Central Heterochromia

Pairing: Henry Townshend / Alex Shepherd (slash warning

This pathetic fangirl does not own the amazingness that is the Silent Hill Franchise.

First oneshot for the Silent Hill fanfiction archive. While it's my first time, please do not go easy on me! I want to try working on proper characterisation of these characters so correct me wherever it feels wrong!

Where did I get the idea? I was randomly looking at SH wikis... this was the result.

Fic status: Unbetaed. Finished.

"There are two layers to every person. One on the outmost side and one on the inner. That isn't to say that only one of them is the 'true side'; it just means that it takes a lot of effort to find out completely who a person is."

-Unknown

Once upon a time Alex Shepherd wouldn't have even considered using the word 'beautiful' for a man. When he was a kid, he always thought that the word belonged to his mother or his best friend, Elle. Now it was probably the most common adjective he used, in his mind, to describe Henry Townshend. It wasn't in an insulting way or even a feminine way. Alex couldn't explain it, but something about Henry just struck him out as beautiful.

The younger man wriggled on the sofa before looking up from his book. On the other side of the small living room, Henry sat at his desk, dressed in his usual shirt and jeans, sorting out his work. Feeling sick of reading, Alex sat up and looked at Henry.

He wasn't expecting for the brunette to notice him. It wasn't unusual for the him to stare at Henry and try figure out what made him... beautiful. Although they did live together, Alex had his two new jobs and Henry was often out taking photos. Since it was rare when they were even in the same room, Alex tried to stare whenever he had the chance.

It was hard to believe that someone that beautiful had been to Silent Hill.

A few months ago Henry had figured that he trusted and owed Alex some explanation for his... questionable habits at home. So he told Alex about the haunted apartment, the locked doors and the whole Walter Sullivan fiasco.

It was a horrendous story and it took Henry a few attempts to get through the whole thing. Alex was surprised how quickly Henry seemed to have recovered. Yes, Henry left windows unlocked; always left some door open open and holy candles seemed to be stuffed in every drawer in the apartment; but, for most part, Henry seemed to have recovered from the incidents in apartment 302. For a man who had watched four people die and killed some sort of ghost; Henry was incredibly strong.

He seemed so calm and at peace as his scratched fingers sorted through the pile of photos. Besides faint scars, Henry didn't look like he'd gone to hell and back. He looked and acted shy as well as slightly awkward- not unlike a hermit.

A really attractive hermit.

His light, shaggy hair fell slightly over his eyes; hiding some of the man's face. The man was a little shorter and looked younger then Alex, but still had that aura of calm and authority that came with graceful, lithe movements. Next to him, Alex felt like a pole or something obnoxious that shouldn't be lodged in the other's life.

Henry never asked about where Alex came from, and Alex thanked him for that. He didn't want to share the cold fear he remembered so clearly; everything that happened in Shepherd's Glen. He didn't want to share that he was insane; not how he shot his mother; not how he watched his father die and especially his brother...

"You alright?" Alex's ugly thoughts were broken. He looked up to see Henry, standing up and stretching. "Do you need something?"

"I'm fine." The brunette replied. Henry raised an eyebrow but shrugged and walked into the kitchen. Alex sighed, forcing himself to look down at his book instead of letting his eyes follow the man.

Alex didn't love Henry. He admired him, he had a crush on him and he may or may not have fantasized about him... but he didn't love him. Alex couldn't love anyone.

He wasn't supposed to be loved.

He was born to die.

Sometimes it did hurt to be near such a beautiful thing. Sometimes he did wish he could love- but everyone he loved would leave him. He would kill them eventually like he did with Judge Holloway, his mother or Josh. He would scare away and disgust those who cared about him like Elle and Wheeler.

That's why he ran.

He ran as fast as he could away from that place. He ran from Shepherd's Glen all the way to South Ashfield and didn't stop. Alex could remember clearly the dark thoughts clouding his head and how the guilt consumed him. He ran away from that ugly place until he collapsed in exhaustion onto the pavement.

Henry explained to him, the following morning, how he found Alex and took him back to his new apartment to rest. His staring started when he they met. To this day, he never understood why he had cared for him. He never understood why he was asked to stay until he got his life back together. He didn't get why Henry had to be so damn nice.

Maybe he stared in admiration to Henry. Maybe it was thankfulness. Maybe it was a crush.

It didn't matter anyway.

The clock on the wall chimed five times. Alex made a little ugly groan as he heard it and forced himself up. While Henry had told him that he didn't need to do anything; Alex had been making meals for the two, to pay Henry's hospitality. Alex walked into the kitchen to see the other man pouring over a book, waiting for the hot water to boil. He barely acknowledged the younger's presence, not to his surprise.

Pulling his eyes away from the beautiful man, Alex began searching the cupboards for something to cook.

