“Well, I’m not gonna be sprinting back there.” Jim drawls, a sarcastic lilt in his tone as he wipes off his hair. Jim tucks the towel around his shoulders to stave off the shivers. Naftali falls back to flank Jim’s right, straightening to full height so Jim can rest a hand comfortably on his head while they walk.
“You’re in no condition to fight him on this.” Tal reminds Jim bluntly, his own voice calmer than it has been in a while. They’re both exhausted and the daemon knows it.
Jim sighs as Leonard brings up Ops again, and his eyes cast downwards to watch where he steps. By this point, Naftali has come to a decision.
“Is it bad that I’m not actually surprised I’m in this situation? Like everything was definitely going too smoothly, right?” Jim inquires.
Naftali huffs in response and would roll his eyes if he could focus them long enough. “Masochist,” He snaps, “I’m going to personally blame you for this. You never should have volunteered yourself for anything! I’m sick of us being trapped into some stupid situation because of toxic people that have too much power over us! This is the 15th time!”
This has been a quiet argument between the two since Jim had sent the first email out. Naftali smacks the back of Jim’s leg with his tail, swiping hard enough that Jim staggers.
“I agree with Leonard,” Naftali pouts, tilting his head towards the good doctor and Henrietta as he continues his tirade, “We could have been at the bar by now, enjoying the end of semester like every other graduate.”
Jim looks and feels reprimanded, his shoulders shifting up under his ears in a stiff cringe. “I was just doing what I thought was right.” He admits softly.
Naftali let’s out a mix of a scoff and a bark, “Yeah and look where that got us. Now thank Leonard for actually giving a shit about us and stop thinking about facing this on your own.”
Jim’s posture turns sheepish at the extended callout. Naftali shifts away to huff and nuzzle Henrietta, the annoyance rolling off his shoulders in waves.
Jim finally manages to look Leonard in the eyes, “Thank you. For all of this. And… for reminding me about what matters. You’re right. I didn’t sign up to be pushed this way.”
Leonard keeps a polite distance, he and Henry doing their utmost to allow the other two their privacy and space without eavesdropping, but it is difficult not to detect the frustration in Naftali’s tone. They walk together, slow, without needing to look to see if Jim and his daemon are coming along behind. They are finished here for today, but if his patients are feeling up to it, they may return the next day to repeat the exercise.
When Jim speaks to him directly, Leonard stops and turns toward him, trying not to appear expectant. He may often gripe about not receiving the appreciation due someone of his profession, but in all honesty, there are no thankyous necessary. What Leonard does is the right thing, the only thing, and if he could accept one thing from Jim it would be a pledge to limit his reckless behavior. It is, he knows, a lot to ask.
“Jim,” he sighs. “You enlisted with a black eye an’ blood still on your shirt.” He remembers it vividly. Remembers sitting next to him on that shuttle, giving the kid a quick onceover, and deciding he needed a swig of whiskey just as much as Leonard had himself.
“You don’t have to meet every expectation like you’re squarin’ up for a fight. You don’t have to pay admission in pain an’ suffering.”
A soft laugh startles out of him, making him flinch and bow his head. "Sure feels like it some times."
Naftali sighs and lowers his stance to a stiff crouch as he walks, making himself smaller and unassuming in stature. It's almost his way of agreeing that old habits die hard.
"If we didn't, we get caught off guard." Jim says, staggering forward, as he comes up closer to Leonard, he leans against the man. Keeping them paused in the hall, Jim rests his forehead on Leonard's shoulder.
He lets out a breath and murmurs, "Just gotta get through the test and somehow off the planet."
