onebehind | magician's apprentice | been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to grow

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magician's apprentice | been a hell of a ride but I'm thinking it's time to grow

Dylan knew, coming out of the hospital if not going in, that getting sober wasn't going to be easy. He knew he'd have bad days and good days and days in between, and every therapist he's seen since then, every meeting he's been to has only reaffirmed that. They'd also armed him with a bag of tricks to deal with everything and everything in between, but -- well, today is one of the bad ones and nothing is helping. He's been pacing the house like a madman for the better part of the day, trying to find something to hold his attention long enough that he can stop thinking about running down to the nearest liquor store. He needs to get out of his skin. He's just shy of calling his sponsor. He needs to get out of the house.

He needs to get out of the house.

Stopping midway through moving a pile of books from one side of the living room to the other, he latches onto that idea and turns it over in his head. He needs to get out of the house.

He's moving again a second later, though this time, it's with a purpose, a clarity he hasn't felt like he's had in hours, days, weeks. He goes to Jack's room, tapping lightly on the door, and then after a beat and once he's been invited in, sticks his head in. Flashing him a smile that's equal parts reassuring and strained (he's fine, they're fine, this is nothing bad, he's just a little jittery, don't mind him), he tells him, "Hey. Pack your shit."

He has an idea. It'll be good for both of them.

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He nods.

"That's what I do for the Eye. I may not be able to get on stage, but I can still design shit for other magicians." A beat. "Well, that and I do some art for them, too, sometimes." And another. "Remind me to show you some of my sketchbooks, sometime."

He has both art and plans drawn up in some of them.

"That's awesome," Jack says into the beat - and then sits up a little, excitement on his face and fizzing down their connection.

"Oh, man, definitely," he agrees immediately, grinning.

"Can you tell me anybody you've designed stuff for?"

Jack is absolutely a nerd for stage magic, so there's a good chance he'll at least recognize the name, even if he might not have actually seen the trick considering most shows don't end up on YouTube. He's not sure just how much of a secret it all is, though.

Dylan takes a moment, trying to decide what the biggest or at least more impressive name he can pull out of his hat is.

"You know who Lance Burton is?" He doesn't doubt Jack does and so he doesn't wait for an answer. "You hear about the Solid Gold Lady trick he did back a couple of years ago?" He's less sure about that one, because no, it wasn't on YouTube -- it didn't even exist then.

"I know who Lance Burton is, yeah, but I don't think I know about that one? Guessing it's like... turning someone to gold?"

He's not insulting the name by making that guess. He's just guessing based on the fact that yes, most tricks tend to be named for what happens during them.

Dylan isn't particularly offended, because Jack has the right of it -- the trick is named for what happens during the course of it. That in mind, then, Dylan nods.

"Yeah, we turned a woman into a gold statue." He pauses, raking his tongue over his teeth thoughtfully. "I think the statue itself was worth, like, ten million dollars." Not that that's particularly important, but he's lost in the memory, now. "We almost couldn't convince the owner to let us borrow it for awhile."

"Holy shit," Jack breathes, staring at him, mouth open, food pausing in his hand where he had started to take a bite of it. "You had an actual gold statue for it?"

He knows Lance Burton is Kind of a Big Deal, but YouTube is still new so there isn't much on there, he's never really had access to a television when they did televise performances, and he's definitely never had the money to go see any magicians live.

Dylan smirks, pleased by Jack's reaction. "We had an actual gold statue."

A beat.

"The second hardest part was finding a plant that looked enough like it to make it convincing." After being allowed to borrow the statue in the first place, of course. "The rest of it was pretty simple." But still a feat of his engineering prowess.

"Mannnn," Jack drawls, fidgeting a little. "I know video's bad for magic and all that but holy shit I wish there was more of it. And not just the televised stuff. I've seen like... bits and pieces of acts here which is why I got into it in the first place - and the street magicians in the park, obviously, but. I wanna see more, y'know?"

He knows Dylan does know, too, and he's glad for it.

"Lucky for you, I was planning on taking you over to Long's once we're done here," Dylan tells him, a smirk tugging at the corners of this mouth. After a pause, and just in case Jack doesn't know, he adds, "It's the oldest magic shop in the world."

Does that count as 'seeing more?'

