Six months isn't very long at all, but he promised to wait for Wesker, no matter how long it takes.

...It hurts to think about it.]

I didn't exactly have any long-lasting relationships either.

[manufactured]

...What do you want to happen with this one?

[It's a blunt question, asked with the same amount of distance as ever, but...]

I don't know what you consider this right now.

[scythegun]

I...

[What does he consider it right now? The question Wesker asked is easy to answer, but that statement is much more difficult to address.]

...I can't exactly consider you my boyfriend since you don't remember me. What's important to me is that you regain your memories here. So it's not really something I've thought all that much about. I want to be here for you because you're someone I care so much about, but it's not as though I'd ever try to force you into feeling the same way.

[manufactured]

And if those memories can't be regained...?

[It's calm, despite the possibility he's bringing up being the obvious worst-case scenario.]

I won't stop pursuing them, of course. But if they truly are gone, what will you do about it then?

[scythegun]

[Jaeger's gaze darts at that. He's been entirely aware of the possibility this whole time, but he's never really sat down and considered what he'd do.

The answer comes easily though, surprisingly. He'd wait. He promised Wesker he would wait, and he doesn't have any intention of breaking that promise. Maybe it's not something he could really manage for very long, but the answer is comforting somehow, and that's what he really needs right now.

Explaining it isn't exactly as easy, however.]

...I'll continue to do what I can for you. You're very important to me and that's never going to change.

[manufactured]

Am I important to you? You've just said that you don't consider me your boyfriend; while that could just be referring to the relationship, you tend to act as though I'm someone else entirely. Someone you don't know, either.

Am I that different now...? Because if that's the case, then I don't see how you can claim to care for me. Outside of caring about the body I'm inhabiting, I suppose.

[scythegun]

[That's... pretty much exactly it, isn't it? He's been differentiating them in his head since the start as this Wesker and his Wesker. As far as he's concerned they are two separate people, and this one happens to be crazy in a way that really frightens Jaeger.

But it feels wrong to say something like that, even if it's true. Jaeger has no idea what to say, and for a long moment he's silent.]

...You are different, yes. But you're still Albert Wesker; you've had different experiences from the man I've been dating, so of course there are going to be differences. It's true I don't know you very well, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you at all.

[He needs to stop seeing them as separate people, especially if Wesker never does regain his memories.]

[manufactured]

We're the same person, as far as Retrospec is concerned. I've come to understand that much - we have the same soul, as little as I'm inclined to believe in things like that. But eventually things will return to the way they're supposed to be; perhaps losing my memories of this life was supposed to be a part of that process.

[For what it's worth, however, he sounds agitated at that notion; he clearly doesn't like it, either.]

...I don't know what to tell you. I would offer my condolences, but I doubt you would want them, or that they would mean much to you. And as I said, I'm personally not giving up, because I don't like the notion that part of my identity can simply be ripped away like that. I've had it happen once before; I don't intend to allow it to happen again.

But it's possible that this is how things are going to be from here, because this is how things are supposed to be. I don't care for that notion, but it is something to be considered.

[scythegun]

[What? No. That can't be right. This can't be how things are supposed to be. Losing memories of this life... No, he refuses to believe that. Jaeger's shaking his head long before he finds the words he needs.]

I... I'm sure that isn't...

[He trails off there, though. He doesn't sound very convinced, does he? It takes him a moment to try again.]

...You're right, it is something that has to be taken into consideration. But I can't believe that right now. No one else has ever reported anything of the sort. It's possible you're the first one it's happened to and it'll happen to the rest of us eventually, but...

[He trails off, trying to find a way to end that. He can't find anything and he lifts his shoulders a bit, helpless.]

[manufactured]

...It doesn't seem fair, does it.

[He shifts a bit where he's sitting, like he's trying to sort out what he should be looking at; he settles on somewhere low to the ground in front of him, though there's a visible flash of that unnatural glow in his eyes as he does so.]

None of this really is; I don't know why I expected it to be.

[scythegun]

[He's still not used to Wesker's eyes and the glow is unnerving, but thankfully he doesn't look away or flinch any.]

...No, of course it isn't. Nothing about Retrospec is fair.

[He hates it, he hates Retrospec so much for doing this to Wesker. Hasn't he been through enough? Did he really need to go through this too? How is this possibly helping them?

His hands tighten into fists before he forces himself to try to relax.]

[manufactured]

...I'm not giving up.

[That, at least, seems firm; there's something behind it, even if that something is anger.]

If there's nothing to be done about it, then so be it. But if this is what they're planning, then it's best that they should be dismantled.

I've done it once before. I can do it a second time.

[scythegun]

[...]

I've thought the same thing before, honestly. I don't know if I could actually go through with it, but after everything they've done...

[Does thinking that mean he's crazy too?]

I'm glad you're not giving up. We don't know for sure that your memories won't return, after all. It's possible it just takes time.

[Longer than it took when he went to Bosuma, apparently.]

[manufactured]

[That's...]

...If you really want to be involved in something like that, I won't reject the help. But I need to know that you'll follow through.

[scythegun]

I don't know that I would.

[The answer is immediate. It's one thing to talk about it, but actually planning it out? He knows himself too well; he's more likely to cut and run than actually take part in anything like that.]

I can't stand what Retrospec has done to us and I'm furious at them for how they've treated us, but I can't say for sure that I'd be able to go through with something like that.

[manufactured]

The only way to have any sort of control in the face of corporations like these is to take it by force - they're certainly not going to relinquish it willingly.

If you're that furious, then that anger is worth acting on.

[scythegun]

...It's not something I'd want to act on right now, anyway.

[This sounds like the sort of thing he should absolutely not be involved in, but the idea is appealing. After everything Retrospec has done to them, it really does deserve to be taken down and dismantled entirely.]

[manufactured]

And why not?

[scythegun]

It isn't something I feel comfortable with right now. Maybe eventually I'd be willing to do it, but right now I'm not.