striketwice | reverie⚡inbox

[Yes, but he does wonder to what degree. There's a difference between "I am going home with this guy on my team" versus "I fell very obsessively hard for this one man who is now the center of my universe and I Would Do Anything for him."

His lips thin a little, considering.]

I see. And now, are you still angry with her?

[ Alec actually has to stop and think about that. After that little altercation, he wouldn't exactly call himself fond of her by any stretch of the imagination, but angry? ]

I dunno. Kind of hard to be mad about much of anything right now.

[His shoulders rise in an inhale-exhale, not-quite-sigh. Yes, it is hard to be angry, or concerned, or really anything other than just content right now. Though he will have to follow up with Sprezzatura eventually. Maybe smooth a few things out, if such a thing is even possible when dealing with stubborn personalities. (You're stubborn, too, Henry.)]

I don't mean to ruin the moment. And I won't tell you what to do, but it would be nice if you did try to be civil with her from now on. She just lets her... passion get the best of her, sometimes.

[ Oh, Henry. He could ask anything of Alec, and Alec would do it — including uttering an apology. He can, at least, be civil. For Henry's sake. ]

I noticed. [ He's still surprised she somehow refrained from smacking him. ] Fine. I'll do my best. For you.

[Sometimes a guy's just too lost in the "I would do anything for you, anything at all" mindset to even consider that the reverse could also apply.

Still, that tugs a smile out of him—the sincere kind—and he eases forward to give Alec another kiss.]

That’s all I can ask for.

[ As ever, when Henry smiles at him — really smiles — Alec can't help but return the expression. He lifts a hand, slides the backs of his knuckles along the side of Henry's face, so fond. ]

Hope I didn't make things more difficult for you.

[He likes that expression on Alec's face, too. He should wear it more often.]

Difficult? You? Never.

[He kids, while leaning his face into that touch.]

In the end, as long as you're here, that's all I need. [There are connections here that he'd not want to lose, of course. Some he would even feel bad to see go. But Alec is more than that, he's Henry's lifeline, and the most important person here to remain close to, above all else.]

[ Only around Henry. ]

As happy as I am to hear that— [ and he is quite happy indeed ] —it's not my goal to rob you of your other relationships.

[He huffs a little.]

You're not robbing me of anything. [The opposite is true. He's only ever given, and given, and given.] I just told you, all I need is you. [This sentiment times one hundred. One thousand. Innumerable.]

Besides, I'll talk to her again soon. Maybe she'll have cooled off by then.

[ Being someone's everything is still such an alien idea to him, that his chest constricts every time Henry drives home that point. But still— ]

Still, I'm just saying. You're allowed to have friends. Even if we don't— [ vague hand motions ] —get along.

I know.

[Of course he knows that. Alec's priorities have always revolved around giving him freedom and agency he never really had before. He doesn't expect butting heads with one of Henry's friends will change that.]

Alec. I'll never think that you're trying to control or manipulate me. Or take something away because it inconveniences you. [Which is very, very ironic. Because he could just ask nicely for anything, and Henry would do it.] I trust you more than that. So don't worry.

[ They have both got it so bad. ]

Okay, okay. I get it. I've never done this before, can you tell?

Really? Never?

[His brow arches. Henry's ever "done this before" either, but mainly because he'd been trapped in a lab and a hellscape for a number of years. ~~And also because what well-adjusted person would want to date Henry Creel, Tentacle Monster.~~ But he isn't sure what he expected from Alec, and he finds himself direly curious now.]

Yes, never.

[ He's a little baffled that it apparently wasn't obvious, but maybe it was only obvious to him in his own head. ]

I never really had the time or inclination for romance. People are— they're supposed to be traps, remember?

[Oh, yes, he remembers. And though he would never have expected Alec to be one for very serious relationships (not until him, apparently, and how utterly sublime that is to know), he thought there might have been a fling or two in there along the way.

I mean, just look at him.]

I remember. You must have disappointed a lot of people, then.

[You know, turning down the interest you can't convince him didn't exist, undoubtedly flung in Alec's direction. It's actually a little delightful to think about.]

[ Flings are different. Flings are easy. The girls around the Griffonix teasingly call him a one-night stand artist, and Alec doesn't prove them wrong. He has long mastered the art of slipping out of a prospective partner's house while they still lay sleeping. ]

Better to get it over with early on.

[ Because the things Alec does, the type of person he is, will always prove to be a disappointment. To everyone but Henry, it seems. ]

[Ah, the words of someone who expects to disappoint other people. Henry knows it when he sees it, hears it. He's a master of teasing out painful, raw things, though he doesn't ever mean to with Alec.

But they've seen each other's core, the insecurities that lie buried deep, deep beneath. He knows when he treads upon something a little less unsteady than the rest, purposeful or not.]

...If they can't appreciate every part of you [even the sharp edges, the ugliness, the anger] then yes. They're not worth the time.

[ Truly that's not a sentiment he ever expected to have turned his way. He always thought that the second he let someone close, close enough to see the twisted mess of his heart, that it would become more about the things he should change. Any sensible person would want him to be better, and when he failed to do that, they would simply leave him behind.

And that would be just what he deserves.

Instead, he's found someone just as twisted and broken as himself. Someone who doesn't ask for more than that. What an absolutely bizarre twist of fate, but he wouldn't trade this for the world. Better is for other people. This is all he needs. ]

It hardly matters now, anyway. Just bear with me. I'm trying to figure out how to navigate caring about somebody this much.

[Broken pieces fitting together just right.

It’s Henry’s turn to reach out, turning Alec’s face gently so that he meets his own red-blue gaze dead on.]

Bear with you? You have all the time you need, because I’m never leaving you.

[ This feeling of constricting warmth might not ever leave him, if Henry keeps saying things like that. ]

I'm holding you to that, Henry.

[A shared feeling. A light chuckle as he drops his hand down, if just to rest against Alec’s ribs.]

I won’t disappoint. [You’re stuck with him.] And besides, I had meant what I said as a compliment. That you must’ve disappointed people because you’ve deprived them of such handsome company.

What did I tell you about flattery?

[ It will get him nowhere, mostly because he truly has nowhere left to go. ]

Hmm. That you love to hear it?

Very rarely. And only from you.

[Lips quirking. He’s just going to lie his head back down, now.]

Now who’s the flatterer?

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