A Soft Place to land

23

"Shit, right." Wolf huffed, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. "I almost forgot about that."

Not like Wolf was planning to go crawling back to Donald after he gets released - he doesn't want anything to do with the Union anymore, especially after the arrest. But Donald going back out into the world was definitely big news ; pretty troublesome news at that. If the Union got back together, Wolf's life would become a bigger mess than it already was. Not just because of the nightmares of the past but also because there's a chance that Donald might hunt him down again.

It'd be a major pain in the ass to deal with, the same could be said for Jake and the others as well.

"Yeah" Jake sighed and crossed his arms over their table. "It's the talk of the town right now. Apparently, some old Union members have decided to host a little reunion meeting."

"- What? Are you planning on going?" Wolf eyed him down. "Why do you even know about this shit?"

Jake chuckled, shaking his head. "Nah man, heard it from Forrest. He's been going around, trying to get a hold of the old Union leaders - he's still on the fence about the whole thing." He turned to look around the rest of the diner and raised his hand to call a waitress over to their table, while Wolf replayed the information in his mind.

"I see." He muttered back quietly before allowing the waitress to take their orders.

Wolf ordered a sandwich as Jake excitedly ordered himself a plate of chicken tenders and waffles, with the addition of a regular coffee. Scoffing at Jake's childish order, Wolf took a sip of his own ice water.

All this talk of the Union and old faces were beginning to take a toll on him, also with the added pressure that Christmas and New Years were just around the corner - he really needed a breather, or at least a smoke break.

The two of them enjoyed their meals in silence, sort of.. Wolf was trying his best to ignore Jake's inexcusably loud munching as he ate his own sandwich. And once he finished, Wolf let out a frustrated groan, massaging his temples.

"So - why did you call me here again? Just to tell me about Donald?" He asked, fully ready to take off.

"Yeah?" Jake responded, his voice muffled by the napkin he was using to wipe his face clean. "And also just cause' I was curious."

"About what?"

"About you-"

Wolf looked at him incredulously, which earned him a goofy look from Jake in return. "Why?" He asked, cringing at Jake's behaviour.

"Y'know," Jake adjusted his jacket and stood up from his seat. " Forrest was able to get a hold of everyone, except you. If we weren't in the same neighborhood, I would've just assumed that you just dropped off the face of the earth."

Seeing that Jake was getting ready to leave, Wolf followed in suit. Standing up, he grabbed his work bag from under the table and slinged it over his shoulder. "And also," Jake continued, "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"- alright then, I guess I'll take my leave now.." Stepping out of their booth, Jake waved goodbye to Wolf and began to make his way down to the diner entrance. Wolf, also leaving, had awkwardly followed right behind him until they reached the front desk where Wolf had to pull out his card to pay.

From behind him he could hear the door chime as it opened for Jake.

"Oh yeah, and Wolf, you really changed man." Was the last thing he heard from Jake before he made his way out. Wolf was left watching his retreating form from the inside of the diner.