Mariko's Request...
...I'm not sure if this is quite what you had in mind, but this is what I ended up with...
Jet really should have known better.
Okay, so comforting others had never been one of his strong suits... Didn't really stop him from trying, anymore, but the words never seemed to come out quite the way he intended, and he often ended up wondering if he'd managed to make things worse.
And... Albert had been moping around more than usual lately, and while the reason was obvious to everyone else, he just refused to talk about it. Which was stupid, in Jet's opinion, since he doubted she'd be too thrilled if he wasted away pining after her...
...Damnit, hadn't they already gone over this before?!
Rather than risk a nasty confrontation with Heinrich, however, Jet decided to go along with other members' plans to draw him out of his shell. Provide a little backup, so to speak, in the hopes his involvement would help, somehow.
In retrospect, he decided, he should have figured it would turn out like this. Just as Chang figured keeping people fed was the best form of comfort, G.B. believed in alcohol's ability to open people up and loosen their tongues.
...It was working, in a sense. Just... not quite as they'd intended.
First off, they hadn't anticipated just how much liquor they'd have to get into the fourth cyborg before it started taking effect. ...Nor did they realize before it was too late that, once it did start working, the stuff would hit him with a vengence...
"...Always... ev'ryone always leaves..."
It only made sense, Jet mused darkly, that Heinrich would turn out to be a weepy drunk.
"...N'ver... ne'vr get t' say g'bye, or n'thin..." he slurred, slumped between the arms holding him up. "Ev'ryone I cares for just goes 'way alls' sudden..."
"Albert... that's not true..." a very contrite Britain insisted, trying to pry the half-empty bottle out of his friend's hand. A clearly concerned Chang had made them take Heinrich to rest in one of the back rooms, a task made difficult by his determination to finish off his twenty-something's round.
"Look," Jet growled, yanking the offending object away and glaring when the German refused to relinquish his grip. "We're here, aren't we? We're not gonna leave you alone, so just stop whining and lay down already before..."
...Okay, Albert looking like he was about to literally cry his unique-looking eyes out was not something Jet had ever expected to see. Nor was it something he ever wanted to see again.
"...Jet's right," Britain piped, thankfully drawing the disturbing stare of a watery-eyed Heinrich toward him. "You'll always have us and the others around, so..."
Albert went very still for a moment, and Jet took advantage of that to pull the bottle away. Then that tumbled to the floor forgotten as a wailing Heinrich latched onto them instead, thrusting his face into Jet's chest and throwing him off balance, setting off a chain reaction that sent all three tumbling back onto the cot.
"Al-Albert?!" Britain screeched, squirming.
"Albert," spat Jet, flailing his legs ineffectually, "what the hell--"
"Don't leave," Heinrich pleaded into his shirt, tightening his hold on both men. "N'ver le... don't leave me 'lone... pr'mise?"
Feeling Britain freeze at that, Jet tensed, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that had little to do with the face buried in his chest. "004, I swear..."
"Promise?" and damnit, Heinrich shifted so that he was staring into those distressingly wide eyes again, all tear-stained and desperately hopeful.
Faced with that, Jet could only sigh and nod, glaring hatefully at Britain as Albert gave a joyful squeal and snuggled back into his shirt, hugging both against him.
<(Eh-he... Well, this doesn't look as bad as it could...)>
<(...Once I get the feeling back in my arms, you're so dead...)>
Jet really should have known better.
Okay, so comforting others had never been one of his strong suits... Didn't really stop him from trying, anymore, but the words never seemed to come out quite the way he intended, and he often ended up wondering if he'd managed to make things worse.
And... Albert had been moping around more than usual lately, and while the reason was obvious to everyone else, he just refused to talk about it. Which was stupid, in Jet's opinion, since he doubted she'd be too thrilled if he wasted away pining after her...
...Damnit, hadn't they already gone over this before?!
Rather than risk a nasty confrontation with Heinrich, however, Jet decided to go along with other members' plans to draw him out of his shell. Provide a little backup, so to speak, in the hopes his involvement would help, somehow.
In retrospect, he decided, he should have figured it would turn out like this. Just as Chang figured keeping people fed was the best form of comfort, G.B. believed in alcohol's ability to open people up and loosen their tongues.
...It was working, in a sense. Just... not quite as they'd intended.
First off, they hadn't anticipated just how much liquor they'd have to get into the fourth cyborg before it started taking effect. ...Nor did they realize before it was too late that, once it did start working, the stuff would hit him with a vengence...
"...Always... ev'ryone always leaves..."
It only made sense, Jet mused darkly, that Heinrich would turn out to be a weepy drunk.
"...N'ver... ne'vr get t' say g'bye, or n'thin..." he slurred, slumped between the arms holding him up. "Ev'ryone I cares for just goes 'way alls' sudden..."
"Albert... that's not true..." a very contrite Britain insisted, trying to pry the half-empty bottle out of his friend's hand. A clearly concerned Chang had made them take Heinrich to rest in one of the back rooms, a task made difficult by his determination to finish off his twenty-something's round.
"Look," Jet growled, yanking the offending object away and glaring when the German refused to relinquish his grip. "We're here, aren't we? We're not gonna leave you alone, so just stop whining and lay down already before..."
...Okay, Albert looking like he was about to literally cry his unique-looking eyes out was not something Jet had ever expected to see. Nor was it something he ever wanted to see again.
"...Jet's right," Britain piped, thankfully drawing the disturbing stare of a watery-eyed Heinrich toward him. "You'll always have us and the others around, so..."
Albert went very still for a moment, and Jet took advantage of that to pull the bottle away. Then that tumbled to the floor forgotten as a wailing Heinrich latched onto them instead, thrusting his face into Jet's chest and throwing him off balance, setting off a chain reaction that sent all three tumbling back onto the cot.
"Al-Albert?!" Britain screeched, squirming.
"Albert," spat Jet, flailing his legs ineffectually, "what the hell--"
"Don't leave," Heinrich pleaded into his shirt, tightening his hold on both men. "N'ver le... don't leave me 'lone... pr'mise?"
Feeling Britain freeze at that, Jet tensed, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that had little to do with the face buried in his chest. "004, I swear..."
"Promise?" and damnit, Heinrich shifted so that he was staring into those distressingly wide eyes again, all tear-stained and desperately hopeful.
Faced with that, Jet could only sigh and nod, glaring hatefully at Britain as Albert gave a joyful squeal and snuggled back into his shirt, hugging both against him.
<(Eh-he... Well, this doesn't look as bad as it could...)>
<(...Once I get the feeling back in my arms, you're so dead...)>