The door was opened just a crack, giving Chu-e a perfect view of Oscar casually leaning against one of his porch pillars. Oscar was looking at his gloves, adjusting them until he heard the door open. He looked up, smiling as his he gave his gloves one last secure tug. He could only see a bit of Chu-e's eye in the crack of the door, and that was enough to confirm that it was indeed Chu-e and this was indeed his house.

"Hey man!" Oscar exclaimed, his tone casual and sprightly. "It's been a while, we were getting worried about you." Oscar's eyes betrayed his smile. They were sharp, spread wide as if they alone held back a flood of fury. Oscar did not want to be here, not like this. He thought times were dark before, but now? This truly confirmed that they had entered the worst timeline.

Oscar stepped forward, slowly like a prowling predator. "Mind if I come in for a chat?"

Chu-e Choi

Chu-e blinked, staring out at the other. Unlike what most 'former' Rockets might feel when they saw oscar clayton, Chu-e clearly wasn't phased. For all the barely contained fury hidden behind Oscar's eyes, there was only a bland curiosity behind Chu-e's. This wasn't to say that Oscar didn't strike fear into people, that he didn't deserve to be feared. While the other was eccentric, Chu-e had seen the shit he had done in Rocket's name. There was a time it made him proud.

Oscar might find the lack of reaction odd.

Chu-e silently closes the door in the other's face.

The click of a deadbolt dropping and Chu-e opens it wide. Steps aside for the other to enter. Even turns his back and starts to go inside.

"Don't be like that. I know why you're here. Want some tea?" Even if Oscar refused he was already making his way to the kitchen. "I think I have some leftover cookies, too. Snickerdoodle okay?"

Oscar's eyes only relaxed when Chu-e fully opened the door. He was prepared to encounter--conflict the moment Chu-e laid eyes on the Rocket Beast standing on his porch. Luckily, Chu-e proved to be as courteous as Oscar knew him to be. Oscar nodded as Chu-e invited him in for tea, and he would step inside the house without hesitation.

Oscar followed Chu-e into his kitchen, and as his eyes scanned their surroundings Oscar would reply as if there was no tension between them. "That's fine by me. I'm just happy that I am still welcome to cookies." Oscar took a seat at Chu-e's island, watching him as he retrieved the sweets. He was trying to avoid the subject at hand, but Oscar could not help but comment on Chu-e's earlier remark.

"You think you know why I'm here huh? What makes you so sure?"

Chu-e Choi

The teapot is placed on the stove; it's shaped like a Skitty, the tail the spout. Cookies are retrieved from a container on the counter, sat between them as Chu-e takes a seat across from oscar clayton. He grabs one to chew on absently; they smell like cinnamon and vanilla.

"You're always welcome here." It's soft, almost like a regret but not quite. Not really an admission either.

While Oscar might want to shy away from the subject Chu-e wants to charge forward. Deal with it head on. He always hated beating around the bush.

"Kill me, right? Silence me. However you want to word it." Chu-e knew what Rocket did. What Oscar did. There is not judgment there. Just an acceptance. Chu-e knew something like this would happen eventually.

"I didn't leave willingly." It's petulant. Like a child who doesn't want to go to bed. Lifting a sleeve, he allows Oscar to examine the fresh surgery scar on his arm. Small and clean. Chu-e pushes on the spot and skin tightens around a hard, square object. Microchipped like a dog.

Oscar rested his head between his pointer finger and thumb, an amused smile forming on his face. "I'm the only one who knows you're here." His tone was soft, like a father speaking to their distressed child. He could not blame Chu-e for making the assumption that he did, Oscar would have thought the same thing in his shoes.

"I'm in town for a conference. I was at the grocery store stocking on lollipops and who should I see casually shopping nearby?" Oscar gave Chu-e an inquisitive look, a clearly sarcastic gesture. "I followed you home just to make sure I wasn't seeing things. The mixture of confusion and joy I felt was staggering. It was like the world's worst prank."

Oscar let his hand drop to the table, his expression becoming far more dire. "We all thought--still think--you were in danger. You clearly are if they had to chip you, but Rocket may not see it the same way. The question is, what are you going to do when word does get out?"

Chu-e Choi