I never forgot. The words sit on the back of his tongue, almost tumble out, but they freeze there when Miller throws those bitter words in his face. He might as well have just reached out and punched John in the face. Physical pain he can take, but this?
It's so...petty, calling Venom better than him. Unnecessary, childish, more befitting a jilted teenager than a trained killer almost in his 40's. The worst part of it? That barb actually does its job, it digs under John's skin. Visibly, his hand clenches around the butt of his .45 and the smallest of frowns forms on his lips, but he doesn't lash out. Not immediately. He's never been that kind of person, anyway, the fly off the handle.
Big Boss isn't so pig-headed that he thinks Kaz is calling him an inferior soldier in comparison to Venom. The two men had not only been friends once, but worked side-by-side. The old soldier would be blatantly lying if he said his former medic wasn't amazing on the battlefield. No, this wasn't about battle prowess. This is solely a jab at his and Kaz's closeness, their friendship, how John measures up as a leader. If these are the kind of under-handed tactics Miller wants to pull, John's not interested in entertaining the conversation any longer. Before he opens his mouth and says something irrational or walks away, he takes a breath. Don't stoop down to his level. Be an adult about this.
"Well, Kaz," a biting, half-smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. He can feel the toxic words forming his mouth. "If Venom is so much better than me, then you didn't really lose anything, did you? You just traded up for a better model." John knows he deserves whatever cruel things Kaz has to say about him, that he should just shut up and let his friend get it out of his system. But some things he just can't abide.
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It's so...petty, calling Venom better than him. Unnecessary, childish, more befitting a jilted teenager than a trained killer almost in his 40's. The worst part of it? That barb actually does its job, it digs under John's skin. Visibly, his hand clenches around the butt of his .45 and the smallest of frowns forms on his lips, but he doesn't lash out. Not immediately. He's never been that kind of person, anyway, the fly off the handle.
Big Boss isn't so pig-headed that he thinks Kaz is calling him an inferior soldier in comparison to Venom. The two men had not only been friends once, but worked side-by-side. The old soldier would be blatantly lying if he said his former medic wasn't amazing on the battlefield. No, this wasn't about battle prowess. This is solely a jab at his and Kaz's closeness, their friendship, how John measures up as a leader. If these are the kind of under-handed tactics Miller wants to pull, John's not interested in entertaining the conversation any longer. Before he opens his mouth and says something irrational or walks away, he takes a breath. Don't stoop down to his level. Be an adult about this.
"Well, Kaz," a biting, half-smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. He can feel the toxic words forming his mouth. "If Venom is so much better than me, then you didn't really lose anything, did you? You just traded up for a better model." John knows he deserves whatever cruel things Kaz has to say about him, that he should just shut up and let his friend get it out of his system. But some things he just can't abide.