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[notsolomon]

This is William Twining. I shall reply to your message at my earliest convenience. Thank you. ***BEEP***

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[babermetrics]

What, really? You tryin' to butter me up? I'll take it!

[He leans harder against William's side for a moment, laughing, before heading up to the door of the cafe.]

[notsolomon]

I can't have you thinking I am stingy or anything like that.

[What if Leon told someone about his cheap friend? Where would William be then.

But in they go and the moment they are at the counter he orders.]

Café au lait and one of those lemon muffins, please.

[babermetrics]

[He orders a coffee and a roll of pepperoni bread. Not a thing he's ever had before, but damn, how can you go wrong with pepperoni and bread and cheese? You can't. After William pays and he's heading back to the table, he looks back over at him and smirks:]

Dude, you are stingy.

[Fondly, though. And then he amends it:]

Not as stingy as "Kaz," though.

[notsolomon]

[He sips his coffee, rolling his eyes at the word stingy. He's just pragmatic.]

No one is as stingy as Kazuya though. I think he's added to our food bill, with how much Kevin ends up cooking for him.

[Not that he minded, but it was like he had acquired a cat without meaning to.]

[babermetrics]

You don't all live together though, right? But you live with Kevin?

[Hmm. He hums thoughtfully, lifting his own mug. Too hot to drink much of yet . . . ]

[notsolomon]

Yes, it is just the two of us. Kazuya just like to visit through the window. He's known Kevin longer actually.

[It sounded so weird even now. But it's better than just teleporting into the room.]

[babermetrics]

Man . . . I'm like 50% totally put off by that and 50% kinda jealous, that weird?

[He's pretty relaxed about admitting it, though, weird as it may be, working slowly on his coffee.]

[notsolomon]

It is very weird. What would you have to be jealous of?

[He feels a bit more revived now thanks to the coffee at least.]

[babermetrics]

You weren't supposed to be that blunt about it . . .

[Maybe don't open yourself up to that, Leon.]

But—it's kinda lonely living by myself, I guess. When I first got here, Naegi offered to let me move in with him 'cuz he had two bedrooms, and I was like, hell no! A dude needs his space! If I could live by myself and have 100% privacy, that's what I'm all about!

. . . But now that I've been like that for a few months, I guess sometimes I wish I had a roommate after all. Or that my friends could stay over, or whatever.

[notsolomon]

You should know how I am by now.

[He is a bit surprised by the answer though.]

Maybe you could ask someone. Or find a person from one of the newer batches to live with you.

Honestly, I have never lived alone. It was always with my parents and then my uncle, and all our servants. And even though I do not have a roommate, I'm in a dormitory at school, so it is always busy.

[babermetrics]

Me neither! That's why I was so hyped for this chance, y'know? Like, finally striking out on my own!

[But he realizes a few seconds too late that that's not entirely accurate, and looks down thoughtfully at his coffee, curling his hands around the mug.]

. . . I guess I must've lived alone at Hope's Peak for a couple years, but it doesn't count if I don't remember it, right? Anyway, that was a dorm too, so same difference. And I'd have to move if I asked someone to move in with me here, 'cuz I've only got one bedroom. But I've thought about it!

[notsolomon]

...Hope's Peak? What do you mean by that and not remembering?

[He's thoughtful for a moment as he takes a bite of his muffin.]

And well, if moving is not an option, maybe you could throw more parties and gatherings in your house?

[babermetrics]

Yeah, good idea . . .

[But he's distracted thinking about the Hope's Peak thing. He'd brought it up knowing William doesn't know anything about that, and willing to go into it, but it's still hard to get started. He sighs, looking down at his roll and pulling it apart with his fingers. (It's full of melty cheese, so that's pretty satisfying, at least.)]

Hope's Peak, that's the elite high school I went to. It was like . . . the most prestigious school in the world, y'know? You can only get in if you get scouted out o' the high school you're already in, and everyone there is the best at whatever they do. Like, maybe you're the best pizza chef in the whole world! —Or at least the best one who's in high school. Or the best hairdresser, or the best detective, or whatever. Then they might scout you, and you get invited to attend, and they say anyone who graduates from there is set for the rest of their life. You're like a celebrity, man!

Anyway . . . I was the best baseball player, so they scouted me for my third year of high school.

[He pauses to shove a piece of cheesy bread into his mouth and chew it over thoughtfully.]

[notsolomon]

You in an elite school?

[For a moment, William as going to wonder if Leon was either some secret genius or if his world was patently unfair. Then he heard the rest of the explanation and instantly relaxed. Oh, so it was just baseball.

Though much as he approved of gathering people of talent, that sounded a bit... weird. Who needed the best underage pizza chef in the world?]

That must have been a lot of fun. Is there a reason you do not remember it?

[babermetrics]

[His expression crumples, for a couple of moments, into something bitter and angry, and he rips off a piece of bread with particular violence, staring down at that rather than looking up at William. His tone doesn't do much to hide his bitterness, though, and even he can't quite direct it along any one path. Where can it even go?

