Welcome

[adaptiveimmunities]

You awake on the grass. When you open your eyes, you see that you in the Wood. It is calm here. Quiet. There are no birds singing, nor any other sight or sound of animal life. The sky between the branches is an eternal twilight that lightens and darkens without ever becoming true day and night. Interspersed between the trees are the Pools. Each Pool is only a foot deep at most--enough to splash in, but certainly not deep enough to swim or drown. They are oddly uniform, aside from the occasional Pool here and there that has inexplicably dried out.

As you look around, you notice that a short distance away is what appears to be the remains of a small camp. When you approach, you can see that there are a number of tents that seem to be in excellent condition, and in the middle, a campfire circle with plenty of food supplies around it.

The food replenishes itself when taken.

The fresh water never runs dry.

The sleeping bags and mats within the tents are oddly comfortable and restful.

Welcome to the Wood Between the Worlds.

Comments

[bisexualdisaster]

"Cash is snorkeling in one of the pools," Alex says, tone deadpan. "Your PPOs aren't anywhere either."

And of course, Henry is trying to tell him what to do. Alex rolls his eyes. "You're not the prince of me. You can't tell me what to do. And this is barely even dangerous. Haven't you ever climbed a tree before?"

[princebuttercup]

"Ah yes. The barely knee-deep pools will hide your hulk of a security detail. Of course." Why does he bother? "And no, not since I was ten." He folds his arms across his chest, huffing a little. "Well? Can you see anything?"

[bisexualdisaster]

Of course not. Climbing trees, especially as an adult, is something people who like fun do. Which is to say, not stuffy princes. "You are literally the most boring person in existence. Here."

He wraps an arm around the trunk, holding fast, and reaches his hand down to offer it to Henry.

"Come up here and see for yourself."

[princebuttercup]

Henry gives a deep sigh, as though he is being extremely put-upon, and takes Alex's hand to help him scramble up onto the tree branch. The limited space on the branch forces them to sit pressed against each other, and Henry glances at Alex. "I assume that we'll need to climb higher if I want to see more than leaves and your face."

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex might have miscalculated.

It's... not comfortable being pressed up against Henry like this. The forest must be more humid than DC this time of year, of course, and with another person next to him--with any person--he's heating up. As always, Henry gets under his skin.

But like hell he's going to admit that.

"But Henry." Alex drapes an arm over Henry's shoulders and turns towards him, fluttering his eyelashes. "Why would you want to see more than my face? I guarantee it's prettier than anything you're gonna see up there."

[princebuttercup]

Henry shoves him, though not hard enough to do more than rock him on the branch. He doesn't actually want to push Alex out of the tree, even if it would be incredibly satisfying. It does have the unintended consequence of dislodging Alex's arm, though, which is more of a loss than Henry feels like admitting.

"You are the single most ridiculous person I have ever met in my life," he says, exasperated.

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex grins. A part of him wants to shove Henry back, to see if they can get into a real fight, see if it would be as good as the shove felt, but... they are in a tree. Alex can be reckless, sometimes, but he's not stupid and he doesn't actually want to fall. So he settles for just bumping his shoulder against Henry's.

"We call that a personality in America. Stick around, you might develop one." He glances up towards the higher branches of the tree. "Race you up. If you can manage without me holding your hand."

[princebuttercup]

"Perish the thought," he mutters.

He glances up through the branches. "I am not racing you up this tree. I have no desire to explain to whoever turns up to find us that you broke your neck in some foolish competition. Besides." He smirks at him. "You are at a bit of a height disadvantage."

He moves to start climbing.

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex stares, mouth open. Did Henry just deliver a sick burn? That's impossible. Henry can't possibly be that clever and mean. Alex would be impressed, but it's Henry, and he refuses to be. Besides, all he hears is that it is definitely a race and he absolutely is going to beat Henry in it. No way some spoiled inbred bastard is better at climbing trees than Alex is just because he's a little taller. Barely taller, really. Like, practically negligible.

He grabs a branch a little ways above them and pulls himself up, pausing only to stick his entire hand on Henry's face and shove him. Not hard or anything. Just enough to make a point. He's not entirely sure what his point it is, but he's going to be emphatic about it anyway.

[princebuttercup]

"Are you really this childish?" Henry asks, grabbing Alex's ankle to keep him from pulling himself too far ahead. Turnabout is fair play, after all, even if it is definitely not a race.

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex lets out an indignant yelp, then kicks at Henry's hand.

It turns out maybe he is stupid, not just a little reckless. And it turns out that maybe, just maybe, as so often happens, he's gotten carried away. That a little competitive turned into a little roughness turned into him losing his grip on the tree and he is, in fact, falling now.

Well, fuck.

[princebuttercup]

At first, Henry thinks Alex is messing with him to pay him back for trying to grab his ankle. Then he realizes he's actually falling out of the tree, and likely to hurt himself if he actually does land. He reaches out quickly and grabs for Alex's flailing arm, hoping that when he catches it, Alex's momentum doesn't drag them both out of the tree and onto the ground.

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex barely has time to think that Henry's definitely going to win their not a race before he feels a strong hand around his arm and he jerks to a stop. He looks up. Did Henry... save him? Did literal Prince Charming yank him out of the air like he's a damsel in distress?

