#* chats.

memories of the nights spent with damien, liquor coloring their blood and the short-lived absence of any and all worries, had not faded from will’s head. back in the 80s, in fact, when it felt as though the room caved in and he’d give in to the weight of whatever mission they’d have to tackle next, he anchored himself to them. to this day, he had not been able to experience anything similar -- no one understood what pressure from the bureau was like, or how draining the missions were. after all, that they’d been all thrown into the chaos together was what made the people in the initiative so special.

    sometimes will could still feel a distance between him and damien. he clung onto it to avoid exposing himself, and it stood even 15 years later. but now, fingertips pressed against the glass of the scotch bottle, it felt lighter. everything did -- like it was more tolerable, that could allow himself not to worry about it for as long as the liquor lasted them. 

    he smiled at damien. of course he was visibly content. he didn’t get to relive this every day. 

    “let’s see if we can still take our alcohol, shall we?” will teased lightheartedly, handing damien a glass and keeping one to himself. he balanced it on a hand as he opened the bottle, extending it to him so as if to allow him to pour him his glass.

while he had actively chosen to distance himself from the initiative, he had received news about its reformation and the subsequent breakthroughs under the new director’s leadership. he had paid the new headquarters a visit, but only once, in the past ten months; the sight, while still bare-bones at the time of his visit, had left him speechless.

will didn’t know how to reach out to zia given how their last conversation had gone. evidently, he felt riddled with embarrassment and shame; it was also regrettable that they’d be running on yet another tight schedule for this mission, and that they’d be taking care of different zones throughout.

  but for now, he wanted to make use of whichever opportunity he could cram in before they left. 

   “hey,” he greeted, already feeling as though he’d fallen victim to poor word choice. “i just... i know it’s not great timing, but i just wanted to say i’m sorry about what happened back in manhattan.” 

uncertain as he was as to what to expect, the ride up to the headquarters, the building’s facade, and the outline of the common area all simultaneously welcomed him with their characteristic nostalgic charm & made his stomach turn into knots. foolish how the sole glimpse of the familiar architecture was already that degree of intimidating. 

    will allowed himself some time to unpack, thinking otherwise would do the same. admittedly, it was mostly an excuse he kept feeding himself to delay the unavoidable. it’d eased his qualms for a while; however, soon enough he felt cooped up and a bit immature for resorting to isolation. with a slightly more determined pace, he left the room and headed to the common area. 

   in a moment of distraction, he turned the corner a little abruptly, taking a couple steps back so as to avoid with whom he, seconds later, identified to be damien. 

   “i’m sorry--” he stopped himself mid-sentence, shaking his head ever so gently, offering the other an apologetic smile. god, that’d been one shitty greeting. “i remembered that hallway being a couple feet longer.” trying to shake off the embarrassment, will then smiled at damien, the contentment at being reunited with an old friend evident in his gaze, even if his words failed to make it evident. “it’s great to see you. how-- how was the way over here?”

fuck. fuck. fuck. will couldn’t stop pacing around as the sound of incoming journalists seeped in from the adjacent room. he had already done a miserable job back at central park, so the incentive for the press conference to make up for it was there.

   “well, commander, that was a roaring success,” will let out, a faint air of insolence to his words. here he was, price’s wunderkind -- look at him go and fuck things up as usual.

 he knew the stakes, and a measly job in front of the audience just wouldn’t cut it. furthermore, the fact that this had been planned as more of a show than an actual conference left will with a bitter aftertaste.

    “we’re not doing them any favors keeping in the shadows, we’re putting them at risk. we can’t lie to their faces like that, it’s... we shouldn’t. ” 

to be engulfed by the nostalgia upon having returned to the headquarters left will with temporary blindness to the threats that loomed ahead. for a moment, he let the short-sighted optimism rule his thinking. it all initially felt like a reunion with old friends, a gathering to catch up and reminisce about their glory days. 

   a somewhat somber prospect began nibbling at him then. he knew that as soon as the air of sentimentality were to begin dissipating, to overlook the high stakes would become impossible. he didn’t want to give in to the tension just yet, nor to let himself become enfeebled by worry when it was clear that it was too early for it. so as arduous as it was, the man encouraged himself to quiet the nagging about the oncoming missions and debriefings. 

   will was aware that he’d be meeting cesare eventually. it would be undeniable strange to welcome him back into their routines after having existed in normalcy for so long. still, that didn’t keep will from sending (or trying to send) a polite, albeit faint, grin the moment he found himself looking into the other man’s eyes.  whenever he found himself in his company, will expected it to be all bout business. 

   “long time no see, coach,” it wasn’t entirely a lie, but not fully true either. still, will didn’t really count his recruitment visit as a proper meeting.  

will didn’t know if he was ready to be thrown back into the whirlwind of the old days. of course, the question didn’t come to that -- he was well aware that, ready or not, what mattered was that the mission was done by the end of the day. 

     only a short time away from being flown over to central park, will approached cesare -- the man whose ever-calm, composed disposition he wished he could imitate in times like this. 

      “any suprise pep talks prepared for today by any chance?”