But Sometimes to Do Some Good

Ellie was his best friend. They've known each other for years. Henry could trust her.

Sherman had nothing new to report, but they did go over the mission again. Plans A-D were completely filled in, and everything at least looked well. Sherman congratulated him on his recovery as they parted ways.

Henry found Ellie walking through one of the hallways near the Bay. "Hey, Ellie!"

Ellie stopped and turned her attention on him. "Hey, Papa Hen! What's up?"

Henry stopped before her and raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You look… sorry, guess it's nothing." Henry did have a problem with projecting. "Actually, I wanted to ask for your advice. Do you have a moment?"

Ellie shrugged. "Yeah, sure." She walked into the first open room–Records. Once the door was shut and they knew they were alone, Ellie leaned against one of the cabinets. "What's up?"

"I was just talking to Dad Reginald," Henry began. "And we were talking about the rocket plan. It turns out that he's not taking any prisoners aboard the station."

Ellie, expression unreadable, prompted, "And what exactly does that mean?"

"He said that having a prisoner would weigh us down," Henry explained. "He didn't tell me what he was going to do with him, just that we didn't have the attention to spare for him. I just… what should I ask him? To let him go?"

"That's what you want, right?"

"Well, yes, but… I dunno, what if he gets suspicious of me? I've already shown that I can be empathetic to prisoners. Albeit I was eleven, but Katie and I were almost lost forever. He knows that Katie's way too suspicious of him. But I've already taken Brig duty off a bunch of other people, so what if he just… what if he thinks I'm bias and decides to do something rash?" Henry rambled, scrambling to put his thoughts into coherent order.

After a few moments' silence, Ellie said, "Okay. You want him to be happy, right?"

"Yes! Of course!"

"You know your father better than anyone else, Henry. If you're that worried, I could sneak him out right after landing. You'll be out in the defense and I'll be with Joan doing some of the more down-low work. When Dave goes missing, no one will know," Ellie offered. "In fact, no one will probably care unless they're reminded, meaning Dave will have a huge head start to get away from the Clan."

Henry bit his tongue. Dave gets to escape, Henry stays out of trouble, and the rocket launches without a problem. "Are… you sure, Ellie? That this is–I mean, what if… something happens?"

Ellie snorted. "Have faith, Papa Hen. Nothing's going to happen to me." She took a deep breath. "Hey, I have a favor to ask."

"Yeah?" Henry perked up.

"I'll help you, no matter what. You're my best friend," Ellie said. "But, I, um… have my own business I want to do tonight." A slight reddish hue brushed her cheeks. "So, after we're done talking to Dave I want to head out. Can you cover for me over breakfast, if someone asks?"

"Definitely!" was Henry's immediate answer. "I'll definitely help you."

Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Henry. So, do you want to talk to him or should we both? Since, you know, this is gonna affect him the most."

Henry nodded. "Yeah. That's a good idea. Do you want to meet me in my room…?"

"Sure. Sounds like a plan! See you there, Papa Hen." She patted him on the head and walked out the door.

Henry's smile fell. So, it was either give Dave an almost guaranteed free life–as he knew the man was too much trouble to track down again–and risk Ellie's neck, or stay out entirely? Heh. He could also risk himself, which would go really well since he had his own responsibilities and no time to sneak Dave anywhere.

Well, at least this wasn't Charles they were talking about.

And it never would be, since Charles wasn't going to be their prisoner.

Henry sat on his bed, watching the bathroom door, tapping his fingers on his knee. He gave Dave a suit and a jacket and hat. Depending on which he chose, they would either stay in Henry's room or go outside to the gym or balcony or a stroll through the hallways. Today, Ellie was going to be here, and Henry made sure to tell him. It wouldn't be right to talk about a plan involving Ellie without involving Ellie in the discussion, after all.

The bathroom door opened. Dave, in his security uniform, left the bathroom. A twinge of disappointment bit his chest, but he ignored it. Dave sat on the bed across from him. "So… once Ellie gets here, we'll talk about whatever it is you wanted to talk to me about?"

