Title: Catching the Stars

Pairing: Pike and Henry (from the movie Big Eden)

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~ 3100

Summary: The courtship and evolving relationship between Pike and Henry is told in flashbacks after a horrible incident rocks shakes the foundation of everyone who loves them both. (i.e.: The entire town of Big Eden!) (In my universe the last scene of the movie - the dance and kiss - happened a year later at the annual summer picnic.)

Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me - I just play with them a little.

Warnings: Injection of harsh reality into the idyllic world of Big Eden.

FLASHBACK

Wednesdays were nice. He would never say they were his favorite, because if he were to be completely honest with himself – he missed Henry on Wednesdays. But still, they were nice.

They had declared Wednesdays to be Me Time for Pike. Henry didn't even go to his studio on Wednesdays – which meant the house was immaculate by the time Wednesday night rolled around.

And on this particular Wednesday night Pike found himself in the same place he usually ended up – relaxing in an old comfortable lawn chair in the small yard behind the store. He drank a cold beer and soaked up the warm, summer night air while watching the moonlight dance on top of the tiny ripples in the water of the lake. It was a clear night, so he indulged in counting the stars and thinking about Henry.

He liked sitting alone and thinking about Henry.

He instinctively reached down to pet Frances and when his hand only met with air, he remembered that she was at home. The store, and the yard behind it, were no longer the place he called home - now his home was with Henry. Sometimes when he spent Me Time in his former home and it felt like things were just like they used to be - Pike and Frances and lots of time to think - he had a flash of panic at the memory of his loneliness before Henry. And even though Me Time was definitely something he needed, Pike understood perfectly that he wouldn't want more than one night of it in his week, because those random moments when his brain forgot that his life was not as it used to be – his heart ached. He was so much happier now that he had someone to love. He never wanted to be without it.

He never wanted to be without Henry.

As a star shot across the sky he felt himself smiling. He knew that he and Henry overused the metaphor – but it was about as romantic as either of them would ever be and they both really enjoyed the notion that their love was destined. They liked thinking about Henry dancing and running until Pike gave him a reason to stand in one place long enough for Pike to find him and hold his long arms out far enough to catch Henry as he fell from the sky. Their Earthly story just fit so perfectly with the folklore. Pike was like the village elders who tempted Henry's hunger with food and love. Henry was the dancing children who, unlike the ancient myth, succumbed to his lifelong hunger and allowed himself to be tempted into falling.

And Pike caught him.

But when Pike really thought about it – Henry had caught him too. Pike had been hiding himself – so afraid of human connection and love that he became the town's reclusive, but kind, generous shop-keeper. People tried over the years, but Pike kept them all at arm's length. The only soul he would allow close to his heart was Jim – the father he never really had and the man who made sure that Pike didn't hang onto the darkness that consumed his life as a young boy. Jim Soams had been the first man to save him.

Henry was the second – and the last as far as Pike was concerned.

And while Jim had been the one to show him what a good man looked like – Henry was the one who showed him how to be a part of the world around him. Henry showed him how to be part of family and friendship. Henry helped him learn to be comfortable with conversation and interaction and social engagements. It was through Henry that Pike found a way to open his heart to form connections with the people who had always loved him. Now that he had Henry, Pike could let that love in and he was amazed by how happy that made the people in his life.

He felt a swelling in his chest as he thought about how much he loved the beautiful man named Henry Hart. He loved him so, so much. As the swelling became a bursting sensation, Pike swallowed the last of his beer and declared Me Time officially over for the week.

Thirty minutes later he walked into his dark house, lit only by the dim glow that filtered into the kitchen from the sitting room. He found Henry curled up on the couch with a book on his chest and his reading glasses askew on his face. The reading lamp was the only light on in the room, which told Pike that Henry must have dosed off while the sun was still out enough to light up the room.

Pike was a little concerned because that had been hours earier. He quietly sat next to Henry and noticed a light sheen of sweat covering Henry's face - and he was shivering. When he placed his hand underneath Henry's thin, cotton t-shirt he realized why his sleeping lover was so sweaty. Henry had a fever.

Henry stirred at the touch and opened his bleary, red eyes only enough to let Pike know he was no longer asleep. He looked miserable.

"Not feeling well?" Pike asked. He reached for the old afghan draping over the back of the couch and covered Henry's shivering body.

"M'okay." Henry couldn't keep his eyes open.

Pike smoothed away the hair that was sticking to Henry's forehead. "You're burning up, Baby."

Henry cracked one eye and tried to make a sarcastic-snorting sound that only ended up sounding like a frail squawk. "Baby?" His voice was weak and rough.

"You are my baby when you're sick." Pike couldn't help grinning. "And you're definitely sick."

"Am not." Henry pouted – sort of.

