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[vecna]

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[striketwice]

[ Affection is hard and it gets him flustered sometimes. ]

I guess you will.

[ So of course he just invites more of it. Inexplicably. ]

[vecna]

[That's cute. You're being cute, Alec.]

Endless opportunities in the future, right?

[He smiles and straightens again, adjusting the bag over his shoulder.]

For now, let's keep moving on.

[striketwice]

[ HE IS NOT CUTE. Even if that little bit of constricting warmth winds around his chest again at the mention of the future. Nope, not cute at all.

RIGHT moving on. ]

What do we think the empty floor to occupancy ratio is gonna be in here?

[vecna]

[UH-HUH SURE

Time to wander out of this store.]

I suspect we'll be more bored than not. [So lots of empty floors.] But the promise of coming across something, even every once in a while, is enticing enough to keep going.

[striketwice]

Are you calling me boring, Henry Creel?

[ HE KIDS. Onto the next however many escalators before they find something neat I guess. ]

[vecna]

No. Never.

[His tone is joking right back but also, no. Never.

Up many escalators this time, and when a floor finally does have something, it's...

Well, it looks like an obstacle course.]

...Is this normal for a mall?

[striketwice]

[ That little joking comment earns Henry a cheeky little smirk, then up the escalator they go. Again. And again. And again.

Until finally they arrive at. Uh. ]

Uh. Not... really? I mean some malls have like trampoline parks, or play areas for kids with those shitty inflatable obstacle courses. I've never seen anything like this before.

[vecna]

[Henry's drawn closer; all odd curiosities tend to have that effect on him.]

So then just unique to this place. It looks... [Hm.] Intense. Did you want to try?

[striketwice]

[ Quirks a brow. ]

Do you?

[vecna]

[Absolutely not.

...Is what he should say, but his pride flares just a wee bit that look.]

And what's that supposed to mean, exactly?

[striketwice]

You don't exactly strike me as a guy who's proficient in athletics.

[ har har a D&D joke ]

[vecna]

[You're sO fUNny

A disbelieving scoff! Are you calling him a skinny nerd?]

I have my powers. And my other form's strength might surprise you. Besides... [Cuts a glance at the obstacle course.] I bet I could keep up with you.

[Words to be carved onto his tombstone.]

[striketwice]

[ He gives Henry a very obvious once over, from head to toe and back up again. ]

I think you might want to reconsider that stance.

[vecna]

[Wow, way to make him feel like he's in elementary school again. Eyebrows raising.]

Maybe not beat you, but keep up. [Clarifying, as if that makes it more possible.]

[striketwice]

Pretty sure I can do this with no magic and I'd still leave you in the dust. That's not a slight. Just a fact.

[ Henry you GREW UP IN A LAB. Alec grew up in a mercenary troupe. They are not the same. ]

[vecna]

[Logic dictates that this is true. But how dare! Sure, they didn't physically train them in the lab, only psychically, but he's capable. He survived in the Upside Down for seven years. He might not tear through the whole obstacle course, but he could make it through, like--

Half, maybe.

Probably.

SETS HIS BAG DOWN.]

Then put it to the test.

[striketwice]

Okay. You asked for it.

[ He shrugs out of his jacket and hoodie, stepping over to what appears to be the starting area. He casts Henry a sideways glance. ]

I'll even let you count us down.

[ :) ]

[vecna]

[He follows, stopping beside Alec. Beyond them is the obstacle course -- a long stretch of "track" to get a running start, followed by a metal array of monkey bars, followed by a big wooden wall with a rope over which they are expected to climb.

I'm not even going to bother detailing the rest because let's be real. Henry won't make it past that.

BUT HE THINKS HE PROBABLY WILL, and he says lightly-]

Fine. Ready?

[Giving them a moment, then-] Three... two... one [ha]... go.

[And they're off. Henry's long legs equal long strides, and at least he starts off... well. Motivated. How's Alec going to fare?]

[striketwice]

[ The thing about magical muscle is that it doesn't do you much good without having real muscle to back it up. After all, Enhancement magic takes what's already there and makes it better harder, faster, stronger.

So Alec is fine. There's a moment at the start where Henry outpaces him thanks to being 87% limb, but it doesn't take Alec long to realize that this is definitely going to be a sprint rather than a marathon. He steps on the proverbial gas, shoots past, and takes the first two obstacles with an ease born of many, many years of practice. It's nostalgic, in its way. He can practically hear ol' Sarge barking orders at him from the sidelines.

When he gets to the top of the wall, that's where he stops, turning to look at how Henry's doing. How is Henry doing? ]

[vecna]

[How dare Alec tease him with a moment in which he thinks he’s actually going to fare decently well? That his long-limbed blessing actually provides him with a chance of keeping up with him? Well, those hopes are banished the moment the other man rushes forward, outpacing him as though Henry were only walking, and—

Shit.

All right. Alec is definitely in better shape than him, but Henry holds steadfast to the illusion that he can at least get through this with no issue on his part. When he reaches the monkey bars, he’s only a little winded from the sprint — but when he grasps at them (his experience with these are so, so limited), and gravity pulls the rest of his weight down, his arms begin to hate him.

Like, really hate him.

He does not have the upper body strength for this. Bar by bar, his muscles strain and call him out for this betrayal. When Alec turns to look at him—is he already there at the top of that wall?—Henry is just short of halfway through, and every bit of progression is a struggle.

He can practically feel Alec’s gaze on him. Through gritted teeth:]

Shut up.

[HE DIDN’T EVEN SAY ANYTHING YET]

[striketwice]

I didn't say anything.

[ Oh, but the shit-eating grin is there, on his face and in his tone. There's something sort of charming about watching Henry, poor poor Henry, struggle his way through out of some misguided attempt to conserve his pride.

Alec takes a seat on the top of the wall, feet dangling and elbows resting on his knees. ]

Guessing they skipped arm day at the lab.

[ Ah, there it is. ]

[vecna]

[There it is. Fuck you, too, Alec Brennan.]

I said... [The adamant tone he's trying to take is lessened by how winded he sounds.] Shut... up. This body-

[He can't see the look on Alec's face, but he can hear that tone clearly, and imagines him sitting there, looking smug. Probably resting his elbows on his knees or something.

Henry keeps an iron stare fixed on the bars, neck craned up as he takes them one at a time. Pure stubbornness and unbending pride somehow push him through it, though he is slow, and not very graceful, and he "skips" the last two at the end by simply letting go a little early.

His arms are on fire. What was he saying?]

This body is- [Trying to catch his breath.] -human. And weak.

[The usual excuse.]

[striketwice]

[ He just sits there, smug king of smugness at the top of his mountain, watching Henry struggle through. He really did make it almost to the end of the monkey bars. He's impressed. And strangely endeared. ]

I've heard it before, Henry. What are you gonna do if that's the body you stay stuck with, huh?

[vecna]

[He almost made it to the end, yes, but now his arms are rebelling, and he has a wall to climb.

At least now he can walk to said wall, looking up at Alec. He’s still catching his breath, face tinged a little pink from the exertion.

Sarcasm alert:]

Maybe I’ll visit that other dimension again, let it change me back. What do you think of that?

[striketwice]

And get rid of that pretty face of yours?

[ A grin. ]

What a shame that would be.