Henry nodded. "Yep. So… this talk will take up a good chunk of time. Um… Ellie won't be staying over. She has some business elsewhere."

"Okay."

…

Henry started to speak when a knock came to the door. They looked up to see the door open without any further warning. Ellie strolled inside, sans hat but still wearing her formal clothes. She plopped down on the bed by Henry's right side. "So! Henry? Do you want to start?"

Henry started. "Uh… sure." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, Dave. Dad Reginald told me that we were not going to be having any prisoners soon. So, Ellie and I were mulling over our options–yours, mine, and hers. But, this hinges on what you want to do. After all, it's not fair of us to make a plan to help you without your consent or even knowing one hundred percent what you would like to do."

Dave blinked. "Wh… what? What are you saying?"

Henry took a deep breath. "Okay. So, I just wanted to know what you wanted to do. After this. When it comes time to decide what to do with our prisoner, what do you want me to convince him to do, or do behind his back, depending? This could be anything, Dave. Most anything."

Dave thought for a moment. "So… you can set me free?"

"If that's what you want, definitely," Henry stated.

Dave blinked. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. For a few seconds, he was silent. Then, his misty eyes now meeting Henry's again, he said, "I want to be free. Outside."

"Done," Henry declared. "Ellie and I will make sure you make it far away from the Clan, unfollowed."

Dave bit his own hand, but his shock and joy and relief spilled over his cheeks, nonetheless. Henry got up and made it approximately one and a half steps before Dave launched himself off the bed and tackled him with a hug that forced the air from his lungs. "Thank you," he managed to squeak. "God, just… thank you, Henry, Ellie. I thought I would die here." He tried to take a breath, but it came out as a choked sob.

Henry, hugging him back, careful of his new mechanical strength, laughed. The noise came out broken, Dave's overwhelming, turbulent emotions infectious. "Be ready, okay? Soon enough, Ellie's going to take you out of here. I'll stay behind. No one will be the wiser."

He could feel the side of the former security guard's head brushed against his own in a nod. His fingers curled into half-fists, wrinkling the material of the back of Henry's jacket.

Ellie cut in after a quiet few moments passed, "I need to go. Good… goodnight."

Henry called after her, his voice quiet as to not hurt Dave's ears, "Goodnight, Ellie bean."

The door closed behind her.

Slowly, Dave relaxed his hands and pulled himself back. He rubbed his wrist against his eyes with an uneven chuckle. "Aw, fuck. I haven't… not, you know, in-in a long time."

Henry shrugged. "I bring out the best and worst in people, so I've been told."

Dave took another calming breath. "Jeez, I need to calm down. Thank you, Henry."

"Heh. You're, uh, welcome, Dave." Go away squishy feeling, no one wants you. "Do you, uh… want to do anything? Whatever you want, man."

Dave sighed. "I… don't know."

Henry sat down in his bed. Dave was soon to follow. "Well, we could celebrate prematurely and ruin our luck. I could sneak out, get a few drinks, snacks."

Dave looked at him with a new, different kind of interest. "You know, I haven't had a drink since, um, since before I-I became a security guard."

The thief pushed himself up. "That settles it, then. I'll be right back. If nothing else, I'll just sneak into Howie's room. He doesn't drink very much now a days, but he still loves the challenge of stealing them and putting them back."

Henry didn't quite know what snacks were appropriate for a two-person party celebrating a jail break. So, he spent a few minutes wandering the kitchen before snatching a bottle of wine, a few slices of wedding-style cake–congratulations on the kid, Smith!–and some strawberries. After everything was said and done, he was going to give Dave a lifetime supply of strawberries and there was not a soul on Earth who could stop him.

When Henry got back, Dave was by the foot of Henry's bed, having plugged in Dave's phone charger and phone into the power strip near Henry's bed. Well, it was supposed to be near his bed in case he needed to charge his cybernetics, but it had migrated further up toward his computer. He held up his loot, grinning.