Alex will never live this down. Except fortunately, sort of, he doesn't have to because no matter how strong and solid the grip around his arm is, he's still a full grown man hanging out of a tree, and even Henry's annoyingly toned physique isn't enough to hold them both in place. Suddenly, they're falling again, and just as suddenly, they're on the ground and Henry is on top of him.

It wasn't really a very fall far, no matter how much Henry had been fretting. Alex is bruised, but he's pretty sure his pride is the most injured thing about him. He lets his head flop down against the ground and says, "What is this, the third time we've ended up on top of each other? I really have to insist you buy me dinner before we do this again."

[princebuttercup]

"I believe every instance of this has been your fault," Henry points out, rolling off of Alex and onto the grass so he can stare up at the trees above them. "So you owe me dinner. And drinks, if it happens again. Ow."

[bisexualdisaster]

"My fault?!" Alex pushes himself to sitting which--ow--that reveals a lot of bruises he had not wanted. At least he hasn't injured his face, and the fact that's probably because Henry slowed his fall is not worth dwelling on.

"If I remember correctly, and I do, you pushed me into that cake, there were firecrackers that sounded like guns in your country, and just now? You pulled my foot! Your fault!" He points a finger at Henry, then grimaces and rubs his back. "Ow."

[princebuttercup]

"First of all, you grabbed me. Second, I cannot personally be blamed for firecrackers in my country. Third--you didn't overbalance yourself just now until you tried to kick me, ergo: your fault." He sighs and frowns at the trees above them. "Where are we anyway? How are you even here?"

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex could keep arguing. There's something almost comforting in the familiar banter. A fire that lights in his belly when Henry challenges him, even on something trivial. A part of him that even now, wants to push at Henry, find his buttons, see if he can find that same fire inside him.

But Alex supposes he has more important things to do than antagonize Henry.

"Same way you did, I'm guessing. Which is to say, I have no fucking clue." He scowls up at the sky, then pushes himself to his feet, leaning a little more heavily on the tree than he should have to. "I saw a campsite a little ways away, though. It's the only lead I've got."

[princebuttercup]

"Wonderful." He pushes himself to his feet, grunting a little when he notices the new bruises he's acquired from landing on Alex. He's almost sorry they've stopped arguing. It's fun when it's Alex, even if he is the most irritating person Henry knows.

"A campsite. All right. Let's go." He eyes Alex for a moment. He doesn't look particularly steady on his feet. "...Do you need help?"

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex rolls his eyes, pushing himself off the tree to make it clear he can stand without any help from anyone. It's mostly true anyway. His ankle feels a little more tender than he'd like, but he's sure he can walk it off.

"Sorry, Prince Charming. Not gonna play damsel in distress for you. Even if it was your heavy ass that fell on me."

[princebuttercup]

"I'm so sorry for trying to stop you from falling," he says, rolling his own eyes in return. "Remind me not to bother in the future." He glances around. "Which direction was your campsite in?"

[bisexualdisaster]

Alex casually flips him off, then points forward. "That way," he says. "It was right over--"

He takes a step and okay, maybe his ankle is not as completely fine as he'd like it to be because it rolls immediately and he swears as he does, indeed, start to fall. Again.

[princebuttercup]

Henry's about to return the sentiment with two fingers of his own, when Alex starts to fall. Again. Despite his previous words, he moves quickly, grabbing Alex's arm to try to steady him. "You are an idiot," he tells him. "Let me help you."

[bisexualdisaster]

A part of Alex wishes Henry had let him fall. It would almost be better than having Henry continue to be so damn frustratingly perfect. Stupid, handsome prince charming and his strong, steady hands sweeping in and catching him. For a moment, he can't even respond because there's something caught in his throat, adrenaline, or frustration, maybe, that Henry can't even let him walk on his own. But he's smarter than this. Or he should be, anyway, if Henry didn't keep getting him all flustered and turned around.

He needs a list.

1. He doesn't know where he is.
2. He doesn't know where any of his secret service agents are.
3. Henry is the only person he's come across.
4. Henry probably doesn't want to be alone either.
5. His ankle might be injured badly enough that walking on it is a bad idea.
6. If he doesn't let Henry help him, they'll both be screwed.

He scowls and glances up at Henry. "Fine. But if you start singing or talking to chipmunks or whatever, I'm bolting."

[princebuttercup]

"Good luck getting far on your bum ankle, but fine," Henry agrees. He starts moving them crefully in the direction Alex had indicated, watching out for any obvious hazards. "In any case, as the damsel in this situation, I think you're much more likely to break out in song or strike up a conversation with the local wildlife. My role here it to be completely useless until most of the story is over."

[bisexualdisaster]

"Oh, fuck you," Alex says, before he registers that Henry just called himself useless. He falls silent, for once, letting Henry support his weight as they move.

Henry is solid and strong, a fixed point, holding Alex steady, keeping him from doing what he always does and going too fast and hurting himself again. It's weirdly comfortable.

Damn, maybe he hit his head harder than he thought.

Obviously, he doesn't stay silent for very long. "I'm kind of surprised. I didn't think you had a sense of humor."