striketwice | reverie⚡inbox

[What can be more enticing than that, especially for people like them? There’s an intimacy that’s hard to surpass when two individuals share a secret, and more so when it’s so rare it’s almost a vulnerability between them. A fragile thing to hold with care — the first real secret he wishes to treat kindly, for once.]

Just ours to share then.

[He says in return, and his thoughts run parallel to Alec’s: no one else has earned the right.

Henry’s urged forward, and he barely needs to be urged at all. He leans in again with a tilt of his head, giving him the kiss the both of them want, close and warm. Grounding.]

[ He and Henry are both in the business of secrets to some degree, so to have this, something they can keep between themselves and be utterly selfish about, is a gift unto itself.

So is kissing Henry, he's realizing. They had that one moment before, free from the burden of expectation and the sharp edge of heat, and he'd thought to himself how nice it was. He never pursued more of it afterwards, but now... well, he just might.

This is soft and slow and warm, and Alec is more than happy to indulge in it for a while. ]

[He has no qualms about being selfish, especially if it means there are aspects of Alec he can keep partitioned to himself. Hidden away in private memory to be shared with no one else.

And he doesn’t have any problem with letting this linger, either. Lips faintly parted, the kiss is drawn out until both of them have to pull away to draw breath, and even then Henry doesn’t draw back terribly far.

Though Alec has heard it before, here comes another rarity from Henry:]

Thank you.

[Just… for everything. And for letting him interrupt his rest and relaxation time to dump drama on him.]

[ Ohh, this is going to spoil him. He likes this so much. It's like some void in him that he's chosen to ignore or didn't even realize was there in the first place is suddenly no longer empty. What a wild fucking feeling.

They do part eventually, but it seems neither one of them are keen on going far. His lips quirk a little, and his hand slides over, the backs of his knuckles running along the side of Henry's face. ]

Well, you know. Out of all the people in this whole shitty multiverse, I'm glad it was me.

[Instinctively, Henry tilts his head ever so slightly into that touch, Alec's knuckles just grazing along the side of his face. What a strange, gentle sort of sensation, all of it so alien to him, but he takes to it as though he had been wanting all of his life for someone (no, just Alec) to touch him like this.

"This whole shitty multiverse". Henry chuckles again, more than aware of that sentiment being echoed a second time between them.]

Mm. Who would have guessed when you're so insufferable all the time?

[(Jokingly fond.)]

[ That's a new tone of voice, one that Alec certainly never expected to have turned on him. One that probably should feel strange coming from Henry of all people, but it strangely slots in right alongside everything else about this moment and settles perfectly.

Another small laugh. ]

It's a part of my charm. Sorry, but you're stuck with it.

I guess I’ll just have to learn to deal with it.

[In the same way Alec will have to deal with Henry’s everything. Both of them are hardly deterred.

He leans a shoulder against the couch, considering the other man.]

It’s what I get for interrupting your downtime. You looked a little worn out.

[Did someone finish his portals?]

[ They both get by, somehow. It probably helps that the two of them are not exactly what anyone would call a good person. It makes it easier to foster this connection without such troublesome things as morals in the way. ]

Hm? Oh, yeah. I finished my portal network at like ass o'clock this morning.

Finished? [Given how much work each one seems to be, that’s quite a feat.] You have been busy. You’ll have to give me the grand tour sometime.

It's not like the prison is big. I ran out of options eventually.

[ He digs around in his pocket and comes up with a well-folded note and hands it over. It's basically this but with more shorthand. ]

I think I'm pretty much covered.

[Henry raises a brow, but takes the note and carefully unfolds it, skimming over the contents. Eventually, his eyes flick back up to Alec.]

This is still a lot. I saw how much effort it took for you to just create one.

Oh, yeah. Fucking sucks. I'm beat.

[ Said as he more or less flops back onto the couch, swinging his legs over Henry's own to resume his sprawl. ]

But I also like having all my bases covered at least twice over, so. [ A half-shrug. ] If you think that's a lot, you should see the network I have set up back home.

