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[This evening, Break will find a box of assorted Swiss chocolates on his pillow.

No explanation, just chocolate.]

[ He doesn't notice the box until he tries to put his head on it, later that "night." He's puzzled at first, until the sweet aroma of chocolate reaches his nose. Who--

Collette? No, she can't reach up there. Oz? Possible, though it occurs to him he ought to check for mousetraps. He opens the box and then pokes at its insides experimentally with the tip of his cane. It seems to be safe?

It could be from that idiot Kevin, the man's mad crush is simply cloying. But he'd be too shy to try something like this. Break eats one of the chocolates thoughtfully, pausing to take in the rich flavor. He hasn't eaten anything this good since... ]

[ You idiot. ]

[ He hooks his foot around a support and flings himself down, so that he's hanging upside down from his bunk, swinging over the bed below, to discover whether Gilbert has sneaked back into it. ]

Boo!

[He is indeed in his bunk, reading the file that Kate had sent him earlier on his tablet and trying to figure out what the words he doesn't understand mean. He's also been half-listening to Break's reaction to finding the chocolate there and hoping (hoping so hard) that he doesn't say anything about it.

Alas, no good deed goes unpunished.

He yelps as Break appears in front of him, upside down with his eye uncovered. He doesn't have a chance to notice if he's closed it or not before looking away towards the door and setting his tablet aside.]

Hey! Don't scare people for no reason!

[ He swings back up to his own bunk again. Gilbert. Gilbert. Weeping at coffee and then going on about it to Oz, and who knows else. And now...

He calls down: ]

Chocolates on my pillow...

[ Has it really come to this? After all these years, are they actually being openly kind to one another? He had resolved, hadn't he, to be more helpful to Gilbert up here on the moon. To refrain from teasing quite so much. ]

...how romantic~♥

[ But honestly, Gilbert. To go this far? How can anybody be expected to bear it? ]

[Ugh, why does he have to say it that way. The pillow is just out of the way so he wouldn't outright sit on it! And so that Gilbert wouldn't have to make a big fuss out of giving it to him, like he's being forced to do now!

He pouts and turns to look at his hands. The patch on his arm is itching again, but at least now he's 500% less fidgety and anxious than before he left on the last mission.]

It's not meant to be romantic. Stop being so embarrassing.

[ You know, Gilbert, if you want to play kindness chicken...

He lets one arm fall, so it's dangling into Gilbert's space. ]

I missed you, actually. It got a bit lonely here, with you and Oz gone. Haha — I suppose I've got used to having you close by.

[Damn it he can't take any more of this teasing! He swipes an arm out and tries to bat his hand out of the way.]

If I'd known you were going to tease me about it I wouldn't have brought anything back at all!

[ In the most innocent of voices: ]

I'm not teasing. It's true~♥

[ Gilbert's hand connects with his own, and he tries to grab it. ]

Edited (no combo this time!) 2013-10-17 03:18 (UTC)

[He's able to grab it without any trouble. Which of course doesn't make Gilbert happy one bit. He tries to shake the man off as he moves to stand up so that he can yell at him properly - in the face like a man!]

Stop goofing around already!

But I'm nooot~!

[ Which is the moment when he realizes: he did miss Gilbert. He was getting close to moping, in point of fact. ]

Ah! Haha! You —

[ Wait. Wait. His nose wrinkles. Gilbert is shouting in his face, and he's just been on a mission where he could presumably have collected all sorts of things... ]

Gilbert...

Gilbert, did you...?

[He's ready to snap something else, probably with an angry swear word of some kind attached to it this time, but Break's perplexed expression keeps him quiet.]

Did I - what?

[ Gilbert has been beside himself without cigarettes, he'd expected the man to spend his entire mission chain-smoking. But the only smell he can detect is the beautiful wafting perfume of the chocolates. ]

You finally did it. You quit.

[ This? This is Break's face. This is Break's face looking proud of you, Gilbert. ]

[For a split second he's grateful that Break can't see his face go pale with guilt.]

W-well, I didn't - I mean, I -

[ He waves away Gilbert's protestations. He sighs. It's a wistful, happy sound. ]

You really have grown up, haven't you?

[ You kids. All you damn kids. ]

[For a moment he wonders if he can really keep up this lie. Break is looking at him like he's proud, and he's upset at how glad he is to see it. It's like he's fifteen again and his superior has complimented his shooting for the first time and told him how well he's been doing. Such an embarrassing, mortifying memory and it's being replayed for him right here. It would be so simple to agree and play this for all it's worth, but - ]

I'M CHEATING - I'M WEARING A PATCH!

[Guilt is heavier than stone.]

[ In that moment, Break's mind is wandering off into nostalgia, and he's dimly aware that he probably has some sort of embarrassing expression on his face. But it's okay because, after all these years, Gilbert has finally mastered himself enough to be able to cast aside the ridiculous addiction that he'd been tricked into. It's something Gilbert will be able to respect himself for, so that finally he might be able to — ]

[ ...

wait. ]

A patch?

[He makes an awkward, embarrassed grunting sound as he attempts to snake his hand out of Break's grasp and roll up the sleeve of his shirt.]

It's a treatment for people who...ah, have trouble quitting on their own.

[ He lets go of Gilbert at once. ]

A "treatment."

[ He sighs, irritably. As far as he's concerned, Gilbert has quit, whether it's enforced by their circumstances or aided by some sort of crutch. But it's abundantly clear to him that Gilbert doesn't think so. ]

Of course it is.

[ Nothing has changed. He's the same old Gilbert, after all. Meaning that Break, himself, still has to worry.... ]

[Hands free, he rolls up his sleeve over his elbow and close to his shoulder, then takes Break's hand and guides it to where the patch is stuck to his arm. He might also smell mint, as these are all flavored in the future. Why? No one is really certain ~~except for Ish.~~]

As long as I wear this, then the urge to smoke isn't as bad.

[ ...linking these "patches" to the chocolate... ]

You brought these... back from your mission.

[ ...and putting two and two together... ]

In fact, they were the whole point of your mission. You went into the past and risked the future to get these. Do you know what that means?

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