Non-canon to my The Show Must Go On AU.
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"Daddy, can we go on the merry-go-round?"
Henry looked down at his daughter with a smile. "Sure sweetie." he replied.
Charlie giggled and grabbed her father's hand and begin to drag him along. Henry laughed and allowed his daughter to lead him through the crowd of noisy people. Normally, Henry would be in his garage and working on his machines, but Charlie had made a request for her father to take her to the fair. So here they were.
Henry and Charlie approached the merry-go-round. The line was short and there were currently people getting off.
Huh. Well perfect timing I guess.
Charlie let go of Henry's hand and ran up to the ride's entrance gate after all the other people. Henry leaned against the metal fencing and smiled, watching as his daughter ran up to one of the horses and managed to hoist herself up on its back.
Moments later, another little girl walked up to the same horse and began talking to Charlie, who clung to the horses reins.
Are they arguing?
Henry sighed and watched as the two children continued to speak to one another. From what he could tell, Charlie didn't seem the least bit upset, though his daughter was normally a pretty calm child.
Suddenly, there was a voice that spoke from behind him.
"Excuse me. Both our kids are on the merry-go-round and they're starting to fight over a pony. I was wondering if you would tell you kid to get the fuck off so my daughter could ride it. We've been waiting here longer so..."
Henry sighed and turned around, preparing himself for a confrontation. However, they only thing he was met with was a familiar face.
"William." Henry said, letting out a relieved and slightly surprised sigh
The Englishman was grinning cheekily and obviously trying to hold in laughter.
"Hello, Henry!"
"Jesus fucking Christ you scared me..." Henry said, placing his hand to his chest. He could feel his heart racing a little.
"Sorry. I simply couldn't help myself." William replied, chuckling. "Anyways, pleasant surprise running into you here."
Henry smiled as his heartbeat began to calm. "Charlotte wanted to come to the fair this year and, seeing as how she's never been to one, I figured it would be a fun thing to do." Henry said.
"I'm with my kids, too." William said, jerking his thumb back towards Michael, who was awkwardly standing close by.
"Where's Elizabeth?" Henry asked.
William pointed to the young girl who had approached Charlie on the merry-go-round.
"Oh. Didn't recognize her with her hair like that." Henry said. William chuckled.
"I convinced her to allow me to put it in pigtails."
Henry watched as Charlie got off the horse and helped Elizabeth up on to it, then got back on the horse herself.
"Cute." William mumbled, watching as Elizabeth clung to Charlie.
Henry smiled. "Aren't kids just the most adorable little things?"
William didn't respond. He just continued to watch as his daughter held on to Henry's. The two girls were giggling and smiling.
"Do you think that the person that operates the ride will allow them to do that?" Henry asked.
"They'll be fine." Michael said, cutting in as he leaned against the fence.
The three males watched as the ride started up and the girls began to laugh even louder. Charlie held onto the reins and Elizabeth continued to cling to Charlie. Michael pulled out his camera and snapped a few photos of the girls.
"Having fun there?" Henry asked, chuckling.
"Oh yeah. Lots of fun." Michael replied, snapping a few more.
"Michael, I thought I told you not to bring that thing..." William mumbled.
"Hey, someone's gotta capture her growing up." Michael said with a smile. "Also, would you like me to give you some pics, Mr. Emily?"
Henry chuckled. "Call me Henry. Also I'd love that very much."
Michael smiled. "Alright Henry."
The merry-go-round came to a stop and the two children got off the ride, giggling and holding each other's hands.
"Hi, uncle Henry!" Elizabeth said, giggling.
"Hello Elizabeth." Henry replied, patting the girl's head. Michael snapped another picture.
William fidgeted with his hands, his eyes flickering around as he thought to himself.
Should I ask him? he thought to himself.
"Did you two enjoy the ride?" Henry asked. Both Charlie and Elizabeth nodded in unison.
"Can we go on it again?" Elizabeth asked.
"I don't see why not." Henry replied with a smile.
"Hey, Henry? Would you mind if we... hung out?" William asked.
"But our ki—"
"Don't worry, Henry," Michael said. "You two can go do your thing. I'll watch the girls."