Pike ignored him. "Did you take anything for the fever?"

"No fever." Henry insisted. "I'm too cold to have a fever."

"Where do you feel sick? Is it your sinuses?" Pike asked so he could get Henry the right kind of medicine.

Henry shook his head. "Tummy. Haven't been able to keep anything in me all day."

"Oh." Pike's concern grew. "Nausea? Have you been throwing up? Or is the from the other end?"

Henry groaned. "I don't want to be having this conversation with my boyfriend."

Pike couldn't help the little chuckle from escaping. "Your boyfriend has intimate knowledge of your tail-end, Henry. We have the ruined sheets to prove it. I think it's okay to talk to me about diarrhea."

Henry pulled the afghan over his head and groaned again.

"I love you. So stop being stubborn and let me take care of you." Pike uncovered Henry's pale, sweaty face. "Today Bird said something about Maggie having the stomach flu. I bet that's what you have."

"Are you sure I'm not dying?" Henry finally allowed himself to act as pitiful as he felt.

Pike contemplated Henry's question for a minute while his fingers soothed along Henry's tummy. "Maybe."

"Funny." Henry rolled his eyes.

"Let's get some Tylenol in you for now and if you're still dying in the morning we'll go into Doc Porter's." Pike lifted the afghan and helped Henry sit up. "Okay?"

"Where are you taking me now?" Henry asked, genuinely confused from the light headedness that came from sitting up.

"Bed." Pike answered. "Let's go." When Henry fell back onto the couch, Pike realized Henry was much weaker than he appeared to be. He picked Henry up bridal style and carried him into their bedroom.

Henry protested the whole way. "Put me down."

"I carry you to bed all the time, Henry." Pike reminded.

"You throw me over your shoulder caveman style." Henry whined. "It's not the same. The only time a man should be carried to bed by another man is if the end result is frenzied, loud sex."

By the time Henry had made his point, he was lying in bed and Pike was working on the button and zipper of his pants. Once he had Henry stripped down to his tighty-whiteys, Henry's burst of energy had waned and he was no longer protesting. Pike pulled the covers over Henry's feverish body and kissed him gently on his hot forehead. "Stay awake long enough to take some Tylenol and drink some cold water."

"It'll go right through me." Henry mumbled.

"We'll take our chances." Pike insisted. "You need to stay hydrated."

Henry pulled the covers up to his chin and huffed loudly.

The sight of it sent Pike's heart soaring as he felt himself fall a little more in love with his adorable, mess of a boyfriend.

PRESENT

"Mmmmmmmmm." Pike buried his face into the back of Henry's neck while his arms wrapped around his lover's waist. "You smell good."

"You're delirious." Henry teased. "I smell like paint thinner."

"Well, since my lover is a painter, that would make the smell of paint thinner a bit of a turn on." Pike nipped the back of Henry's ear.

Henry tipped his head back to rest on Pike's shoulder. "We have a no-sex-while-the-store's-open-rule, remember?"

"Jim's closing up for me tonight." Pike whispered into Henry's neck. "So we'll be having lots of sex in a few hours. Lots and lots of sex."

Henry love this side of Pike. No one would guess how free and open Pike could be and Henry felt himself harden at the thought of it. He also felt that Pike was having a similar reaction as he pushed his ass into his lover's groin. "Pike…"

"I know." Pike put a tiny bit of space between them. "Just letting you know I'm getting off early tonight."

Henry giggled like a little girl.

Pike grinned. "What?"

"You said getting off." Henry shrugged and was really glad he wasn't actually looking at the man still standing behind him.

Pike trailed kisses along the side of Henry's face and changed the subject before they both got too worked up to stop themselves. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple of hours - I snuck in the back." Henry leaned against Pike again and sighed. "Do you like this one?"

"Yeah. I think I do." Pike rested his chin on Henry's shoulder and studied the half-finished painting. It was so different from anything he'd ever seen Henry do. "It's different from your usual style...but yeah, I like it."

"I'm not sure yet." Henry said. "It's just not going where I want it to go."

"It's dark. And I've never seen you use so much red before. It feels…when I look at it, I get this feeling of anger and fear. Mostly fear." Pike took a few more seconds to look at it. "What's the motivation?"

Henry ignored the question. "I can't decide if I like it or not."

"What's not to like?"

"It's just..." Henry sighed loudly. "I don't know."

"What is it, Henry?"

"It's about you, well - sort of - it's about what it felt like to be so close to losing the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me - that's you. I'm calling it Trepidation." Henry explained further. "It's about what it felt like the night I found you…that night."

Pike took his time to study the canvas more. "I can see it. There's a brightness to it up here..." He pointed to top left corner. "...and it gets darker as it moves over to the bottom here."

