Work Text:
"Okay, we gotta talk."
Chris looked up from his food. He had met up with Jill at a local pub, not far from where Chris lived, to eat and talk about work and whatever else was going on in their lives. It was more private and relaxed than meeting at the headquarter and more personal than talking on the phone.
"We are talking, Jill. That's kind of the point we're here", Chris said with half a smile, but Jill gave him a look that told him that she was not up for bullshit.
"Look, you can fool everyone on your team that you're doing okay and that this whole business in China went past you without leaving much more than scar, but I've known you long enough to see you're hurting and refuse to talk about it.”
Chris sighed and pushed his plate away from him.
“Let's not talk about China.”
“We're gonna talk about China, Chris”, Jill said. “You have to talk about this, like I needed to talk about Africa. I waited for you to come around and open up, but I can tell now that you won't.”
“What do you want me to say?”, Chris asked. “That I feel like I failed? That I feel like I should've done more? That it hurts like hell even thinking about--”
He cut himself off, avoiding to meet Jill's eyes. They were both silent for a moment. Then Jill spoke and her voice was soft, careful.
“You really cared for him, didn't you?”
Chris didn't reply. Talking about Piers made all the memories resurface that Chris had tried to drown out. Because they hurt. Because he wasn't ready to acknowledge just how much Piers had meant to him and how much he missed him. Because Piers was gone.
Chris put his head in his hands and Jill reached out to lay her hand on his shoulder.
__
“Hey, Chris.”
“Hmm?”
Chris looked down to Piers, who had settled against his side, flipping through something on his phone. They were sitting in the back of a car on their way to the airport. The BSAA had been called to an emergency involving BOWs in the east and Chris and his team were being deployed to assist in the mission.
“I want a dog”, Piers declared. Chris sighed.
“A dog?”, he asked. “You know we have a busy schedule right? And you can't take a dog with you on missions.”
Piers smiled up at him. It was that sort of smile that made Chris melt a little on the inside. He wondered if everyone felt like that, when someone smiled at them like that.
“That isn't a no.”
Piers held up his phone for Chris to see what he had been looking at. On the screen was a big dog with dark fur. He was apparently up for adoption at a local shelter.
“I want one like that”, Piers said. “He kind of reminds me of you.”
Chris took the phone from Piers and looked at some of the other dogs the shelter had uploaded to their site.
“How about this one?”, he asked, handing Piers his phone back. “This one looks like you.”
“A shibe? Come on, Chris! Those are tiny”, Piers complained, gently shoving his elbow into Chris side. Chris just laughed. It was endearing to see how different Piers could act when it was just the two of them. A bit more carefree and relaxed.
“I guess he's kinda cute”, Piers said after a while.
“Yeah, he is”, Chris replied softly.