"Sorry, what?" Ryan asked, taken aback by the words.

"No. I did not meet any special woman," Leo said in a clipped and defensive tone.

Ryan would've pushed—jokingly of course—but the way that Leo seemed to take the matter personally made him keep his mouth shut.

He wouldn't be one to make an assumption that perhaps Leo had actually found someone and didn't want to share that information with him. On the other hand, there was a real possibility that Leo hadn't and he'd started to take real offense to the constant badgering from Ryan.

"Got it, no special woman," Ryan said with a smile.

"Good, it seems you learned about boundaries," Leo said with a chuckle, his tone reverting to normal.

"Ah, yes. I've dealt with a few pricks like you, and I was certainly bound to pick up a few tricks," Ryan said.

"Funny, I would say you're more of a prick as compared to me though," Leo pointed out.

"Well, we are going to have to agree to disagree," Ryan said, stealing a glance at Leo. "Unless you want to have a dick contest right here in the streets."

"Stop it, just stop it," Leo said with a sigh.

It seemed as though the big man was tired of Ryan's antics, and Ryan wouldn't really blame him though. Not everyone could keep up with his humor after all.

"Fine," Ryan said, content to let the conversation die down.

The silence that followed was familiar and comfortable, to say the least. Ryan and Leo had had far too many adventures as kids not to have grown accustomed to the occasional silence between them.

Ryan found it peaceful; the sounds of the streets filled the void their conversation left. Children played around willy-nilly. Later vendors hustled and jostled through the crowds, heading to open their various stalls.

The early ones already had their stalls open, and they in turn had been rewarded with the first wave of customers—as sparse as they were.

"Are we there yet?" Leo asked in frustration, the big man breaking the silence between them.

Ryan had half the mind to... Well, he didn't really know what he could do since Leo had grown taller and sturdier than him. It's not like it was the younger version of Leo that he could just cuff behind the ear. Although there was still something that had proven to still be potent in his arsenal after all these years...

"Well, luckily for you, we are about a block away from my little establishment... try not to get your knickers in a twist," Ryan said, trying and failing to keep the smug expression from his face.

"Veron's beard, Ryan, I don't know how you can do this every day. My shirt is starting to get soaked," Leo said, choosing to ignore the thinly veiled jab Ryan had proclaimed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Well, it comes with the job, and I guess that I can outpace you now... in a marathon," Ryan said.

"Pfft, you can keep that 'skill.' I'll stick to leisure walks only."

Ryan let out a scoff at that as they rounded the corner. While the walk to the shop was indeed a nice one, all things did have to come to an end, and this was pretty much it.

"We are here," Ryan said as he began to open up his shop.

"This... is your shop?" Leo asked in bewilderment.

The big man's eyes roved across what Ryan called his shop but what was in actual truth a slightly bigger kiosk.

A dilapidated-looking one at that. The shop—or kiosk rather—had a door on the adjacent side for Ryan to get in through; it also had a window-like opening facing the street that he used to deal with customers.

"Yep, come in after you're done ogling," Ryan said.

That seemed to snap Leo out of his dazed form, the big man hurrying in through the door. Ryan would've loved to say that the outside belied the inside of the shop, but that would've been a bald-faced lie.

"Veron's clangers, Ryan, this place hasn't changed in almost two years," Leo said. "I'd almost hoped that you would have spruced up the place, added something. Repaired the front and at least done something."

"Sorry, I was too busy trying to make a living," Ryan pointed out as he began setting up his wares for the day.

Leo seemed to catch the dismissive expression because he shut up about the place for a moment and let Ryan set up for the day undisturbed.

Ryan took his time setting up as he didn't want to make a silly mistake in front of his friend like dropping a potion or two. Leo wasn't someone that would let him hear the end of it.

"There, all set up," Ryan said.

Admiring the cleaned shelves and dusted potions and T-stones. It didn't take him long to clear out the shop as it took but minutes to sift through his meager collection and possessions.

"Ryan!" Leo called out.

"Hmm?" Ryan said, bracing himself for the unsavory words that were sure to leave the big man's mouth.

"This isn't appealing. You can do better, a lot better," Leo mumbled.

Ryan had to resist the urge to snap at his friend; of course he knew he could do better. After all, that was why he was working so hard now. What would've Leo said if he'd seen him months ago? Would he have laughed at him or mocked him for remaining stagnant while he'd made a life for himself elsewhere?

Ryan didn't know, and he was sure as hell glad to know that he'd never find out. At least Leo had come home to a version of him that had started to put things in place, and really, that was all Ryan could ask for. He silently thanked Veron for not allowing him to look like a deadbeat to his... his little brother.

"Look, I know. I'm working on it," Ryan said with a shrug.

"Doesn't look like it," Leo said softly as he purposely looked around the shop.

"What do you want me to say? I have a lot of bills weighing me down. My coin purse is as tight as it can be; I can't be wasting money on decorations and the likes," Ryan said.

"What bills?" Leo asked interestedly.

Fuck.

Ryan forgot that he hadn't told Leo about the debts that he owed. He'd hoped that he'd be able to pay up before Leo had a chance to find out.

Heck, the optimal thing was for Leo not to find out.

"Stuff like rent and food," Ryan said, hoping that the subjective truth would be enough information to sate Leo.

"Stuff like rent and food? There's no way it's just those two," Leo said, putting a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Come on, talk to me, man."

Ryan's shoulders sagged, not because of the weight of Leo's beefy palm, no. More because of the fact that he came to terms with the situation he was in. The traders' guild would be coming for their coin today, and if he didn't have it... let's just say that it'll take a while before he could go by the title of merchant again.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Forget about it," Ryan said.

He preferred not to share his secrets with Leo. He'd rather not burden the big man with his issues. After all, he didn't want to look like he was after his friend's gold. No, he wouldn't and couldn't bring himself to put that on Leo.

"Obviously it is, if it's got you behaving like this," Leo said. "Tell me what it is, I have more than enough gol—"

"I don't want your gold," Ryan interrupted heatedly.