They Used to be Best Friends

Henry was sore when he woke up and dirty. Heh. Guess he'd forgotten to do some cooling down and hadn't taken a shower. Technically, he didn't forget. At least, probably not. The last thing he remembered was being pulled out of the car by Dave, who dragged his body–heavier than Dave with significantly more metal–inside. There was a suffocated feeling, but it wasn't incredibly bad. He was numb to the pain. He was numb to… everything.

Not anymore, though; now Henry was breathing, and his heart was beating, and he was a little sore, especially his chest. Oh. Wait. The thought of Dave being incredibly worried and probably super mad struck him. Right, he should wake up. It had to have been a few hours–because it always was with the stupid phone charger–and he didn't want Dave putting himself into a panic attack for too long.

When Henry opened his eyes, Dave wasn't there. The laundry machine was running, as was the sink. That was probably why. But, sitting next to him, perked up now that he saw movement, was Dad Reginald. "Henry?" Dad Reginald's voice made its way to his foggy mind.

"Hmmm… yeah." Henry barely heard himself say the words. "Awake. Awake." Then, of course, the implications of seeing Dad Reginald there struck him. He sucked in his breath and sat up, grabbing his knee with his right hand to do so. He instinctively turned to the wall, knowing this position would rip the phone charger out of the wall. But the phone charger was not there. Rather, his original charger snaked behind him. The little light by the charger was still yellow.

"Henry, whoa! Stop!" Dad Reginald commanded, holding his hands up.

Henry turned on him. Dad Right was nearby, watching them both, now. Henry held his hand closer to himself. "What are you doing here? Where's Dave?"

"He's in the other room," Dad Reginald said with a dismissive wave. "We came here because you were in trouble. Dave activated your wrist band and notified us of it."

Henry looked down at his wrist and let out a weird noise. What was he feeling toward Dave right now? Love? Relief? Fierce irritation? All of them? "But Dave's okay, right? You haven't hurt him?" He narrowed his eyes. "And you aren't here to drag me back to the station."

Dad Reginald sighed. "No, no. We did not hurt him. Henry, you almost died here."

"And now I won't," Henry stated, gesturing to the cable. "Thank you. I won't die. I still don't have any reason to go back. I'm perfectly good here."

"Henry, please. You've been gone for about two months, now. There's not even an airship to go back to, it's wonderful in space. Surely, you've had enough time to… think or calm down or what have you."

Henry gave him a flat look. That man just never took responsibility for his own pride, did he? "No, I think I still have time to think or calm down. Just like you do."

"Henry, we weren't the ones that left," Dad Reginald stated, his voice a little firmer.

Henry met the challenge. "Yeah? Well, I did leave. I left because I thought Dave's life was more important than your feelings. It's been two months. You say you want me to come back, but you won't admit you're wrong!"

"I'm not wrong," Dad Reginald crossed. "I was doing my job. You decided to jump out of the airship with a prisoner."

"He was only a prisoner because you didn't feel like dealing with him! He was going to die because you didn't like the fact that I liked him. I love Dave, and you would rather kill him and punish me for it than admit that maybe you're wrong."

"I wasn't wrong," Dad Reginald stated. "I understand that you love the man. It was still not supposed to happen. I have a responsibility to deal with the Clan, with prisoners or potential threats or anything of the sort."

Henry scoffed. "You didn't do anything with him. He was there for over a month and you did nothing. Am I supposed to believe you thought anything you had to do with Dave would affect the Clan in any way? Because I know you didn't. He was just some meddlesome nightguard to you. Just face it. You were wrong about this. You're right about a lot of stuff, Dad, but this wasn't one of those things."

Dad Reginald started to speak, but Henry cut him off. "Now, I'm in my own home in my own place. I have a job that doesn't involve the Clan. Dave and I earned the money to keep the lights on and put food on the table. I don't need you or the Clan. The Toppat Clan was my home, and you're my parents, but this is my house, now. I'm not going back."

"You aren't the quiet life type," Dad Reginald pointed out. "You drive yourself mad when you have nothing to do!"

"I have things to do," Henry crossed. "–and I've been going to therapy. Honestly, I like it. I didn't want to, at first. But Dave pushed me in the right direction, as did some of my friends from work. I want to keep going. I'm not bored, I have stuff to do, that I can and want and need to do."

"Reg."

Dad Reginald looked back at Dad Right.

Dad Right continued, "Let him go. If this is the life 'e chooses, so be it."

Dad Reginald stuttered. "Right Hand Man! We can't just let him stay here!"

"'Enry said this is his home now," Dad Right stated. "You can't convince 'im otherwise."

Dad Reginald looked between them. "The Toppat Clan is your home, Henry! You've lived with us since you were a child."

"I know," Henry agreed. "I still think of you as my family. But this is my home, now."

Dad Reginald shook his head. No words came in reciprocation.

"Dad, I love you. I love you both. But I'm staying here. With Dave. In this small town in the middle of nowhere."

A short silence spanned between them.

Finally, Henry said, "I'm, uh… I'm making hamburgers tonight. If you want to stay over for dinner."

Dad Reginald looked back at Dad Right and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I believe we can stay for a little while longer."

Henry chuckled and looked at the bedroom door. "Hey, Dave?"

The sink stopped running. Dave tentatively walked inside. "Yeah, Henry?"

"Dad Reginald and Dad Right are staying over for dinner. We have enough hamburger meat, right?"

"Aaaaah, well, no? I was going to use the rest for spaghetti. But, if you all are staying over I guess we can?"

Henry puffed and waved his hand. "Ah it'll be fine. I can go out and get some more hamburger patties…"

"You're not leaving this room until I see a green light." Dave pointed a still wet finger at Henry's shoulder.

Henry sighed. "Always trying to confine me. But we'll need to get them some time."

Dave walked back out of the bedroom. "I'll go, I'll go! Just don't leave the room."

"Thanks, mall cop!"

"You're welcome, Space heater."

By the time dinner rolled around, Henry had finished charging and was up and ready to make a great dinner! Well, as good as could be when it was made up of mediocre hamburger patties he overcooked slightly and oven-ready French fries. To be fair, Henry didn't cook, and Dad Right was still amazing at hiding his emotions and Dad Reginald still good at speaking for five minutes straight without saying a thing. Christmas was quickly approaching, so sure, Henry could go for a visit to the Orbital Station over the holidays, as long as Dave wanted to and was allowed to–which was a yes on both accounts. Deep down, Henry was rather excited to meet everyone in person again.

Mission Complete.

Angel and Not Angel? He hadn't heard them in months…

Home Free