"It is forgiven, and forgotten." Sundowner said in a soft, accepting tone. He leaned in and clasped Warner's shoulder with his left hand, giving the more robust male a gentle squeeze. His smile never faltered as Warner said what Warner needed to, and he listened to every word without judgement or derision. It pleased Sundowner when Warner began to eat and drink. "My name is Sundowner, Warner. Please, let's not be so formal, hm? I know you are just being respectful, but no 'sirs' between us, alright? And yes," the man's smile finally faltered at the mention of costs, "we do not live in a world where anything is free. But you have given me all I wanted from what I have already done for you. In these times, nobody else would see the decency in this." Sundowner's smile returned, and he pulled his hand from Warner's body. He glanced down at the rifle, and tilted his head at the mention of practicality of the calibre.<br/><br/>"I confess that my knowledge of firearms is scant. But we must make do with what we have." At this point Warner's tears began to flow, and Sundowner moved from the rocking chair to settle with a hip onto the bed beside Warner, and hugged the marine close. It was not sexual, and it was not pity. It was certainly not the macho disdain that another marine would have given Warner. Whatever else Sundowner was and whatever he wanted, as Warner cried, there was the abiding sense that Sundowner saw another human being in pain and wanted, very deeply in a pure inarticulable way, to offer comfort.<br/><br/>When Warner was done Sundowner moved back into the rocking chair, and folded his hands in his lap. "You're a unique man, Warner. There isn't anyone else like you out there. I want us to be friends. There are things you know that I want to know, but if you tell them to me, I want it to be because we're friends. Friends who help each other, and look out for each other." It was not exactly easy for Sundowner to extend himself in this way: how could it be, for anyone in this world, to say this sort of thing?<br/><br/>Unicorn shifted subtly. Sundowner's eyes glanced aside briefly. "I have some people I need to meet. Think about it, alright? You can borrow the rifle for now. Until you get yours back. It's not safe." The white dressed man stood up, trying to read Warner's features, betraying an emotional vulnerability: rejection would hurt very deeply.