Turns out, there weren't really any movies for the occasion. They ended up watching one but got distracted talking and completely skipped over half of it. As the movie was over on the computer they faced, the only source of light came from the open bathroom. Now they sat on Henry's bed, probably since the second bed hadn't been used in literal years so it wasn't as comfortable or clean. Henry should probably change that. Though, he didn't have a roommate and even with all the new recruits and transfers, no one asked or was assigned. Which, for Dave, was good, he supposed. Speaking of which, they were down the wine and cake, and most of the strawberries. Some of the reddish liquid smudged Dave's lips and smeared on his chin, where he had attempted to eat one, but Henry nudged him, and Dave ended up missing almost entirely. The same sticky flesh now crossed over Henry's cheek, nearly touching his eye. The unfortunate security guard did not get his strawberry back and in fact almost got a bitten finger out of the deal.

"You're a fuggin' animal," Dave pointed out, clutching his fingers in his other hand.

Henry, who'd sunk his teeth into the strawberry near the middle of what was left of it, tipped his head back to allow gravity to drop it in his mouth. His left arm was deactivated, and he didn't feel like raising his right arm for such a trivial task.

"Did you just swallow that?!" Dave squawked. "Whole?!"

Henry, who most indeed swallowed the top half of a large strawberry whole and was not currently trying to choke it down without actually choking, gave him the thumbs up. He coughed upon feeling the painful lump go down. "You're damn right I did."

"You unhinged your jaw and swallowed it like an-an anaconda, Jesus!"

Henry snorted. "Well, I downed an entire twenty-four-ounce bottle of water in one go as well as a hotdog–bun and all, of course–and a donut. Almost got that baked potato but I ended up choking. Does deepthroating a banana count? I ate that, too, after, but I peeled it like a civilized person. Sooooo nothing new."

"What even are you?"

"A human with more pride than water in his body and virtually no gag reflex." Henry coughed again and swallowed, his throat still a little sore from the trail the unyielding fruit forced. He was almost afraid he'd throw up but forced himself to keep it down. He would not be beaten by half a piece of fruit. Henry leaned on the man's forearm and looked up into his face. "So, what are your best food exploits, berry guy?"

Dave narrowed his eyes in thought. "Uh… I dunno. I ate a cherry pie by myself. Does that count?"

"In one sitting?"

"…yeah."

"Whole?"

"No, I didn't fuggin' eat a cherry pie whole!" Dave crossed. "I did eat it by myself. I got mad at my cousins for somethin' and locked myself in a closet and ate their pie. Fuggin' hate cherries. But my little cousins love them."

"You ate an entire pie you absolutely hated out of spite? Whose story was that?"

"Mine." Dave hiccupped and gagged.

"You know, you're a lightweight," Henry pointed out, his smile wide and mischievous. "Just like my dad. He's jus' gone after like, three margaritas. Only drinks the fruity stuff, too. Absolutely can't stand anything that doesn't taste like an entire rainbow. Oh. Damn, I shoulda asked you about that. We have some, I think. Not getting it now, though."

Dave snorted. "Well betcha would if you could stand."

"Totally can stand, dude!"

"Then do it!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"My arm's tired!" Henry picked up his unresponsive left arm as evidence and dropped it, allowing it to fall by his side. "Now you do it."

Dave held up both of his arms, shifting Henry's place on his forearm as he did so. Henry flopped back onto the bed, eyes shut, and his right hand loosely set on his upper stomach. "Show off. I fell off a cliff! And lived!"

Dave lay down as well, though he didn't decide to obey gravity as readily as Henry and instead lay down more slowly and carefully. "I know. I didn't see you for forever. It was terrifying." A sudden somber frown crept its way onto his features. "No one, no one'd tell me what happened. An' I didn't wanna ask in case that gotcha in trouble or somethin'."

Henry hummed, smiling. "Awwww… you care for me~…!"

"You're fuggin' great," Dave reciprocated. "An' you have no sense of self… self… uh… safety. You scared me, man."

