He's glad that Alec feels comfortable enough here tonight, it puts Reid a bit more at ease to know that this young man he's unexpectedly come to care so much about isn't wishing he was somewhere else. It would have been simple enough for both of them to write each other off, but Reid had pushed through, at first because he'd felt it necessary considering sharing a life with Luke means having Alec in it. Of course, that's changed, at least for Reid.
Now, he's come to expect Alec to come walking into the bookstore at random times, usually unannounced and for no particular reason. Reid thinks he prefers that, really, knowing that Alec might just show up because he wants to, not because he's obligated to; and it's a little strange, but there's something paternal in how he views Alec. It's not in the sense that Alec needs to be looked after (because Reid knows what he'd have to say about that), more that Reid simply feels an unrelenting need to make sure he's okay. Even if he isn't, just to have him present here after everything that'd happened in that other Darrow, it's important.
They can figure out the rest, whether they share it with each other or not. What matters is they're still standing.
"Old habits die hard," Reid says, understanding what Alec's getting at when he talks about his parents, and he isn't surprised to hear it. "When you're told something your entire life, when you have it driven into your mind that there's no other way of life that's correct, it can be more than a little difficult to shake once you're away from it. Maybe they're worse than you, but..." He pauses, narrowing his eyes, though he offers Alec a teasing smile. "You were pretty bad. But you don't look at me like I might betray all your world's secrets anymore, so I'd say you've made a lot of progress."
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Now, he's come to expect Alec to come walking into the bookstore at random times, usually unannounced and for no particular reason. Reid thinks he prefers that, really, knowing that Alec might just show up because he wants to, not because he's obligated to; and it's a little strange, but there's something paternal in how he views Alec. It's not in the sense that Alec needs to be looked after (because Reid knows what he'd have to say about that), more that Reid simply feels an unrelenting need to make sure he's okay. Even if he isn't, just to have him present here after everything that'd happened in that other Darrow, it's important.
They can figure out the rest, whether they share it with each other or not. What matters is they're still standing.
"Old habits die hard," Reid says, understanding what Alec's getting at when he talks about his parents, and he isn't surprised to hear it. "When you're told something your entire life, when you have it driven into your mind that there's no other way of life that's correct, it can be more than a little difficult to shake once you're away from it. Maybe they're worse than you, but..." He pauses, narrowing his eyes, though he offers Alec a teasing smile. "You were pretty bad. But you don't look at me like I might betray all your world's secrets anymore, so I'd say you've made a lot of progress."