He didn't know what woke him, but he relaxed after surveying his darkened room. Everything was as he left it. Nothing seemed suspicious. He knew, from Rorschach's insistent forewarnings, that he should be wearier of the mysterious, unknown sounds that woke him in the middle of the night.
What if there was some wacko trying to off all of the masked heroes?
But then again, the Comedian's unfortunate death and Dr. Manhattan's sudden exile could just be coincidences. After all, all of the masked vigilantes were retired except for Rorschach, and Daniel, even after being his crime fighting partner for some time, didn't even know much about Rorschach's real identity. How could someone else know more than he?
Rolling over, Daniel stuck one of his legs out from beneath the sheets, wishing for cooler, fresher air. As he shifted his body, he exhaled deeply, snuggling deep into the mattress again. Once settled, he took a large inhale, suddenly assaulted by an overwhelming, slightly pungent, smell. It invaded each nostril, plowing over all of his nose hairs and filling his lungs. He jerked his head instinctively. I mean, the smell wasn't exactly… pleasant.
No one else harbored this scent. He knew his ex-partner was somewhere in the house, or at least had been at one point during the night. But… then why were his sheets so consumed with the odor?
He sat up, squinting his eyes in an effort to focus through the darkness. "Rorschach?"
Suddenly, a dark figure popped into his left peripherals. Daniel's breath hitched in his throat, feeling that oh-so-familiar rush of adrenaline he knew so well as a masked hero. Raising his arms, he was ready to defend himself if need be… but then the figure came into focus and the infamous, ever-changing white and black mask materialized.
"Hello Daniel," Rorschach said.
Daniel's shoulders slumped, his heart still beating almost out of his chest. "Rorschach… where did you come from?" It almost seemed as if he had come from underneath Daniel's bed or something.
"Just checking, Daniel."
Checking what? God, sometimes Rorschach was so vague.
"Did you kick my door in again?"
"Locks not strong enough. Need new one. Stronger one. Can't be too safe."
Daniel had learned early on not to argue with Rorschach. "Alright." Bringing his hands up, Daniel rubbed his groggy eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't know… not quite sure why."
Daniel rested his hands by his side, feeling a small object as he placed the back of his hand to the bedcovers. He lifted his hand to find a rogue sugar cube lying on top of the covers. He cocked his head, picking the cube up. "How did—?" As he looked up he found Rorschach facing him, staring at him.
"You know," Daniel laughed a little. "I would've expected you to be a lot stealthier, considering the whole masked vigilante gig. If you want to lay with me…?"
He said it as a joke, but as the words came out of his mouth, Rorschach began getting more and more nervous. By the end of the sentence his hands were shaking and he was glancing around the room, as if to look for an escape.
"Rorschach?" Daniel asked. "It was just a joke. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"It happens sometimes," Rorschach said.
"Really? I've never seen you get uncomfortable before. Usually its you who makes other people uncomfortable."
"Not that. Something else happens," Rorschach paused, shifting his feet. "When around you."
"Something happens when you're around me?"
"Not immediately, but after smelling the sheets. Could smell you…"
The words ran through Daniel's head and he couldn't resist from asking, "So, you were on my bed?"
Rorschach gave one hard nod.
"And that's when it happened?" Daniel asked.
Again, the masked man replied with a nod.
"Rorschach… come here," Daniel said softly.
Somewhat childlike, Rorschach shuffled his feet over to Daniel's side of the bed, stopping within a foot or two of his ex-partner.
"When you were a kid, did you ever touch yourself?" Daniel asked. The question was surprisingly easy to ask, and he had no idea why.
"Didn't ever see point to it."
Softly, now suddenly getting really nervous, Daniel lifted his right hand and laid it ever-so-softly against the top of Rorschach's groin. Underneath the cloth, Daniel could feel the hardness and he was somewhat relieved that he had assumed correctly what Rorschach had been saying.
The contact made Rorschach jerk slightly, and Daniel didn't know if he would have a hand for too much longer.
But after a moment of stillness, Daniel asked, "Do you want me to show you the point?"
Daniel could see his friend's chest rise and fall in quick successions. Was he too scared to answer? Was he too shocked to answer?
Daniel opened his mouth, inhaling deeply before continuing. "I want to," he urged, letting his fingers press a little harder into the cloth, feeling the form beneath.
Rorschach lifted his head up slightly as Daniel's fingers began to slip under, between his legs, rubbing what he found there.
Softly, barely audible, Rorschach murmured, "No…" He stumbled back, shoving Daniel's hand away. "Wrong, Daniel. Bad. Very bad. Corrupt. Sick."
Daniel rubbed the knuckles on his hand, surprised that Rorschach hadn't broken any of his fingers. He turned his face away. What had he been thinking? Here he was, trying to convince the most radically conservative Nazi to succumb to his homoerotic sexual desires. Had he actually touched Rorschach… there? Oh god, he was dead, he knew it. But wait… wasn't it Rorschach who had started all of this anyway? Before Daniel could contain the words, they slipped heatedly from his mouth. "You're the one who gets a hard on by watching me sleep."
Out of his peripherals, Daniel saw Rorschach's body stiffen and his head cock quickly to the side. "Hurm," was all Daniel heard before his partner's fist hit him square in the jaw.
"Only watch to protect you," Rorschach's gruff voice growled. Rorschach shook his head a couple times, not really aware he was doing it. Did Daniel, the only person he had a semi-close relationship with, just admit to wanting to touch him. Rorschach never believed that the filth and sin of this decrepit city would ever affect his friend. This proved just how much protection Daniel actually needed. "What about the whore Daniel?"
"What are you talking about?" Daniel asked, rubbing his jaw line tenderly.
"Laurie."
Daniel shook his head, frustrated. "Laurie is not a whore."
"Dresses like one. Seduces like one. Must be one."
"Jesus Rorschach! Not everything is so black and white! Just like now…" Daniel couldn't find the courage to finish his sentence. He didn't need another contusion anywhere on his body.
"Just like now how?"
Daniel sighed heavily. Rorschach wasn't going to let him off, so why fight? "I enjoy being with Laurie. I enjoy it a lot… but I also… sometimes…"
Rorschach's fists clenched and his voice came out like rumbling thunder. "Also what?"
"Imagine what it'd be like to undress… you." He expected the punch, but it still shot waves of pain through his skull.
"Vile! Vile!" Rorschach screamed. "No different, Daniel. No different than the rotting, disease infested whores and crack addicts that I pass on the streets at night."
Daniel could see that Rorschach was using all of his will not to rip him into little, tiny Nite Owl pieces. Rorschach was going to leave… and Daniel would probably never see him again. Once Rorschach walked out the door, that'd probably be the last intrusion his ex-partner would ever make. Is this what he wanted?
If Rorschach left, then he could go back to normal and stop having those strange homoerotic fantasies about him. He could go back to Laurie and be happy. But… that would mean that he would never get to know how it felt to be with him. He would never know what his mouth tastes like, how his body felt… what his face looked like. Was he willing to sacrifice that knowledge?
It looked like he would have to make the decision soon, because Rorschach was already turning to leave. Once Rorschach passed through his doorframe, the answer came to Daniel clear as day. He sprung from his bed and yanked his bedside lamp out from the wall and quickly followed his vigilante friend.
Rorschach turned when he heard Daniel coming up behind him, but Daniel was quick enough to land the blow on top of Rorschach's head before the masked man could react. The lamp shattered and pieces of glass fell haphazardly to the floor… along with Rorschach's limp body.
