Archive of Our Own

One of the things Henry had learned in his career as a thief, perhaps a little later than strictly prudent, was that the light was NOT his friend. Robbing a bank in broad daylight had admittedly not been one of his best ideas, but the situation was made infinitely worse when Henry had carelessly jumped out of the safety of his dark bag into the open, where blinding lights had preceded painfully loud alarms blaring through the bank. That had been the most major mistake of his criminal career, and it had cascaded into a whole prison break.

After that, Henry became more generally aware, only performing major heists after the sun had set and avoiding lit areas whenever he could. And that worked out well for him; his next job, the theft of the Tunisian Diamond, went so much smoother as a result. He stayed in the shadows, crept passed everyone, and only had to crush one guy’s skull with the giant gem (And he was fine. Probably. Maybe. Henry never head anything about a murder, so he was probably fine) to get what he wanted. It was perhaps the smoothest job he’d ever done, and only cemented what he’d learned from the failed bank heist: the best way to work was to be silent and blend in with the shadows, avoiding the treacherous light that would expose him to the dangers of the world.

Of course, that was before he was kidnapped by the government to steal from one of the most notorious gangs in the criminal underground.

He hadn’t even been aware that the authorities had been onto him. One moment Henry had been crawling on to his brick of a mattress, prepared for another night of tossing and turning under his scratchy sheets and hoping to wake up at least a little refreshed, and the next he was rudely torn from slumber by bumps of air turbulence, hundreds of meters up above the ground, being stared down by a seasoned military captain and his (oddly familiar) angry subordinate.

“Well, well…” The captain’s smug tone was accentuated by a slight smirk. He stood straight and rigid with the type of arrogance only gotten by years of authority, and it made Henry clench his teeth. “Look who finally decided to wake up.”

Once Henry’s brain finally finished booting up, he immediately began scanning the interior of the metal beast he was trapped in the belly of. There wasn’t much he could take advantage of – from the window, Henry could see they were too high up for him to make it safely to the ground without a parachute, and there was no way he could get to one before getting shot up by one of the two government stooges with him-

No, not two. Three. Out of the corner of his eye Henry could see the pilot observing them from his place in the cockpit. He wasn’t slick at all, hastily averting his gaze when their eyes briefly met.

Honestly, in that moment Henry didn’t give a second thought to the oblivious government dog in the pilot’s seat. He was a constant presence, keeping the helicopter functional at jump-and-die altitudes, but his existence was ultimately overshadowed by the dark clouds of the Captain and the soldier hovering over him, briefing him on the Toppat Clan (like he didn’t already know about them) and blackmailing him into what could easily be the most dangerous job of his career. It wasn’t until the cloud parted, having dumped their obligations of stopping the Toppats onto the thief’s back, that he was exposed to the pilot for the first time.

“Charlie here will be bringing you close to the airship.” Announced the Captain with a wave of his arm, drawing attention to the totally not eavesdropping man in the cockpit. “The rest is up to you. Find a way to bring ‘em down, and you’ll be a free man.”

It took all of Henry’s self-control not to roll his eyes as the captain walked off, leaving the thief alone to contemplate his options.

“So, uh, how do you want me to bring you in?” The pilot asked, his nervous stutter betraying his neutral expression. “We have a grappling hook you could use…” It sounded simple enough, but Henry had enough bad luck with simple sounding things that he was immediately skeptical. “Or we could launch you over in a cannon – see, we have this ball, super-high tech-” Charlie paused, likely because he caught sight of the way Henry cringed at the idea. That sounded like a great way to make the Toppat Clan his enemy and, yeah, no thanks. “Or we could… uh, launch you over with a sticky hand?”

Okay, now he was just messing with Henry. The thief frowned at him, unamused, and Charlie seemed to finally get the hint.

“Or I can find another way of getting you in!” With that, Charlie spun around in his seat and began fiddling with some sort of tiny computer. It distracted him, but not enough to get him to stop talking. “Yeah, uh, no problem! I can do that… find another way in, no problem. Heh, it’s funny, after all the stuff you did, I’d have thought you’d be more of the ‘charge in, adrenaline rush’ kinda guy, you know?”