"Nah, I can't die," Henry stated, still not opening his eyes. "The universe won't lemme. I fell off a cliff and got in a crash an' got kidnapped as a kid and I'm still alive."

"Thaz insane."

"Yeah."

Henry opened his eyes to look at Dave, who stared at the dark ceiling above. Man, going outside onto the balcony would've been great. But that's not what Dave wanted, and Henry wanted to give him as many options as he could. Dave was a good man deprived of control over himself. But he'd be free, soon. Go wherever he wanted after. Man, Henry was kinda tired. It'd been a day, after all, and was now closing in on 2:00 A.M. if his watch was any indicator of the time, which it always was because it was a watch.

"I never got kidnapped as a kid," Dave admitted. "I got my lunch money stolen, though."

"Did you beat them up?"

"I'd think fuggin' not," Dave crossed. "I didn't wanna fight." He yawned, his eyelids drooping the same way Henry's did. It was then Henry realized he'd been only half aware of his eyes as he'd been staring at his lips. He probably tasted like strawberry. That wasn't a bad taste, now that Henry thought about it. The surviving strawberries were huddled on a plate somewhere on the floor beside the bed. It had originally been on the bed before Henry nearly smacked it off, which would've resulted in strawberries on the floor and then Dave would have to wash them off. Again. He always washed his fruit and veggies before eating them. Even when locked up in a cell, he'd tried his best to dampen a napkin and wash off anything he'd been given that could be washed off. He had to know any one of the chefs on the airship would balk had they discovered their food had been made subpar or even made dangerous due to their own neglect, much less willfully. He was like a big, cuddly raccoon that probably tasted like strawberries.

"You okay?" Dave asked, patting Henry's arm to wake him from his half-dreams.

"H-huh? Oh, yeah. Fine." He met Dave's gaze. "Totally fine. What's up? Did you say something?"

"Well, I was jus' saying that I don't like to fight. But I'd totally, like, get in a fight for you. Cuz I like you. You could defend yourself, though. Don't need my help for that."

"Yeeeah, I like you, too," said Henry, his concentration–whatever shambles of it still clung to his last working braincells, at least–growing ever more muddled.

"I was thinking," Dave went on, the slur in his voice even worse now that the lateness of the night started to take its toll, "–like, I like you, man. You've been great to me. And, like, you're willing to risk all that for me? You'd go against your criminal code or whatever for me? An' I was like… I liked you, you know? But it's like… I-I don't know. I like you more, now? I didn't know I could do that. Iz weird."

"You know, I really like you, too," Henry admitted. "An'… you know, maybe me, too. I mean, I dunno. Maybe. Yeah. D'jzou have a partner or somethin'? Back home?"

"I had Rupert an' then Kurt," Dave explained, looking back up at the ceiling. "I was Rupert's partner for like a few months b'fore I was fired an' then was stationed with Kurt for a while. B'fore the explosion." He blinked. "Oh, wait. You-you mean like being married or something? No. I'z never married or anything."

"So, you weren't with them?"

"No! No fuggin' way. I liked Rupert, he's my friend. But-but not like that, y'know? Kurt didn't like me. What about you?"

"No one on the airship," Henry stated immediately. "That would be too much."

"So… not-not Ellie?"

"Ellie?" Henry parroted, almost believing he'd misheard the man. "No way! She's my best friend. 'Sides, she's not interested in… eh… 'Just anyone with a Y chrom'some' or whatever she called it. So, no. An' I mean… Charles an' I have been friends forever, but, like, I'm not really his type. He's prob way more into the type a' people he works with or somethin'. Heroes that d'feat bad guys. May not even, y'know, be into Y chrom'somes, either, ya'know?"

Dave nodded. "Hmm, yeah. Thaz Rupert."

Henry sniffed, his eyes drifting down again. "So, like… you're like that or…?"

"Huh?" The former security guard's gaze was back on Henry. "What'd'you mean?"

