After the introduction that Troy had dreaded for so long, the two went inside to talk. He wasn't as much as dragged inside as lightly pushed. Charlie was clearly able to see him falter in his steps, showing off a desire to just not give it a chance. It showed how good a person he was, with the silent encouragement that allowed the younger of the two to stay long enough to talk their heart out.
“Things are not good,” Troy said, sitting down on the couch that had been brought out last night. For whatever dumb reason, Charlie had not put it back into the storage unit. Was it due to sentimentality or a deeply rooted emotion called laziness? It might just have been a mix of both, as at least one of them knew how little they wanted to withdraw from the cheap fabric. It held memories inside of it, even if it was at least just in spirit. He acknowledged it, and that was all that was important. “And they haven't been for a long time.”
Charlie sat down beside him, not saying anything. That was kind of him, Troy having it hard when it came to getting it all out. While time was one resource that they did not have to spare, some of it could be used on this. It would take the time that was needed, and nobody needed to say anything else about it. It was what it was.
“Listen… there are things that I have not been upfront about,” Troy continued, not looking the other man in the eyes, and instead just looking down in prepared shame. The guilt was beginning to grow by another constant, to a point where no appreciation came out for it. He hated everything about it, from the turning of his stomach to the tears slowly beginning to swell up in his eyes. He knew that it was all wrong, that he should have been able to say it all from the start. But… he just couldn't. So long a time had been spent living a lie, to the point where he was not sure where to start unravelling it out. If there were no truths mixed in, there was nothing to latch on to, nothing to point at and reveal as the actual situation. How was he expected to explain the actual danger, when Charlie had no previous experience with it?
Once again, Troy just had to stop himself from speaking anymore, his mind not cooperating on just exactly what to say. Any attempts would come out as a quiet babble, which would immediately be stopped upon him hearing himself. Why was he so terrible at this? Why could he just not figure it all out before he came here?
But he had! Every step there had been spent trying to form some speech that he could recite. Mentally, he had written down every word, every pause, and every point where a tear would be shed. And… all of that had been thrown away the moment that he had seen Charlie.
That man did not deserve whatever poor excuse of an explanation that Troy could come up with. He deserved the world and everything inside of it. He had been gracious when he thought that the younger one needed it, helping him along the way, and cheering him on constantly. There was not a moment where Troy had felt insecure, while he was by his side. How could he give back anything with the same worth? It was without value already, to the point where it was without a fixed point. Charlie was immeasurable, a human being too good for the world. It was just a shame that so few could see it all.
And… there Troy went, those tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. They were silent, the younger man not wanting to give his mind any appreciation of coming up with the release of the water gates. They were entirely unwanted. He just wanted them to disappear. There were more important tasks to complete, and that was not one of them.
Just as another example of how great Charlie was, there was no attempt at forcing him to continue, the man just giving a napkin to wipe away the tears. No words were said, only another hug and a warmth that was not able to be forgotten in a million years. For just a brief moment, Troy felt happy.
They sat there for a few minutes. Not to the point of carelessness. It did not reach the tens at least. The young man would have forced himself at that point. However… even if it was short, he enjoyed it for all it was. It helped him calm down as well, and that was the most important thing of all.
“I did not see something that was not intended. Everything I have ever seen during testing was handmade. There is not a moment that I saw something out of my area. That I said that I had was a complete lie to you,” Troy began again. Charlie still hugged him, if only with one arm. It gently gave a small squeeze to recognize that the man had heard him. It comforted him to continue. “I did it as a distraction so that you wouldn't recognize the truth. I… have not been on the legal side of the law for some time now. I have prepared things, doing things that are considered immoral, and there is not a chance that I won't be judged for them. Even now, I am working with borrowed time.”
At that point, a pause snuck itself in. It came first as Troy needed to actually breathe after talking for so long. His words had come out like a rifle burst, with close to no pauses in between. It was an achievement of good health that he even finished without the biggest of problems.
Troy was still not able to look at Charlie, just staring forward without any glances to the side. He was not able to bear what could possibly have shown itself by that point. Shame in knowing him, the anger of being lied to, or perhaps a basic frustration of all the deceit? It was the door all over again, and he knew that he would soon have to figure it all out. But, until that moment came, he would talk all the more.
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“I am not-” Troy tried to start again, but this time stopped before he could really begin. Charlie, who had been silent throughout it for so long, had suddenly decided to raise his own voice.
“In simple terms, could you say why you did not tell me?” the older man gently asked, his voice not the shout of thunder that Troy had been fearing. If anything it was more muted than usual, quieter than it had been when they had stood at the door. It almost made him grow the courage to look at his face, but that idea quickly withdrew when the realisation came forth. He was expected to answer the question.
Why did he lie at first? Did Troy think it a wise choice to do? He must have, or else he would have started off with revealing everything to Charlie. Or… would he have? Dr Hale had warned him so many times to not speak openly about anything that happened, lest Dr Fidelis would hear, and everything would be ruined, everybody involved likely up for execution.