What, did this guy think he stole those things for fun? ...well, okay, it was fun, but that was only half the picture. He’d never afford his rent, otherwise. Henry huffed and crossed his arms, trying pretty damned hard to keep a neutral face.

Not hard enough it seemed, as the pilot flinched under his gaze. “Gee, sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I just thought, you know, since this was like your museum heist, you’d be totally into it! Breaking into a secure criminal base, no plan, no idea of the layout or any sort of time for planning, rushing headfirst into one of the most… notoriously, cunning criminal gangs in the country… with no real reward except us not arresting you. Oh.” He blinked, the false stoicism fading into something sadder. “Huh. We… really don’t come out as the good guys here, do we?” Charlie’s hands stilled, and his gaze broke away from the monitor to look back at Henry. “I’m sorry, dude.”

Henry found himself taken aback – the pilot’s eyes seemed to glow with sincerity, an odd emotion on his face. He looked… pitying? Or maybe guilty? It was hard to tell, but Henry felt his eyebrows skyrocket up in response. He’d said sorry… had anyone ever apologized to Henry in his life?

(That was the first time Charles Calvin would surprise Henry. The first, but far from the last.)

Before Henry could come up with any sort of proper response, Charlie turned away from Henry and picked up a headset, tossing it over at the unprepared thief. It was a tiny miracle that Henry didn’t fumble and drop it on the floor. A smile grew on the pilot’s face, warm and glowing unlike anything that had ever been directed at Henry. It was… confusing, to say the least. “But don’t worry, I’m gonna help you out! I’ve got all sorts of cool gadgets on this thing, like a gravity manipulator…” He gestured to a pair of blue buttons. “A missile launcher… I’m not even sure what this thing is-”

“Charlie.” The Captain spoke up, his tone commanding and rigged. “Do we need to go over the definition of the word ‘classified’ again?”

A bashful blush covered the pilot’s face, and he swiftly turned back to the tiny computer, “Sorry, Capt’n. Well, uh, anyways, it looks like the computer found a maintenance hatch on top of the Airship. Seems pretty safe, I’ll swoop in and set you down. Once you’re inside, I’ll feed you any information you need.” And then he winked playfully, baffling Henry further. He did know Henry was a criminal, right? Why was he being so… weird? “And if you need any help, just let me know!”

Henry wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but thankfully he wasn’t given much time to contemplate before they swooped over the Airship to drop him off. Henry sighed, descended, and prepared for the worst mission of his life. Except… it wasn’t.

In fact, Henry would even say this mission had gone even smoother than the Diamond Job. He hadn’t had any time to prepare, but with Charles’ help that basically didn’t matter. He was forewarned of enemies up ahead, given more options for dealing with traps than he normally had, and even though Henry disliked speaking aloud, Charles was surprisingly patient with him. He’d suggest things, and wait for Henry to tap affirmatively on his headset before putting any of his plans into action.

(Henry also learned that the pilot generally went by ‘Charles’, not Charlie. At the time he hadn’t been sure why he’d fixated on this fact, since he didn’t think he’d see the pilot again after this. It wasn’t until later on in their relationship that he’d figure it out.)

Charles even managed to surprise Henry with the fact that the headphones he’d been carrying on him for the entire mission were, in fact, a secret weapon. Would have maybe been good to know he’d been carrying a force gun around the entire time, but man was it satisfying to finally fire it off, knocking those two Toppat goons out of the way before launching himself and the stolen intel back onto the helicopter. The force of crashing into the helicopter had nearly dislocated his shoulder, sure, but Henry couldn’t bring himself to be angry about the pain. Especially not when Charles had glanced over his shoulder to offer Henry a congratulatory thumbs up and a blinding smile that made Henry feel warmth wash over him, reaching into the pits of his stomach. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

Honestly, Henry hadn’t expected to have any communication with Charles after the mission, but the excitable pilot had shown up at Henry’s hotel room that night with the offer to buy Henry a souvenir and, well, how could Henry say no to a free gift? The day had ended with Henry having a new coat, a golden pin to match Charles’ silver, and an unlikely friend. A part of Henry nagged at himself for this; leaving his heart exposed to the light like this was dangerous. It would be so easy for Charles to leave him burned, or left out to dry. No person in Henry’s life; not his friends, not his peers, and certainly not his nebulous employers, had ever shown him even a bit of kindness, let alone the genuine compassion Charles radiated.

