Title: Change what you see (Interlude)
Fandom: Sanctuary
Characters: Henry Foss, Will Zimmerman
Rating: M, for explicit allusions to nummy, sexy acts that we shan't mention outright. A few instances of profanity and other strong or suggestive language.
Summary: Will and Henry have a situation
Warnings: This story is quite clearly Henry/Will slash, and happily so. If you're afraid of, or otherwise offended by, SLASH then; might I advise you to RUN, not walk, away as fast as your little underage, or otherwise insecure/bigoted legs can carry you? Thanks. That will be all. What? You're still here? Oh. Well, then. Have at it, if you will.
Notes: There is a completely intentional and calculated homage to a Bigfoot/Will scene from one of the original Sanctuary Webisodes that never happened in the TV series. Those of you who watched the webcasts will recognize it. Sorry to those who didn't, I don't want to give it away in the notes. This Interlude is set before the events depicted in Episode 12.
This story belongs to the One door closes universe, which also includes the New beginnings series. It will hardly make a lick of sense unless you've read those. Sanctuary, and its characters, do not belong to me. All subtext added by the author's fiery imagination for all things slash.
Complete phrases or sentences in italics represent character thoughts. Single words italicized for emphasis. Title inspired by this quote:
"Inside yourself or outside, you never have to change what you see, only the way you see it." ~ Thaddeus Golas
Will felt Henry get increasingly rough towards his climax, but he truly thought nothing of it. He was caught up in the moment and the intense interplay of discomfort and toe curling pleasure Henry always managed to elicit in him. The man, Will decided, truly knew his body a hundred times better than he did himself. He felt and heard a powerful purring sound, deep enough to be a growl, at his neck. It gave him goose bumps and he let out a soft moan in response.
The next moment, their bodies were no longer joined, and Will winced and cried out at the suddenness of it.
"Ow, Henry, what the hell?!" he whined.
Will sat up straight, startled, to a crashing noise in the room.
"Henry?" he asked, his voice hoarse and slightly slurred. He heard Henry's groan and his hand shot out to turn on the lamp on his night table. "Henry!" he repeated, worried now.
The light turned on, and Henry instinctively turned around to face Will, growling a 'No!' He immediately covered his face with his arm, as if trying to block the light. A moment had been enough. Henry's face was elongated and vaguely lupine, his ears looked like an elf's and his eyes were that deep glowing amber green Will had already seen before.
Will could also see the top drawer of his dresser sprawled and scattered all over the floor where Henry had tried to hold on to it for support.
"It's happening again," Henry said in a growling voice. In the beginning, he had been very good about taking the pills Magnus had given him, but he couldn't quite remember if he had forgotten to take them regularly in the last few days, or if they simply weren't doing their job any more. He groaned once more, the pain of his metamorphosing body setting his nerves on fire.
"It's alright, Henry. Don't fight it. We've been over this," Will told him, getting up and approaching Henry carefully. "You won't hurt me. Don't be upset. It'll make it worse."
Henry's eyes were wide as saucers but, other than a few pained noises that sounded eerily like a whining canine, he stopped protesting.
"Will," came the deep growl.
"Yes, Henry. It's me. Will," the other man replied. He made sure to repeat Henry's name a lot, as well as his own. He figured it would be an anchor for his core personality to hold on to. He slowly embraced his lover, and shivered as usually hairless arms caressed him with soft fur.
"Will," Henry repeated, and his voice sounded clearer. He whined once against the curve of Will's neck while his body reverted to his human form. He heaved a long, shuddery sigh, and held on to Will tight.
"It's alright, Henry. I'm right here. Right here," Will said, his voice full of caring concern. He led Henry back to bed, and they sat there in each other's arms for a while.
It took some time for Henry to calm down enough to look Will in the eye again. He let go of his lover and looked over at Will's things all over the carpet. He was chagrined.
"Sorry about the mess," Henry said, and made a move to get up so he could pick everything up off of the floor.
"Leave it," Will replied gently, a hand on Henry's bicep holding him in place. "It's just stuff. I'll get it later."
Henry looked up sheepishly at Will. "Why do you put up with me?"
Will snorted and gave him a tight lipped smirk. "Because you give me mind-blowing sex on demand?"
Henry chuckled softly and showed Will an embarrassed smile. "Flatterer."
Will leaned in and gave Henry a kiss. "Let's go back to bed."
Henry considered it for a moment. "Not for nothing, but I think I'll sleep in my room tonight," he mumbled.
After a long, kind look, Will nodded. "If that's what you want. But I'm happy to keep you here with me, if you don't really wanna go."
"Thank you," Henry said, and gave Will a peck on the cheek. "I appreciate that."
Henry had just started to gather his clothes when he stopped and looked back at Will with a puzzled expression. He remembered the change started while he was still actively making love. "I... didn't hurt you. Did I? I just remembered," he started saying, and stopped.