Jack's mouth drops open a little. "For real? Holy shit. I think I knew the oldest magic shop was somewhere in, like... the East? Or I'd heard that or whatever? But you know sometimes that stuff is bullshit and racist because of the whole 'Eastern mystics' or whatever, but like. Yes. We are definitely going there."

It all comes out in a rush, some of Jack's learned stoicism falling away in the face of his excitement; for a minute, he actually looks like a kid instead of a kid who's had to grow up too fast.

That definitely counts as seeing more.

Dylan hums, pleased and entertained both by Jack's reaction. A grin accompanies the sound, just as happy, though after a moment it fades back into something a little more serious. "Y'know, I think Bubu's got a grandson that's about your age."

He can't quite remember how old Li is, but it's got to be close, right?

"Cool," Jack returns easily, though he makes a face a moment later. "I speak like... no Chinese though."

And yes, he knows that a lot of the world speaks English, but he feels a little bad about the fact that he only speaks English.

Again, Dylan looks thoughtful. "Pretty sure they both speak English."

He knows Bubu does. He's slightly less sure about Li, if only because he is about Jack's age. He can't say for sure that the kid knows more than 'pants' 'cheese' and 'motherfucker' in English, at this point. Then again, though, maybe he knows more than your average high school kid just by virtue of working in a shop that gets a lot of foot traffic from tourists. It's hard to tell.

Either way, he recognizes that's not what Jack was entirely getting at, and so, after a beat, he adds, "We do enough travelling, though, and you'll learn." And another pause. "I can teach you."

Jack lights back up at that, the uncertainty fading again in the face of the offer. This is why for all the "problems" he caused his social worker, going to school was never one of them, and why his grades have improved so drastically since having this new stability. "That'd be awesome. I wish my school offered more languages. Or I had time to take them or whatever."

He knows some Spanish by virtue of class, but he still wouldn't mind knowing more.

"You and me, both," Dylan agrees. The thoughtful look remains. "Maybe we can look into some dual enrollment shit for you, so you can learn something."

And maybe he'll sign up for a college class on language, himself. He'll have to feel out how Jack would feel about his dad going to school with him, but he feels like it's doable for the both of them. Like Jack didn't say, his grades are good enough that Dylan feels he'd be up for the challenge, and Dylan himself has always been a quick study and a fiend for learning new things.

That's something to think about later, though. For now -- well, something seems to occur to Dylan abruptly, and he shifts under the weight of the realization, his expression sharpening. He studies Jack for a long moment, tongue raking across his teeth, and then shifts again, leaning in to Jack conspiratorially.

"This isn't a cop out or whatever, but I wanna try something." Does Jack trust him enough to play along?

"Oh hell yeah," he agrees immediately. "I know people that do stuff like that, but, uh..." There's the faintest dimming of his mood through the connection, though it doesn't last long. He's had plenty of disappointment in the last ten years, knowing there were things he wanted to do but that he was never going to have the means for. He's still getting used to the idea that he can have those dreams again and actually have someone to make them happen.

He tilts his head a little as Dylan's expression changes, frowning a little, a little ??? drifting through the connection as Dylan watches him. He leans forward to meet Dylan, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Pushing away from the table, Dylan stands and with a wordless tilt of his head, instructs Jack to do the same. He turns, heading back towards the counter, and as he approaches, he leans a little more heavily into the connection. Dylan's mind opens up as the connection does, a sense of thought slowly shifting to something more definitive as Dylan turns up the metaphorical volume.

Now that his thoughts have words pinning them down, what Jack gets is Excuse me, can we have more of the brown sauce? before he asks what's clearly the same question in Chinese. The man responds, turning away to reach for a cup of said sauce, but even without the context, Jack would know what he said because Dylan knows what he said. Essentially, magically, he's turned himself into a conduit to translate for Jack. It won't work if and when he's not there, obviously, so Jack will still need to learn, but for now, he's invented Google translate a decade early.

"How's that? You get that?" Dylan asks, as they head back to the table. He might still be speaking Chinese, on purpose, just to continue the test.

Jack's still not sure where this is going, but he does trust Dylan, so he gets to his feet, too, following him back toward the counter. He blinks a little as the connection deepens, as it settles a little beyond the surface one they normally have.

He blinks again - and then just grins hugely when he gets what Dylan's doing, as that little bit of insecurity he'd had about actually meeting people fades now that he knows he won't be completely lost.