The longer they kept in contact, however, the more Charles’ optimistic warmth and hilarious antics gradually thawed the shadows encasing Henry’s heart. More and more often Henry would wake up to a cheerful ‘good morning :D’ text on his cell phone, and the weight on his shoulders as he continued struggling to find work was made just a little lighter. Charles would pop in at the most unexpected times, always with a smile and some new adventure to drag Henry into. It was Charles, pointing out how Henry was like a detective, that made him decide to follow the path of the private eye. Long, sleepless nights weren’t so dark and lonely when his phone would light up with another dumb meme, or a long text rant telling Henry about his day, or just a simple ‘Good night ;P’. Just seeing these, Henry would feel a faint warmth crawl from his chest, choking his throat as it traveled up, before pooling in his glowing red cheeks.

This was scary. This was dangerous.

If there was one thing more dangerous than the light, it was people. For as long as Henry could remember, people hadn’t liked him. He’d been alone all his life; no family, no friends. Peers and parents alike had thought him stupid as a child for not speaking, and his associates in the criminal world would all betray him at the drop of a hat. There was no reason to risk his heart by being friends with Charles. Why was he needlessly putting himself at risk of being burned? He should get rid of him. He should cut all ties and vanish into the void.

(But he couldn’t. Henry tried, but he just… couldn’t. The thought of being without the light Charles radiated gave him nightmares.)

It was a stormy afternoon when Henry figured it out. The winds were whistling as they carried the squall, encircling Henry’s home with dark clouds. The trees scratched at the walls of his building like claws, trying to burrow in, and Henry was shrouded in blankets, clutching his stomach. His organs felt knotted together, pulling painfully, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. Anxiety and insomnia were a wicked combination, and they’d tag-teamed him thoroughly.

The rent was due in one week, one cell of his brain screeched at him. You haven’t showered since Sunday, another howled. It was like every single cell was fixated on a different, terrible thing, and they were all competing to see who could yell about Henry’s problems the loudest. The thoughts swarmed like a cloud of bees, blotting out rational thought like the clouds outside blotted out the sun. The churning in his head made him dizzy, in turn churning his stomach, making Henry feel ill. His blankets were thin, and scratchy, and did little more than block out what little light could pierce through the clouds.

It was all his own fault, of course. The private detective business was actually treating Henry fairly well. A little too well. Having not really had stable work before, Henry didn’t think much of skipping a meal here, or missing a night of sleep there, but he hadn’t realized just how often he’d been doing these things until just this morning. The entire night he’d tossed and turned, trying to quiet his thoughts enough to sleep, but instead they only grew louder and louder, until he began to drown in the noise. By the time dawn rolled around, Henry had gotten maybe a few minutes of shut eye before another anxious thought would nag him awake.

His head was pounding, his heart beating hard against his chest as if trying to break out. There was so much to do, so many things to get done in so little time, but his body just… refused to move. Henry had always known he was weak, but he’d never believed he was this pathetic.

...pfft, who was he kidding? He’d always been a miserable pile of-

Knock, knock.

The sudden sound, piercing through the cloud of anxiety hanging over Henry’s head, brought with it a new wave of terror. Had one of his former buyers come by to ‘persuade’ him to come back to the business? Or maybe they’d taken a hit out on him? Or what if the government had suddenly turned their back on him and betrayed their deal-?!

“Henry?” The call of a now familiar voice gave Henry pause, stilling the swirling cognition of his mind with a single ray of light. It was Charles. What was he doing here? Another knock echoed through the apartment, accompanied by, “Henry, it’s me. Are you home?”

Pushing past the wall of blankets that trapped him in his bed, Henry considered his next actions. They spoke a lot, even hung out in public, but it was rare that Charles would be able to swing by Henry’s apartment and, honestly, that was the way Henry preferred it. His home was a dump, an embarrassment, he’s too lazy to even clean up after himself, too stupid to handle himself, too much of a slob to even shower, how could Charles ever want such a useless-?

Henry’s phone went off, jolting his thoughts to a halt. He never went anywhere without that thing in his pocket, so if Charles didn’t know he was home, he did now. God, what would he think when he saw Henry’s current state? Probably leave, make terrible jabs, insult Henry for failing in the most basic of necessities. He’d leave, and never come back and block Henry’s number, after all, how could anyone want to be friends with such a pathetic, miserable piece of criminal trash?

