It isn't a truth he meant to give away. Not in this life, at least. The sea to the West existed as an end goal; it was his River Ouse, his ticket out, and even as he despises the easy path, he couldn't stop. He couldn't cease those steps toward the edge of the known world.

Until the desert. Until Alex.

It is kindness, what Alex offers. Love. Compassion. All the pieces Neil has lacked in all twenty-five years of his life. He stays against the other man, eyes closing, drinking everything in.