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Ricardo rolled his eyes. “Christ, trying to talk to either of you is like trying to bang my head against a brick wall. You’re both so stubborn about this, and I don’t even know why.”

“Because he shouldn’t be here,” Sean growled, taking a deep drink of his beer.

“But he is, and he’s a part of this team now whether you like it or not. So maybe you could get your head out of your ass, out of the clouds, or wherever the hell you have it stuck at the moment and be the team leader we all need right now,” Ricardo snapped.

Sean leaned back against the booth, wide-eyed. “W-what?”

Ricardo’s dark eyes flashed. “You’ve been angry for weeks, not just since Aidan showed up. And I get it, I really do. None of us have been ourselves lately. This shit has been hard. But the truth is, you’ve been taking our problems out on Aidan, and everyone, including Aidan, can see that. No wonder he’s acting like a complete shithead while you’re marching around like some tyrant!”

It was the most emotion he’d heard out of Ricardo’s mouth in months, and Sean didn’t know how to respond at first.

“So either tell him to fuck off and go argue with General Winter, tell him Aidan can’t fit in our team, or get whatever the hell is going on in your head out of the way and deal with him being here. Do whatever it takes because you’re not doing anyof us a favor like this,” Ricardo said, pushing himself out of the booth to stand up.

“Wait, hold on, don’t go stomping off,” Sean began, mind kicking back into gear.

“I’m leaving, and I’m taking Nick with me,” Ricardo growled.

“Don’t tell me off aboutAidanof all people and then leave,” Sean said.

Ricardo turned to him. “Are you my team leader right now or my friend?”

Sean frowned, unsure what Ricardo meant. “We’re not in the field or training. Why the hell would I be your team leader?”

“Then, as your friend, I’m telling you to kiss my ass because I’m going home and taking my very drunk friend to his friend’s house,” Ricardo said, reaching out to jostle Nick gently.

Nick picked his head up, looking around at them sleepily. “What’s going on?”

“I need to go to bed, and I’m taking you to Matt’s,” Ricardo told him, guiding him out of the booth.

Nick frowned, standing unsteadily. “I’m okay. I can go home.”

“You’re going to Matt’s, and you’re sleeping at his place, and you’re not going to fucking argue with me,” Ricardo growled.

Nick allowed himself to be led out with a murmured, “Damn, okay. Yessir.”

“Damn straight,” came Ricardo’s retort before he pushed his way out the door with Nick in tow.

Sean was left to stare at the closing door, gaping in pure shock. Did Ricardo think Sean was being unfair to Aidan? In what universe was he the bad guy in this situation? Maybe he could have been a little easier on Aidan, but the guy hadn’t exactly tried to do anything to make the situation easier for anyone. Sean wasn’t simply going to roll over and let Aidan do what he wanted just because he was the new guy.

Sean raised a hand, ordering another beer. “And a whiskey while you’re at it.”

Despite havingdrunk more than he had in over a year, Sean found he wasn’t nearly as drunk as he wished. In fact, he would only go so far as to call himself a little tipsy. He was certainly feeling warm, and his head was buzzing a bit in the background, but there was a distinct lack of sluggish thoughts or the sought-after lack of care about his problems.

“Pretty sure this stuff is watered down,” he muttered to himself as he looked at the bottle in front of him.

“Talking to yourself while drinking? Probably not a good sign.”

The familiar voice tightened the muscles of Sean’s shoulders, and he froze, staring at the tabletop. When he finally forced himself to look up, he was met with the sight of Aidan standing a few feet away. Where Sean had opted for a simple t-shirt and jeans, Aidan had gone a little beyond that, choosing a deep purple button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled past his elbows and a pair of faded but form-fitting jeans.

“Oh, God. What the hell do you want?” Sean asked.

Aidan snorted. “I see your pleasant personality is still intact. That’s nice.”

“Just fuck off,” Sean grumbled.

“I’m trying to figure out if you should have more or less to drink.”

“I’m not drunk, though right now, I wish I was. More than I did thirty seconds ago anyway.”