alec (𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘦) brennan⚡ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
striketwice) wrote2022-10-02 07:47 pm
striketwice) wrote2022-10-02 07:47 pm
Nothing much. Bedroom, couple of bathrooms. [ He shrugs. ] You'll have plenty of time to see it when you're living here.
[ If they get to the bedroom, they might never leave because Henry will be making the bed ]
You wanna see the river?
You wanna see the river?
[ come at him ]
I assume I can just like... take us there, right? It being my brain and all.
I assume I can just like... take us there, right? It being my brain and all.
That's right. You have all the control here. I'll just give us a nudge in the right direction.
[Henry actually has all the control here, and that's why this requires so much trust. But he's letting Alec take the lead, letting him form the memories as he likes, so it's just splitting hairs, really.]
Just close your eyes, imagine the river, and open them again.
[Henry actually has all the control here, and that's why this requires so much trust. But he's letting Alec take the lead, letting him form the memories as he likes, so it's just splitting hairs, really.]
Just close your eyes, imagine the river, and open them again.
[ So it's a joint effort. That's fine by him. His whole life is going to become a joint effort with Henry, isn't it? They can start here, with this.
And it's an easy request. Alec knows the Riverwalk well, and it's a simple thing to pull up an image of the place in his mind's eye. Henry can do the rest, and soon enough, they'll find themselves on the bank of the Chicago River. ]
And it's an easy request. Alec knows the Riverwalk well, and it's a simple thing to pull up an image of the place in his mind's eye. Henry can do the rest, and soon enough, they'll find themselves on the bank of the Chicago River. ]
[From one place to another, just as before. But this time, when the scene changes, it is quite unlike anything Henry's ever seen.
Even in the 50s, Chicago had impossibly tall buildings, the sort that jutted up into the blue expanse of the sky. That hasn't changed, though the thing is, Henry would not know it. He has never been to a city as large as this one, and the modern touches that were never present in his time add an ironically fantastical feel. At least for a man who had spent all of his life in a small town, or a government lab, or a dark, unpleasant alternate dimension.
The orange-yellow of the trees are so starkly contrasted against the neutrals of the pavement, the buildings, the cornflower of the sky, that his eyes are drawn to that first. But then the river glistens beyond, and of course Henry just... walks towards that direction, to get a better look.
It's all simultaneously striking, overwhelming, and it makes him feel small. A bit like being thrust into the Upside Down for the first time, but frankly without all the harrowing pain and alarm that caused. This, at least, is pleasant, even if that has not had time to settle in.]
Even in the 50s, Chicago had impossibly tall buildings, the sort that jutted up into the blue expanse of the sky. That hasn't changed, though the thing is, Henry would not know it. He has never been to a city as large as this one, and the modern touches that were never present in his time add an ironically fantastical feel. At least for a man who had spent all of his life in a small town, or a government lab, or a dark, unpleasant alternate dimension.
The orange-yellow of the trees are so starkly contrasted against the neutrals of the pavement, the buildings, the cornflower of the sky, that his eyes are drawn to that first. But then the river glistens beyond, and of course Henry just... walks towards that direction, to get a better look.
It's all simultaneously striking, overwhelming, and it makes him feel small. A bit like being thrust into the Upside Down for the first time, but frankly without all the harrowing pain and alarm that caused. This, at least, is pleasant, even if that has not had time to settle in.]
Edited 2023-01-14 18:09 (UTC)
[ As has become his habit, Alec watches Henry. Watches him take in their new surroundings, from the tallest building to the blue of the winding river. There's nothing like this in small-town Indiana, past or present, and certainly nothing like it in that hellscape that is the Upside Down. It must be a lot to process.
He follows along as Henry wanders toward the river. ]
Penny for your thoughts?
He follows along as Henry wanders toward the river. ]
Penny for your thoughts?
[Nothing at all like small-town, middle-of-nowhere Indiana, and it likely never will be. Does Hawkins even exist in this world? For a moment, he wonders, but then the idea is swept away again by the sight of the city, the river catching the light of the sun. Henry realizes that he simply does not care if it does.
Alec's question draws him out of his very slight reverie (no pun intended).]
It's big.
[Well. It is.]
There must be enough to do in the city to last a lifetime.
Alec's question draws him out of his very slight reverie (no pun intended).]
It's big.
[Well. It is.]
