I own nothing.

I apologize for the wait. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me.

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By now Rorschach had been stripped of his mask in front of Daniel, but this was the first time Daniel had ever removed it.

For years he had worked toward revealing the man, but no hope was hidden underneath the mask now. Dan knew what was under the shifting black and white, and thought he was immune to the shock of an actual face, but now he wasn't so sure.

With both hands now he was raising Rorschach's mask. Raising the dead. He cringed, and leaned in closer. He wanted so much to be near this man, needed to be closer to him. This need kept him moving when he thought his heart had stopped. His eyes were fixed on trembling chapped lips. With a swift movement he removed the rest of the mask, which had been catching on long dormant facial features.

Daniel's hands slid to the back of Rorschach's skull, still clutching the mask. Rorschach was flinching uncontrollably, and Dan held his head in place as he examined him. His eyes darted over his features, trying so hard not to rush. What the hell was he doing?

Rorschach's ginger hair had been recently butchered, cut back to it's acceptable length, but with ignored patches that stuck out at strange angles. Daniel was so close to him now that his quick shallow breaths fluttered the front lick of hair. Rorschach's forehead was creased with long running folds as his eyebrows jumped and furrowed. Daniel felt as though his time was dwindling, that complacency brought on by surprise would only get him so far.

Daniel forced his eyes shut and blindly pressed his mouth against Rorschach's. As his lips slid over the other man's they were snagged by dry cracked skin. After the connection he hovered, breathing through barely parted lips. Rorschach's lips had remained open the whole time, not moving, never moving.

He was breathing in Daniel's discarded breath.

This was not right. His heart had clenched, as Daniel kissed him. Rorschach's mind was raging, and the tone it was screeching in drowned out any weakness he had. He pulled away roughly, attempting to draw away from the experience. In this moment he hated Daniel more than ever, but not more than he hated himself.

Rorschach slid along the edge of the counter away from Dan. He was growling and his hands were gripping the jutting counter, holding himself back.

Daniel's eyes opened again, and saw the aftermath of what he had done. He straightened and turned his body slightly to follow Rorschach's retreat. Over the months Rorschach had been drifting away, not showing up for weeks at a time. Daniel felt a dull panic to watch it happen. His hands were at his sides, and in one he clutched the mask. Remembering what he was holding he gripped it harder. Both he and Rorschach looked down at his hand.

"Give back my face," Rorschach said with trembling force.

Daniel took an uncertain step. Every movement he was making, from moving toward Rorschach, to breathing, was questioned.
The tragic circumstances that had brought them together loomed over every decision. Both had suffered from the past, and Daniel wished something other than pain connected them. Was it so wrong to want happiness? The whole world was allowed to pretend, but Rorschach and Daniel couldn't forget their roles.

Was it so wrong?
He truly wanted to know.
Daniel pleaded with his eyes alone.

"Give back my face!" Rorschach roared.

Daniel looked back at the crumpled mask in his fist. His grief drowned Rorschach's rage against him.

He couldn't stop now, "No," Daniel said finally.

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His own heart had betrayed him

It was all so hard to believe, from Daniel's physical admission through a kiss, to his refusal to return Rorschach's mask. A return to normalcy. He had fully expected Daniel to relent, return his mask, perhaps even repent. He would have gone back out into the night, returning to Daniel eventually. But he wouldn't let it drop, chose to make this difficult. His heart was making this difficult.

Absolute rage filled Rorschach.

When brief words and vague understanding failed him...

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Rorschach was on Daniel now, and he was was being beaten into the linoleum floor. Most of the angry blows found his face, and his head pounded the floor repeatedly. Recovering from the shock of the attack Daniel defend himself. The mask and all sense forgotten, Daniel used his bulk to throw the smaller man off him. Without even thinking about it Daniel was now on Rorschach, punching anything he could reach. He felt no regret for his actions. He felt nothing.

Rorschach's fury drove him to twist and throw his fists up at Daniel's prone face again. His knuckles drove into Daniel's left eye and he reeled back. Clutching his face, Daniel rolled off Rorschach and sat against a cabinet. He awaited another assault that was sure to come. He slumped panting with his eyes shut, not wanting to know what would happen next. Moments passed where the only thing Daniel could hear was his own breathing, and his expectancy diminished. He cracked open his right eye, confused.

What he saw was Rorschach, crouched with his head hung low. He was panting raggedly, and Daniel watched as a long gob of saliva and blood fell from his mouth. They both must look beastly, but were beyond caring. Without looking up Rorschach slunk backwards to lean against his own cabinet and slumped.

Daniel continued to stare, his eye watering from the blow. Pressing his palm against it, he knew it would be a shiner. It continued to water, dripping lazily down his cheek. He was exhausted, disappointed with himself. Could he fix this? The backs of his hands rested on the floor and his head lolled back, pounding. He might as well.

"I love you," Daniel said around a moan.

He heard a sharp intake of breath before a raspy, "Shut Up"

Daniel smiled as he gathered his remaining energy. Somehow, he was going to crawl.