He could survive on his own. There was no reason for him to be here and he shouldn't have been burdening Henry with his presence; so why hadn't he left yet? Was he really that desperate for this... illusion... that there was someone around that wouldn't hate him? Even so, Henry didn't know anything. He may have been through the hell of Silent Hill, but he had never killed people close to him. He didn't live with the guilt and the feeling that 'you should've died.'

Maybe the Bogeymen should have just claimed him.

Wrapped up in his usual depressing thoughts had numbed Alex's sharp senses. He didn't notice Henry walk up behind him.

"I don't mind ramen." The quiet was disturbed. Half-expecting the pyramidal Bogeyman himself, Alex whipped around too quickly, tripping over his feet. "Hey watch out!" Alex fell over, trapping Henry under him and sending both of them hurtling to the floor.

"Gah!"

"Ow."

Reacting with the solider instincts he once thought he had, Alex shot out his arms in time so he wouldn't completely crush Henry. As a result, he was leaning over him, almost conveniently, in the most awkwardly, scandelous postion possible.

The clatter of a book and the metal pot filled the kitchen before... nothing. Time seemed to stop. The annoying clock of Henry's even seemed to stop ringing. There was nothing but tense silence as the two men seemed frozen, one on top of the other, staring at each other's face.

Because of Henry's photography, people always said he had an 'eye for beauty.'

Alex saw that Henry had two.

There were two colours to his eyes. The outer ring was a light, shy grey that Alex could almost see himself reflected in. They sung of death, horror and a sadness that came with being defenseless. Rapid change... like how Henry had described living normally one minute to living in hell the next. It was something Alex was familiar with and was both saddened and capitative to see it in those irises.

However it was the inner rim of Henry's eyes that really mesmerized him. He had never seen such a brilliant shade of amber. The eyes were truly the window to the soul. Alex had no idea what kind of amazing soul he was looking at, but he made the connection anyway.

Life. Joy. Beauty. Hope.

Things that Alex felt he didn't deserve.

"Alex?"

He knew he had to leave this place.

"Alex... look at me."

Henry realised he had never looked Alex properly in the eye.

There was no way he could have, otherwise he would have noticed those hollow orbs. He had never seen eyes that seemed so sunken; framed by dark circles that could have only come from recent reoccurring nightmares. It was almost like looking at himself during the events of the Twenty-one Sacraments (and even the long recovery process after that). A wave of sympathy washed over Henry as he continued to look at the solider on top of him.

Alex's eyes were two colours as well: a dark, dull brown on the outer rim and a cold grey around his pupils. It almost seemed that the grey was covering light that was supposed to be there. They didn't look like the eyes of a solider. There was something there that Henry couldn't define but found very familiar. They looked like they belonged to someone who lost everything in a short time. They belonged to someone who was completely sad and lost.

Who was Alex Shepherd?

Even after half a year, Henry didn't know his crush very well: all he knew was that his name was Alex Shepherd (not Alexander, just Alex), he was twenty-two and he had no family to go to. That was it. He presumed he was a solider by his jacket and the dog-tags he always wore; but really he didn't know Alex more then that.

Henry often wanted to ask more but never could seem to work the nerve for it. While he now craved human interaction; he found still awfully shy and couldn't speak. He couldn't find the voice to talk to Alex. He settled with just staring back. Henry looked deeper into the dark abyss of Alex's eyes, wondering whether if something did had happen in Alex's past or the brunette was simply central heterochromic.

"What?" Henry looked up at Alex, still over him in the raunchy position. He was quick to note Alex's embarrassment. "Central Heterochromic? What's that?" Henry didn't realise he'd uttered the last three words out loud, a small habit he'd developed during the events of Silent Hill to keep his sanity.

"You know... two-coloured eyes. It's nothing bad." Alex confusedly nodded before slowly getting off him. The two of them sat there on the floor, Alex doing his best to avoid Henry's gaze. "... are you sure you're okay?"

"You know me... clumsy as ever." Henry frowned. He had just assumed that Alex was alright. Any implication that he was broken was hidden through his vibrant words and contradicting actions. Yet here he could plainly see that Alex was troubled. Why had he been so blind before? "Sorry about the mess. I'll get it."

"It's fine. Not your fault. I shouldn't have startled you." The soft-spoken man picked up the book and smoothed out its pages. After both putting the pot and said book on the counter, the two men just stood there in tense silence. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." The man wanted to protest, but his words were awkwardly caught in his throat. Instead, gently but firmly, his rough hand grabbed Alex's coarse wrist. Alex looked away but Henry didn't miss the blush that had appeared on the man's face.

"You don't look it." Henry stated flatly.

"I'm fine." Alex insisted, his voice wavering slightly. He pulled his wrist slightly but Henry stood firm. "...Let go of me." Alex could have easily pushed the bookish man away, but he never did. There was another long bout of awkward silence between the two.

"What's wrong? You haven't been fine since we met." Henry said, trying to sound as if 'he knew' all along. Alex didn't answer. "Can you please tell me what's wrong? Alex. I'm your friend... I hate seeing you like this."

