Neo studied him for a long mont, but finally nodded.
"Let’s do that."
"Good," Jack said, his tone lighter again. "There’s a pub not far from here. I’ve always wanted to try the drinks there."
Neo raised an eyebrow at the suggestion but didn’t argue.
"Fine. Lead the way."
Jack’s lips curved into a faint smile as he turned, the air between them still strained but calr than before.
Neo followed.
The streets outside were quiet enough, but the silence didn’t last long.
"Is it really okay for you to just walk into a place with normal people?" Neo asked as they made their way down the street.
"Yeah, it’s fine," Jack replied casually. "I’m using one of my undead and possessing it. So I can move around without causing problems."
"...?"
Neo gave him a questioning look.
Jack noticed it and smirked.
"It’s a technique I ca up with myself. Think of it like how Supres possess their Blessed.
"Normally, just hearing or seeing a Supre would kill anyone, but because they use a Blessed as a dium, it doesn’t happen.
"I’m doing the sa thing with my undead. My real self isn’t here, just the part of inhabiting this body," Jack explained.
"That makes sense." Neo nodded slowly.
They walked the rest of the way without speaking much more.
Soon, they reached a pub tucked at the corner of the street.
The place wasn’t fancy, just warm light spilling from its windows and the dull buzz of voices from inside.
Jack pushed the door open, and they stepped in.
Inside, the sll of alcohol and grilled food filled the air.
Jack walked straight to the counter, waved the bartender over, and ordered a drink without hesitation.
Neo, on the other hand, sat at the table Jack chose and asked for sothing simple.
"Just a juice," he said.
Jack gave him a look. "You should drink. You don’t have to get drunk, but at least try."
Neo nodded politely but when the glass was placed in front of him, he didn’t touch it.
Jack only chuckled and turned back to his own order.
He downed the first mug easily.
The alcohol did nothing to soone of his strength.
Then he pulled out a small container of his own and poured himself another round.
Neo watched silently, not interfering, as Jack went on.
After a few more mugs, Jack leaned back in his chair, a bit of color rising to his cheeks.
"Where have you been?" Jack suddenly asked. "Did you know how worried I was?"
Neo smiled faintly, almost amused. "Stop talking like a clingy girlfriend."
"Shut up," Jack muttered, his speech slightly slurred. "You’re dodging the question. You always do that when you want to hide sothing."
Jack narrowed his eyes.
"Where the hell have you been? I know you, Neo. There’s no way you wouldn’t have co back to Earth unless sothing important kept you away."
Neo just smiled again without saying anything.
Jack stared at him, eyes narrowed, refusing to let it drop.
"I was training," Neo finally said.
Jack sat up straighter. "Training? Where!?"
Neo hesitated for a mont, then answered, "It... was a unique place. I couldn’t leave it until recently."
By now, Neo could tell that Jack didn’t know about him being captured by the Alliance.
That ant the Alliance had kept the entire matter hidden.
Or else, Ilyana’s spies would’ve known about Neo.
"Training? Training? Training!"
Jack’s voice rose with each word until he slamd his mug onto the table.
"Why the hell is that all you think about?"
Neo glanced at him.
Jack’s cheek was pressed against the table.
His hand was wrapped loosely around another mug of alcohol.
He could have cleared the alcohol from his system instantly if he wanted, but the fact that he hadn’t made it clear.
He was drinking to loosen his tongue, to say what he normally wouldn’t.
"Dammit..." Jack muttered. His voice trembled faintly. "Why do we have to fight and train so much? What sort of cris did we commit in our past life that we can’t even have a mont of happiness?"
The question hung between them, unanswered.
Neo quietly picked up the bottle on the table and poured more alcohol into Jack’s mug.
He waited for a mont, then asked, "So, about Layla and you."
Jack lifted his head slightly. "Yes?"
"Just tell one thing. Did you talk to her when she was a child?"
Jack froze, his eyes widening.
He jerked upright in his seat.
"W–wait, what kind of accusation is that!?" Jack stamred, clearly alard despite the alcohol. "I was barely able to et anyone back then. I was constantly moving around to train. The first ti I had a proper conversation with Layla was when she was twenty-two."
Neo looked at him, as if wondering the authenticity of his statent."
"Hey, stop labeling as a child predator!"
He said it loud enough that the pub went quiet.
Heads turned, and soon almost everyone in the room was looking at him.
Whispers broke out, people muttering about how they just heard soone shouting about being called a predator.
Jack’s face flushed crimson.
He coughed hard, then glared at the room.
"What are you all staring at!? Mind your own business!"
The people quickly looked away, pretending they hadn’t heard anything.
Jack clicked his tongue in irritation.
He snapped his fingers, and instantly, a bubble ford around their table, muting their voices from leaving.
He leaned back in his chair with a sigh.
"So what happened between you and Layla?" Neo asked calmly.
Jack didn’t answer right away.
He just stared into the mug in his hand, watching the surface of the alcohol ripple slightly.
He sat like that for a while, lost in thought, before finally speaking.
"I’ll tell you," he said, "but only if you promise to tell what you were actually doing."
"I told you already. I was training—"
"Both of us know that’s a lie."
"..."
Jack’s expression was serious.
The alcohol was not enough to dull the sharp look in his eyes.
Neo studied him for a mont.
He was asking about sothing deeply personal.
If Jack and Layla had truly been together, Neo knew it wasn’t his place to dig.
But at the sa ti, the way Jack spoke, the way he looked... it wasn’t soone hiding guilt.
It was soone grieving, soone who wanted another person to share the burden.
It’s like he’s crying, and he needs soone to listen to him, Neo thought, watching him.
"Okay," Neo said finally, letting out a long sigh. "Tell about you and Layla, and I’ll tell you what I was really doing."
Jack leaned back, the mug still in his hand.
He didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he rolled the drink around, staring at it as if the swirling liquid could arrange his thoughts.
After a while, he muttered, "Things were always awkward between and Layla."
Neo stayed quiet, waiting.
"She asked for a relationship more than once," Jack continued.
His tone was flat, but underneath there was sothing heavy.
"But I could never say yes. One reason was because she’s your sister. The other..." he hesitated, "...the other was because I couldn’t get over Nyx. No matter how much ti passed, I couldn’t. I still can’t."
Neo didn’t interrupt.
Jack clearly had a lot more to say.
"So ti went on like that. Layla kept trying to shorten the distance between us. She tried to propose again and again. And then—"
"And then?" Neo asked when Jack stopped.
Jack lowered his head, covering his face with both hands.
His voice was muffled when he spoke. "She used that."
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