Nekoholic

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Basil planted himself in front of the door, leaning against it as he said, "He just wants to look at it, okay? If you don't do this, you'll just get worse. There's nothing to be scared of."

"Like Hell you have," Leith said, slamming a fist onto the table, surprising even himself. A couple of other patrons turned to look their way, but in the silence, they eventually resumed their idle chatter and drinking. He sighed, but nevertheless, he continued, "Look, there is someone out there who obviously cares about you and is depending on you. Are you really going to let him down?"

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Basil smiled, relieved, and the two of them entered the clinic; it was small, with two cots in the far back of the main room. On one, there was an old man who leaned against the headrest, a book in his hands and an IV hooked up to one arm, but the other was empty. At a desk, there was a middle-aged man in a white coat that was lightly stained with blood, who was so focused on writing on his clipboard that he didn't even notice them arrive.
Clearing his throat nervously, Basil said, "Excuse me, sir?"
Head shooting up in surprise, the doctor made a little sound from somewhere deep in his throat, dropping his pen in the process. It clattered noisily onto the floor. But then he smiled and said, "Ah, yes, hello. I hope that there is nothing too dire, but how can I help you two boys today?"

Leith lifted a hand to his chest, dramatically feigning offense. "And here I thought we were just becoming friends. Obviously, I was mistaken." He then smirked. "But no, you're not dealing with your problems, kid. Besides, who even drinks beer when they want to forget? There's barely any alcohol in the damn things. It's mostly just yeast. Yeast that is over two centuries old, at that." If he'd had a nose, he'd be wrinkling it in disgust. "Nasty and harmful beverages aside, how about you at least try talking about whatever happened with us? Maybe we could help you out."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Basil winced when he ran directly into him, but grabbed him gently by the shoulders and urged, "Look, you have to see him. I mean, you let me actually remove the bullet and I'm not even licensed! All that he's going to do is give it a look-over and give you some more medication to dull the pain. It won't be that bad, I swear."

Leith sighed, and replied, "Look, the only thing that has an effect on me is a sickeningly sweet combination of Jet and, for whatever reason, Sugar Bombs. After you come to realize that, you find little reason to waste your time with alcohol." He passed the drink over to Kaye. "But other than that, I've just never been much of a drinking man. Someone would have been damn ashamed of me if I resorted to that to forget about my problems, rather than confront and resolve them." He looked pointedly at Jace.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Basil paused, hand nearly on the door's handle, and said, "But you need to get that wound looked over. If you're really concerned about money, then I have enough." He then noticed the boy's expression; he looked panicked, almost. Well, he supposed that was normal. No one really liked having to see the doctor. "He's not going to hurt you, you know. That'd defeat the purpose of being a doctor, after all. If he looks like he's going to harvest your kidney or something, we'll come right back out, okay?"

"Ouch, that one-liner was almost clever," Leith said, rolling his eyes. He shrugged at Kaye, draping one arm over the back of the chair.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"Okay. Just don't let me forget to not let you forget," Basil replied, heading off again towards the clinic. They should be close now.

"What about germs?" Leith inquired. He pushed the beer bottle back with his pinky. Perhaps it wasn't such a great idea to deliberately get on Jace's nerves, but eh. He'd done worse with his life.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," Basil agreed. Though there weren't many people out on the streets, the few who were had eyed them suspiciously. Then again, they probably did that with every stranger.

Leith reluctantly took the proffered chair, though his back immediately thanked him for the relief. He sighed heavily, tipping back just slightly in it as he relaxed. "Damn, I'm getting old."
Especially too old to deal with kids' relationship issues. I wonder if it'd be far-fetched for me to try dating again...a little bit of moisturizing cream, some cologne, and I'd look a hundred and twenty again, I bet.

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"You're a raider," Basil said with a shrug, "Or, rather you used to be." He looked back at him, smirking. "And don't act surprised, please. There aren't exactly many people in the wasteland who would be willing to strap a car door to their chest, you know. You'd have to be crazy to actually wear something like that for extended periods of time."

Leith clenched his jaw at that, and said, "No, we're not the same, Kaye. Have I ever aimed my gun at you or threatened your life in general?" He paused, grabbing Kaye by the arm to stop her. "Kaye, you're right, to a degree. Everyone who wishes to protect something or someone only knows to do so because they have lost the same thing before. But even if you have the justification for the bad things that you've done, it doesn't excuse them--you aren't suddenly an exception to morality. That's why you have to be careful around them, around people like Jace. Around people like me." He finally released her, watching as Jace disappeared into what he assumed to be the town's bar. "Look, maybe you're right. He could be one of the most morally sound people in the entire wasteland, for all I know. But for all you know, he could also be worse than a raider on psycho with a loaded missile launcher in his hands."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"I don't want or expect anything from you, okay?" Basil said, folding his arms over his chest as he headed down the near-empty streets of the town. He glanced behind him to ensure that he still followed after him, then said, "You're welcome to come with me, you know. I highly doubt my friend back there will want to stay with me after all of this, and the other two...well, I don't know about them. I think they just listen for the noise of caps jangling about in someone's pockets or bag, and take off after it, you know? I'm not sure if they hear that coming from me, though." He chuckled softly. "Anyways, it's not a good idea to go wandering off into the wasteland alone, and not every town is looking for new residents, so if you want, coming with me is an option. I could always use an extra pair of hands."

Leith smacked lightly at Kaye's air-pinching fingers and hissed, "Kaye, this is serious. And for the love of God, don't make sexual advances on a potential psychopath. That's one of those things called a 'poor life choice.'"

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

"I'll pay, so don't worry about it," Basil said. He smiled softly, heading towards what appeared to be a crudely drawn map of the town, glued onto a wooden board just a little ways from the gate. "I highly doubt he'll be performing a major operation on you, so it likely won't cost too much, anyhow."

Leith sighed, but nodded in agreement and replied, "I'm finding it harder and harder to trust him, to be honest--not that I've trusted him at all. He's a loose cannon, if he's willing to even pull a gun on someone he claims to want to protect more than anyone or anything else. Basil may be hiding certain things from us, but he's got a good head on his shoulders, at least. Unless he's one of those more manipulative, cold, and calculative sociopaths, whereas Jace is just a hot-headed and emotional type of psychopath." He tapped his chin in contemplation. Then he deadpanned, "Kaye, we should have never taken up with them."

Atomic Rain (Fallout)

Basil, clearly ignoring Jace, looked at the boy with a soft smile and asked, "Want to find the nearest doctor together? I need to stock up on supplies, so we may as well."
Leith, sparing a brief glance at Basil, nodded almost too eagerly at Jace; if Jace was drunk, then he'd spill everywhere about what had happened between him and Basil. Basil, on the other hand, was stubborn when he wanted to be. He doubted he'd be too willing to share, especially after how defensive he'd been earlier when directly asked. Besides, he didn't appear to be the drinking type. Not only that, but if that strong Chem hadn't had any sort of effect on him, he doubted a couple of drinks would, either. Jace was the better bet for now.
"Coming with, Kaye? I highly doubt that anyone would let me into a clinic, anyways," he said.