Chapter Text
He doesn't wake up in cold sweat in middle of the night. No, he doesn't almost scream, only his hand blocking the choked gasp as he shoots up from his bed. He doesn't spend next hours sleepless, images of bloodhounds burning through his eyes every time he closes his eyes, and only disappearing when they are replaced with images of gun smoking in darkness, it's shooter and victim always changing. He doesn't give up and go make a cup of coffee, waving the worry away when others emerge with explanations of routine, man, these mornings are sacred! Nothing better than a cup of coffee.
No, that would be ridiculous. It would be ridiculous that he went through traumatic event just yesterday, surviving barely.
Oh wait he did. Silly of him. So silly.
Yeah silly. Fuck man
"Okay, here's the deal."
They've gathered for breakfast, all in different states of awareness. Jason has been up the longest, just like almost every time he has been over. He woke up before dad, even, surprising him with not sleepy greeting as he comes to kitchen to get his morning coffee. Coffee Jason had already made, but he doesn't mention it. Leon is next, but he doesn't buy the same hand waving as dad.
Others had followed not so long after. It had taken, now that he thinks, little under half hour. Not much but less with their regular differences.
Leon had taken the speaking role for the morning. They let him with ease, nobody wanted to do that after all of that.
"This is by no means a normal way we'd deal with things. Usually there would be quarantine for a while, before people get to move," he taps the table absentmindedly, as he looks at them, seemingly calculating.
"It's actually good thing I'm here, that in mind. Other than having less of a mystery solving and flying accusations in our routine," he points that at Iris and him, with glance towards Nolan too, slightly humorous, "We need to make sure that whatever virus that ends being isn't going to spread. It seemed like it was mainly by bites and saliva, but can't be too careful in my work."
My work rolls off easily from his tongue, as he talks about what they should do. It happens so easily that Jason for second forgets that they didn't know about 14, 16 hours ago what was going on with Leon. Why he was so uptick, on edge and ready to jump into action. Of course between the moments he relaxed enough that they'd start to poke around, causing him to close off again.
Everyone was at fault really. They maybe more, if they're being honest, but all was forgiven. They got a second chance and they'll use it.
Still the ease that appeared after that gives him enough whiplash. Between all that happened, he seems so okay. Like when their paths split first time, them saying goodbyes as he left to drive the long journey towards his job and life that waited him. Journey he and Nolan had done first, in a way, and that Iris would do after him.
Long journey, where they lost contact and more. Journey that ended up in flames and death.
Death of what, he doesn't think. He thinks about him now, alive and present.
Laughing with them on tarmac, looking lighter than he had seemed for a while. More free. Like a heavy load had been lifted off him. Off them all.
Leon ends up outlining few guidelines on interacting with outside world, what they should and shouldn't do. How long until what. How much exposure.
What to do if something surfaces.
They don't talk about that a lot. Not when dad's face starts to go ashen, and mom has to shake him gently out of it.
Not when they all mirror his expression.
And then the topic of how to deal with their multiple things they had taken with them to their "relaxing" vacation come up.
"Things that stayed in rooms are fine," he says, "they didn't come in direct contact so the basic disinfecting process most likely did enough, especially if they let things go that easily. But the stuff that wasn't…"
His eyes sharpen slightest as he thinks. Jason finds himself focusing on him more.
"There's couple opinions on that," Leon thinks to himself, "Either fumigating or disinfecting thoroughly the clothes you had on when outbreak happened, then you can keep using those."
Jason's thoughts go to the brain matter scattered on the floor and then he imagines it on his shirt. Then he regrets that because now he can think only about that.
"Nuh-uh," Iris has on an disgusted face, and she waves her arm like she has thought about the same thing. Nolan too is quite white by face. "Nope."
"I feel like we have lost the sentimental value on those, Leon," dad says.
"Alright," Leon nods, "Then we'll dispose those."
He instructs them to gather all items that were in use during the outbreak. That they'll deal with them later.
But before he leaves, Leon asks him: "Could I borrow your phone for a second?"
And of course he can.
He ends up being the first downstairs. Not first done though, that would've been Nolan, but Jason takes the lead with grace and humility.
"Hey, who you texting, dude?"
Leon rises his gaze from phone at Jason's question.
"If I say it's classified, would you leave it to that?" He challenges him with smile.
"Obviously," Jason rolls his eyes to it, "but is it really? I mean, you borrowed my phone, so obviously it's not."
"I could always make it so you don't know," Leon shrugs, but the smile betrays him. He had that little shine in his eyes.
To be honest, Jason is glad about it.
"You remember Claire? I mentioned her before."
Jason thinks back to last week, that actually feels like it was last month. "The one you met in Raccoon? Had scary brother."
"I'm not surprised you remember that part," Leon shakes his head, "but yeah. She knows this part of outbreaks like back of her hand. She gave me some pointers for dealing with this. After she had made sure I was okay, as in, no phone no contact."
"Oh yeah." Leon's phone that made the dip. "Did she try to contact you then?"
"No, but after that, yep. I missed few calls. After hearing BSAA had done pit stop where I was, few more."
"How'd she know? That they," whoever they were, he still didn't know fully, "did that?"
"Well," Leon sets the phone down, "Claire's part of TerraSave. Humanitarian aid NGO. More specifically focusing on Bio-Terrorism."
