Welcome to Gaia! ::

Vile wasn't normally one who would hesitate before doing something. He had always been willing to leap with only the barest hesitation, despite all of the trouble it had gotten him into. (And damn, had it ever gotten him into trouble). But this particular thing was something he had been putting off for a damn long time - long enough that he knew if he didn't get it over with now, he probably never would bother trying. Which... wasn't entirely fair to either himself or the person he needed to talk to - nor was it fair to anyone else involved. The siblings who believed him dead, especially so.

So he steeled his courage and, still clad in his armor and helm, waited for X to pass him in the hall on his way out - probably on his way to dinner, to devour fish again, maybe meeting his kids there, who knew. Vile certainly didn't, and he didn't really care, either - but it was about damn time he make it clear to the blue blunder just why he had a problem with him.

"Oi, X. Take five from your plans. We need to talk."

"This has nothing to do with Jessie," Vile said, and was careful to keep his voice level. He knew he was scaring the hell out of X, and while a part of him still relished in it - in making the old man suffer just a little more than he had been - he was going to try and stifle that voice. After all, X had every reason to be wary of him, and...

Well.

Infection was a shitty fate he wouldn't have wished on anyone - minus maybe a very select group of humans, were it possible.

He knew he'd been a terrible person before infection, but that didn't compare to what he had been after, and X had taken the brunt of that. So now it was time to ease up... and to talk.

"Figured that I owed you... at least an explanation for why I've always been such an a** - to you, specifically." In general he just was an a**, and he knew it. It'd been his method of coping so long it'd become a part of him. But he had always been worse to X, to the degree that Jessie had picked up on it and applied it herself and... maybe that was just a little too much for his conscience, now that he was sane.

"Not here, though. Like hell am I having this kind of a talk where people can listen." Have someone overhear him apologize? Hell no.

"Whichever'd have you less on edge," Vile said, shrugging. He wasn't entirely comfortable with the thought of X in his quarters, seeing bits and pieces of things that might just remind him of... someone he'd lost, if he were going to be honest. Nor did he think X would feel very safe in said quarters, probably expecting a trap of some kind (or at least a lot of guns and explosive devices, of which there were surprisingly few kept in his room), but... Vile in X's own space might be that much worse on the wu--- on the man.

And damn it, he wanted this to go as smoothly as possible. His - ugh - therapist had said it'd be a good idea, might help them both move on a little better.... so. Well, he'd do this s**t, then probably find somewhere that wouldn't mind him getting into a bar fight or three.

"Shouldn't take too long - and don't look at me like I'm going to rip your head off. I want to keep my post this time."

'Pansy,' said the mean, nasty corner of Vile's mind, but he shut it up and shrugged. "Mine it is, then," he said aloud and waved for X to follow him. He supposed he was thankful that his quarters were still fairly bare, but there were enough little touches that...

Well, he'd see how it went.

"Nothing's in there that'll eat you, I can promise you that much - as long as Jess ain't visiting. Don't even have an aquarium." He'd used to, once upon a time, but... not any more. Pets were too much trouble, and he didn't really trust himself with one anyway.

"Eh, it serves its purpose. Never had much reason to invest in that sort of thing," Vile admitted with a shrug. There was no reason to attach to things that could be taken away at any moment, after all - and often would be. People were a risk that way too, but... well, he had done everything he could to ensure Jessie could never be lost that way.

... why did it matter to X, anyway?

Oh. Right. Because he was trying to connect and to care. That wasn't going to last long, Vile was sure. X was saintly to the point of being obnoxious, but he wasn't stupid.

"In here."

He'd been issued quarters quite literally as far away from any of the inhabited areas as anyone could get and still be in the same building. It was amusing, how cautious HQ was being... if it wasn't aggravating, too. But quarters were quarters, and they were a bigger box than he'd made do with in the past. And this box even had a window.

He led X inside and waved to the couch - standard requisitions issue, which wasn't exactly comfortable but was serviceable enough, before moving over to the equally-standard issue chair and dropping into that, himself.

"I wouldn't say it's that," Vile said shrugging as he settled into his chair. "'s more... objects 'n s**t aren't permanent, so why bother amassing what your'e gonna lose?" It was a bit more candid than he was comfortable with being about himself, but... that was what this whole 'visit' was about.

He settled into his chair, then leaned forward. "Like I said. I owe you the reason for why I've always been shittier to you than to anyone else." He wasn't going to justify it, wasn't going to ask X to even forgive him - and damn if he didn't hope X wouldn't rebound the other direction and start over-guilting himself about it.

".... Don't freak out," he added as he grasped his helmet, preparing to remove it. "I know I'm a damn sight but neither of us'll get anywhere if you can't keep calm." With that said, he lifted it off, then dropped it to the floor and ran a hand through his hair.

"..'sup."

This was absolutely not what Vile had expected, though maybe he should - he knew X too damn well, after all, since he'd been created by him. Still, the contact was a little more than he could handle, so he took X by the shoulders and pried him off, moving him gently but firmly back to the couch.

"What'd I just say about freaking out, huh?"

...Damn but he was less upset by this than he thought he would be, aside from twitchy at the unexpected physical contact.

"Can't talk s**t out if you're sobbing like somebody kicked three hundred puppies in front of you, y'know."

"And I've been an a*****e to you for years," Vile pointed out with another shrug. "Look. s**t happened. I'm pretty damn sure we've both suffered more than enough t' make up for it." But he knew one thing for sure now: if this was how X reacted to just realizing who he'd been once upon a time, there was no way in hell he could ever tell him what had actually happened to him.

Not if he wanted X to stay functional.

"There. 's out in the open, I don't ant to beat your face in any more, we can go back to steering clear if that's what you want. Just... thought you should know what you were dealing with."