Egmo spent the morning training. Sure when he was in the field, they didn’t use him for any fist fights but not keeping fit in his line of work is not recommend. He just finished his shower and getting dressed when he walked into the main room drying his hair. He catches sight of Alex and smiles slightly. “Got bored of reading?” He calls out.
Alex looked up, mouth twitching into a smile. "Yeah. I'm still catching up on…so damn much." He replied, shaking his head a little and running his hands through his brown hair. "God. It's like…for everything new I learn, there's ten more things." He chuckled.
(I AM SO SORRY!!! I thought I replied weeks ago.)
Egmo gives a reassuring smile and walks over to sit next to him. “I wish I could say I know the feeling but I don’t. So I guess all I can say is that I am always here to support you. And even if there will always ten more things, at least you know one more.” Uplifting speeches were never his thing but he hopes it was at least some sort of comfort to Alex.
(it's okay!)
Alex nodded. "Yeah, but… there's still so much I missed. Like the entire prohibition era for one thing! I actually missed women getting the right to vote, too. And like… damn. Everything." He sighed.
Egmo nudged his arm gently. “If you need any help. I minored in History in college so I still have the textbooks.” He offers hoping to lighten the mood.
Alex blinked. "Oh! Yes please." He replied with a smile, looking at Egmo with a smile.
Egmo smiles back happy that Alex was starting to cheer up. He never liked seeing the man sad but would never admit that out loud. “So… what are you learning right now?” He asks as way to stir the conversation into a light hearted topic.
"Uhm…" Alex consulted his book. "The Civil Rights movement. I've kind of just been jumping all over the place and getting the highlights." he shrugged, looking over at Egmo with a faint smile still.
Egmo nods thoughtfully. “Ah yes, the Civil Rights Movement. That stretched on for decades and has a lot of highlights. It is a big topic to cover.”
Alex nodded. "Yeah…I'm in like…the sixties right now? Maybe? I don't know…" he ran a hand through his hair, looking exhausted. "But there's so damn much of it." he shook his head, stretching. "Come on! I never even finished high school, and that was over 100 years ago!"
Egmo laughs at his statements. Alex was right of course, a lot of things happened over the century and they have showed no signs of stopping. Maybe he had a textbook on the Civil Rights Movement or at least covers it partially. “Yeah, a lot happened. You have taken up a big task.”
Alex groaned. "Yeah…and don't get me started on the damn movies! When I was…before I got frozen, we only had silent films, and now you've got this…3D shit with lots of noises and sound effects."
Egmo nods in agreement. “Yeah, action movies are a lot about the flashy effects more than plot now days. But a lot of people like that and if they don’t, well there are other films that are dramatic in other ways. I guess the point of movies are to be dramatic.”
Alex shrugged a little. "Yes, but that's…I…" he shook his head silently. "I have no idea what I'm doing."
Egmo lightly puts his hand on Alex’s shoulder as if to comfort him. But he didn’t know what he was doing as comforting others was never his strong suit. He could try to say he understands how the man feels but that would be a lie as there was no way he actually could. They had totally different experiences and felt hopeless in different situations. So taking a deep breath he awkwardly asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Alex smiled a little. "Not really." He replied with a shrug. "I uhm…how about we go somewhere?" He suggested. "Like…I don't know. Just… somewhere." He laughed.
Egmo nods in understanding. Sometimes there are things you can’t talk about in that moment. Or the person you are talking to isn’t the right person. He could understand that. There was silence for a few seconds before Alex spoke again. It was an offer to go somewhere but he had no particular destination in mind. Egmo laughs with him and nods. “Yeah. Going to a random place sounds nice.”
Alex smiled. "I know! You should show me somewhere you like to go." He said, standing and looking over at Egmo with an open, gentle smile. He was wearing a simple tank top, which was pale grey, slitted in the back for his wings.
Egmo leans back against the couch crossing his arms as Alex stands up. "My favorite place? You are going to get bored quick, I can tell you that. Libraries or they small cafe bookstore. Is that how you want to spend your evening?" He asks with a small laugh and a playful smile.
Alex grimaced. "Oh. No. I already spent half my day reading, I don't want any more!" He smiled a little bit, though, looking over at Egmo.
Egmo nods with a smirk playing on his lips. He knew Alex wouldn't go for that idea. I mean, who would spend the day reading just to go read in a different location? Well Egmo did, but that wasn't the point. He took a few moments to think of places that could be more entertaining for Alex. "Hmmm… Well there is a new coffee shop that I have been waiting to try or we could see if there is any movies that interest you. If needed, I can drive you across town to the theater that plays exclusively silent films. There is also just walking around aimlessly around the city park if that is your thing." The man takes a moment for the options to sink in. "So, do any of those options intrigue you?"
Alex blinked. "I er… Either one sounds fine." He replied with a quick smile. "The coffee shop or the movies sounds best. I'd rather not do a silent film right now." He stretched.
Egmo nods and stands up. "The coffee shop it is." He stretches out any muscles that might have tightened while he was sitting. Which shouldn't be much because he only sitting for about twenty minutes. But things don't usual work as they expected. "Shall we?" He asks jokingly as he puts an arm out towards the door.
Alex smiled at Egmo. "Yeah, sure." He replied. He put shoes on, and followed Egmo out the door.
Egmo nods once as if to acknowledge his answer before walking out the door. He always had his boots on and will only take them off if the person who owns the building asks. Once Alex joins him outside, he starts down the street in silence. The coffee shop was actually quite close so they would only need to walk for a short amount of time.
Alex followed Egmo, putting his hands in his pockets. He zipped up his jacket, letting out a quick breath. He didn't know what to say now, though he sort of wished he had bothered to change into a different shirt before they left.
Egmo crosses his arms across his chest as he walks down the street with Alex. They settle into a silence that didn’t seem neither awkward nor uncomfortable. He contemplated if he should say something to fill the air but nothing comes to mind. So he ends up deciding to stay quiet and observe his surroundings and if Alex wanted to start a conversation then he would oblige.
Alex was quiet as they walked, looking around the streets as they walked. "You know…a lot of things have changed." he finally said softly. "And I know that I've said that a lot, but I…it really has changed. And it's really weird, and I know it's annoying that I say it so much, but…" he shook his head. "I don't really know how to process it, half the time."
Egmo was staring at a small tree filled with birds when Alex spoke. He looked at him as he tries to process the words the man was telling him. It was something that seemed so obvious and yet wasn't something he thought of often. Their year is so different from where Alex was originally from and the difference must be striking. Egmo nods along with Alex's statements in understanding. Well less understanding and more of that Egmo hears what he is saying but doesn't have the experience to relate. "Its not annoying when you say that," He began choosing his words carefully, "It is expected. This is a new century and nothing looks the same. I would be more surprised if you were completely comfortable."
Alex shrugged a little bit. "Yeah. I just…I guess I don't really know how to handle things. You know? Because so many of the laws have changed, and things are illegal that weren't, or aren't illegal that were…" he shook his head slightly, looking over at Egmo. He smiled faintly, running his hands through his hair. "I just…don't know what to think."