You said your goodbyes, loverboy?
yeah
but i've been doing that all week
i didn't want to talk to zeke but i told him to stay out of trouble
thomas and i don't really know each other
mal
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...
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is going to be ok i think
but she's not taking it well
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definitely not silent haha
but i think she wants to open a bar in nyc
so i hope if she performs one of my songs there
i'll get to see it
i told her that and she started crying
but i think we're all crying a lot these days
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i said claire can have my old cassettes if they're still out there
and she said she doesn't own a cassette player
goddamn casual audiophile
I'd imagine! Ain't exactly the strong and silent type.
Of course, darlin'.
Ha! Ha! You sound like Thomas!
okay fair
i don't know how any of her mp3 bullshit works either
so it's more like a draw
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did you say bye to tati?
I sure tried! She was surprisingly cordial about the whole thing -- but I can't shake the feelin' she's glad she ain't gonna be out there sharing the big wide world with me!
probably because you're the only thing that could stop her from world domination
i wouldn't be surprised to see president tati in a few years
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did you hear she and mal are dating?
Boy, ain't THAT a scary thought!
Yep! Definitely wasn't expectin' that to happen when it did, but I figure it'll be good for the both of 'em not to be all on their lonesome out there.
haha yeah
it'll be weird to see them change
not just deteriorate but like
get better
get new interests
do new stuff
change who they are and what they're like
You feelin' some regret, handsome? I bet you can still catch 'em if you need.
no
i'm glad i get to stay here
i'm glad i want to stay here
with you
Me, too.
how about you?
i remember you wanted to figure out where you came from for so long
it must be pretty weird to know the answer now
is it disappointing?
Nope! I feel righter than I've been for a long time. I think what really got my goat was the not knowin', is all!
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Sure, do I wish there was some big secret trove a' gorgeous memories waiting out there from my life? Who wouldn't?
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But knowin' that's not the case means it ain't nearly so pressing anymore.
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And I guess it means I can spend all that energy other ways!
oh! haha
i love you
what are you cooking up in your brilliant mind?
Well, you know how I said I was gonna try'n find some way to make this place a little more comfortable for ya?
yeah?
Well! Feast your eyes on this!
you mean my ears?
No, darlin'.
I
mean
your
eyes!
oh my goodness
wow
wow
wow
red!
and blue and green and yellow and everything
it's been ages since i saw anything not black and white
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how did you do this?
it's so beautiful
Ha! Ha! I took a leaf outta your old Cee Bee radio pals' book!
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They made some new kind of S.S.T.V that lets you transmit colors over the radio waves! Over the radio waves!
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Took me a bit a' time to figure out all the newfangled ways you can do it, now that nobody's on the radio no more, but I remembered how much you used to miss flowers, and figured I'd scrape a couple together and hope for the best!
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Just sounds like a right awful noise to me, to be honest.
What's it like on your end?
it's wonderful
​not quite the same as i remember it
but i don't care
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the colors are brighter almost
like technicolor
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Or this beautiful place! The one from the screensaver?
yes!
like everything is in full sun all the time
thank you so much will
these are fantastic
And there's more where that came from!
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Just tell me what you wanna see, and as long as it's somewhere I can get to it's yours! A real juke joint! A blue sky! A forest!
can i see you?
Oh!
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Of course, darlin'! But maybe in a second. I wanna, how d'you say, fix my face up 'fore I pick one.
that's okay
i'll wait as long as you need
Thank you, darlin'!
this is so wonderful
i'm sorry i don't have anything to give you
i didn't even know we were doing gifts
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i guess all i've got is myself
And that's all I need!
c'mere
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once they head out, do you think we can still do all the same stuff we used to?
I bet! I got some new song ideas cooking up now that I don't hafta be singing the same ol' tune all the time!
really?
i've been working on some too
ever since falling in love i feel like
i don't know
things just fall out of my pen
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i can't believe i made you sing a song i wrote about having a crush on you with me
that's so embarrassing
Ha! Ha!
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Hey, I sang the thing with you! And it was a right catchy tune, too! Those fellas sure were stupid.
stupid and brave
none of this would've happened if you hadn't
y'know
with zeke and claire
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do you ever think about that?
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i mean obviously it wasn't a good thing but somehow it managed to get thomas back and get us out
it's just funny how things work
I ain't ever thought about it that way before! S'pose even a failed experiment gives you data.
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But I'm sorry you had to spend so much time on your own because of it, sunshine! I never would've tried if I knew it would turn out so pear-shaped in the end.
i don't think it's pear-shaped at all
we're all happy
and you and i get to be together forever
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...
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i can feel myself wanting to pick at it again
to try and figure out where the holes are in the happiness
y'know?
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but i haven't found any yet
Me neither! And, well, if ya do find any - we can patch 'em up real quick.
oh do you think that was them leaving?
"Sounds like it. What happens now?"
I don't know.
I guess we wait until we become...
I don't know
whatever our story-ness is.
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How do you feel?
"I don't feel any different than usual."
"Me neither. But we can wait around and see, I guess."
"Are you sure you don't want to head out there with the others? Now is your final shot," said Will.
"I don't think so," said Henry, furrowing his brow. "You really don't feel any different? Do I look different?"
"I can feel ya if you like," replied Will with a suggestive grin.
Henry laughed, but settled down next to Will, tucking his shoulder into the crook of his arm.
"Go ahead, loverboy."
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He gently placed Will's hand over his chest, and Will could feel the stuttering, digital heartbeat under his fingers. It reminded him sometimes of the beeping of a satellite, but Henry didn't need to know that.
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"You seem right as rain to me," said Will.
Will placed his cheek on the top of Henry's head, marveling once more at the soft give of golden curls underneath his skin.
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"Are you scared?"
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Henry furrowed his brow again. When he closed his eyes, he could hear Will's heartbeat behind him. It sometimes reminded him of the soft, rhythmic pulse of static after a record ends, but Will didn't need to know that.
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"I'm not, actually. I know whatever happens, the two of us will be together, and -- maybe this will sound sappy, but that's really all that matters to me."
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"Me, too, honeydarlin'. All I need is to know we're going to the same place."
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But they held hands a little tighter than was necessary. It was almost disappointing when nothing happened. A soft breeze blew through the flowers. A cloud scudded by overhead - the same cloud that had been there for 80 years, ever since this mundanely gorgeous field in California was first captured by a photographer and named Bliss.
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"What do you want to do now?"
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Henry leaned back and smiled up at Will. He noticed, not for the first time, that Will's hair always fell naturally into a perfect coif, and longed, not for the first time, to tousle it once more. At the moment, all Henry could think was that there was nothing he wanted more than to sit there with him.
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"I don't know. But we have all the time in the world to figure it out."