There must be enough to do in the city to last a lifetime.
[ "Big" is a pretty fair assessment, all things considered. Alec's been here so long it's all ceased to be wondrous to him, so seeing Henry look at all of it for the first time has made the city somehow seem fresh and new. ]
Well, to start, there's more places to shop than just one mall.
Well, to start, there's more places to shop than just one mall.
[Henry almost remarks that there probably isn't a mall in Hawkins anymore, but maybe that's a discussion for some other time.]
I see you as someone more apt to enjoy the view than go shopping.
[This memory is very clear, very vivid. It's nestled itself into Alec's head with some poignancy, so it must be a view seen very often.]
I see you as someone more apt to enjoy the view than go shopping.
[This memory is very clear, very vivid. It's nestled itself into Alec's head with some poignancy, so it must be a view seen very often.]
[ A small smile, and he shrugs. ]
Alright fair. I walk here a lot. Or run. It's a good place to come clear my head when work is getting annoying.
[ He motions to the sidewalk running along the river, then offers that same hand to Henry. ]
So about that walk?
Alright fair. I walk here a lot. Or run. It's a good place to come clear my head when work is getting annoying.
[ He motions to the sidewalk running along the river, then offers that same hand to Henry. ]
So about that walk?
[What's this? A public display of affection? Even if the term is used liberally when it's within the confines of Alec's head, there is still something so striking to Henry about the offer; once again, this other man ushers in that strange, warm and coiling feeling in his chest.
But he does not hesitate to complete the gesture, hand clasping his.]
Lead the way. Show me the route you take.
But he does not hesitate to complete the gesture, hand clasping his.]
Lead the way. Show me the route you take.
[ Is it really "public" if they're together in a memory? If the few people around are fewer than there would be normally, and if they're not technically real?
Well, it hardly matters. Henry's hand curls around his own, and the feeling it elicits in him is warm and all-encompassing. Still wholly alien to a man like him who has never felt this way about anyone in his whole, long and miserable life, but welcome all the same, now that he knows what it is. ]
This way.
[ So saying, he leads Henry along the riverbank. ]
Well, it hardly matters. Henry's hand curls around his own, and the feeling it elicits in him is warm and all-encompassing. Still wholly alien to a man like him who has never felt this way about anyone in his whole, long and miserable life, but welcome all the same, now that he knows what it is. ]
This way.
[ So saying, he leads Henry along the riverbank. ]
[This is still a big and unusual step for them both, okay.
He falls into step easily beside Alec. The environment around them has far from lost its grandeur to Henry, so of course his eyes still wander to the river, then to the buildings again.]
I had seen photographs when I was younger. [Of a big city, of Chicago, or other places like it.] But to see it in person is something altogether different. [Well. "In person".]
He falls into step easily beside Alec. The environment around them has far from lost its grandeur to Henry, so of course his eyes still wander to the river, then to the buildings again.]
I had seen photographs when I was younger. [Of a big city, of Chicago, or other places like it.] But to see it in person is something altogether different. [Well. "In person".]
[ Their walk takes them through more towering buildings, under bridges with morning traffic trundling by overhead. A few boats and a handful of kayakers drift by on the water. ]
A pretty far cry from Indiana, isn't it?
A pretty far cry from Indiana, isn't it?
I've been through a time or two. Indianapolis isn't too bad.
[ Though he realizes that little podunk Hawkins is probably a far cry from any city. ]
[ Though he realizes that little podunk Hawkins is probably a far cry from any city. ]
[He would be right about that.]
Right. The beating heart of the state.
[There's a disaffectedness to how he says it; like he's never really cared about what existed in which parts of the world, having decided people were the same everywhere at such a young age.]
We never visited. Not that I'm complaining.
[The fewer family outings he had to endure, the better.]
Right. The beating heart of the state.
[There's a disaffectedness to how he says it; like he's never really cared about what existed in which parts of the world, having decided people were the same everywhere at such a young age.]
We never visited. Not that I'm complaining.
[The fewer family outings he had to endure, the better.]
[ He somehow cannot picture Henry enjoying a family road trip, to Indianapolis or anywhere else. ]
Guess it doesn't really matter now, huh?
Guess it doesn't really matter now, huh?
[ Instantly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world: ]
I don't use roads, Henry.
I don't use roads, Henry.
Page 23 of 35