Before Henry had a chance to freak out, Will shook his head. "You got a little rough there towards the end," he said truthfully, then promptly smiled. "It was nice."
The look on Henry's face was priceless.
"Ho-kay," he said. "Are you secretly a kinky rabbit, Dr. Zimmerman?"
Will blushed and laughed softly in return. "I don't know if I would go that far."
Henry tilted his head and nodded, archiving this information for later use. "Interesting."
"Aw, come on, Henry. It's not like I pulled out the whips and the chains on you or anything," Will countered jokingly.
"You have whips and chains?" Henry asked, his voice and eyebrows shooting up high. "You've been holding out on me, babe."
Will laughed. "No, I don't. I haven't." He pulled his long legs up to sit cross-legged on the bed and demurely put his hands on his lap.
"Well," Henry started, and continued quite haltingly, "if you'd... like to. Some time. You know. Experiment." He was holding his bundled up clothes in front of him like a shield.
Will found the whole scene adorable, although he would never have used that word in any imaginable conversation ever. Not out loud. He looked at Henry up and down and asked in his intimate voice. "Do you really have to go just now?"
Henry felt his mouth dry at the tone. He thought idly that Will had him well trained. You bastard.
"I... don't... Guess not," he said, dropping his clothes and taking a step towards the bed with every word.
Will smiled and held his arms open to Henry.
When Will next opened his eyes, he was lying in a comfortable tangle of limbs, and Henry was snoring softly next to his shoulder. Slowly, he extricated himself from the bed so as not to wake his lover. Feeling like a long, hot shower was just what the doctor ordered, he padded unhurriedly towards the bathroom to do just that.
He stayed in the shower until all the glass and mirrors in the room was misted over. Hot water sluiced over his pleasantly sore muscles, making Will sigh contentedly as he rinsed his smooth skin clean.
Since unofficially getting back together with Henry, they'd had their ups and down. No old hurts had crept up to the surface to torment them so, all in all, today had been a good day. Will relished those. They were something to look forward to, especially on other days when Henry became moody or distant, or when he himself got so bogged down with what ifs that he couldn't enjoy the simple pleasure of Henry's company. Will sometimes struggled with the fact that he was dating a man, especially when they went out into the city, where people knew a different side of him. Today, however, had been wonderful. Even with the small crisis they'd just averted, Will felt at peace with his feelings. Being with Henry made him happy. Happier than he had been with anyone else. He felt challenged, sated, complete.
The hot shower was a little slice of heaven, and Will felt a little guilty for not sharing it with Henry. He was about to start humming to himself when he heard the bathroom door slam open, or shut. He could not remember if he'd closed it or not. He jumped a foot in the air.
"Wh-what was that?, he asked no one in particular. Will jerked the shower curtain open just in time to hear a bloodcurdling growl and see a big maw full of jagged fangs coming at him. He didn't have time to think or react, other than letting out a clipped, high-pitched scream that stopped almost immediately as he collapsed in a dead faint.
Some time later, Will came to, wrapped in a thick fur coat. A thick fur coat with a loud, persistent heartbeat and muscles like steel. He couldn't have stopped his sharp intake of breath if he had tried. Not that it mattered, for the creature that was Henry had felt the moment Will awoke by the slight changes in his vital signs.
Will cringed at the terrifying visage that met his gaze when Henry slowly turned his muzzle towards him. As Henry's long snout moved, the sharp fangs that jutted out of his mouth grazed Will's naked skin, making the man gasp and whimper. Henry growled a challenge as the scent of fear sweat colored his perception of Will. Why would his mate be afraid of him, his instinct demanded?
Huge amber eyes caught Will's gaze and held, while the man felt his eyes dissolve into tears, thinking against his own better judgment that he was going to die.
"H-Henry," he managed, in a shaky whisper. His whole face and body were trembling uncontrollably. He remembered random things he had read about wolves and pack behavior while studying up in case it helped Henry in any way. Knowledge of the true inner workings of his kind were sketchy at best, and so Magnus had suggested supplementing as they saw fit.
Sobbing softly, Will bared his throat to Henry, and prayed his instincts in this form were close enough to a lupine to take the action as a sign of submission, and not an invitation to snack. He'd never been so scared in his life. For all that he had nearly convinced Henry and himself that they had nothing to worry about, the immediacy of his current danger made it very hard to muster up any conviction.
"Please, you love me. Henry, it's me. Will. It's Will."
A softer growl was Henry's response, and then, Will got tunnel vision when Henry wrapped his powerful jaws around his throat, still growling. He was held there, and the moment stretched. Somehow, Will didn't pass out again, even though he felt detached, as if this was happening to someone else. A defense mechanism, he reasoned needlessly.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Henry," he mumbled as Henry's rough tongue pressed against his neck.