Henry nodded. "Like a dying star..."

Pike tightened his hold around Henry even more. "I'm right here, Henry. I didn't..."

"I know...but this is what it felt like that night."

"So what about it don't you like?"

Henry shrugged. "It's just not…I don't know. I wasn't angry that night – I was just scared out of my mind. I'm angry now and I think that's too prominent in this. I want less anger and more…terror." Henry explained.

"Oh." Pike breathed deeply to pull in the scent of his lover.

"I'm not sure...it should be...it's just not beautiful enough. It should be as beautiful as you are."

Pike kissed Henry's neck. "You want to talk about it?"

Henry shook his head and tried to stop himself from crying. "No."

"I'm sorry you were so scared, Henry." Pike wondered if they would ever really be free of it.

"In a way it's good that I can't get in touch with how it felt that night. I never want to feel that again." Henry turned in Pike's arms and kissed him. "Never."

Pike couldn't agree more, so he kissed Henry back with intensity. They kissed gratefully for what felt like days, until they heard the distinct sound of Jim clearing his throat from the doorway to Henry's studio.

"Sorry to interrupt you boys." Jim nervously wrung his hat in his hands. "But there's an officer of the law from Eureka out there to see you, Pike."

o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Fourteen?" Pike was shocked. "How…that's so young."

"Kids are getting into trouble younger and younger these days." The youngish looking officer explained. "One of them was only twelve."

"Oh." Pike stared at a spot on the floor. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "How many?"

"Five." He explained. "Apparently one of them ran off before the beating started."

"Oh."

"They're all from Eureka proper. They were spending the weekend with the uncle of the youngest boy. He had a pool or something. Lives right outside of Big Eden." He filled in a little more detail. "They said you scared them so they ganged up on you and beat you up until you passed out."

Henry flinched. He hated how easily it rolled off the young man's tongue. "Where are they now?"

The officer looked toward Henry. "We're holding them until the Juvenile Court judge has his rotation up here next week. They're being held in the county jail – away from the adult prisoners."

"What'll happen to them?" Pike asked. He almost sounded pained.

"None of them have been in trouble before. So they'll probably get community service or something." The officer explained. "I just wanted to inform you that they had been apprehended."

"Thank you." Henry spoke after a long pause on Pike's part. "Pike and I appreciate it."

"No problem. You all have a good afternoon."

As the officer turned to leave Pike finally found his voice. "Wait."

Every man in the room looked surprised. All eyes were on Pike.

"If they…when they get community service...can they do it here?" Pike asked.

Henry felt every muscle in his body clench when he heard the question.

The officer just looked confused. "You mean you want the punks that beat you to the point of hospitalization – that destroyed your property – to serve their term here?"

"Is that allowed?" Pike asked.

"No one has ever asked before. I don't really know." He said, still a looking a bit confused. "You sure about that?"

"No!" Henry interrupted. "He's absolutely NOT sure about that."

"Henry…" Pike tried to calm him down.

"No, Pike!" Henry wasn't to be calmed. "There's no way in hell those kids are getting within a mile of you!"

"We'll talk about this later." Pike ended the discussion between him and his lover before turning back to the officer. "Could you find out if it's possible? There's a lot to do around here and I could use the help."

Henry stomped off toward the back of the store without another word.

"I'll ask the judge and let you know." The officer said before turning to leave. "Have a good day gentlemen."

The guys just stood around looking at Pike for a few minutes before Jim spoke up. "You might want to go on back there and check on Henry."

Pike sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Yeah."

He found Henry standing in the kitchen leaning his weight on his hands braced against the counter. He was shaking.

"Henry." Pike wasn't sure what to say after that.

"I won't allow it." Henry's tone was ominous.

"It's not up to you, Henry."

Henry spun around. His face was streaked with tears. "The hell it isn't!" Henry yelled. "You're not the one…you didn't have to…NO!"

"I need to do this, Henry." Pike wasn't sure where to begin to explain. "It's…I just need to do this."

Henry charged at Pike until he was standing chest to chest. "You do whatever you need to do, Pike. But don't expect me to be here while you're doing it." With that said, Henry stormed out of the back door and slammed it closed behind him.

Henry didn't even know what he meant by it. He stewed over it for hours after he made his way home. Did he just break up with Pike? Was it an ultimatum that could lead to a break-up? Was it merely an empty threat? He just didn't know. The only thing he did know for sure was that he couldn't shake the feeling that either way he was losing Pike. He knew he could have handled it better, but at the time the only thing he could hear in his head was, no no no no no no no no...

He didn't want those boys anywhere near his Pike.

He paced around the house for over an hour before finally throwing himself onto the couch, burying his face in his hands, and crying for reasons he didn't fully understand.

TBC