Amusement park

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Reed de Févin



"You were my everything."

The musician wasn't fully convinced that this was best for Reed, but the brat was too stubborn to listen to reason. "Fine. But if you throw up on the ride, you're dealing with it yourself." he warned and made his way to the line. Since it wasn't nighttime, there weren't that many couples out and about, so the line was fairly short, much shorter than the roller coasters. In a matter of minutes Reed and Alan found themselves at the front of the line. Reed told the operator that only he and the scientist would share a capsule (which could hold up to four) and with a nod the operator let them into their section. The door closed tightly, and with the move of a lever they moved into the air, stopping shortly after to let others on.

"Your music will live on."

 

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☸ Alan Brandt ☸

"The science of it all is simple."

Ignoring Reed's warning (and deciding that, since Reed had already appointed himself surrogate parent-figure, he wouldn't really let Alan deal with it himself), Alan settled into the capsule and tightly gripped the bar set out before them. The capsule was large enough to fit four people, although Alan kept close to Reed for fear of a repeat of last time. He had felt like he was dealing with the roller coaster experience alone, so he was going to make sure that he wasn't alone this time.
Seated and choosing not to look down, Alan's green eyes shifted up to the bright sky, looking at the fluffy white clouds scattered in the baby blue. "I haven't been on a ferris wheel since before my mother went away," he said quietly, expression softening just a little at the memory. "I couldn't have been older than 6, just a few months away from being taken to my first therapist, and my mother just wanted to see if she could fix me with social interaction. It didn't work, of course, and not long after that, she became increasingly involved with a co-worker, but I still remember everything about that day. I remember how her hair smelled, what dress she wore, what rides we went on, and even what kind of band aid she gave me when I fell off a table." The creaking of the ride shook Alan from his memories, as whatever softness in his face hardened fast. What was he doing, talking to Reed like this? Was he really so in desire of company that he'd let those feelings surface?

"The numbers never lie."

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Reed de Févin



"You were my everything."

When the sudden backstory was told, Reed glanced over at Alan and gave him a soft look. He followed the younger man's gaze to the sky and watched a cloud pass by, smiling as his imagination spoke in a little girl's voice that excitedly remarked over what the cloud looked like. "It's been a few years since I've been to an amusement park. Maybe five." he said. "I came here for my daughter's birthday. The Ferris Wheel was her favorite ride." He glanced back down at the scientist. "You remind me a lot of her. Both of you were spoiled brats." he snickered before looking back up at the sky. "Though, I guess it was my fault she got so spoiled. If she showed even the slightest bit of interest in something then I'd buy it for her. My wife would argue that it was bad to do that, but once we saw how happy she was with her new toy we knew there was no way we could take it away from her."

"Your music will live on."

 

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☸ Alan Brandt ☸

"The science of it all is simple."

"Your daughter was lucky," noted Alan quietly as one hand reached to push back brown hair that the wind had pushed into his face. "My father never took me out places like this, and my mother ceased her interest in me after my now-stepfather fell into the picture. The closest thing I had to a relationship with my parents was before my first diagnosis when I was 7, and even then, it was only my mother who could find time for me.Of course, I always understood. He had a business to care for." Alan's slender fingers toyed with a silver ring on his thumb, too big for small hands like his, and the design nearly feminine. "After the doctors decided that I was on the autism spectrum, my mother drifted away from me, not wanting to deal with having a kid with Asperger's. I guess she figured I was broken or something and didn't want to play with me anymore." Shrugging, Alan kept his gaze on his hands, hunched over in a strange position he seemed to take up quite often. "To have parents who would pay so much attention that they knew what toy interested you, or even your favorite ride... She must have had a very happy childhood." The scientist smiled simply, his awkwardness set aside for the moment.

"The numbers never lie."

Awesome nerd

 

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Awesome nerd

 

[Its Smiley]

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Reed de Févin



"You were my everything."

Their pod was one turn away from being at the top, Reed could feel the wind brush against his face. He listened to its empty whispers and kept his gaze to the sky. So Alan had autism, huh? It definitely explained a lot, but that didn't mean he'd give the brat special treatment.
When his daughter was mentioned again, a bitter smile showed on Reed's face. "Yeah... Yeah, but I could've done more for her." he mumbled under his breath, though he was already used to hearing this (mostly from himself). The pod twitched and brought the musician back to reality. He turned his head and looked over to see that they had reached the top. It was a nice view, and though it was a foggy dusk, the neon lights of the rides were entertaining to look at. Reed glanced over at Alan to see how he was handling his situation.

"Your music will live on."

 

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☸ Alan Brandt ☸

"The science of it all is simple."

Alan looked up as he heard the mumble, not being that far from Reed anyway, so close enough to hear it. He shook his head, hesitantly, but then decidedly grabbing Reed's arm. "Don't say that. All we want is for you to make sure that we're okay, to sit in our room with your backs against the closet door until we fall asleep to make sure the monsters don't come out, to hug us and beat up that jerk on the playground when they take our toys and kick us into the slide." His fingers slowly uncurled from the man's arm, and Alan reverted back to his former hunched-over position. "At the end of the day, all any kid wants to know for certain that, in their father's eyes, they're perfect the way they are. Even if they're short, awkward, broken, or have some stupid disorder that makes them weird, we just want you to look at us like we're normal and important." He shrugged, looking down to the ground below him and tightly gripping the seat as vertigo began to make him dizzy.

"The numbers never lie."

Awesome nerd

 

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Reed de Févin



"You were my everything."

Reed stayed silent. He didn't want to mull over what his daughter thought, he couldn't handle that. He didn't even have the energy to yell at Alan for thinking he understood his situation like that. It wasn't that simple. But he knew he had no right to yell, he didn't talk about his family that much, and he didn't plan to anytime soon. The fact that he talked about his family time here was nothing more than a slip of his mind.
"... Stop talking like that." Reed finally grumbled and looked over at Alan. "All this 'we' stuff. You're in your twenties, Al, you can't stay in the group of kids. If you did then I can talk about being a kid, too, and you don't want to hear all the stories of my childhood!"

"Your music will live on."

 

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☸ Alan Brandt ☸

"The science of it all is simple."

"In my defense, I never learned how to be an adult," spat Alan in return to the ruining of their brief moment, or whatever it was. He crossed his arms once again, looking up at the darkening sky, the sun setting behind them. "My father pays for everything, even my clothes. I have an apartment in the city for entertaining investors, but that's about it. I don't even pay my own taxes." He shrugged, sighing. It was a little too pathetic, yeah, but it was better than him having to pay for everything himself.

"The numbers never lie."

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Reed de Févin



"You were my everything."

"Must be nice." sighed Reed. "You may not appreciate it, but I'd kill to not have to worry about things financially." The ride shuddered for a second then began to move. All of the pods were filled, so now the ride actually started and continued in its slow, continuous flow.
"You seem to be handling the ride pretty well. Don't need to get off or anything?" he asked.

"Your music will live on."

 

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☸ Alan Brandt ☸

"The science of it all is simple."

Choosing not to address his financial situation, Alan kept his eyes level and didn't look down. "I'm fine so long as I pretend like we're still on the ground, waiting to go up." The wind rustled his dark hair, and he moved one hand to move it away, cheeks turning pink at the cool breeze. "I don't do fantastically with heights, but I think I'm doing alright."

"The numbers never lie."

Awesome nerd