IC contact [Mask or Menace]

[infomodder]

"Gone fishing."

[ so don't leave messages to ruin the after fishing glow !!!

your one stop shop for not leaving him alone ]

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[purgation]

[It was important to remember that for however helpful Will was being now, minutes earlier he had been anything but. The man Yuri was speaking to had confessed to being able to break his own thumb because it had suited him. For all Yuri knew, Will was handing him information now for the same reason. The question was, what could Will possibly hope to gain from it? A shred of trust restored, perhaps? Was he hoping that Yuri wouldn't take him up on the suggestion to collect other samples from Jayden because he'd finally demonstrated some willingness to be helpful? Or was it because of the trouble it might spell for Jayden himself in the end?

And it would spell trouble, Yuri realized. Jayden was a teenager, and a reckless one at that. He might have taken care not to let on around Yuri that he took part in recreational drug use, but that didn't mean the judge was at all surprised to hear it was probably so.

For crying out loud...

It was beginning to feel rather like his back was against the wall now.]

I'll be sure to ask them.

[For a few moments, that was all Yuri said. Even as he took himself back to the counter, leaned his frame against it and stared down at the tea in his hands, he was quiet and contemplative.

He had options? Surely Will didn't mean himself. What kind of fool did he take Yuri for, exactly? The last thing the judge was prepared to do was bring sensitive sample matter to someone he suspected had had a hand in the need for such a thing to be analyzed in the first place. But who else did he know with the ability to provide the insights Will could?

No, more importantly, why was he even listening to suggestions from someone he had already decided couldn't be trusted? Particularly when those suggestions had legal consequences.]

Honestly... [There was that word again.] I'm not certain Jayden would forgive me if I took this that far without his knowing. [And it would inevitably get back to the teen, of that Yuri was certain.] There is also the question of legality. Without his consent, any holding of bodily fluids for the purpose of testing, or any testing itself, could be seen as a form of breaking the law.

[He set his cup down and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. A headache was coming on...the sort that caring about others always tended to give birth to. What a nuisance.]

[infomodder]

[Will nodded at Yuri's plan to be sure to ask, not surprised by it but wondering how it would go down. Who might be at the house and what they would say. Will had become such a fixture by this point that even if whoever answered the door hadn't seen him that day, they could shrug and say it was probable. Likely, even. He was there enough, stuffing fish in the freezer. Yuri finding Ace would probably be the best, since...well, a talking dog, yes, of course Will Graham would be spending time there. He was a talking dog. A talking dog who could destroy a Goddamn house and flip a car without problem, so if anything got out of hand (or paw), Ace was pretty much the guard dog that all guard dogs should hold in hero status.

So the idea of Yuri going to confirm his whereabouts? Was one that Will seemed perfectly accepting of, didn't have him on edge. Didn't need to. Relaxed, flipping through that book and pulling the pencil out from where it was, even. Perhaps he'd been offended, aggressive, but when he was being accused by someone who made it evident he already had come to a conclusion and Will was guilty, was that so difficult to understand? Now that the storm had passed, he was calm. Certain, almost.

Either innocent or someone who had this shit on lock. At least, for the moment.

He doesn't look up until that cup hits the counter, eyes focused on Yuri's hand as opposed to anything else. He hears him, yes, but he doesn't need to stare at his mouth to make that much obvious, and mouths are close to eyes and eye contact is something he does a good job of avoiding. Yuri's distracted him from his book, that's all he should need to know Will is tuned in. Very tuned in. To his hands.

He follows the movement of the one to Yuri's nose and he puts that together easily enough. Will knows headaches like he knows fishing, by this point. Headaches that stem from all sorts of them and how to fight to them.

There's a pause before moves just enough to pull open a drawer underneath the counter, shuffling the contents around. It sounds like the normal, pencils and pens and paper and...something that rattles? Rattles in a tiny bottle. Something like—

—a bottle of extra strength ibuprofen, put on the counter right by Yuri's cup of tea without Will saying a word. Not a single word or sigh or looking up like he has any shame or finds this funny, just puts it out there and goes back to his bookkeeping.

He's a helper.]

[purgation]

[Could Will possibly be more insufferable if he tried?

The answer was probably yes. Yuri sighed.]

Ah...thank you. [Lowering his hand, the judge slid the bottle back toward Will.] But no thank you.

[Harmless as the ibuprofen might have been, the irony of taking any offered by Will at this particular time might have just killed Yuri on the spot. He wasn't about to make things that convenient for the other man.]

Do you have children, Will?

[infomodder]

[The answer was yes, yes he could. With everyone he knew, for better or worse.

It's nice that Yuri has manners, less nice when they're followed by that question. But Will's giving off a pretty good air of ready to get back to his bookkeeping, and the question comes right as he lifted up several pages, intent on looking through them for the one he needed.

He has a more tangible reason to be distracted this time around and he is taking full advantage of it. When Yuri asks, he scratches his neck with a pencil like a true heathen.]

No. [Said so casually it might as well have been a "nope" as Will separate two pages stuck together, wondering if he'll have to go the distance and his lick his thumb for full gross effect.] Have some numbers to run, though.

[Which is nicer than saying "get the hell out," at least.]

[purgation]

Hm.

[That explained a little.

Of course, Yuri had no children of his own, either. He'd told Jayden there were reasons for that when the teenager had asked, had said that his lifestyle hadn't been suitable for raising a family, but the truth was...he wasn't suitable. But that didn't mean he didn't know what it took to be a responsible parental figure. It didn't mean he didn't know what lines were appropriate to walk or cross.

That was, however, a discussion best left to another time. Will wanted to return to his books (or was using it as an excuse), and Yuri wanted to return to his apartment.]

I'll leave you to it, then.

[Without so much as another word, Yuri turned from the counter and, taking his tea with him, left the shop. All that was left now was to prepare for how he was going to confront Freddie Lounds.]