[attr="class","icon"]

What was he doing here? Jethro huffed with agitation, as though the ex-Rocket had just asked an unfathomably stupid question, [break][break]

“Makin' sure you didn't croak on me, you sunnovabitch.” [break][break]

Anger and irritation was so much easier to deal with then worry anyway, but that didn't stop the farmer from removing his hat, an act of deference and a nervous tic all in one, [break][break]

“I, ahem,” he began, clearing his throat as he began to worry the brim of the hat between his fingers, “Heard you went off ta play soldier. And I heard you got laid up for a spell.” [break][break]

It probably would have been a kinder gesture to have visited the man while he was recovering in the hospital, but the thought of stepping into one of those sterile establishments of death made Jethro feel ill. Even aside from the fact that much of their bad blood had passed, the ex-Ranger didn't think he could have stood to see the deputy wounded in such a way, trapped in a place the farmer had only ever associated with tragedy, [break][break]

“But here you are, prancin' around like nothin' happened,” Jethro huffed with an incredulous chuckle. [break][break]

His eyes narrowed as he glanced up and down at the deputy, [break][break]

“How're you gettin' on these days?”

[attr="class","bottom"]mission [break]
Montgomery James [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

Monty's own incredulity was enough to immediately put Jethro at ease. He listened and shook his head and placed his hat neatly back upon it, [break][break]

“Didn't have nothin' better ta do, huh?” [break][break]

But that simply demonstrated the desire that the ex-Rocket had professed the last couple of times their paths had crossed – to turn over a new leaf and leave his criminal past behind him. No better way to prove that point and serve some sort of penance than to stick his neck out for the good folks of Hoenn, Jethro supposed. Still, there was something the younger man wasn't telling him, and it was eating at the farmer like a bloodthirsty tick clinging to a Sawsbuck's hide, [break][break]

“I'm gettin' along just fine,” the ex-Ranger replied easily, “Fallarbor's quiet, for the time bein'.” [break][break]

Though maybe it was just a matter of time before that changed. Woe be upon the miserable Rocket dogs that tried to step foot onto his homestead, though. Jethro dismissed the grim thought before continuing, and he fixed Monty with a steely, searching look, [break][break]

“You sure yer doin' alright? That ain't the sorta thing folks just walk away from.”

[attr="class","bottom"]mission [break]
Montgomery James [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

Hook, line, and sinker; Jethro would have felt a little smug about how readily he had seen through Monty, if the guy didn't look so damn miserable. The ex-Ranger shook his head and clicked his tongue, and groaned as his aching joints protested his decision to plop down next to Monty, [break][break]

“Well,” he wheezed as he adjusted his sitting position, “Suppose that depends on a couple'a things.” [break][break]

If this was going the direction Jethro thought it was, Monty was going to need all the help he could get. Luckily for him, he was talking to a man with plenty of experience on the subject, [break][break]

“First of all, what exactly do you find so... fascinatin' about 'em?” [break][break]

Because if it was enough to make a man want to compromise their morals and values, there was a solid chance that Monty was putting too much stock in what little Monty had to say about whoever this person was. But there were more pressing details to address, [break][break]

“And, second of all, how literal are you bein' about this whole 'tryin' to kill each other' shit? Because that's... hoo boy, that's a whole other can of worms.” [break][break]

Jethro knew firsthand that love made men stupid as all hell, but this was on a whole other level. Sure, the ex-Ranger figured that sometimes the now-deputy had his head so far up his ass that he probably couldn't find it with both hands and a flashlight (because really, someone with that sort of criminal record was generally either extremely desperate or extremely dumb), but this? This was something else altogether. This might have been one of those rare examples of advanced stupidity, and for Monty's sake, Jethro hoped his case wasn't terminal.

[attr="class","bottom"]mission [break]
Montgomery James [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

Jethro frowned a little. His husband was peacefully interred in a little family plot, just outside of a shady little grove where they used to go pick wild blackberries. [break][break]

But then the ex-Ranger thought of him and his berry juice-stained fingers and how they would lace between his own, whether they were sharing a quiet moment when there were no customers to been seen at the old general store, or whether they were dancing beneath the hazy, incandescent glow of the light in their kitchen, where Jesse held him as though he were the most precious and important thing in the world while some old honky-tonk tune came crackling over the radio. The ex-Ranger turned away and wiped at his eyes; yeah, he knew exactly what Monty meant, [break][break]

“I mean,” he continued, until Jethro paused to clear his throat and chase away the little bit of shakiness that had threatened to give away the bit of tenderheartedness, [break][break]

“They better be worth it, if yer riskin' yer hide for 'em. 'Specially if they're the one with their finger on the trigger. You prepared to take that bullet, Monty?” [break][break]

But that was all love was, wasn't it? Giving someone the power to destroy you absolutely, and trusting them not to. It probably would have been wiser to tell Monty not to bother with someone that was so potentially dangerous, but love really did make men stupid, Jethro included.

[attr="class","bottom"]mission [break]
Montgomery James [break]

[attr="class","icon"]

Of course he didn't. Jethro did his best to hide the flash of disappointment, but he was sure that some of it must have been evident in the way he furrowed his brow, [break][break]

“Whelp, you best figure it out, and you best figure it out quick.” [break][break]

His bright eyes took on a steely quality, his gaze stern and unyielding, as Jethro looked to the ex-Rocket again, [break][break]

“You an' I both know what it's like ta be in the line'a fire.” [break][break]

A beat passed, and with a tired wheeze, the ex-Ranger pushed himself off the ground and to his feet. He stopped a moment to adjust the hat on his head, and didn't turn again to Monty when he continued, [break][break]

“And you know where ta find me, if you need some cover.” [break][break]

Because for all of his misgivings about Monty and whatever new flight of fancy had so entirely consumed him, Jethro wouldn't let him hang out to dry. It's not the sort of thing a good and honest man would do, and even though the ex-Ranger thought he was pretty shitty at being either one of those things, that didn't mean that he couldn't give it the old college try.

[attr="class","bottom"]mission [break]
Montgomery James [break]