Everybody was involved. If Troy spent his last time alive relaying the apparent truth to Charlie, he would have sentenced him to death. He would have ruined a life other than his own, purely for the sake of remaining guilt-free. While the current situation was almost too much to bear, he was sure that the other would be too hard to truly get through.
So… that was why he had done it all? As a misconstrued form of protection to himself, to everybody that had ever been close enough to him. And with close enough, he meant that Charlie had likely been the closest out of anybody. That man might not have been in his life for that long a time, but the time they spent together had likely been some of the greatest that Troy had ever had. Was that seen as sad, him having gotten more enjoyment in hanging out with somebody he had not known for more than a few days than what his whole childhood had entailed? Most would have said yes to that. And, most would also have had a better childhood than him, so their opinions were not valued. Charlie had been a centrepiece for some time, and Troy could not have willingly destroyed him for any reason. He would have gone to great lengths to save their relationship, and making lies was easily one of them, even if they would be filled with guilt quickly.
“This might sound weird, but I did it to protect you,” Troy said, not liking how it sounded in any way. It just felt like some cheap excuse, and he was not satisfied with it in any way. But, it was the truth, and there was no way he could do better than that, even if it was terrible from the start. God, Charlie had to just be angry at him. “It was probably wrong of me to think of it that way, but that was how I saw. I know that you don't like seeing at it that way, but please just understand that-”
Tears that were ready to fire out were sent out in droves again, as Charlie pulled him into a full hug again, arms tightly around each other. There was no space for words anymore, no matter how much Troy wanted to send more of them out. He just tried to respond with the same warmth that was being shown to him, no matter how little was understood. He hoped that he did it well.
“I understand, Troy. You don't have to explain it now,” Charlie finally said, after what felt like somewhere between five seconds and five eternities. “However, I believe I just have to ask this as well. Did you come here to explain, or was there something you needed to do?”
Under his words, Troy’s body stiffened up, unsure of how to proceed. Could he really be so upfront about it all, and state the list of items that Dr Hale wanted him to get. Would there not be anger from that, as if he had only come around to use Charlie once more for his own gain. It seemed like that, did it not? How would he be able to-
“Troy,” Charlie said, this time turning his voice to be more commanding and firm. It was terrifying to behold. “Look at me in the eyes, please. I need you to tell me this directly, or we will have trouble later on. You need to be able to look at me.”
He was already looking at him! Or well, Troy looked at his chest, that piece of the man’s body much less intimidating than what could only be staring back at him a few centimetres higher up. Yet, this was an order, and he could follow those to perfection. His body was taking over control, letting the head rise up to meet the eye.
…
There were no eyes filled with anger. Nothing on Charlie’s face spoke of the frustration of any kind. That mild smile spoke only of patience that had been earned through trials of fire. It was serene to look at, and Troy could only hit himself mentally for not realising it was there earlier.
“Good,” Charlie stated, as the younger one successfully met his commands. The smile grew a little wider to show off the appreciation. Troy liked that, knowing he was doing something right for once. “Now again, I need you to tell me this quickly. Why did you come here? It has to be important right.”
Troy felt a strong desire to put his arms around Charlie’s neck and bring himself in for another hug. The man was so understanding, to the point where he could bring forth the subject without him needing to do anything himself. The younger one had been so stressed about it, yet… this could make it work. He could work with this. There was no doubt about that fact.
“Dr Hale asked me to come here,” Troy began it off with. Seeing that temporary breakage of the smile on Charlie’s face made him hurry to explain further, else the happiness would disappear with it. “I know that things might have seemed bad with her, but the truth is not as you remember! She is a good person, okay? She is helping to extract someone who is being tortured so that we can escape the facility with them. For that, we needed-”
“Hold on there,” Charlie said, bringing a hand to Troy’s lips and stopping him from continuing, effective immediately. The man looked with a face of surprise, shock, and… mild excitement? Was he getting excited? It looked like it at least. Was that good? “Mara is… planning to try breaking out of here?”
He seemed so happy about the possibility, to a point where Troy was left to wonder if he had said it wrong. They were trying to do something illegal! This was a serious matter! If they got caught at any point, being gunned down by automatic security was a real risk to take into consideration. If not for the soon elimination, they would already look at it as impossible. Charlie had to know that, so why was he so… jumpy?
“Yes… she is,” Troy answered hesitantly, not sure what the other man was getting on about. “She has been planning this for a long time now, actually. And to make it work, she needed our help with a few things, which includes you. Would it be possible for you to-”
What could only be explained as a miniaturized earthquake began to juggle around the facility. Instinctively, Charlie had put Troy close, so as to not make any accidents occur. It lasted for about ten seconds, lights starting to flicker halfway through and going out only a few moments after.
After the fact, what Troy could only guess was emergency lights came on, the colour changing from a bright white to a warmer orange. While he found the entire thing frightening, Charlie seemed to have been in pure delight. He could not help but find that even more terrifying?
“I am pretty sure you said that you needed me,” Charlie said, getting up from the sofa, carrying Troy while doing so. “You can take this as me accepting the job, with a few conditions. Now… What do we need to do?”