Logs:Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.
Dramatis Personae Leo, Steve
In Absentia	2020-11-13 "This isn't just necessity to me."
Location <NYC> East Harlem
With the highest violent crime rate in Manhattan and a failing educational system, it is easy to overlook the charms of El Barrio. Amidst its problems, East Harlem is a place thriving with culture. Salsa dancing has a rich history in the neighborhood, and in the open-air markets a wide assortment of goods can be bought from the West African community there. November has finally arrived in New York City, the foliage bright in the very last rays of daylight through gaps in the clouds, the air crisp and chill. Steve is in a brown leather jacket unzipped over a a gray t-shirt with an illustration of a vibrant green plant, its leaves barely unfurled, struggling up through a crack in the pavement, perfectly tailored indigo jeans, and black combat boots. He wears his shield across his back and carries a paper coffee cup in one hand that he presently trains. Only someone very familiar with how he moves would notice the way he's favoring his left side, but the bruise on his right cheek, though faint, is fairly unmistakable. "Plenty of options around here," he's saying as he tosses the cup into a trash can, "but actually, we're not far from my place..." He squints westward along the street they're on. "I'd love to have you over if you wouldn't mind dining in tonight. Figure it might be a nice change of pace." Beside Steve, Leo is still nursing the dregs of his coffee, both hands cupped around the sleeve. Today he wears a cobalt blue collarless button-down under slim-fit camel jacket, umber corduroys, brown chukka boots, a soft scarf in muted earthtone stripes draped loosely around his neck. His eyes dart to Steve at this offer, slightly wider, a touch of pink rising to his cheeks as a very small smile comes to his lips. "Oh --" comes, first, in a soft puff of breath, a small shake of his head accompanying, "I don't -- you don't need to --" His head ducks, eyes dipping to the coffee cup in his hands. "If you'd like to get home, I'm sure I can make it one taxi ride safely enough, I don't -- mean to keep. Keeping you." Steve glances aside at Leo, blinking. "You're not keeping me," he replies smoothly. "I'd just been thinking it might be nice to have you over when it's -- not a dire emergency. I'd text Sam to check first, of course, but I doubt he'll object." He shrugs lightly. "If you don't want to do that, I'd rather eat out with you than go home. Seems like most of the time I see you you're working and...I guess I'm working, too, technically. Which --" He's quick to add, "-- is important work, to be sure. On both our parts. But maybe a bit different from actually just hanging out?" Leo's steps stutter to a halt, his brows lifting and his eyes fixing in surprise on Steve for several beats. The honk of a taxi just down the block reorients him, head shaking again as he sips at the last of the coffee. Chucks it into the trash can, too. "You -- want to eat with me," he leans on this, slow and cautious like Steve hasn't just said this. "I'm sorry, I -- I mean yes!" That tumbles out quicker, more emphatic. "I just -- didn't think..." His smile is still small when it returns. Kind of crooked, one side of his lip caught between his teeth. "You're. Sure?" Steve comes to a stop when Leo does, his own eyes scanning their surroundings quick before returning to his companion's. "Of course -- I mean..." His brows wrinkle faintly. "I'm sorry if I ever gave you the impression that -- wasn't something I enjoyed. I like to think we're friends, but I guess maybe circumstances have made that...not necessarily so clear." His blush is faint, but his answering smile comes easily. "But yeah, I'm sure. Not sure you like me well enough to put up with my cooking, though, so probably best we pick something up on the way." "You didn't. You haven't. You've always --" Leo's breath hitches here. He curls one arm around his chest, twining one tail of his scarf around a forefinger. Rubbing at the soft fabric with his thumb. "Always been kind," he says, softer. "I think circumstances --" His shoulders tighten slightly, fingers scrunching hard into the scarf. "I might get you killed." Still quiet, but his voice is very level, here. "Maybe that's an acceptable risk to halt the tide of a pandemic, but an acceptable risk for dinner? I -- don't like to assume." Steve's eyes brighten, just a touch. He looks up for a beat, blinking rapidly. "I -- wouldn't put it quite that way, but phrasing aside...yeah, that's possible." He licks his lips. "I'm plenty willing to take that risk, personally, but also I figure it's a heck of a lot less risk if we're not out in public. At least these days." His head shakes, the gesture short and quick. "I am grateful you did what you did, even if it wasn't ideal -- if you should have never been put in that position to begin with. But this isn't just necessity to me." When he smiles again, the expression is a little wan, a little sad. "I appreciate seeing you even when it's guard duty. But -- might be nice if we could spend some time together when we don't have to worry quite so much about each other's safety, huh?" Leo bows his head. His grip on the scarf eases, as does his uncertain smile. "Yes. I would like that." He looks westward down the street now, too, but though his weight starts to shift he rocks back down into place before even properly taking a step. There's a very faint crease in his brow, his eyes fixing with a renewed intensity on Steve. "It's -- always a risk, you know." He lets go of the tail end of the scarf, smoothing it against his jacket. "I don't mean only the police. I might --" Just as soon as he's smoothed it he's scrunching the scarf hard back into his fist again. "One bad day and I could wipe out New York. There's not a moment I don't think about that." Steve's eyes fix steadily on Leo. "Look, I can't claim to understand what you do, or the risks that come with it. I can't claim that doesn't scare me at all, but..." He runs a hand through his short, neat hair. "I know you. I know you risked life and liberty to save this city from a plague you didn't start. And if you did -- have a bad day? You'd still be our best hope at the end of it. That's not a burden any man should have to carry, but...you're allowed to have friends to help you shoulder them." He claps a hand to Leo's shoulder, squeezes gently. Tips his head even as he turns toward the setting sun. "C'mon, my favorite Chinese place is on the way. You can tell me if their dim sum menu is up to snuff."