The worst part of the week.

[wherever_yourun]

For most people, having a day off was quite welcome, but Snake wasn’t like most people. He needed stimulation, something to occupy his mind and body with, and the more skill that required, the better.

To him, having nothing to do could quickly become mind-numbing, and if that state lasted too long and he ran out of tasks, free days weren’t recreational at all but made him irritable and stressed.

So today, he tried to keep himself occupied. First, he took Boomer for a long ride, guessing that his horse disliked inactivity just as much as he did. When he returned home, he had a quick lunch and started cleaning his place properly, and when he was done with the inside, he turned to garden work.

He was halfway through weeding the area around his front door when he realized there was not much more left to do and still a long evening ahead of him. Just great.

Comments

[a_time_slip]

Janie hated being told what to do, so she traveled to Nadherna to see Snake. She had a basket of food and a bottle of red wine with her.

Julian didn't want her to see him. Lynn and Ilse didn't want her to see him. Phoenix didn't want her to see him.

So of course, she walked up to his house that evening.

"Hello!"

[wherever_yourun]

Snake frowned when he realized that he wasn’t alone anymore and that the ‘Hello’ he had just heard was spoken in a weirdly familiar voice.

He stood up, brushed bits of weeds from his hands and turned around, looking at Janie for a few confused moments.

“… What are you doing here?”

Friendly welcomes weren’t his specialty, but at least, he wasn’t armed with the exception of the spade in his hand.
In fact, he just wore jeans and a plain shirt, both a bit dirty from the garden work.

[a_time_slip]

"...I brought you that drink." Janie said, quietly. "I've got some food too, just in case- um. I should have let you know that I planned to visit today."

She bit her lower lip just a little, and stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do. She was just in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, and had decided to visit only a short while before she showed up at Snake's house.

[wherever_yourun]

“They let you bring me drinks and food? What happened?”

He eyed Janie’s basket, noticing the bottle of wine and realized he hadn’t had some in a while.

Still, he was a bit wary and didn’t know yet what to make of this sudden visit. He put the spade down, however, as he would certainly not resort to defend himself with a gardening tool.

[a_time_slip]

"Nobody 'let' me do anything." Janie said, a little defiantly. "I wanted to bring these things to you."

She appeared to be harmless.

"Do you want me to come back another time?"

[wherever_yourun]

To Snake, this statement seemed highly doubtful and he actually considered sending Janie away, to spoil whatever the true intentions were behind her visit.

But this would leave him with his boring, uneventful evening again. And even though he usually didn’t care much for company, it was a distraction. And not the worst one either.

“No”, he said after a moment. "I was almost done here anyway. Come inside."

He wiped his hands on his jeans and went ahead, not bothering to hold the door open for Janie.

[a_time_slip]

Janie smiled. She really had no bad intentions for the visit at all. She just wanted to be nice to Snake.

"Thanks! I hope you like everything that I've brought. If not I can bring something else next time."

She went straight to the door, and tried to open it before walking in. She didn't seem to mind that Snake didn't bother holding the door open.

[wherever_yourun]

The door had swung ajar after Snake, and he figured that was invitation enough.

The house wasn’t huge, but spacious enough to live in it comfortably. After Snake’s earlier cleaning spree, everything looked tidy and neat, he had been very thorough obviously. There was hardly any personal touch, however, no photos or pictures on the walls. At least the shelves in the living room were stacked with a variety of books.

Snake took off his dirty boots and walked ahead into the living room, leaving it up to Janie whether to follow him or not.

“That bottle didn’t look bad”, he said. "Why would you want to bring me anything though?"

[a_time_slip]

Janie followed Snake, and was rather impressed that his place was clean. She didn't know that he'd just cleaned it all earlier.

Once in the living room, she saw the books and was very pleased.

"It's for you. I don't really drink a lot of wine. Where do I put the basket down?" She fidgeted for a moment before speaking again "Can I look at your books?"

[wherever_yourun]

Snake shrugged as he realized he wouldn’t get an answer. No reason to spurn the wine though, so rather than pointing at the couch table, Snake just reached for the basket, peeking inside.

“My books, huh? Sure, why not.”

The majority of Snake's books were nonfiction and covered a multitude of topics, from history, Earth and Kaldoan, to weaponry, fighting styles, gardening and science.

[a_time_slip]

"I was discouraged from visiting you." Janie admits, as she looks at the stacks of books. "No one can tell me what to do or who to see."

All of them seemed to interest her, especially the science books. She decided that she'd bring a book for him the next time she visited.

"Nice collection. I like to read."

