Walter stood in the bathroom with his arms wrapped around himself, staring at the door as steam from the running shower began to fill the room. He knew Daniel had left out of respect. He knew he did not want Daniel to see him exposed. But then, he knew he did not want Daniel to leave. An old constricting panic of abandonment blossomed in his chest. He had not experienced that bygone feeling since he could count his age on one hand. He didn't want to be alone. A stab of shame quickly lanced his consciousness for being so weak.

He turned to see the mirror fogged over with condensation. At least he wouldn't have to look at himself. He bent to pick up Daniel's shirt and couldn't help himself from breathing in the fabric softener that effused from it. He folded it neatly atop the other clothes on the hamper. He shed his remaining clothes and stepped into the shower.

Though it was old, Daniel's brownstone had good water pressure and Walter tried to let the pounding jets erase him in their tumult. He was so tired. All of his recent emotional expression felt like wound debridement with a rusty soupspoon. He lost track of time as the water rained like hammers onto his scalp. He wanted it to rinse the canvas of his mind and leave only the blankness of apathy. He knew he'd have to stroke out to attain that kind of achievement but he'd settle for this illusion until then. He wrung his knobby fists into his scratchy eyes and sighed heavily as the steaming water struck his face. Maybe, if he lifted his head high enough, he could drown right here.

Daniel sat on the end of his bed with his forehead in his hand. He'd had a knock down drag out with Rorschach, gotten a shiner, gotten his friend back, found out that Rorschach was human after all, AND found out something the both of them hadn't expected all in one night. If ever there was a time to have a stiff drink like his father used to, now was it. He let his hand fall heavily as he sat up and continued the motion to flop back onto his bed linens.

He never was a heavy drinker to begin with and, shaking his head, he knew now wasn't the time to start. He was exhausted and needed a little time to reflect on what the hell just happened. It was just too much at one time. What the hell was he thinking back there? He's not homosexual. He didn't have a problem with the gay community but he just wasn't attracted to men. It didn't make sense. In fact, he was pretty sure that Laurie knew he had a crush on her. He fumbled over his words like an idiot in her presence and blushed like child. Yet, he had found himself responding to Rorschach. Had he lost his mind?

No, Dan was at heart a rational man and though he wasn't as astute as Adrian he was no slouch either. He was interested in Laurie but then he didn't know many men who weren't. Well, he corrected his thoughts, I know of one. He had dates in the past and did his share of double takes when a click of heels and a short skirt passed by. Somehow they never turned into anything lasting. The sex was good but he was never able to get interested in a deeper level even when he tried. Conversely lengthy diatribes on owl plumage seemed to guarantee him a one-way ticket to never having a second date. Maybe he should have read between the lines a little better. Rorschach always said that Dan was only interested in a pair of legs and breasts when he caught him staring at Laurie. Dan had brushed it off as the man's inherent loathing for the female sexuality.

Homosexual or not, what he experienced back there was real. It exhilarated him and thrilled him to be needed, TRULY and utterly NEEDED. Was this the key to his destiny as a mask? He truly relished the satisfaction of really making a difference and making things right. He loved saving people and protecting the weak. He did. He really and truly did. It flooded him with a sense of validation. Protecting the weak? He never considered Rorschach, of all people, weak. He often criticized him for acting like he was invincible. At heart, he had always harbored a soft spot for Rorschach. Somehow, he always knew that Rorschach wasn't invincible and he got the feeling that Rorschach had picked up on his inclination too. A fluttering in his stomach returned. Rorschach was a perennial outcast even among the masks but he continued to tolerate Dan in ways that would earn other people hospital stays. Yes, he did feel like he was responsible for Rorschach. No, that wasn't quite it. He was, in the sense that he was forever apologizing to law enforcement, defending him against Laurie's insults when he wasn't around to defend himself, and vouching for his sanity when the rest of the masks doubted it. But there was something else there. Rorschach was a wreck but he was Daniel's wreck. Was that right? His belly fluttered warmly as he listened to the shower in the bathroom. Yes, it was right. He felt like a brother but still, there was something else there. Dan closed his eyes. He allowed the big question a place in his mind, Is this what I want? He knew it would not be easy. He knew it would not be "normal." Exactly what is normal, his brain supplied. He knew in the pit of his gut, yes. This is what I want and no, it is not just an impulse. He wanted to take care of Rorschach. He always had. He pressed his fingers against his watering eyes.

He rose from the bed in the dark room and went to his dresser to find the smallest set of pajamas he owned. He knew they would be too big anyway.