The younger man flinched a little as Henry squeezed his hand in comfort. He looked disconsolated... and then instantly Henry recognised the emotion that Alex had been hiding. With a burst of energy and a desire that he didn't understand, the man gently led the other out of the kitchen and sat them both on the couch. Alex didn't fight him but he certainly didn't look pleased either.

"What?"

"Alex... I don't know what happened. I don't know why you're like this, but you can't... live like this. You can't be miserable all the time." The words were coming so easily to Henry. Maybe he had noticed more then he'd thought. "You know... Don't let your guilt get the best of you... whatever happened is probably not your fault."

"...You don't know what happened." Alex snarled suddenly. Henry stared at him as Alex snatched his wrist away. Emotions getting the better of him, Alex jumped up looking torn between yelling at Henry and running away. "You have no idea what happened to me! What I did! You wouldn't say that if you knew!"

"But I'll never know if you don't tell me..." Henry replied in a calm voice. Alex tightened his fists but Henry didn't react. He trusted that the strong man wasn't going to hurt him.

"You don't know... You don't get it! People have died because of me!" Alex yelled, punching the wall. "My family... for nothing! They're all dead! All because I didn't die!"

Silence was common. It vibrated between the two men again; only being slightly disrupted by Alex's heavy breathing. Henry barely had time to process this small revelation before Alex turned away yet again.

"I'm sorry for yelling. I'll leave now."

"Hmmm?" Once again, Alex wasn't making any sense. Henry grabbed the man's wrist yet again, following after the man's strides.

"Thank you for letting stay here. I'm sorry I can't stay any longer." Henry remained calm through Alex's insane babbling and mustered the strength to stand and prevent the brunette from walking away any further.

"...Alex. Stop it. Right now. I really want to help you with your problems... But I can't unless you tell me..."

"You've helped me enough..." He didn't sound snappish or sarcastic, but immediately apologetic.

With his temper curbed, Henry waited for him to speak.

"I... I shouldn't even be alive." He finally uttered. He shifted uncomfortably. Henry held his hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

"There was a time I thought the same too." Henry left his eyes on Alex while the other stared at the floor, fists clenched. "It's called 'Survivor's guilt'. I blamed myself for not completing the puzzles fast enough. I thought that if I had only done something better... something faster... then the other victims wouldn't have died. Do you know how many times I considered giving up when I thought Eileen died?" Alex now was looking at Henry.

"But you managed to..."

"...But the point is..." Henry quickly interrupted, "I can't change the past. I can only think I did all I can and move on. Alex... don't blame yourself for anything." He paused. "And don't deprive yourself of being happy... or living because you think you're guilty. I wasted five months of my life that way." Alex seemed entranced by his words. His eyes showed that he understood and he was astonished that there was... Henry. To find another survivor of Silent Hill was one thing, but to be able to connect with them and understand their turmoils too?

"I'm trying... but..."

Henry took comfort in the fact Alex was listening and took the opportunity to guide him back to the couch.

"I know you have trouble with your feelings and you will for a long time... but... you're alive. Don't regret it. Don't let Silent Hill win." Henry smiled. "I'll be here for you. Alright? You can tell me anything."

Alex had always been an impulsive person. His actions were the true advocate of his desires.

The action was forced. It was hard and filled with beautiful desperation and need. Henry only tensed slightly as Alex grabbed his shoulder and pushed his lips against the elder's. It was only for a few seconds, but the effect sent them both spinning.

It was an ugly kiss, filled with no elegance, but at the same time a beautiful one of emotion.

"...I don't deserve your comfort." Alex whispered, almost ready to pull his walls back up. He stood up for the second time but Henry quickly pulled him back down.

"You need it." Henry's head wasn't sure how he felt about Alex now but his body screamed for him. He pulled Alex into a kiss this time, longer and sweeter then their first kiss, before letting Alex lean on him for support. Alex always had held his own, but now it was Henry's comfort that he needed right now. He childishly clinged onto the light-blue shirt and buried his face in it, a position that seemed foreign to the man."...stay." Henry whispered. "You don't have to run anymore..."

The final silence they let pass through was more calm; more peaceful; more beautiful.

Much like the last few silences it was broken quickly afterwards.

"Hey Henry?"

"Hmm?"

"...My name is Alex Shepherd. I was born in the town of Shepherd's Glen and I used to have an amazing younger brother called Joshua..."

Trivia: Henry and Alex are the only Central heterochromic protagonists in the series. Henry has grey (outer rim) and amber (inner rim) eyes while Alex has brown (outer rim) and grey (inner rim) eyes.

I really didn't want to do a romance oneshot in a psychological horror archive but... I honestly had no other ideas or inspiration besides this.

Thank you for reading my weirdo-crackalicious oneshot. Please leave a review and help me improve!

Review!