Henry almost felt… bashful, afraid, perhaps? But that probably didn't matter or something, it wasn't a big feeling. They weren't big feelings. "I mean, the Y thing."

"The Y thing," Dave repeated, more as a statement than a request for confirmation. "I mean, I, uh, dunno. Straight family, straight friends, that-that sorta thing. But maybe, I dunno. What… what about you?"

"Sure," Henry muttered. "I mean, I'm not a biology major or an'thing, so I don't care about Xs or Ys or whatever. Women, though. They're more work." He shifted and set his head on Dave's shoulder. They were about the same height, give or take an inch or two. "Guys are… pretty straight with, you know, stuff. So iz like, sure."

Dave's arm brushed against him and his hand ran over the cuff of Henry's sleeve until he found his hand. As Henry had taken off his gloves, he could feel Dave's fingers intertwined with his own. It was nice, being able to feel. More than that, being able to feel with something so sensitive as his fingers. Despite years of use, they were sensitive, quick, twitchy at times. Made for slight of hand, for pickpocketing and lockpicking and snagging small objects out of small openings. Dave's hands were not. They were thicker, firmer, trained to hold a weapon or a person, depending on circumstance. Henry knew this bit by experience. In their sparring matches, once Dave got a firm hold of Henry, it was a quick trip to game over. Dave was reserved, and understandably anxious, but he was confident in his field of expertise. For some reason, Henry felt like he remembered Dave tasering him, but he couldn't recall from where or when.

Henry pushed himself another nonexistent inch or so closer and touched his nose to the man's cheek. He could feel the slight change in his breathing, at least a small pause as he took a sharp breath and held it. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. He turned his body over, pushing his elbow back so he was on his side. Henry did not have to reach for him, now.

Heh. He did taste like strawberries.

Henry had forgotten, momentarily, his arm lay uselessly at his side and refused to respond. So, though he tried to pull himself up onto his side, tried to hold onto Dave, he failed. The former security guard had no such inability and held him, hooking his arm under Henry's to pull it over himself.

Intoxicated in more ways than one, excitement overtaking his gentle sleepiness, Henry let go of his hand and managed to snake his fingers under the hem of Dave's… suit? Uniform, right. Shirt, whatever it was called.

Dave tensed in his grasp and pulled away. Not quite far enough away that Henry's left arm would fall off, but enough to put the tiniest bit of space between them. The light shone behind Dave, so through Henry's already muddled senses, he couldn't quite discern the look on his face. "I-I'm sorry." The words came out small, breathless.

Henry pulled his arm back so his hand hid underneath of himself. "N-no, um, no. Don't, uh, be sorry."

Dave retreated into himself a little. "Sorry, iz just… I mean, I…"

"No, iz fine," Henry reassured him. "Do you, uh… well, uhm…"

…

Dave reached up and stuck his fingers beneath a panel on Henry's arm. The bulb inlay on Henry's left hand flickered to life, albeit too dull to really cast a glow over anything. Dave managed another "sorry" before slipping out of Henry's grasp. His fine motor skills hadn't returned to him, but neither had Henry's, so to the floor he fell. The cyborg was on his feet and helping Dave up.

"Uh, you want me to bring you back?" Henry offered, trying desperately to sober up enough to help Dave.

"Um, sure," he muttered.

The hallway was not that wide, allowing for about three or four people to walk comfortably side-by-side. At a certain point every few yards, there was a massive doorway with a door that could slide down via magnets, completely cutting off that part of the hallway. Thankfully, these also happened to work as some sort of structure to catch him if he started to fall. The real test came in getting down to the Brig. But their ladder climbing skills weren't lost.

"Thanks, Henry," said Dave. "You… you're good."

"Uh, you're welcome."

…

Henry stepped back and, making sure Dave was a safe distance away, shut the door. He made his way back to his room, alone and extremely off balance. Thankfully, he made it to his room in one piece. But injury was not inescapable. For, as he climbed into bed, his foot sank into something somehow both firm and squishy.

The strawberries.