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oblivious to the fact that he may have accidentally ruined illeana reyes's evening with his invitation, jayden looks up with a smile at his fellow admin when he approaches.

[break][break] "you don't have to call me that, you know. jayden is fine," he says casually, pushing a menu towards the other. "are you hungry?"

[break][break] clubbing is not actually his thing, and if he hadn't had a tip that there would be some interesting characters in appearance today, he would've chosen a quieter venue. but it seemed like this was the place to hear the gossip in mossdeep, and if they wanted to gain any future intel, today would be the place to start.

[break][break] "how was your day?"

[break][break]

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a jayden of the past would be sequestered into silence, but a day of long meetings and forcing himself to keep up his mask makes him more talkative than he would normally be. plus,
the sweet allure of alcohol that loosens his lips.

[break][break] "busy too. it's been chaotic after meteno."

[break][break] he takes a swig of the drink - sweeter than he thought it'd be.

[break][break] "did you see the email?"

[break][break] back to work. it's a hard habit to break, and he's just as guilty of it.

[break][break] "mint made beast."

[break][break] there's a bit of a smile on his lips, feeling pride for their friend.

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"mhm."

[break][break] he takes a swig of his drink, watching as a waiter settles down some appetizers between them.

[break][break] "i suggested it to theo, alongside Marza Volchitsa."

[break][break] his head tilts.

[break][break] "do you have anyone you're keeping an eye on?"

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Zev Harcourt.

[break][break] jayden nods, recognizing the name. though it had been some time since he'd worked personally alongside the other, he knew the professional hitman to be nothing but perfect in his work. and rocket had a lot to thank him for, even back in kanto.

[break][break] "ashley?"

[break][break] jayden blinks.

[break][break] "why him?"

[break]

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the look in jayden's eyes is indiscernible.

[break][break] there was no way that Felix Gallagher would have known all that transpired between him and his ex-childhood best friend, which made jayden even more curious as to why the other would've caught their attention.

[break][break] "do you think he'll defect again?"

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a churn of emotions rises up in him, complicated by the past that he's buried with Ashley Shepard. part of him wants to trust the other, part of him knows that he has to. normally, it was not something jayden would have even thought of questioning.

[break][break] normally, it was simple.

[break][break] when ashley had not been in rocket, he had to kill him.

[break][break] now that ashley was back, there was no issue.

[break][breka] but the burn of alcohol on his tongue and the feeling of remorse was tantamount in the air as he considered Ashley Shepard's future, and the future of rocket. he wanted, more than anything, for him and ashley to be friends again, like they used to be.

[break][break] "when he betrayed rocket the first time," he says, loose-lipped. "he almost killed me."

[break][break] his hand brushes against the wound along his shoulder, a memory rising. the horror in his eyes when he realized his best friend had stabbed him, the reminder of his father's words to never trust anyone, and the agony swelling in his limbs as he was left in a pool of blood on the floor.

[break][break] a voice that's only a little bit broken.

[break][break] "we were best friends."