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[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.]

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...Oh.

[Well, that's definitely a bit awkward. It's possible Wesker might have had a child and that's... kind of weird to think about? He's not sure what he thinks about it.]

I can see why that would spark an argument, especially if neither of you were willing to budge.

It's not something that could have had a peaceful resolution; one of us would have hated it, regardless of what we decided, and we would have come to resent each other.

So it was for the best to end things as they were.

Yes, I understand. It's a shame that things ended that way, though.

[Maybe things would have turned out differently if they had stayed together. But then again, maybe they wouldn't have.]

...It happened shortly after I left the main Arklay compound and was living on my own. Getting involved at all was a rash decision, but it was something I wanted to experience.

[A shot at normalcy, perhaps.]

I understand. I think it makes sense that you'd want to experience something like that, especially after everything you went through.

I assume I've told you a good amount about Umbrella, then. You've never seemed surprised when I mention hating them.

You have. I think you've told me everything about it.

[It was terrible, just like so many other things that happened to Wesker. But he doesn't express that; he sure Wesker already knows his thoughts on it, anyway.]

They certainly won't be missed, at any rate.

[He knows.]

I suppose it was a good thing, having a normal life like that for a while. I believe I met those subordinates I liked shortly after the fact as well.

I don't think I would have been able to stand it on a more permanent level. But it was nice to pretend for a while.

I think it's good you got to experience it for a little while. It's a bit unfortunate that it wasn't for you, but at least you had the experience.

I was still technically working for Umbrella at the time; it wouldn't have lasted, anyway.

[And that's...bitter, blatantly so; he can feel himself tensing up again.]

[Jaeger glances away. He's not sure what to say.]

I see. That's unfortunate.

[It's not fair that Wesker had to suffer like that at the hands of Umbrella. It's not fair that he never had a chance at a normal life, even if he never could have lived one anyway. But Wesker doesn't want to hear any of that, so he's not sure what else to say.]

It's fine. After all, I get to have all of that now, don't I?

[Even if he doesn't remember it anymore; even if it isn't really his.]

[How is he supposed to answer that? Wesker's already said he doesn't consider this his, and in a way he's right. He's probably not trying to make Jaeger feel guilty, but it's working anyway.]

...I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to say.

[But he doesn't. He can't do anything to help.]

It's hardly your fault.

[Which doesn't necessarily seem like much, but Wesker tend to like having someone to blame for things; this, though...

Well, it really is just unfortunate, isn't it.]

...I'm sure I would be happy, if you had any say. If you could fix things for me, that would be what you want. Isn't it?

[It's not a concession that Jaeger cares, but it is an acknowledgement that he at least doesn't want to see him suffer any more than he already has.

Again, it's not much. But it's something.]

Yes, of course. If there was something I could do to help, I would.

[He doesn't think that Wesker genuinely believes that he cares, but it is something. It's good, he thinks.]

...I understand.

[Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. It's difficult to say.

He'll get up once that's out there, though; he doesn't seem upset, just...deciding to remove himself from the conversation at this point.]

I have work tomorrow, and things to look over before that. I assume I'll see you in the morning, however.

[Ah, that's...]

Of course. I'll see you then.

[He won't get up right away, though.]

[He'll take his leave, then, without saying anything further; he disappears upstairs easily, and he seems content to remain behind closed doors for the rest of the evening.

Which why it's likely odd when there's a knock at Jaeger's door sometime late in the night.

Even though they've been talking more easily lately, Wesker usually tries to avoid seeking Jaeger out first; he prefers letting Jaeger come to him. But he certainly is approaching him now, albeit in an odd sort of way - the sound at the door seems awkward at best, and in actuality it's bordering on hesitant, the sort of thing that's loud enough to be heard but not enough to really be considered confident in what it's trying to accomplish.

...Yeah.]

[That's definitely odd. Jaeger wasn't asleep (because he's been having difficulties sleeping again, unfortunately), but he's dressed for bed when he gets the door. He's sure Wesker already knows about the blastia, but as usual, he's got his shirt buttoned all the way up so it can't be seen.]

...Is something wrong?

[He can't think of any other reason for Wesker to come to him at this time of night. He sincerely hopes nothing's wrong, but that's the only thing that makes sense. The hesitance behind the knock - if that's what it was - doesn't really line up with that, but Jaeger's not sure how else to interpret this.]

[It takes him a brief moment to answer; he usually doesn't have difficulty with words anymore - not half as much since the virus, especially not since his memories vanished on him - but he's certainly having difficulty now.

He breathes, though. Forces himself through it.]

No. Everything is fine, I...

[He shakes his head a bit; he seems a bit disoriented, really.]

...Everything came back to me tonight.

[Jaeger draws back a bit, not to put distance between them but more like he's preparing to invite Wesker inside. He's not sure what to make of this, but if Wesker's having difficulties speaking, then...

Well, he doesn't get a chance to get his hopes up, because Wesker manages to get it out first.]

You... You remember? Everything?

[He feels like he can't catch his breath, but what if he's mistaken? What if that's not what Wesker meant? He shouldn't get his hopes up like this, he'll just be disappointed, right?]

As far as I can tell, yes.

[His voice is tight but it does seem to be controlled - not in the cold, distant sort of way that it has been for so long now, but like he's doing what he can to remain calm for the time being. It's likely familiar, at the very least.]

[It is, it's so familiar it physically hurts. After spending so much time around a Wesker who wasn't familiar, it's such a huge relief to recognize something in the man's voice.]

Albert...

[And for a moment, he's really not sure what to do. He wants to reach out to touch, he wants to tell him just how much he loves him and he's missed him, but mostly Jaeger's just overwhelmed. It takes him a bit longer than it probably should for him to shake his head a bit as if to snap himself out of it. He steps back and holds the door open.]

Come in, let's... let's sit for a moment, ja? This is... it's a bit much to process, isn't it?

[The relief is already seeping into his tone, anyway. Despite the hesitations, he doesn't sound awkward. Overwhelmed, but not awkward.]

It is, yes.

[He still seems a little disoriented, personally, but "overwhelmed" is a good description for it as well; he'll come into the room easily enough and without complaint, though, and he'll move to sit on the bed and look at Jaeger, expecting to be joined there.

...Disoriented or not, he still had the presence of mind to cover his eyes; those dark glasses are still on.]

[Honestly, it's good that they are. He's not used to them (yet) and it'd make looking at Wesker a bit more difficult than he'd really like right now.

Jaeger joins Wesker immediately; his first thought is to sit a bit further away, putting the usual amount of space between them. He reconsiders after a moment though, and then scoots closer. He doesn't reach out to touch immediately, though. Wesker seems a bit overwhelmed too, and Jaeger doesn't want to make it any worse.]

Did it just... all come back to you all at once?

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