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Well it's your place, you can always kick me out.

[EMPHASIS ON KICK.]

[airshow]

[ The pause that follows is too awkward to be as nonchalant as he'd like. Damn it. ]

... no. Stay. C'mon. Just don't expect me to go laying any more of my cards on the table 'til you do.

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Wasn't expecting anything. We can talk, or we can not talk. It's up to you.

[airshow]

[ After a second's deliberation, he reaches for the remote and mutes the TV, because at this point he'll feel more like a coward if he doesn't say something. ]

Okay, fine. You said you'd had issues, too. What kind of issues?

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[He pauses to decide how he wants to answer this.

He doesn't have to tell him all of it now, but he might as well get some of it over with.]

Hallucinating a dead person can still talk to you kind of issues?

[airshow]

Wait, what?

[ Well that's not even a little bit what he expected. Damn it, Piper, always throwing him for a loop. He's supposed to be good at predicting people! ]

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After you died. I had to drag your body around for awhile, and...yeah.

[airshow]

[ He sits bolt upright at that, and it's a real struggle not to throw the remote at Piper's stupid ginger head. ]

"And yeah"? What the hell, Piper, you can't just "and yeah" that kind of thing like it's something anyone's got any kind of frame of reference for!

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Well I already said I was hallucinating, didn't I? So...the corpse started talking.

[This is difficult okay James.]

[airshow]

[ This IS difficult. Especially since it was his corpse. And that still freaks him out. And that's not exactly helping his "worrying about Piper" problem. And they're having this conversation with James using him as a footrest. ]

Okay. All right. That counts as issues, too, I guess.

[ awk. ward. ]

What'd I... uh. It. Say?

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It uh...insulted me? Occasionally gave advice.

[This is not what he came here for.]

[airshow]

[ Honestly, what the hell do you say to this? ]

Well, at least I left a helpful corpse.

[ Not that, probably. ]

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Yeah, so...there it is. And I mean it's obviously kind of weird to be used to having someone stuck to you 24/7 and then just be...alone.

[airshow]

[ Well, damn it, now Piper's said something so he has to, since he's trying to be sort of kind of fair and all. God, does talking about it ever actually help, or is it always this weird? ]

... Yeah. It's way too quiet, right?

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Yeah. And you know me, I've never liked quiet to begin with.

[airshow]

Hey, same. Why do you think I like the sound of my own voice so much?

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Oh, it's not because you're a narcissist?

[airshow]

Aren't we all, just a little?

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And some of us are more than a little.

[airshow]

So I have a healthy appreciation for myself. Point is, yeah, I get it. Silence is the worst. So your mind started filling in the gaps for you or whatever. It's maybe not the sanest coping method, but it's something, I guess.

[ SOMETHING PRETTY NUTS. ]

... so, wait, how long did you, y'know, haul me around?

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You know, I'm supposed to be here for you.

[Can't blame a guy for trying, right?]

Days. I mean, I was still handcuffed to you, remember?

[airshow]

Yeah, and you never told me a damn thing, so we're getting even or whatever.

[ And he's really getting the feeling that he doesn't want to know, but like a cat getting itself stuck up a tree, he keeps on asking. ]

So how'd you... you know.

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You...probably don't want to hear that part.

[That just makes people want to know more, though.]

[airshow]

Hey! It's my corpse we're talking about here!

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[He should not be saying this while chilling out on the couch with him. And yet, here he is.]

Alright, alright. "You" convinced me to...get rid of some of the dead weight. Or, most of it, really.