Won't You Be My Neighbor

ALISTAIR Alistair hadn't quite been himself lately. He'd been brash, a risk takes, dare you say a dare devil. Impulsive, every ounce of caution he once practiced so strictly, had been discarded for the desire to act on the here and now. Regret would come later if need be, and so far...he had none. Tonight he felt like a drink...or 20. Bottle in hand as he swayed about the streets, Alistair subconsciously guided himself to locations he felt he needed to be tonight. First stop...Ronin As he approached his door, Alistair had motioned to knock, gently of course. Who was to say he wasn't sleeping at this hour? Instead, three thuds of his forehead against the door were given. After the final thud, he simply leaned against it for some unknown comfort. Had Ronin approached the door he would hear the soft snores of a drunk against his door.

Luckily enough for Alistair, Ronin wasn't asleep. Luckier still was the fact that the other man was gentle in his knocking, for it meant that he didn't risk waking Vanya. If that had happened the ex-captain would not be so kind to his friend. As it was, Ronin glanced up from his place sitting near the hearth in the guildhall, arching an eyebrow out at the foyer. He placed down the throwing axe he'd been sharpening and rose to his feet, heading to the door only to hear a soft snoring from behind it. Monsters didn't tend to knock, and they definitely didn't tend to slump against the door and fall asleep. Smirkng and rolling his eyes and expecting, at the very least, a drunken stranger, Ronin opened the door and stood aside for whoever it was to unceremoniously fall in. Oh. It was Alistair . "Hello, Al," Ronin murmured. ronin begin again, as the storm

ALISTAIR "Oof..." Alistair grunted as he swung himself in as the door opened, hand gripping the corridor in time to prevent him from face planting. "I...uh...hey Ronin. This is uh...Not what it looks like." He slurred, chuckling drunkenly as he attempted to push himself upright. "Shit...I didn't wake uh...V-v-v...Vanya r-r-right? It's been a night..." He attempted to reason with a squint of his eye. The floor being very uncooperative right now, which he didn't really appreciate it. "Ashe is gone...no fucking idea where...but ain't here. Ain't with me. So no reason to care...right? Sorry, sorry you don't need to be...be hearing this. You actually have a family, you're happy...don't need this... Whatever it is I'm doing here...don't need this. I'm sorry." Alistair slowly hoisted his bottle and uncorked it with his teeth and took a long pull. "I'm a real shit ain't I?"

Ronin arched an eyebrow as his friend staggered in and clung to the foyer to stay upright, unable not to smile to him. "What does it look like, Al?" he wanted to know, tilting his head and shifting to click the door shut behind him - at least that way he wouldn't go stumbling back out into the night and onto his ass. Not yet, anyway. The ex-captain cocked an ear as if to listen out for any movement from the floor above; when there wasn't any he shook his head. "No, I think you're safe. But it certainly looks like it's been a night, friend. Come on. This is a conversation better had in front of a fire." If Alistair allowed, Ronin would duck under his fellow hunter's arm to help keep him upright, then lead him into the guildhall proper. "Don't apologise," he told him quietly, arching an eyebrow as he took another pull from the bottle, but he couldn't tell him not to even if it seemed like a bad idea. "I don't think you're a shit. Here, sit down." Providing they had made it without toppling over, Ronin would try to guide Alistair into the seat he'd recently vacated. That done, he crouched down before the other man, resting his elbows on his knees. "You miss her?" he asked. ronin begin again, as the storm

ALISTAIR "It...It looks like I'm drunk." Alistair whispered, eyes scanning side to side as if disclosing a precious secret before he laughed, nearly toppling until Ronin slid under his arm. "This is...insensitive of me. You...You don't drink. I...I'm sorry. This is not easy for you...seeing this. Don't worry, I can fix this..." With a swing, Alistair threw his bottle into the fire causing it to roar briefly. He suddenly flopped on the chair. "Vai is gonna be pissed...stole that bottle. No worries, I have another." He'd pat his breast, reaching into his shirt slipping a smaller bottle out, twisting it open as he moved to take a pull and looked at Ronin before he sighed and tucked it back into his shirt. "Hard to miss someone who was never there. No matter how hard I tried...was never enough. You place your faith and everything you are into one person...and they betray you. I would have followed her, wherever you wanted to go. Would have showed her, as I always did, she was never alone...but I couldn't do that with her being nothing short of a ghost. It should sting more than it has...but it doesn't. I fought for a ghost. A figment of my imagination. You can be a good soul, with a kind spirit and still tell people to go fuck themselves when it's needed. That's what I did...and I don't regret a word of it. It's her choice how she wanted to live her life. I simply let her do it." Giving a heavy sigh Alistair flopped his head back, fingers running between his eyes. "May she find the anguish she so desperately desires."

