[ Constitution has nothing to do with it, of course, but he doesn't know Neil nor Charlie well; it's not the kind of situation he'd feel entirely comfortable prying in. ]
You don't, ah, have to entertain me for long. I just wanted to make sure you two had food and were okay.
[Neil nods. He supposes he's just as messy as the room anyway. He retreats further in and sits on the bed, scooting over a few spaces to allow room for Jean.]
[Neil offers a short smile as he's handed the food. He sets the container of soup down on his nightstand, but starts drinking the tea right away. It's soothing on his throat.]
I am from Earth, yes - a place called Earth, I mean. You...aren't?
To make a very long story short, where I grew up, we were told it was the last bastion for humanity. That ended up not being true, though. I was only introduced to the concept of planets four years ago - if they have a name for where I'm from, I don't know it.
[ So it could be Earth! But it might not be. ]
I know whenever I talk about what I've encountered at home, no one is familiar with it.
[Neil doesn't quite understand, at first. He has to walk through the facts again in his mind - last bastion, not true, only four years ago. Based on that alone, Jean's world sounds...horrific. How could anyone keep a bunch of people in the dark like that?
[He really has no idea how to respond at all, but he doesn't want Jean to think that he isn't listening, or worse, that he's judging him.]
[ Of all the responses he's had about his home, Neil's feels the most genuine and thus, most surprising. It steals Jean's words away for a moment, and he raises a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it awkwardly. ]
Ah, you don't have to apologize. There's plenty of places that are worse off, and it's old news to me.
[Neil's voice trails off. He supposes it won't do any good to keep driving home that Jean seems to have come from a terrible place, but...he just resents that fact so much.]
I'm glad you're here instead.
leaves this on a wrappable tag bc i know this event is old now aghls
[He does, of course, but even if he didn't, he'd let Jean tell him anyway. He's glad he's met him too, ever curious to learn. He'll probably come to the conclusion that living in a barracks with a bunch of boys isn't all that different than living in a dorm with them. He's not sure how to feel about that...]
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no subject
[ Constitution has nothing to do with it, of course, but he doesn't know Neil nor Charlie well; it's not the kind of situation he'd feel entirely comfortable prying in. ]
You don't, ah, have to entertain me for long. I just wanted to make sure you two had food and were okay.
[ Alive; he's heard it kills people. ]
no subject
[He's heard it kills people too. Seems like a pretty miserable way to go. He's been trying not to think about it.]
It's good of you to stop in, though. You can stay for a minute if you want. It's kind of a mess...
[Hardly. There are just a few personal belongings lying around, some clothes.]
no subject
[ He can't even claim his home is messy. Between Eren and his own military standards, it's kept fairly clean. ]
I don't mind, so don't worry about it.
no subject
You said barracks. Were you a soldier?
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I was - maybe not the kind of soldier you're familiar with, though. You're from one of the Earth places, right?
no subject
I am from Earth, yes - a place called Earth, I mean. You...aren't?
no subject
[ He shrugs a little, smiling thinly. ]
To make a very long story short, where I grew up, we were told it was the last bastion for humanity. That ended up not being true, though. I was only introduced to the concept of planets four years ago - if they have a name for where I'm from, I don't know it.
[ So it could be Earth! But it might not be. ]
I know whenever I talk about what I've encountered at home, no one is familiar with it.
no subject
[He really has no idea how to respond at all, but he doesn't want Jean to think that he isn't listening, or worse, that he's judging him.]
Jean. That's terrible. I'm sorry.
no subject
Ah, you don't have to apologize. There's plenty of places that are worse off, and it's old news to me.
no subject
[Neil's voice trails off. He supposes it won't do any good to keep driving home that Jean seems to have come from a terrible place, but...he just resents that fact so much.]
I'm glad you're here instead.
leaves this on a wrappable tag bc i know this event is old now aghls
I don't know what it's like where you're from, but I'm glad you're here too - just so I could get to meet you.
Now, want to hear some funny stories about the guys I trained with?
[ If Neil can stand it, Jean will keep him entertained for a bit before he has to go. ]
WRAPT