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Flynn stepped forward, turned to smile back at Tron, who had accompanied him to the portal once again, and raised his disc above his head. The light of the portal enveloped him, and within seconds, Flynn was back in the arcade basement, sitting in the chair at his desk, just as he had left it a few hours ago. He’d been on the Grid for a few cycles, only an hour or two in real life. Now that he was back, he had been hit suddenly by a wave of exhaustion, not yet realized while caught up in the unceasing exhilaration of creation and discovery inside the computer. Cold air from the darkened arcade upstairs seeped into the office as Flynn slid his arms into his coat, and reached into the pocket of his jeans for his keys to lock up the arcade for the night and drive back home. He glanced at the digital clock on his desk and grimaced- almost 3:00 a.m- trying not to think about the ENCOM board meeting in just a few hours. No keys in the left pocket. He moved on to the other ones, a little more hurriedly with the time in mind. No luck. Onto the jacket. He knew they couldn’t be there- he’d hung the jacket on the back of his chair before digitizing himself onto the Grid earlier- and they weren’t. Flynn had had them in his pocket the whole time- or so he thought- but he remembered setting them down a few hours ago. Shit.
He wanted to avoid going back into the Grid, at least for tonight. Not that he didn't want to go back already, but he knew he’d end up losing track of time again, staying for a bit longer, time that could be spent on the sleep he sorely needed. He looked down at the pager set aside on the desk. Alan had a spare set of keys to the arcade Flynn had given him probably a year ago, maybe if this page could get his attention, Flynn could at least crash at Alan’s house until he could get his keys to get into his own. He picked up the pager in his hand, examining it, remembering how he had grinned at Alan and jokingly told him to sleep with it at his bedside. Maybe, impossibly, he still did. It was worth a shot, at least. He pressed his thumb onto the button (a few times for good measure) and hoped for the call to come in on his office phone.
After about a minute of Flynn waiting in the room, the phone on the wall rang, disturbing the quiet white noise of the computer running and the light above humming softly, the occasional car passing on the street outside, even this late. Flynn almost jumped, not realizing the quiet anticipation that had built since he made the page. He reached over and picked up.
“Bradley-”
“Flynn?” Alan’s voice came through the phone, obviously still half asleep. He sounded a bit concerned, which, Flynn thought, would be natural if your best friend paged you out of nowhere at 3:00 a.m.
“So- don’t be worried or anything- but I, uh, left my keys inside my computer.” There was a pause. Flynn hoped Alan was conscious enough to understand- and that he was speaking clearly enough to make sense- this wasn't a normal situation for anyone. “Was thinking you could, uh, give me a ride home or something. My house keys, too- my house keys are inside the computer.” Flynn cleared his throat, waiting for a response on the other end.
“Uh.” Alan took a few seconds again. “Yeah, sure, Flynn. I’ll come pick you up. I’ll be there soon. Twenty minutes.” The phone clicked as he hung up.
Flynn rubbed his eyes, sitting back down at the desk, waiting, leaning his head back into the seat, closing his eyes. He was trying to stay awake, but the lateness of the hour was catching up to him. He heard the sound of a car slow and pull to a stop outside, unmistakably Alan at this time of night. He stood, zipped his jacket, and made his way up the stairs into the main arcade. He switched off the light behind him, closed the door at the top of the stairs, and pushed the TRON arcade cabinet back to its normal position.
He stepped outside onto the sidewalk, breathing in the smell of the outside air in the city. It was different from the grid; more crowded, heavy- human. Alan was at the curb, stepping out of the car.
Flynn thought he should he should say good morning, something quippy and stupid, something he’d say. He didn’t, though, further trying to forget about the rapidly approaching board meeting which, now that he thought about it, he didn’t even know what it was discussing specifically.
Alan Bradley wore a coat with the collar flipped up, his breath foggy under the yellow glow of streetlights in the November night. His glasses and harsh shadow from the street mostly obscured his tired eyes and recently-awoken-in-the-dead-of-night expression, but the way he stood, slightly hunched over, his hands in his pockets, gave away what his face didn’t show. Flynn felt sorry for him having to drive out here at some ungodly hour of the morning, but he was mostly focused on being relieved that, by some miracle, Alan had gotten the page.
“Flynn,” Alan said, smiling slightly.
“Bradley,” Flynn said, walking over to him. Alan dropped the spare keys into Flynn’s open palm and Flynn went back to lock the arcade. He walked back to the car. “Look, I’m sorry about all this- as I said I was-”
“It’s okay, I’m just glad you’re okay. Getting a page at 3:00 a.m. is, uh, not a very comforting experience.” Alan was more tired than upset with Flynn, which was good. “You can just crash on our couch until I can drive you home in the morning.”
