Dusk wasn’t a bleeding heart. He didn’t go out of his way to care about other people. Sure, there were things he couldn’t ignore, but he wasn’t the guy others normally felt comfortable confiding in. His exterior was an apathetic, alcoholic shell. And yet, the clumsy, shy way in which the other interacted with Dusk was oddly… curious. Dusk should have been annoyed – normally, he wouldn't have even bothered to help the other pick up the mess he’d made.
But, Nathan’s words were siting in the back of his mind, like a taunt: Or are we not worthy of a bit of kindness?
He could be kind, even if it wasn’t exactly within his normal character. So he listened, taking another sip of his drink as he did so. He could read the anxious energy in the faltering way the other talked. Dusk didn’t pretend to understand the asset’s position, but he knew they had roles to fill and if the asset no longer had use in the tower, that spelled nothing but bad things for the other.
Dusk finished off his drink before signalling the bar tender for another. “You’re injured,” he stated, gesturing to the asset’s hand. “It would be unreasonable to expect you to be able to excel at a job that requires both hands until you’ve healed.”
“I guess it’s easier to them to replace me than it is to spend time rehabilitating me.” It was the first time that Jesse had voiced the thought out loud. It made his lip quiver, his gaze sliding away from Dusk to survey the bar. There were only a couple other associates there, none of which Jesse knew, but any of them could easily report how useless he was back to someone who would make that decision.
He started to put his tools away. “They really don’t have any patience when it’s a psychological problem. And when I don’t have an associate to back me up.” Now he was really starting to feel stupid for turning down Ian’s offer. Stupid, stupid Jesse was going to get himself killed just because he wanted to be loved. Pathetic.
Something compelled him to carry on talking, however dumb it was. “My name’s Jesse. You know, just in case you want to know.” He scratched the back of his ear with his screwdriver before putting it back in his tool kit. “Allegedly I do tech support. I used to be pretty good at it. And then I got shot in the arm.”