"You know, I think... you might be right." Ronin's voice was similarly hushed, like they were sharing a conspiracy, and he chuckled to himself as he steadied the other man. His eyebrows raised as Alistair called himself insensitive, and he opened his mouth to object when the hunter launched the bottle into the fire. "Well that certainly is a shame... I'd be pissed at you too." He smirked. "I didn't drink. Times change, and so do people. Nothing wrong with it every now and then, though I think you might have had a bit too much." Even so, Ronin held out a hand as if to ask for the smaller bottle that Al had sequestered away. He could at least cough up and share if he was going to be drunk in the ex-captain's house. By that point, though, his friend began to speak about Ashetta, and Ronin's expression softened. "I remember you trying to judge my intentions towards her," he said quietly. "You're a good man, Alistair. And you deserve more than what she was able to give you. I just... I'm sorry that it ended the way it did. You and I are still friends though, you know? If there's anything I can do to help... even if it's just sitting here and sharing a drink with you, I'm there, you know?" ronin begin again, as the storm

ALISTAIR "Would have been better off if you fucked her right then and there, good and proper." Alistair slurred as he slipped the bottle back out and shook his head with a chuckle. "Foolish bravado over some illusion...had the choice been hers she might have been willing. Would have been a more justifiable reason to be angry than simply not being around." To say Alistair had a tainted view of his ex-wife would be an understatement. He was normally reserved, forgiving, and possessed an understanding nature. However his current mindset would have him leave her behind had she been trapped in a burning building and only he had the key to the door to let her out. He would do so without hesitation. That was the sting and humiliation she had tainted him with. "Should have let Warren go about his business with her...I kept her sane so she could look for other ways to be insane. You're right Ronin...I deserve better than what she gave...that being nothing. So, can't imagine it'll be too difficult to find someone that gives more than nothing." Alistair laughed at the thought, taking a pull from his bottle before offering it to Ronin "Rude of me...venting like a defiled whore left without coin for her efforts. Here you are, growing a family like a normal fucking human being. I'm a poor friend to you..." Alistair leaned forward, and had Ronin been caught off guard, would pull him into a hug so they were cheek to cheek. "I always had faith you would find your light. I love you, and will always be here for you. You are my brother Ronin, and no one could ever tell me otherwise. I love you." Hands clasped Ronin's cheeks as Alistair planted a kiss firmly on the lips before giving him a pat on his shoulder. "Must be honest...the time since parting with Ashetta, has been liberating. Thinking for myself, doing what is best for me...just living with no expectations. I met someone..." His voice trailed off as he thought about Rexanna and grinned. "It's been...educational with her. We both have a mutual understanding of what we want and expect and...whatever it is, it's been...fun. I thought I broke a rib at some point..." Alistair thought out loud, feeling his side with a wince as he tried to recall his 'encounters' with the escaped princess. {[Bunny Permission by Honey ]}

Ronin couldn't help but wrinkle his nose as the other man's bluntness when it came to Ashetta; not because he didn't think he was entitled to his feelings, gods no. It was just... the small assassin was like a sister to him, and Alistair like a brother. The idea of fucking her was just as vile as it had been when they'd had that meeting on the beach so long ago. Accepting the bottle, he uncorked it and took a short sip, relishing the burn in his throat and his chest before handing it back to his friend. Letting out a long sigh, Ronin leant his elbows on his knees and gazed up at Alistair. "Doesn't mean that you can't feel bad for not being able to get more than nothing with her," he tried - because if he was really over it, he wouldn't be flat out drunk in Ronin's home, right? The sudden, slurring hug brought a laugh bubbling up in Ronin's chest, and he slung an arm around Alistair in return half because he wanted to and half because he had to in order not to fall back on his ass. "Hey, now. You don't have to get soft with me, Al. I know. I love you too, man. You'll find what you're looking for, probably when you least ex--" Speaking of things he didn't expect, Ronin suddenly found lips pressed against his own, punctuated by a stubbled cheek and the scent of booze. Luckily for the other man he wasn't even a little perturbed, merely blinking at Alistair as they parted and he continued on his rambling way. "Oh?" Talk of Rexanna was welcome, no matter how much of a rebound Ronin thought it might be. "Broke a rib you say? Is this the same madam who followed you over the Bone Bridge?" ronin begin again, as the storm

ALISTAIR "The one and only...though she followed me after my dive off the bridge." Realizing how crazy that all sounded Alistair looked at Ronin and laughed. "I was curious it that being was true to its word...guess it was blind faith I would land on my feet. If not...was prepared for that too." The latter trailed off as his smile faded for only a moment as he waited for Ronin to drink, once he did he would move to take the bottle back up to take another pull. "I was in a bad way...She was an outlet I needed to feel better about myself. A moment of light in the darkness that swirls..." Clearly Ronin was no stranger to the darkness that would plague one's mind, Alistair knew that much. "There's nothing there...I've learned not to invest...we both seem to understand what comes from eachother's company and understanding has made it easier. No expectations right? Can't be disappointed if you expect nothing to begin with. All the perks...none of the responsibility or stress...seems like an even exchange." He reasoned taking a pull that gave two audible glug-glug sounds before offering it back to him. "Enough about my shit...papa Ronin, that has a mighty fine ring to it. Family..." He trialled with a nod and smile. "...that's what it's all about right?"

It was apparent, at least to Ronin, that whatever Alistair was going through - whether it was a breakdown, a crisis, or just embracing the spontaneity of life - it still went to some dark places. The ex-captain smiled sadly and nodded in understanding. They walked the same line between the dark and the light, and while Ronin had Vanya to keep illuminating his way, he had tumbled into the shadows more than once. He took his drink from the bottle and handed it back to Alistair, smirking as he heard about the other man and Rexanna. At least they both seemed to be on the level with each other, and that's what Al sounded like he needed right now. A smile he couldn't hope to contain flashed across his face at the new moniker, Ronin accepting the bottle back and raising it in a toast. "I'm getting used to it," he said softly. "And yeah... that is what it's all about, Al. You'll have it too, one day. I'm sure of it." He sipped at the bottle before handing it back to his friend for good. ronin begin again, as the storm