Log: Complete

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

When: February 1, night
Rating: Not sure yet ... teen, maybe?
Characters: Tony Foster [darkest0knight and Henry Fitzroy [stokerwasahack]
Summary: Concerned for Tony, Henry hurries to the beach to find him.
Log:

Henry would never admit to anyone but himself that Tony's abrupt change in demeanor had alarmed him. He would never admit that he was rushing because he was worried. He would never admit that Tony's declaration that there was "nowhere else to go" might, for a moment, have lit a spark of fear.

Vampires weren't meant to cover long distances at great speed, at least not in Henry's world. Even with the blood he had consumed tonight--blood that was powerful enough to give him misgivings for having accepted it--the pace at which he moved now rapidly drained him of energy. It was fortunate he had already left the Underground when he received Tony's message. There was less ground to cover.

Not until he reached the sand did Henry slow down. He walked now, so as not to startle Tony, and when he judged himself within earshot, he simply said, "I'm here."

Comments

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Tony shrugged, then shivered as Henry's coat folded over his shoulders. He hadn't felt the cold before, but now that there was a little warmth showing him the contrast...

"I can't swim, you know," he said, ignoring the implied question in Henry's gentle reprimand. "Lee tried to teach me to dog paddle, here, a little while ago. There was a curse that made it feel like summer, and we took a picnic and went in the water. It was a really good day."

He remembered water slipping over his neck and trusting Lee to hold him up, and then later than day he remember the rope around his wrists, the sex, feeling loved. He remembered everything.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

"I can't swim, either," Henry confided in him. "Did Vicki ever mention that to you?" It wasn't a lack of facility or learning; vampires were simply to heavy, their dense bones enough to drag them to the bottom. It was probably the source of all the tales about water being anathema to them.

Since the answer that Henry wanted didn't appear to be immediately forthcoming, he shifted his weight and sat down. His arm just brushed Tony's, close enough for touching if that was what was wanted, but easily escaped if distance would be better. "The swimming lesson must have gone well if the day was a good one."

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

"Not really," Tony said. "I wimped out after ten minutes. It didn't matter though. That wasn't the point."

He reached out a finger to trace a circle in the sand. Blue fire etched along the line and then dampened. His magic responded to his emotions. Right now, he felt like he could probably upend the earth with a Powershot. Or smash in some Nightmare's face.

Either way, he felt destructive. Maybe self-destructive. He hadn't decided yet.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Should he do something about the magic? Henry wasn't sure. A single casual gesture had shown him how different Tony was now from the Tony that he knew at home. That Tony wouldn't have called up blue fire with a touch of his finger. Magic was dangerous when improperly wielded, like most tools, and Henry didn't know if Tony was in a state of mind to make responsible use of his talent.

That was really the issue, though, wasn't it? Tony. Not what had happened or what he might do. Just Tony. They could worry about the rest later. "The point was that you and Lee enjoyed yourselves."

Hazel eyes ignored the ocean, instead focused on the figure at Henry's side, vision unhampered by the darkness. "Did something happen to change that tonight?"

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Forgetting his circle, Tony tucked his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees. He hadn't cried yet. Not really. It was like he was stuck, like he still couldn't really believe it had happened, and maybe now that it was after midnight Lee might jump out of the bushes and tell him it was okay now, it was a curse and he didn't mean it, it wasn't him but someone in his body...anything.

He didn't know how to answer Henry's questions. All he had were questions himself. "What happens," he began haltingly, "when you trust someone so much and...and they take it away? What do you do? How are you supposed to feel?"

He turned pale blue eyes imploringly on the man beside him, waiting.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Those were questions Henry couldn't answer, because there was no answer. He knew Lee, but not extremely well, not the way that Tony knew him. Part of him bristled at the idea that anyone would dare to cause Tony so much pain, but he buried that response where it couldn't be seen. It would be of no help to the young man.

"I don't know," Henry told him, choosing honesty over empty comfort. "It's different each time, for each person."

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

"I really thought," Tony whispered, "this time it might work. Maybe I could feel like...the most important person, someone's first choice. Maybe someone wanted to love just me."

He buried his face in his hands and groaned. God. He was so stupid.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

"Why do you think you were wrong?"

From what he had seen and heard, Henry was doubtful that Lee didn't love Tony. The man was a better actor than most gave him credit for, but he wasn't that good.

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Maybe if he said it out loud it would sound more real.

"He fucked someone else. In October. And he lied about it, he lied..." That's what was so humiliating about it. The fucking shitbag Nightmare told him what had happened and he'd refused to believe it. He'd been offended on Lee's behalf.

God, he must have thought that was fucking hilarious.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Henry sighed. He didn't know how to fix this. What he did know was that he didn't want Tony to be alone right now, and that he was suddenly, insanely grateful that they had decided to just be friends. Tony didn't need a lover right now. A lover would only make things worse.

"Did you find out from Lee? Or from someone else?"

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

"From Lee." Tony's jaw worked soundlessly for a moment. "He decided to tell me now because...I don't know. Something about not wanting me to think he's perfect. Like it's some noble act of saving me from myself."

He pushed a leg forward to splash in the water.

"I don't know. It's not like I want to keep being lied to, it's just...I wish he didn't tell me. What am I supposed to do, now that I know?"

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

"I think that, right now, it would be best for you to come inside. You need to get some sleep, not to mention a dry pair of socks."

Henry slid an arm around Tony's shoulders and gently pulled him close. "You need time."

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

He leaned against Henry, resting his head on the other man's shoulder and taking comfort in the familiarity of the embrace.