"That's fucking awesome," he says, once they've returned to the table. "Thanks."

Pleased with himself, Dylan sinks back down into his seat, grinning. He tempers his ego with another bite of his food, and as he chews, he gently course corrects the connection to its usual depth.

"I'm not gonna keep it turned on forever, 'cause immersion's a good way to learn -- " Not to mention he's not sure how long he could maintain it like that without straining himself magically, being a human translator a little more taxing than what they share normally. " -- but I figure it might take some of the edge off, when I start showing you off."

Look. Look at his son, Bubu.

Jack nods, returning to what remains of his food as well. There's not a lot left at this point, considering he still eats a little like someone's going to take it from him. "Yeah, it helps, though? Just don't wanna like... fall into the whole... Speaking. English. Like. This. because that shit is annoying as hell."

He's known too many non-white people who were born in the U.S. but still had tourists talk to them that way, like they were stupid.

He doesn't acknowledge Dylan's word choice, doesn't draw attention to the idea that he is something to be shown off but there's a sense that he's pleased by it all the same.

Dylan is by no means a slow eater, either, years of having to inhale the last of a sandwich during a stakeout or a sting taking its toll on him. He at least reigns it in long enough to make cursory use of the sauce he asked for, as not to feel like a wasteful asshole, but he's finishing up, too.

"People," Dylan grunts around a final mouthful, disapproving. "You'll be fine, though."

He pauses, that said, albeit only long enough to glance at his watch, before, "Speaking of. Anytime you wanna get out of here ... "

Jack shrugs, finishing the last of his food and picking up his napkin to wipe his hands off, dropping it onto one of the empty plates once he has. "Whenever? Definitely wanna see more of what's around here."

And yes, he's including the shop in that, but he also won't mind if they look around a little on their way there. He's not really in any rush, just generally excited to be here and experiencing all this.

"Alright, c'mmon."

As they head out, Dylan doesn't immediately head for Long's, having picked up on that sense of curiosity from Jack. Instead, he leads them down the street they started on at a meandering pace, letting Jack take in the storefronts and restaurants as they pass. While this street is nothing like New York or even Vegas, however, as they hit the main thoroughfare, things start to look a little more familiar. It's still different, still foreign, but the streets are wider here, lit with neon and gradually growing busier as time passes. It's a little too clean, too pristine for New York or Vegas, but it's the heart of a big city all the same. Dylan, in spite of himself, dials up the connection again as they walk, so Jack can get a sense of the voice of the city and its people.

Sooner rather than later, they near Long's, and only then does Dylan ask, "So, what'dya think?"

Jack takes it all in with the same awe and curiosity he's had for everything else he's experienced with Dylan. He stops a time or two to look at something more closely, hesitating a moment before he takes his phone out to take a few pictures of various things. He gets more relaxed about that as they go, as he sees other people doing the same thing. He doesn't want to be a gawking tourist - God knows he hates that - but he wants to remember stuff all the same.

He can't help but laugh a little as they pass an ADIDAS store, at the employees inside getting ready to open for the day. He doesn't know why he didn't think there would be stores for American brands overseas, but actually seeing one is somehow reassuring and jarring all at the same time.

"It's different, but also kinda not," he decides after a long moment. "Like. It feels older out here, because, y'know, America's like... not that old, but. Vegas was different than New York but also kinda not. Same thing, I guess. And people are people?"

He's less overwhelmed than he might be if Dylan wasn't there, if he wasn't able to understand the chatter he can hear around them. Vegas had definitely been something of a shock considering how his first time there had gone, but even then he'd had other things on his mind to distract him, with Dylan in the hospital.

"Guess the biggest thing is like... I know the rules of living in New York, y'know? Everywhere's got different rules." He's not just talking about laws, either.

"Cultural shit," Dylan agrees with a nod. He gets it; that was something he'd had to learn, too. "I think you'll figure it out, just watching people interact, but if you've got any specific questions ... "

Whether that's now, while they're in Long's, or later, after they're home and as something occurs to him. He figures, deep as they are in each other's heads right now, Jack gets what he's not saying, and so he doesn't bother to try to. Instead, he just shrugs, his entire demeanor patient and happy to teach.

"You got anything for me, now, speaking of?" he asks instead, as they stop in front of the magic shop.

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