[He glances briefly down at Alec’s legs practically swung over his lap. This man is the only person in the world who could get away with that, but because it’s Alec, Henry only finds the familiarity somewhat of a comfort. He hands the note back.]

It must be a universal rule that portals take as much time as they do effort to make.

[He would know, too.]

You have them all over the city or something?

[ Maybe later, he'll sit back and marvel at how comfortable he is just using Henry as a leg rest. Like this closeness is the most natural thing in the world.

Or maybe he won't, and for once simply accept things as they are. ]

The city? [ He clicks his tongue. ] You're thinking too small, Henry.

[Looking even more quizzical now.]

…The country?

[ A grin. ]

With one or two international stops along the way, yeah.

[Well. Alec is officially more worldly than Henry.

Not like that’s a high bar to clear.]

So your… work involves a lot of travel, I presume?

Sometimes.

[ He considers a moment, tapping one foot against the far arm of the couch in no particular rhythm. ]

I can do most of my work from the comfort of my own home. It's the work I do for Madigan that has me getting more... up close and personal with the clientele.

“Up close and personal.”

[He can read between the lines. And Henry is, of course, curious.]

And how does that usually play out? Violently, maybe?

Not if I can help it, but sometimes yeah. I guess I should explain.

[ And then he realizes that this is a hell of an explanation and he should probably start several, several steps back. ]

Madigan's what we call Talented. Which means she's not a wizard who can use the runes like me, but instead she has a singular magical power — her Talent. In her case, that Talent is sex.

"But Alec," I know you're thinking. "What's so magical about that?" Well, apart from being a great fucking time because it's magic, sex magic heals wounds, slows down illnesses. A whole host of restorative things. And it means girls with that particular Talent are coveted.

[The context is undoubtedly helpful, though he does wonder where this ultimately leads. Of course, Alec detailing something like sex magic and calling those with that talent “coveted” gives him an inkling.]

Coveted… and seen as valuable for those who’d like to take advantage of those talents?

Bingo.

[ He waves a finger lazily, as if to punctuate the statement. ]

Another brief history lesson for you. There used to be runes dedicated to healing magic, millennia ago, but wizards fucking suck and all that was lost to time and inaction because certain people wanted to keep it to themselves and now they're all gone.

These days, odds are better that you'll find a girl Talented in sex magic than you will in straight up healing. Ori's the first person I've ever met who can just do a spell and heal someone. It's like a god damn miracle.

[That is interesting, though not wholly surprising — of course something as useful as healing magic would be lost due to humanity’s tendency to keep all that is advantageous for them and theirs.]

Yes, but I can’t imagine some will treat people any differently than spells when it comes to keeping them for themselves. Right?

[Insofar as treating people like objects that happen to have unique abilities. Guess who has been there before!!]

Bingo again. That's where I come in.

[ Though he figured Henry would be quick on the uptake. He was in a similar position himself for most of his life, after all. (And that is, frankly, one of the reasons why the whole situation with Sprezzatura rankles him. He won't say as much for Henry's sake, but he can't promise to be kind to her if it should ever come up.) ]

I mentioned Madigan runs a club, right? It's called the Griffonix, and it's a safe haven. Sacred ground. It's a place for women who share her Talent to live and learn to use their magic and make their own choices. The one thing the whole of magical society agrees on is simply that the Griffonix is untouchable.

So she has me track down girls with the same Talent who might be kept in— [ vague hand motions ] —less than savory circumstances. I go kick some doors down, portal some girls back to Vegas, and get a big, fat paycheck out of it.

[Oh. Henry gives Alec a look that might seem hard to parse, his mind churning — in actuality, he cannot help but run what he’s hearing vaguely parallel to his own past circumstances. How nice it might have been, to have someone rushing into the lab to free him before he spent so, so many years under the government’s thumb. How would things have turned out differently for him?

He supposes he won’t ever know now.]

Freeing those kept prisoner, in a way. [There’s something wry about him saying that, though the next bit is all too eager.] When we return to your world, I wonder… Is that something you might need help with?

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