They both got into the car, Flynn dropped Alan’s keys into the console, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and sunk into the collar of his jacket and the passenger seat. Alan started the car, turning the heat up as the car rolled away from the darkened arcade.
“Buckle up,” Alan gently reminded Flynn. “What were you working on tonight?”
Alan was really the only one Flynn had told about the Grid (did Sam count?). Flynn wasn’t sure if Alan had believed him at first- six years ago after Flynn's first venture into the ENCOM system- but that was different now. They’d become best friends in that time, ever since Flynn took control of ENCOM. Besides, it would’ve been hard for Flynn to keep quiet about the Grid- a whole new canvas for experimentation and exploration, digital innovation physically accessible to him- and he knew he could trust Alan with that kind of secret. It was good to have someone to bounce ideas off of, too, when Flynn was stuck on something. And, of course, he had Alan port Tron over to Flynn’s system.
“Maintenance, bug fixes… nothing crazy. Just spending time in general, sometimes I forget there’s a whole world to explore in there, beyond just the code. Worked some with Tron…” Flynn trailed off, thinking of spending time with Tron- it wasn’t really “work” anymore. They had been together- just to each other- for multiple months. Flynn had to admit, he had been the happiest he’d been in quite a while. Flynn kept trying to seek out the quiet moments, just the two of them, hoping Tron would be able to accompany him to the Portal so they could share a hug and a kiss goodbye. Somehow, even though Flynn knew logically he was a program, and just how impossible it would be, Tron seemed more ‘human’ to him than ever before.
“Mhm,” Alan murmured in agreement; somewhat listening, somewhat paying attention to the road, probably somewhat asleep still.
Flynn tried to pick up his sentence again, maybe get a coherent thought to form. “...With Tron. You’ll really have to meet him soon, he’s great. He’d really like to meet you, I’m sure.” Flynn looked back out onto the road. It was too soon to be missing him already. He thought of the slight purple shade of blush rising in his cheeks each time they kissed, his small smile as Flynn turned to look back at him from the Portal, just about fifteen minutes ago. “God, I think I’m in love with him.”
Oh. That was unexpected even to Flynn, and he was the one who said it.
He looked over at Alan- very awake now- who had turned his head to look wide-eyed at Flynn, his mouth slightly open. He didn’t look upset, per se, just absolutely shocked. Maybe he was questioning if he had even heard right.
And how could Flynn respond at that point?
“Eyes on the road, Mr. Bradley,” Flynn quipped, tilting his head towards the road in front of them, trying to break whatever awkwardness might follow a confession like the one he had just given. Alan quickly looked back at the road, blinking once, taking a hand off the wheel to rub his eyes quickly. He’d almost missed his exit.
“We’re talking about this in the morning,” Alan said. They turned onto the street before Alan and Lora’s house.
Flynn breathed out quietly. He couldn’t really backtrack on what he’d said, especially with how definite the statement had been. His sleep-deprived brain had finally slipped up, and he had no idea what to follow that up with. And, he thought, it’s not like it wasn’t true. He had fallen for Tron. Yes, it wasn’t his intention to say it to Alan- or say it at all, really- but it was out there now, and there wasn’t much he could do about it. He fell for a program- he could hear Alan teasing him for it already. And, well, Flynn realized how ridiculous it seemed too, though he couldn’t help but feel a sense of resolution, he’d been mulling over his thoughts and feelings about their relationship for a while now.
They pulled into the driveway and parked. Alan flicked off the headlights. The neighborhood was dark at this time of night, understandably. The light in the living room of Alan and Lora’s house had been turned on, awaiting Flynn and Alan’s arrival, and it was the only one with a light on along the whole street. Alan brought out his keys while Flynn pushed his chin into his jacket collar, his breath out made visible by the cold night air. It was colder than usual- for November in the city. Alan opened the door, and Flynn followed him inside.
"Blankets and pillow should be on the couch," Alan said as they entered the room. Thankfully, they were. Exhaustion hit Flynn like a truck as he sunk onto the cushions.
"I heard you lost your keys?" Flynn opened his eyes slightly to see Lora had entered the room and was standing next to Alan.
"Mhm," he uttered in agreement. "Thanks for letting me crash here… I haven't slept in 48 hours." He saw Alan's face fall, Lora's eyes widen. He laughed, shutting his eyes again. "Goodnight you two."
The light in the living room switched off as they went back to their bedroom, Alan whispering to Lora about the board meeting tomorrow as their door clicked shut.