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[devoutish]

Yeah?

[That's it, that's all you get.]

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[devoutish]

[Alfie looks at him, a thin smile crossing his lips.]

I was gonna suggest I do the same for you.

[bywolves]

Great minds. [ Royce says dryly, tugging Alfie toward the door. ] Close your eyes. I've seen worse.

[devoutish]

I can't imagine that you have.

[bywolves]

You've never been to Manzant.

[ And that's all he's going to say about that. ]

[devoutish]

No.

[BUT CULT TORTURE VICTIMS BEING SKINNED ALIVE, ROYCE.]

[bywolves]

[ YEAH WELL. When you've seen people in the middle of performing cannibalism, get back to him. Royce's expression is tight and firm. ]

Come on.

[devoutish]

[He comes, stopping to pick up his bags where he'd dropped them by the door.]

Doesn't remind me of the war. Different sort of brutality.

[bywolves]

No. This is about making people hurt. Suffer.

War doesn't do that directly. It's indirect. The point is to die fast, with war. This isn't - this isn't that.

[devoutish]

Some of the weapons in our war were created to make people suffer.

[But he gets what Royce means.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce nudges him. ]

Close your eyes. We're going.

[devoutish]

[He wraps an arm around Royce again, starting forward without a word. He does close his eyes - but only temporarily. They pop open again once he's taken a deep breath in.]

[bywolves]

Close them. [ Royce insists, stopping. He doesn't want Alfie to look. ] Imagine something else.

[devoutish]

That's not gonna make it go away, Royce.

[bywolves]

No, it won't, but it'll make it so that we're not trapped in here for the night, Solomons.

[devoutish]

We won't be no matter what.

[He squeezes Royce's hand and continues on, through the door.]

[bywolves]

I want to make sure. [ A beat, and then he grabs Alfie's arm and tries to yank him back. ]

No. I want you to close your eyes. This is affecting you more than it is me. Close them.

[devoutish]

[Alfie stops and turns back. Reaching up, he holds Royce's face in his hands, looking him in the eye.]

Mate. Let me do this the way I need to.

[bywolves]

[ Royce doesn't look happy about this, but he goes silent. Fine. If Alfie wants to torture himself walking up, Royce won't stop him. ]

Go, then.

[devoutish]

Hey.

[He doesn't let go. He leans closer, even, keeping his eyes on Royce's.]

I know you wanna help. And you are helping; I can't tell you how much you're helping.

[bywolves]

[ He's sour, but. He's helping. That's all he wants. A deep breath, and then a sigh. He leans forward to knock their foreheads together. ]

Fine. [ It's fine. ] Let's go.

[devoutish]

[He wants to explain why, but not now. Not while they're walking through the place. He sucks in one more breath, and ducks through the door, bringing Royce along with him. He'll keep close the entire time, and though he never closes his eyes, he grips Royce's hand hard enough to turn his knuckles white.]

[bywolves]

[ Royce is so very good at numbing himself out. He stays quiet, watching Alfie most of the time. His grip is just as tight, and hopefully grounding, as they make their way up and out. He pulls from a well of calm inside himself, taking in everything around them and just letting it go. He's okay. It's okay. Alfie is okay.

When they make it out, Royce lets go of Alfie's hand to get his arm around him instead, resting his head on Alfie's shoulder, supportive. ]

[devoutish]

[As soon as they cross into the skywalk and shut the door behind them, the oppressive atmosphere lifts, and Alfie lets out a heavy exhale of relief. He wraps both his arms around Royce, bear-hugging him tightly.]

Closing my eyes would've done nothing.

[He murmurs.]

Not for me, not for them. Would've made me feel like a child, that's all.

[bywolves]

[ Royce hugs back, just as tightly. ]

Mm. [ He gets the respect for the dead. He understands the reasoning, and he can't really argue it. It isn't the time to be a jackass about it either. Instead, he holds Alfie for as long as Alfie needs him to, rocking them a little, maybe. ]

You made it better for them. [ Royce tells him quietly. ] Buried them.

oops they were supposed to find their food on the top floor and I forgot FUDGES IT

[devoutish]

You did too, mate. You-- what's that?

[The door back into the skyscraper drifts open just an inch or two - in their haste to leave, one or the other of them hadn't latched it properly. Sitting just on the other side of it, two covered tins can be seen.]