"That being what we…?"
"Yep," Leon nods. Iris joins them, taking seat next to him, "You got the front view to that."
Jason nods slowly. Leon continues, "So TerraSave will be the next step after outbreak. Quarantine overlaps with their work too."
"I heard of them at some point," Iris pipes up, "when doing my residency there were some who were brought to our unit by TerraSave."
"There you have it," Leon nods, "Those two are the ones who you can find information about easily."
Easily seemed to imply that they should focus there, and only there. Leon's tight, reassuring smile that he'd deal with his own consequences back on the plane started to mold the very noticeable, kind of worrying pattern.
Don't worry about me started to sound like please don't do what you want to do, it WON'T end well.
But who would draw the shortest of the bunch at that point?
"I however wonder if she found out the official or unofficial way," Leon draws their attention back to him, "Chris likes to keep things confidential but knowing how I took a dip with communication in peaceful vacation, I wouldn't be sure Claire could stay out of this."
"Chris?" Iris perks up, and Jason has to comp through his brain as-
"Claire's brother."
"He knew too?"
"Might've," Leon looks again on the text conversation, reading before he replies, "BSAA is partly his brain child."
Jason's head must be spinning, but he thinks he's grown numb to it because who knows how much this would hurt his head in any other situation but now he just processes it with no hiccups. Other than the numbness. Huh.
Nearly dying results in numbness to everything. Interesting.
Iris lets out sound that is pure worry and slightly distress.
"Do you know anyone outside your work?"
Leon thinks, and it really looks like he thinks very hard.
"I don't thinks so," he replies after long time, and that really makes them think he is telling truth, "Some aren't part of it but I came across while I was on job."
"And about those?"
"Not in frequent contact," he shrugs, "and the rest…"
He trails off. His shoulders tense. A delicate line of it's fine starts to form to his face where his mouth is, drawing it sharp. His hands are still.
Jason can feel that something shifts.
"Uhh… Bad topic?" He hesitantly asks.
Leon looks up, slight surprise in his face as if he had not been exactly there with them.
Nolan scares them all by just appearing like human. But of course none of them had expected him.
He pokes his head over Jason's shoulder, like a owl, and Jason almost pokes his eyes out in return by throwing his arm up and- "Gah!"
Then he realizes who it is and his arm falls back, back to the table it never left and where it had always stayed as he cracks a smile, "You can't do that, heart attack problems remember?"
"No, and I quote, 'The possibility of you having heart attack is very slim.' Grow up."
"Did you practice that last part in front of mirror? As in pot, kettle."
Iris lets out slightly relieved laugh, and he looks at Leon who stares at him like he understands.
He did. It wasn't however easy to admit.
"So before we die of boredom," Nolan shakes a cup with dice expectantly, "Yahtzee?"
In evening, he's laying around in his room, letting all the thoughts to roll over him, in the storm he has kept behind the closed door. Sure it was good to be together and be free of all the guilt, it hits harder when he least expects. Maybe he should've. Expected, at that. He did know when it hits.
He didn't know it was this heavy thing however.
Getting beaten by Iris helped little in distracting, as well teaming up against mom who totally cheated again, however that is possible. Snickering about Nolan's inability to change his passwords despite changing devices and even the over all tech yet again. Watching dad distract mom so they could cheat in return.
All that seemed to go down the drain once they retired for the night and he was alone.
The chime from his phone graps his attention, and he graps it to find out it is an unknown number, but also one that has texted him before. A lot it seems.
???: hi!
???: you were Leon's brother, right?
He blinks, having not expected that at all. But if Leon trusts this person this much, it seems at least, he could too. And he was curious.
Jason: That's me
???: cool! I'm Claire, his friend
Jason: Jason, Leon's brother as you know
???: heard you went through the wringler, huh? How're you holding up
Jason: slightly wringled but good
He knows this, joking around, peeling the uncomfortable feeling away slightly to lessen the pressure building up.
Jason: he seemed to think you'd worry if you didn't hear from him?
???: he knows me well
???: the lack of communication has never been good for us
What a loaded statement.
He is about write same, but he catches himself.
Jason: not his fault at least
That is fine. Totally.
???: he told. shouldn't have expected more
Then she hits the nail straight on the head, that one that they had danced around, hitting around and avoiding it. And it sinks into his flesh in way that leaves him thinking.
???: Is he really okay?
???: he wouldn't say much.
Jason could scroll up and look what Leon has told Claire. Could read what they talked about all this.
But the nagging part in his heart seems to be silenced by that numbness.
He would also betray his trust again with that. And he despite what has happened before doesn't want to do that anymore. It bit them to ass and now even if the consequences wouldn't be so deadly, it did ring wrong. It always had.
Jason: he is
Jason: and he did make sure we were too
There's slight delay in response.
???: thanks for looking out for that idiot
???: he really needs someone in his corner
A lump gets stuck in his throat, right under his adam's apple and he is so thankful he has never before met this person face to face.
Jason: we try
After that the texting dies down. He expected it. He ends up saving the number under name 'Claire'. Couldn't hurt.
He ends up dreaming of dogs, beasts and cold, apathetic eyes that stare down the barrel of the gun, in the exact shade of his brother's.