Henry looked at the teen for a moment and nodded. He then looked at Charlie. "You behave for Michael, okay?"
Charlie giggled and nodded. "Yes daddy!"
Henry turned and looked at William with a smile. William smiled back at him and began to walk towards the house of mirrors. Henry followed.
"You know, it's been quite some time since it was just the two of us hanging out." William said. Henry nods his head, agreeing with the man.
"Yeah."
The two men entered the house of mirrors, being sure to stick close to each other.
"Wow this is disorientating..." Henry mumbled. William laughed.
"I take it you've never been inside one of these before?"
Henry shook his head. William chuckled. "Well, there's a trick to these." the Englishman said. He grabbed Henry's hand. Henry tensed up a tad bit, surprised by the sudden contact. "You alright, Hen?"
"Y-Yeah."
William laughed. "No need to freak out, Henry, it's just me."
Henry smiled and nodded, intertwining his fingers with William's. "So, what's the trick?" Henry asked.
"Well, there's quite a few, actually." William said, clicking his tongue. "I've been in these lots and lots of times and I've always noticed that there is something about the bottoms of the mirrors..."
"Oh?"
William bent over and pointed at the bottom of the mirrors. "See the beading that's holding it down?" he asked. Henry nodded. "All the mirrors have that." William said, standing back up.
"Oh! So we just go through the ones without the beading?"
William looked at Henry, smiling. "Exactly."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" Henry said, his voice filled with a childish excitement. William chuckled and held Henry's hand a little tighter.
The two men began traversing through the maze, holding on tightly to each other's hands. At first, the maze was quite easy, as the only thing they really needed to do was keep an eye on the ground. However they eventually came across a branching path.
"Alright, so now we're presented with a challenge." William said, eyeing the two pathways. "So at this point we can split up or choose one of the paths."
"I'd rather stick with you." Henry replied, smiling.
"Alright. So which way should we go then?" William asked.
"Uh... Why don't you choose instead?"
William chuckled. "Well, I think you should choose."
Henry huffed and eyed the pathways, thinking to himself. "I think right."
"Alright." William replied, smiling as they made their way down the right passage.
"You know, this is actually pretty neat." Henry said, looking at his reflections.
"I'm surprised you've never been in a mirror maze before." William said. "You're easily entertained, like a child. I figured this would be your kind of thing."
"Oh... Well, I guess I've never been in a mirror maze because I just have a slight fear of mazes." Henry chuckled.
"Oh. Well if that's the case then why didn't you—"
"I don't like going through them alone." Henry said. "I know I'll be fine with you so..."
The corners of William's lips pulled up into a happy smile. "Well, it's nice to know you trust me that much, Henry."
"Of course! We've known each other since— Oh hey! The exit!" Henry exclaimed, pointing ahead. William looked ahead and saw that Henry was right. The exit was right up ahead. William smirked and let go of Henry's hand before making a run for it. Henry laughed and ran after him. William was taken by surprise at how quickly his friend got ahead of him.
"HEY!"
Henry stopped at the end of the maze and waited for William, who, once he reached him, was breathing heavily.
"You okay, Will?" Henry asked, laughing. William nodded as he tried catching his breath.
"D-Damn you're fast."
Henry smiled. "Well, I do work out a bit." he said, flexing as he stuck his tongue out at his friend. William laughed.
"Well, carrying all that heavy machinery certainly is a work out." William replied, smiling back at him. "Well, would you like to go get some cotton candy?"
Henry nodded. "Sure."
William grabbed Henry's hand once again, which caused someone to give him a dirty look. William didn't care, however. He simply held Henry's hand and made his way to the food stand.
"Have you ever had cotton candy before, Henry?" William asked as they got in line.
"Only once." Henry answered. "But that was a long time ago."
William smiled and bought them both cotton candy.
"Here ya go, Hen." he said, handing Henry the cotton candy. Henry thanked him and took a bite. Moments later, his eyes went wide.
William let out a laugh. "Oh, I forgot to tell you that the cotton candy they sell here tends to be exceptionally sweet."
Just like you, he continued in his thoughts.