[wherever_yourun]

"You've got to keep learning", he commented slowly, while he watched Janie looking at the books. The situation felt increasingly bizarre to him, not only becasue writing messages to someone was very much different from actually meeting them in person. And in this case, it was even someone he had tried to kill before.

"Yes, I know no one wants you to come here. Won't you be in trouble for this?"

[a_time_slip]

Janie picked up one of the science books, and slowly turned the pages in it. The situation was more awkward than she imagined, but she didn't want anyone to know that. She wanted to prove everybody else wrong.

"I don't know." Janie said "I'm just visiting a friend."

[wherever_yourun]

The book was a voluminous one about biology, covering the basics and also some more advanced topics.

Snake finally put down the basket on the couch table and started unpacking it, pausing to study the label on the wine bottle.
"A friend, huh? You really think so? This wasn't just talk?"

[a_time_slip]

When Janie was younger, she went to college and got degrees in both math and sciences, so she found the book interesting.

The basket was filled with a variety of sandwiches, fruits, pastries,desserts and meats. The wine was an expensive bottle of red.

"Yes. A friend, it wasn't talk." She smiled, and put the book down. "I wasn't sure what you liked...:

[wherever_yourun]

The food looked delicious, and Snake couldn't help feeling hungry all of a sudden. Lunch had been a long time ago, so Janie had actually come just at the right moment.

He wandered into the kitchen for a moment and returned with plates and glasses. At the book shelves he stopped, quite close to Janie, and looked down at her, trying to figure out whether these words were true.

"No one ever calls me a friend, and I never expect anyone to. Why are you different?"

[a_time_slip]

She looked up at him, completely unafraid, even after everything that had happened.

"( don't know. More people should give you a chance. I haven't seen any reason not to be friendly."

[wherever_yourun]

"Well, I certainly do know more reasons for you to hold a grudge than to be friendly. If I were you, I wouldn't give me another chance."

Snake stared for a moment, then he started grinning. Janie's fearlessness was impressive and in fact made the situation more interesting to him. If she had been afraid or started blaming him for the things he had done, things could have easily become annoying.

"But you've kept your word, I assume, so I will keep mine."

[a_time_slip]

"I'm not you." Janie smiled. "And yes. I always keep my word. Almost always. I'll try my hardest anyway."

She looked at the plates and glasses. "Are we going to eat?"

[wherever_yourun]

"Hmm. You're honest at least. I like that."

Snake eyed her for a moment longer, then nodded and carried the plates to the living room table. No need to waste any more time when there was such tasty looking food, right?

He sat down on the couch and busied himself with opening the bottle.

[a_time_slip]

"I'm not a good liar." Janie admitted, before walking over to the couch and picking a piece of fruit out of the basket.

"I really like the food here. It's some of the best that I've tried."

[wherever_yourun]

Snake poured some of the wine in both glasses despite remembering Janie's words. If she didn't want it, he wouldn't let it go to waste either. With the glass in one hand and a sandwich in the other, he leaned back, for the moment enjoying the rest after all the work.

"It's alright", he admitted. "They have no idea how to make a proper pizza, however."

[a_time_slip]

She picked up the glass, and sipped from it, assuming that he'd poured it for her.

"I can bring you one from off world." She offered "Would you like that? What kind of pizza do you like?"

[wherever_yourun]

Snake didn’t protest, after all, he wasn’t greedy. Just not overly polite. Taking a sip himself, he found that the label hadn’t promised too much. It was a very pleasant taste he hadn't had in a while.

“If you manage to get it here while it’s still hot, then yes, I would like that. With funghi porcini, tomatoes and garlic. And decent cheese."

[a_time_slip]

"That's easy enough for me to do." Janie smiled. "I'll just come straight here from the pizza shop. What's there to do here? Any exploring? I don't actually come this way very much."

[wherever_yourun]

“Fine, then I’ll take pizza next time.” He returned one of his very rare and very brief smiles that weren’t a grin or somehow malevolent.

“Yeah, you can go exploring. Hunting. Riding. I suppose there’s more to do if you care to be around people."

[a_time_slip]

"You've got it." Smiled Janie

"Which of those do you prefer?"

[wherever_yourun]

Snake nodded without questioning it, hoping that meant Janie would indeed show up with a pizza soon. He hadn't had a decent one in far too long.

"Hunting, what did you expect? Riding is okay too, though."

[a_time_slip]

Janie smiled to herself, thinking about Julian, and blushing a little.

"I like both of those things, but I am a better hunter."

[wherever_yourun]

Janie's blushing didn't escape Snake, and he eyed her more intensely now.

"Are you? And what do you prefer to hunt?"