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[devoutish]

Solomons & Melborn
1108 Sweet Cream Street

[Feel free to use this space for letter/package deliveries as well as visits/knocks on the front door!]

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[devoutish]

[A pause.]

Yes. He did it.

I killed him for it.

[bywolves]

[ Royce holds on a little more tightly. ]

Yeah. Yeah, okay. [ A long pause, and then: ] Thank you.

[devoutish]

I only wish it was something you could have done in reality, mate.

[There's another pause as he winds his fingers into Royce's hair, trying not to hold on too tightly.]

Everything else - was that just how it happened?

[bywolves]

[ Maybe strangely enough, it relaxes him when Alfie gets his fingers in Royce's hair, even if he does have to try to keep his hold gentle. He sighs out a low sound and keeps his eyes closed. ]

Almost exactly. But it wasn't you that pulled me up, it was Hadrian.

[devoutish]

Good.

[He's glad someone had; he'd worried about that.]

Yeah. Good.

[bywolves]

Gwen knew what he'd say to try and get me to listen. [ Royce says, muffled. ] She said it to me. Before she died. I was going to let go, but Hadrian said exactly what Gwen did.

It surprised me. So I let him pull me up.

[devoutish]

[Alfie shivers, grabbing up the blanket and pulling it around both of them.]

What did she say?

[bywolves]

[ He's burrowed against Alfie, so it's easy for him to just wrap him up and keep him burrito'd. ]

Don't let go. Whatever you do, don't let go. [ He says, quietly. And that's all he really wants to go into, as far as details. ]

[devoutish]

[Alfie closes his eyes.]

I'm so sorry, sweetheart.

[bywolves]

[ Deep breath. ]

I'm okay. [ He murmurs. ] It's okay.

[devoutish]

Yes, you are.

[Alfie murmurs, kissing his cheek, then pressing his forehead firmly against Royce's.]

You're all right. Gwen's all right.

[bywolves]

[ He noses a bit against Alfie's nose, going kind of quiet for a moment. He's repeating it in his head - you're all right, Gwen's all right. He's not sure if he regrets killing Merrick, either. ]

You saw what I did, after. [ Arson, lots of murder. You know. ]

[devoutish]

Yes.

[He pulls Royce closer, his hold secure. He saw, and he doesn't blame him for any of it.]

[bywolves]

I knew Merrick didn't kill her. [ He sounds sort of distant - not quite the way he used to in Norfinbury. But he's putting some space between him and it, trying to sort through it. ]

[devoutish]

[But his actions still led to her death, is what Alfie thinks and doesn't say. He knows that Royce knows that he's thinking it, or something like it - but this is still Royce's conundrum to sort through, and Alfie won't give direct input unless he's asked for it. He just squeezes him tighter.]

[bywolves]

But it didn't matter. [ He murmurs. ] Arcadius hired him to do it. He took the job. He knew what the consequences would be.

You know - he said he wanted to work with me again someday. But he didn't know who I was, when he said it. Not anymore.

[devoutish]

He cared about you only as far as you could be useful to him. You did the right thing, moving on from him.

[bywolves]

Yeah. I know. [ Royce turns his face to hide it against Alfie's neck. ] Even in the end he just wanted to save his own skin.

[ But even so. Even so, he misses what he had. ]

[devoutish]

And I'm sorry for that, too.

[Alfie murmurs into Royce's hair.]

[bywolves]

I think I am, too.

[devoutish]

You deserve better. You deserve Hadrian.

[bywolves]

I don't think he deserved me. [ Royce says, with a hint of lightness to it. It's just a little self-deprecation. ]

[devoutish]

Well, you know what I think of that.

[bywolves]

I do. [ Another long pause. ] You're the first person I've ever shown that to.

[devoutish]

I know. I'm glad you were able to come out of it quickly.

[He'd been pretty worried, at first.]