"No kidding." Henry said, bringing his hand to his mouth. "I'm definitely going to have to take smaller bites because wow that's just—"
William smiled, taking a bite from his own cotton candy. He felt the sweet cotton melt in his mouth. And you're just like this cotton candy in the sense that you're not healthy for me, either, he thought to himself.
Henry's eyes wandered over to the ferris wheel. "Hey William, could we go on the ferris wheel?"
William nodded. Giggling excitedly, Henry grabbed William's hand and they made their way to the ferris wheel. The two men got in line and patiently waited and, as they waited, William could feel the judgmental stares of the people looking at them. He knew that, to the general public, two men holding hands was seen as gross and repulsive.
They can all go fuck themselves, William thought to himself, holding Henry's hand tighter.
He began to wonder if Henry was even aware of the looks they were getting. He looked at the man's face. Henry was smiling, child-like and carefree. Perhaps he was oblivious. Or perhaps he just didn't care.
When it came time for them to get on, the two men quickly got in and sat across from each other. William noticed that Henry seemed to be bouncing with a bit of excitement. Perhaps the cotton candy was a little too sugary to be giving Henry, William supposed.
"Henry, are you having a sugar rush?" he asked. Henry looked at William and shook his head. Their car began to suspend
"You know how you like mirror mazes?"
William nodded.
"I myself prefer this." Henry said, gesturing around them. William nodded his head once more.
As the car suspended higher and higher, Henry looked out the side, his eyes shining with excitement. William studied the other man's face, watching as the soft breeze gently blew his hair around. Henry looked happy, a thing that had started to be a little less common after his wife had left him.
William felt a small pang of guilt in his chest, knowing that he himself was responsible for all the things that had been happening with Henry's family.
He turned his head and also looked out over the fairgrounds.
We're up pretty high.
"You know what I like about being up here?" Henry asked. William turned back towards the man.
"Uh... No?"
"Up here in the clouds, I feel so free, like a bird flying carelessly through the sky." Henry said, still looking out over the fairgrounds. "Up here, no one can judge me for feeling the things I feel."
"What do you feel?" William asked, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Henry turned to look at the man.
"I'm in love, Will." Henry replied, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes. William felt like his heart was about to explode.
Dammit Henry. Why must you captivate me so?
"She must be a wonderful woman if she's enough to gain your love." William said. It was taking everything in him not to act out. Henry gave William a sad little smile as he leaned towards him.
"Well, you're wrong." Henry said softly. William was about to speak, curious as to what the Henry could possibly mean.
Until Henry kissed him.
William was taken aback by Henry's sudden and rather unexpected action. This wasn't something he could've ever imagined his best friend doing. Not ever.
And for some reason his face felt wet.
Suddenly there was a jolt and Henry had pulled back. Their car had stopped at the top.
William looked at Henry, who had tears running down his face. Despite this, however, he was smiling.
"Henry, what the he—"
"That's what I'm feeling, William." Henry said, cutting the Englishman off. "Like a bird, wanting to fly away freely, but right when happiness is within reach, the harsh winds and the steely cages yank me back. Right back to this prison."
William looked into Henry's teary green eyes. For the first time he began to truly notice how broken the man was. His happiness was nothing more than a charade. William took Henry's hand into his. "Henry, you're not alone." he said, caressing the younger man's face. Henry closed his eyes and his body relaxed. William leaned in and kissed Henry.
Henry kissed the Brit back without any hesitation, their lips moved against each other's in sync and their tongues danced. Henry wrapped his arms around him and William could taste the sweet cotton candy on Henry's tongue.
Suddenly, there was another jolt as the car moved forward and neither of the men were prepared. William fell back and Henry came with him. The Englishman looked up at Henry, who was now partially on top of him.
Henry looked down at William, seemingly in a daze. William chuckled as he looked up at Henry. "Well, that was quite an experience, Hen~"
Henry nodded and slowly removed his arms from around William. His face was red as he got up off of William. He offered his hand to the Englishman. William grabbed it and Henry pulled him up.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Henry replied. His voice sounded completely normal, like nothing ever happened.
Their car stopped and the door opened. As they walked out the two men grabbed each other's hands and walked away.
"Want do you wanna ride next?"
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My love if you ever leave me
Oh my dear I will miss
The sweet sweet love
That is your cotton candy kiss