He hates that.]

Yeah, well, maybe it was fun, I don't friggin' know. I spent my first year like normal there and then for another year my class got locked up in there in some screwed up colony for our own protection 'cuz the world outside was too wrecked and we'd probably get shot or bombed out or gassed if we stepped outside . . .

But the chick responsible for all that was locked up in there with us all along. She was in my class. So who knows what it was like?

[Well, Togami does. Him and him alone. Leon sighs again, fingers creeping up into his hair to give it a sharp twisting tug.]

And she's the one who screwed up our heads and took our memories too, so she could brainwash us and kill us off later.

[He's been keeping his voice low, if not level—there's definitely some shakiness rattling the words—for this explanation, but finally it rises a little, though he's biting back hard on making this an actual public scene. It's—difficult.]

Think that was fun?

[notsolomon]

[That wasn't what he had expected to hear and William listens to the rant in silence.

It's a bit confusing, though fortunately, Leon's a simple enough guy that the basic details come through.

So it that why he's dead back home?

Well now.]

...I'm sorry.

[He normally wouldn't apologize, particularly in a situation where he hadn't really done anything wrong, but it hadn't been his intention to trip onto this route.]

If it isn't something you want to speak of further, then we won't.

[babermetrics]

[The wind is out of his sails now; he knows William didn't deserve that little snap at the end, and him just reacting with an apology takes the fight right out of Leon. But it was already draining off anyway. Just saying those things aloud . . . he doesn't do that kind of thing, hasn't especially since he came here. And it helped. It felt terrible, but it helped.

He just leans on his elbows on the table, staring down at his coffee again.]

. . . It's cool. You didn't know any o' that . . . I dunno what else to say about it, but—I guess, thanks for listening to it.

[notsolomon]

[Drinking some more of his coffee, William considered for a moment. Honestly, he sometimes thinks of Leon as a person who has never had any complications in his life. Which is perhaps very selfish of him.

And he should have expected something like this after that last confession.]

You have listened to a lot of my complaints over this last half year we have known each other. So, never worry about telling me anything like that.

[Because really, don't.]

...so that is why you have considered staying here, isn't it?

[babermetrics]

. . . Yeah . . . I mean, actually, I talked to Mosley about it, and I got a few options, but—I dunno yet which one's best. One of 'em's staying here forever.

[He finally sips his coffee again, taking a deep breath and relaxing as much as he can. He's had this conversation before. He's glad he's finally having it with William—now that he's past the bit that's more detail than anyone else except his classmates knows yet.]

[notsolomon]

...how many people from back home are here with you? I never really asked.

[He's probably met more than a few of the Hope's Peak people, but never had any reason to make the connection.]

[babermetrics]

[He sighs again, ruffling a hand through his hair, though more lightly this time. No pulling on it, just idly mussing himself up. He'll be annoyed his hair looks silly later.]

It used to be a lot more. Now it's down to just me, Kirigiri, and Togami.

[notsolomon]

Have they talked about what they want to do yet?

[He takes a bite of his muffin, thinking on it. He's thought about what would happen if he had the choice to stay or go. And a part of him really does want to stay. But there's so much back home...]

It is a tough decision though, regardless of what awaits you.

[babermetrics]

They're alive, there's no way they'd wanna stay here with me. They'll go back to that shitty world after we get outta here.

[That's something he tries not to think about. Everyone, eventually, who isn't also dead, will leave him behind here. It stings a little extra when it's his classmates. They still have their lives. In the end, he's still one of the fallen, and he'll stay here in Hell while they go back to the land of the living.

He shrugs.]

[notsolomon]

I probably shouldn't have asked that.

[It's not like he can reassure Leon about this, not when he's probably going to go back home.]

But all I will say, is... please talk to them about it, if you already haven't. Don't assume otherwise.

[Which might be another thing to talk about sometime. This habit of yours Leon. Dismissing everything ahead of time and making assumptions.]

[babermetrics]

[He snorts, not with any particular amusement, shoulders hunching as his hands curl around his cup.]

C'mon, man, they don't care about me that much.

[But he feels pretty shitty letting that spill out in his agitation . . . even though it's surely true. A stupid sentiment, though. Would anyone really "care about him" to leave their entire world and friends and family behind? Is that even something he'd ask of anyone? Even in the depths of despair, he knows he wouldn't.

So he sighs, trying to shake off his mood—it's hard, though. There's no good, happy answer to any of this.]

Kirigiri—I like her . . . I mean, I really like her, and I guess she likes me at least as a friend, y'know? But we still barely know each other. And—look, back home, between me and my classmates, stuff was kinda complicated.

[To say the least. No, really. He's saying as little as possible on that matter for now.]

. . . And I don't think Togami likes anything or anyone. I guess we're friends, but, you'd know if you knew him.