"I don't sleep without him," he mumbled, words tinged with exhaustion. He hadn't slept that well last night either, nightmares rousing him a few short hours after he'd drifted off. All his Dreamless Sleep potion was at the apartment, and he wasn't going back there tonight to get it.

"I don't want time."

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

"Let me help you. You can stay at the apartment with me. Vicki and Celluci won't mind." Henry lowered his voice in a soothing cadence. "We don't have to tell them why if you don't want to." He thought he should be able to make Tony sleep, if that was what Tony wanted, and at the apartment, there would be people to keep watch.

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Tony wanted to point out that if they didn't tell Victory, she'd just go snooping for the answers anyway, but instead he nodded and let himself submit to Henry's persuasion. He was tired, and something had been pushing tension on him since last night, something he wasn't sure had anything at all to do with him and Lee. It pulsed in his temples and strained the muscles in his neck and jaw.

He didn't want to sleep. He wanted to disappear...no, he wanted it to disappear. He wanted to forget. And I could do that.

Arra's spell for erasing memory was one of the ones he'd practiced before entering the City, even though he'd never performed it on anyone, let alone on himself.

But it might work. He'd have to think about it. In the meantime...

"Yeah," he said to Henry, rising to his feet unsteadily. "Let's go."

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

One arm still around Tony's shoulders, Henry rose with him, supporting him on the slick sand. He didn't like what he saw, the unrest and strain that was evident in Tony's actions. Sleep would help, but it wouldn't solve any problems beyond exhaustion.

Although he'd told Tony that they didn't have to explain anything to Vicki, he knew as well as the other man that she wouldn't leave things alone without good reason. He hoped she would save the questions for later, and that she'd put out the extra blankets he'd asked her to. Spare clothing could be borrowed from his and Celluci's wardrobes, and if Tony chose to stay longer than one night, Henry could collect anything else he needed.

"What do you want to tell them?" he inquired as they walked.

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Tony let Henry support most of his weight, not having the energy to care about appearances or pride. His legs were pretty much soaked and they felt as heavy as bricks as they moved across the shoreline, back in the direction of the inner city.

"Tell them I'm sick." He felt sick. He probably looked sick too, and if he didn't eat much for a few days, well he'd look even sicker.

"I'm sick and I don't want to give Lee whatever I've got, so you're taking me in for a few days to play nurse."

It probably wouldn't fool Vicki, but it would stall questions for a while.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

If Tony continued as he was, he would be sick. Henry briefly entertained the thought of carrying him back to the apartment. It would be faster, but Tony still needed to do some things for himself. Henry wasn't going to let him stop being simply because it was hard to keep going.

"All right. You're sick."

As he ushered his charge into the building, Henry added, "Do you want me to get anything for you?"

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Could he send Henry to retrieve the Dreamless Sleep? Lee was probably still at the apartment. Would Henry want to talk to him? Would he want to fight? Tony chewed on his bottom lip and thought about it.

"...There's a potion that helps me sleep without nightmares. I keep bottles of it in the bedroom closet. Lee knows where they are."

He thought about Lee's face when he left, the tears, and felt a brief stab of anxiety. Lee was never the one that cried. Would he be getting drunk now? Would he be with the Corinthian?

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Henry did want to fight, but he could suppress the hunter ... at least for now. A rather long talk with Lee would be called for at a later date, provided Vicki didn't beat him to it during the daylight hours.

He unlocked the front door with his free hand, and guided Tony inside the apartment he shared with Vicki and Celluci. There were already blankets waiting on the couch, and Henry silently thanked Vicki for their presence. "I'll get the potion and some changes of clothing once you're out of those socks and shoes."

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Tony nodded again and stepped out of his wet shoes, then sat right in the middle of the floor to peel off his soaked socks. The wet part of his pantlegs he rolled up to below his knee and then he stood once more.

He didn't feel like talking. Maybe if he went straight to the couch and feigned sleep, he wouldn't have to.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Able to hear the heartbeats in the apartment, Henry knew the arrangements Vicki had made without having to ask. He caught Tony's elbow and steered him towards the private investigator's bedroom.

"Not the couch," he admonished, "a proper bed." He could sense Vicki's life and trace it to his own bedroom. She had left hers for Tony's use.

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

"But..." Tony began his protest without really knowing what he would say. Did it really matter? Bed, couch, floor...it wasn't like he would sleep on any surface without outside help. And he really didn't want to know what bedroom arrangements Celluci, Victory, and Henry had made.

"Fine," he sighed, pushing open Vicki's bedroom door and walking over to collapse on the bed.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Argument wasn't something Henry tolerated unless there was a good reason to contradict his orders, and he made no exception for Tony this time. He shook out a blanket and pulled it over the prone figure.

"You will stay here and rest. If you need anything, Vicki is the room across the hall, or you can wake the detective. I'll be back soon with your things."

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

He curled on his stomach, pulling one of the pillows down to clutch to his chest.

"Henry," he grasps the other man by the sleeve before he can straighten to leave. "When you get there can you make sure he's..." Okay? He couldn't finish the sentence.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Henry paused and crouched beside the bed, his eyes fixed on Tony's. With one hand, he reached out to smooth the young man's hair back from his face. "I will. We'll sort this out. I promise."

[darkest0knight.livejournal.com]

Moisture spiking the dark lashes, Tony's eyes closed at Henry's touch. "Okay," he whispered, lying back against the sheets, willing the tenseness from his body.

He could still trust this one person. Henry always kept his promises.

[stokerwasahack.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Henry didn't yet know how he would keep the promise he'd just made. For now, he settled for adjusting the blanket one last time before he exited the room. He kept the light on in the hall so Tony could find Vicki without stumbling in the dark, and made certain to lock the apartment door behind him when he left.