Never Coming Home
Summary: Dan learns of Rorschach's death.
A/n: I own nothing. If I wasn't afraid of him, I'd beg Alan Moore to adopt me.
Antarctica
November 2, 1985
Five minutes past midnight
"We'd…better get back home. If there is anything left," said Laurie as she put on her clothes. Dan nodded in agreement, getting dressed as well.
"Hopefully, Rorschach didn't leave us stranded here. I don't think he knows how to work Archie anyway. Just hope he doesn't blow something up," he said, suiting up into his snow gear now.
The two lovers walked out into the cold, light shining off the snow. But there was something strange out here. One of the hover-bikes lay in the snow as though it had been thrown. The handles were stained with what looked horribly like—
"Blood?" Dan whispered, getting his flashlight from his belt. The snow was stained pink around them. Nothing lived out here in the frozen hell, save Adrian and his now dead lynx. Perhaps Rorschach had been more injured than he had led on? "Shit! Rorschach! Can you hear me?"
"Dan…" said Laurie quietly, pointing at the snow. Dan looked at where she had pointed. There were two sets of footprints in the snow. One set looked as though they'd been made by a pair Beatle boots. The other set were barefoot. Lying in the snow was Rorschach's bloodstained fedora, his— (face)—mask lying beside it. It had gone pure white in the cold, blending in with the snow. The only thing that made it noticeable was the symmetrical bloodstain splashed across it. A cruel irony.
"It all makes sense now," Laurie said. "When we were on Mars, Jon said he foresaw himself killing someone, he just didn't know who."
Dan picked up the bloody hat and mask. He felt horrible. Rorschach had tried to bridge the gap between them, wanting friendship without really knowing how to do it. His consolation after Hollis' murder. That, too, had been an attempt at friendship and Dan had thrown it in his face.
"You son of a bitch, you knew," Dan said, turning the mask over in his hands. "You knew you were going to die. Why else would—?"
Laurie made to pull up the fallen hiver-bike, but Dan stopped, doing it himself. He rode that one, not caring that his costume was stained with Rorschach's blood. He felt like he deserved that, in a way. Recalling how he had been furious with him only hours before.
"Listen! I've had it! Who the hell do you think you are? You live off people while insulting them, nobody complaining because they think you're a goddamned lunatic! Do you know how hard it is to be your friend?!"
The look on Rorschach's mask seemed to show surprise, maybe even hurt. Dan had apologized, but still… Had he known his friend would not be coming home…
There was a whirring sound as Dan pressed the remote to open the door to the Owlship. He and Laurie dismounted from the hover-bikes.
"I know I never liked him," said Laurie as the hatch closed behind them, "but I realize now that Rorschach was a good man. You were his only friend, weren't you?"
"I never knew I was his friend until now," Dan replied, pulling his cowl and goggles off his face. He sighed, pulling out a nearly full bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. They each took one. Dan held his in a toast. "To Rorschach."
Laurie nodded silently, raising hers as well. They downed their shots, in silence. Dan overturned his glass, placing it beside Rorschach's mask and hat. He then purposefully spilt a small amount of whiskey on the floor in acknowledgement of his fallen friend.
"You all right, Dan?" Laurie asked.
"Yeah…shaken, but it doesn't matter. Let's go home."