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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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[His free hand will come up easily enough to play with Jaeger's hair, then; the touch is still awkward, but there's more affection there than there has been in quite some time.]

It's all right, Jaeger.

[The words are quiet, though; more intended to be calming than a proper assertion.]

[This is what he's been waiting for, what he's been desperately wanting since Wesker went missing - and while the physical action was there, there wasn't anything behind it in the same way and he can feel the difference now. Jaeger leans into it immediately and his grip tightens again on Wesker's hand.

It is all right. Everything's fine now. Well, perhaps it's too soon to say that for certain, but he's positive everything will be okay at the very least.

Wesker's memories have returned to him, after all.]

I... I know. I'm just... I'm so...

[The words die out before he can finish the thought and his grip tightens. It probably isn't painful for Wesker, but he's certainly not stopping. There's a sense of desperation there, like if he lets go he'll lose Wesker all over again.]

[He lets his grip tighten a bit in response - just enough to make it plain that he isn't letting go, he isn't going anywhere; he doesn't stop with the gentle stroking motions against Jaeger's hair.]

I told you that I would always come back to you.

[That gets a short, sharp laugh out of him that sounds more relieved than amused.]

I know... I know and I waited, just like I promised I would.

[His breath catches, but he's able to continue after a moment.]

I love you, I love you so much and I've missed you... But you remember now, you're back...

Of course I am. I love you, I wouldn't leave you forever.

[He isn't able to make eye contact very well, but it's more through being overwhelmed than anything.]

It's good to see that you're all right. I...remember most of what happened over the past while, I know it must have been hard on you.

It... Yes, it was difficult. I didn't know what to do, or how to help.

[He's quiet for a moment, then suddenly he glances away. His grip is still tight, though.]

...I'm sorry I left.

[Oh...]

Don't apologize for that - you don't ever have to apologize for that. I'm not angry or upset with you for it.

I'm glad you don't, but I... I still feel terrible about it. You didn't remember anything about the life you led here and I don't think you were trying to frighten me with it. I just... I didn't know how to handle it. So I ran away.

Jaeger...

[His voice is even when he responds, though it takes him a moment to find the words he wants.]

I asked you to take care of yourself. To not let me hurt you, and to stay safe if you felt threatened.

I'm not going to be upset with you for doing exactly as I asked.

...I'm so glad you've remembered everything. I was doing my best, but I didn't know how to handle it.

[To be honest, he's not sure how long he could have tried. He certainly didn't want to leave again and he would have resisted for as long as he could, but...

The thought bothers him immensely.]

I love you so much... I'm so happy you remember.

[He doesn't try to pry his hand out of Jaeger's grip; at the same time, he does pull Jaeger a little closer, indicating that he doesn't mind the proximity and the contact. Lean into him, latch onto him, he doesn't mind either way.]

You did well, you know. I don't think most people would know how to handle that.

[Oh, that's... that's really nice... He's quick to lean into Wesker, and after a moment he'll free one of his hands so he can latch on and pull himself closer. He still doesn't want to overwhelm Wesker any, but he really needs this right now.]

It felt like there wasn't anything I could do.

[He evaluates that for a moment, then amends it.]

There wasn't anything I could do. You had already suffered so much and you didn't want sympathy. I didn't know what else I could offer you.

[Eye contact is going to continue to be very, very difficult.]

...By the time I died back then, I needed to be put out of my misery. There was nothing else that could be done - I didn't want anything from anyone, outside of watching them die. There was nothing left for me.

[Jaeger still doesn't want to believe that. But he saw it first-hand, didn't he? He really did try his hardest for Wesker, but it wasn't enough. Would anything have ever been enough, even back then?

...He really doesn't think so.]

I'm so sorry. I really wish things had turned out differently. I... I understand now, though.

[...]

It would be better if you still didn't. I don't like the idea that you had to see that, much less for so long.

It's okay. I'm fine! It was a bit much, but you didn't hurt me or anything. I'll admit some of the things you said frightened me, but I wasn't hurt.

[That's the most important thing to clarify, as far as he's concerned.]

I was very worried about you. You weren't terrible to me, though.

[He'll just keep playing with Jaeger's hair; having him so close right now is...it's nice, really.]

What were you worried about...? Talk to me.

[This is comforting, which makes it a little easier to talk about it.]

You mentioned your plans several times, with the intention of acting on them again. It... scared me, but it also worried me. I thought maybe something would convince you otherwise, but you were dead-set on it. Even with a life like this, nothing was going to change your mind. You'd already suffered through so much, so there wasn't anything anyone could do to help you now.

[It's... really depressing, honestly...]

...It wasn't enough.

[It's quiet, and it's deliberately blank and even, but it's still firm, particularly as he continues.]

There's nothing you could have done differently. You did all you could, and I knew that.

But it wasn't enough. Nothing ever could have been enough; as far as I was concerned humanity needed to pay a price. For what they had done, and what they were capable of doing.

You did your best to help me. I know you did. And it did matter to me in some ways. But there was nothing else you could have done for me. If anything, living like this - having a normal life, being safe from everything that had happened - only made it worse.

...I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to go through that. It must have been incredibly difficult for you to deal with this life on top of everything else.

[Nothing could have helped, so it's not like he did anything wrong. Still, he feels like there should have been something else he could have done to help.]

You don't have to keep apologizing.

[He holds Jaeger a little tighter at that.]

It wasn't your fault. None of it was your fault; if anything, you managed more than I thought anyone would.

[Jaeger leans into the touch at that.]

I did everything I could think to do. It's just... it's really unfortunate that there wasn't anything anyone could do to help you.

You were good to me.

[So much hair-playing, okay.]

You were good to me in ways that most people weren't back then. It doesn't justify anything I tried to do or change what I deserve as a result, but life wasn't kind to me.

No, it really wasn't. You suffered so much, and even when you managed to break away from Umbrella, it was too late. You'd been hurt by so much, I'm not surprised you hated all of humanity.

[He leans into the hair-playing; he's settling a little bit now.]

I wanted to do everything I could for you, even without your memories of me.

You did well.

[...]

I'm sorry for scaring you like that.

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