Henry would never be able to forgive himself. That much Will knew. He would be trapped in a morass of guilt and self-loathing that could only end badly. Will had time to feel like he had failed Henry, as well as himself, for stupidly putting himself in harm's way on a hunch. Yet, I'm still alive. He could crush my larynx with no effort at all, but he hasn't. He's in there. Henry, you're still in there. Aren't you? Henry? You won't hurt me. Will you? You won't...
With a sound more like a purr than a growl, Henry removed his fangs from around Will's throat, content that his mate had demonstrated enough submissiveness to denote ownership. He curled protectively around Will, nuzzling and licking the soft, pale human lovingly when he finally passed out from sheer relief.
Another awakening, and Will found himself lying on sweat soaked sheets this time. He couldn't feel his legs, and his eyes flew open, heart pounding. He looked down, and saw a very human Henry lying mostly across his legs, motionless, his body curved up like a smile over Will's prone body.
"Henry," Will said, reaching down to shake his shoulder.
"Who? What?" Henry startled out of his dream. He looked around, disoriented, and started smacking his lips while making a face. "What did we do? What's that taste in my mouth?"
"Baby, can't feel my legs," Will said, sounding a little tight as he pushed on Henry's shoulder for him to move.
"Oh, sorry. Sorry," Henry said, crawling over to one side of Will. He felt the damp sheets and noticed Will's strained face. "What happened?"
Will grimaced as the blood rushed back to his legs and circulation resumed. The sensation of ants crawling was so sharp it stung.
"Will?" Henry prompted gently, rubbing Will's chest with one hand. "You okay?" His own scalp itched. In fact, all of his skin itched. He had a bad feeling about this.
"You changed," Will finally said with a sigh.
Henry's eyes widened comically. "Did I hurt you, Will? What did I do? What happened?" he blurted out, near hysterics.
"Calm down, Henry. Nothing happened. You just... gave me a fright, that's all. I'm fine. We're fine," Will said.
Henry's face twisted with self-loathing. "We're not fine. I can... You smell afraid. The sheets smell like fear sweat." He sat up with his knees up to his chest and buried his face in his hands. "I knew this was a bad idea," he said miserably.
Will crawled around Henry so he could kneel behind him and gather him in his longer arms. "Henry, I got scared. We've been over this. It's instinct. But you didn't so much as scratch me, and believe me, you had plenty big claws and fangs that could have, even by accident." He squeezed and rocked Henry back against his chest. Will knew that last night had been something of a shock. Even knowing what he knew, he was aware that it could be construed as traumatic. If he didn't do this, if he let Henry pull away now, Will wasn't entirely sure he would be able to face his fears at a later date. He had to hold on to what they had now in order to move past last night's incident.
Henry sighed and let Will hold him. He was weak, and he knew it. He could never say no to Will. Not now, when he'd let himself get in so deep. "I don't know, Will," he mumbled tiredly. Every time he thought he had things under control, life threw another wrench in the works.
"I don't even have to see you to know you're pouting, Henry," Will said fondly, rubbing his cheek against Henry's bedhead. Something occurred to him, and he grinned bravely, "Face it, Fuzzy. We're in this together."
Henry's eyes shot open. "Fuhbadahwhat?"
Will literally giggled. Not a girly giggle, just one of those boyish snorts followed by a fast series of chuckles in his throat.
Henry gave Will a squinty glare over his shoulder. "I am not fuzzy. Don't... call me that" he insisted while Will's shoulders shook with quiet laughter. "I mean it, Will. That's not buddies."
Will reached over to kiss Henry on the cheek. "I love you, Fuzzy," he purred teasingly in his ear.
"Oh, you sonofabitch," Henry replied, then turned around and started wrestling Will down to tickle him. "I'll show you Fuzzy, you... you... four-eyes, you." Alright, so he had nothing. Henry thought he was going to have to come up with an equally annoying pet name for Will but, for now, being tickled to death would have to do.
The taller man's full-throated laugh filled the room, interrupted by the occasional grunt or squeal when Henry dug into the more ticklish spots. "Stop! Stop! I give. Please, hahaha."
Henry was grinning at this point. He wasn't stupid. He knew what Will was doing. But it had worked, and bless him for it, he thought. "Bastard," he said, but the tone of his voice said something completely different. He kissed the tip of Will's nose.
"Got you to quit pouting," Will replied through a contented smile. "Fuzzy," he added belatedly, with a snort.
"Aw, man!" Henry groaned and hid his face in the crook of Will's neck. He breathed deep of the scent there. He could forgive much for a good whiff of that scent.
Will's arms around Henry squeezed until the smaller man grunted softly. He didn't want to let go. Henry cradled Will's head in his hands in return, and pushed himself up on his elbows to look his lover in the eye.
"We're okay," Will told Henry. It almost sounded like a question.
"We're awesome," Henry whispered back, his eyes full of love and gratitude.
FIN