[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".]
[ 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. ]
[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.]
[It does seem like an age ago at this point. It was just a few weeks ago. So much has happened between then and now, and yet somehow that dream still felt crucial for them both — even if it ended less than, ah, pleasantly.]
Pieces of it, yes. How it manifests if we were theoretically to visit my subconscious mind instead.
[A mindscape is not necessarily a memory, after all. The pieces of his old home in his mind are purposefully broken and unwelcoming.]
But I would show you how it actually was before it fell into disrepair.
[Alec saying such things... It makes Henry want to guarantee that he'll always be near. Always beside him, like now. His fingers flex in a gentle squeeze around his hand, as though to cement him there with the gesture.]
I hated that place. I never thought of it as home, not really.
[And yet it's still important to him. It's why it still exists, ravaged, in his mindscape.]
But it's still an important place in my memories. And I want to show you everything important to me.
[ Though he has no way to know exactly what Henry is thinking, he returns that small squeeze without so much as a second thought. It feels so utterly selfish to want to stay close like this, to seek out little moments of contact and gestures of affection, but what are they both if not selfish creatures? Were it anyone else but Henry next to him, Alec might think he doesn't deserve this kind of warmth.
Because it is Henry, it's perfect. A pair of broken pieces, sticking together. ]
Everything, huh? [ Seems like a tall order, but there's already so much he knows about Henry. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to know more. ] I'd like that.
[All the ugly pieces. The parts where they align more perfectly than the rest. He still has a few skeletons in his closet; not that he ever feels the need to hide anything from Alec anymore, anyway.
But maybe some other time.]
Something to look forward to. But for now, I'd like to focus on this place. Your home, and this frankly impressive river.
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striketwice) wrote2022-10-02 07:47 pm
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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".]
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A pretty far cry from Indiana, isn't it?
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Have you been to the state? This is as opposite as it gets.
[Sorry to anyone actually from Indiana but Henry is biased. And his experiences skew nearly rural.]
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[ Though he realizes that little podunk Hawkins is probably a far cry from any city. ]
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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.]
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Guess it doesn't really matter now, huh?
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Jokingly-]
Because you won't be taking me on any road trips? What a shame.
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I don't use roads, Henry.
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You can't possibly have a convenient portal located everywhere.
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[He Never Wants To Go Back There Ever Again
Well, with one small addendum:]
Someday, though, maybe I'll show you the old house.
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[ Now that experience feels like a lifetime ago. Truly, how did they get here from there? ]
If you wanna show me the real thing, I won't say no.
[ "Real thing." ]
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It was just a few weeks ago.So much has happened between then and now, and yet somehow that dream still felt crucial for them both — even if it ended less than, ah, pleasantly.]Pieces of it, yes. How it manifests if we were theoretically to visit my subconscious mind instead.
[A mindscape is not necessarily a memory, after all. The pieces of his old home in his mind are purposefully broken and unwelcoming.]
But I would show you how it actually was before it fell into disrepair.
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Weeks that somehow feel like months.]Like I said, only if you want. Take me wherever, you know I'll go.
[ Henry's subconscious, his dreams, his memories. A zoo exhibit full of spiders. Doesn't matter. ]
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I hated that place. I never thought of it as home, not really.
[And yet it's still important to him. It's why it still exists, ravaged, in his mindscape.]
But it's still an important place in my memories. And I want to show you everything important to me.
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Because it is Henry, it's perfect. A pair of broken pieces, sticking together. ]
Everything, huh? [ Seems like a tall order, but there's already so much he knows about Henry. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to know more. ] I'd like that.
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[All the ugly pieces. The parts where they align more perfectly than the rest. He still has a few skeletons in his closet; not that he ever feels the need to hide anything from Alec anymore, anyway.
But maybe some other time.]
Something to look forward to. But for now, I'd like to focus on this place. Your home, and this frankly impressive river.
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[ Said with a grin, another one of those strangely genuine expressions that have found its way onto his face today.
But the shores of Lake Michigan can also wait. ]
Come on. I'll show you my usual route, then we can head out of here before you get a nosebleed all over the bed.
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But even his little well-intentioned barbs don't feel as prickly today. And so Henry just concedes with a-]
Probably for the best.
[-and will go wherever Alec takes him for the remainder of this visit.
What a nice little mind date.]