“Okay, Henry.” Charles called loudly. “I know you’re in there. You have until the count of three before I break your door down.” Oh Jesus. Henry sighed, pulled his blanket around his shoulders like a cape, and lumbered over to the door. “One… Two… Three!” Henry opened the door, just in time for Charles to charge through, trip on the uneven carpeting, and splat down onto the floor with a loud thud.

Well, that was a noise complaint.

“Aw, geez…” Charles moaned as he picked himself up off the ground. “Way to catch a guy off guard, Hen.” The simple nickname caused the increasingly familiar warmth to flutter in his chest, like butterflies swarming in his chest. Then Charles looked up, and the warmth sunk down to his stomach, going hard and cold like a stone. “Whoa, what happened to you?”

Instead of signing his response, Henry only pulled the blanket tighter around himself. God, what a mess he must look. Now that Charles had seen this, he’d probably turn around and walk out that door and never come anywhere near Henry ever again, just like he deserved. Shame washed over Henry; what was he thinking, stepping out of the shadows for this one person? He knew this would happen, he knew, why would he do this to himself?

“Easy, easy!” Henry hadn’t even realized he’d been swaying in place, not until Charles leapt forward and caught him before he could hit the floor. His hand was warm as it came to rest on Henry’s forehead, and he couldn’t help but lean into the touch. It was soft and pleasant, like Charles himself. “Aw, geez, it looks like you’ve got a fever man. I keep telling you to take better care of yourself.”

That was true. Many times Charles had nagged Henry to spend more time in his bed and less at his desk, to eat something other than instant food and coffee. Henry hadn’t listened; another reason Charles should just dump him then and there.

Before Henry could even finish lifting his hands to respond, Charles had one arm wrapped around his shoulders, another hooked around his knees, and was lifting Henry up into his arms. Instinctively Henry latched his arms around Charles’ neck, staring down at the unforgiving ground uneasily. “Don’t you worry, buddy. I’ve got your back.”

This dragged Henry’s gaze from the floor to Charles’ face, where he was greeted by a brilliant smile and gorgeous green eyes. They were intense, brilliant and glowing with ferocious determination, but they also radiated warmth and affection the likes Henry had never known before. The warmth seemed to spread, and suddenly the cold winds in his head and outside his home weren’t quite so loud anymore.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay.” Charles’ voice was gentler than Henry had ever heard it be before. The pilot kept cooing reassurances at his sick friend, and Henry was so baffled and enraptured that he barely even noticed they were moving until he was once again set on his bed. Never once did those kind eyes waver. “See? You’re just fine. Ick, but this apartment isn’t though. You focus on getting some rest, I’m gonna see if I can spruce this place up a bit. Is that mold on that plate? No wonder you’re getting sick.”

Charles stepped away from his bed, and cold flooded the absent space where he’d once been. Henry’s stomach turned again. He knew Charles wasn’t leaving him, he knew that, but he still couldn’t help but jolt up into a sitting position, catching Charles’ hand in his own. Instantly Charles turned back towards Henry, surprise and concern on his face.

And before Henry knew it, he was speaking aloud for the first time in years. “...don’t go…”

Charles’ eyebrows shot up, but other than that his expression didn’t change. His hand, still locked tight in Henry’s grip, adjusted to clasp Henry’s hand back. The bed made a slight creaking noise as Charles sat next to him. “Hey, it’s okay. I know you’re not feeling well, I’m not going anywhere, alright?” And then he did something Henry hadn’t expected; he reached over with his free arm and pulled Henry so close he could tuck the other’s head under his chin. “I’m not just going to leave you hanging, okay buddy? I’m gonna be right here as long as you need me.”

He pulled back, the light from the kitchen (had Charles turned that on?) encircling his body, giving Charles a warm, pleasant glow to match his sunny disposition. As he pushed Henry to lay down in the bed, with firm instructions to, “Get some goddamned rest.” He smiled, uplifting and friendly and… pretty.

And Henry understood.

Befriending Charles had, at first, been because he’d found the other funny and easy to talk to, but as it had gone on longer Henry had begun to feel this pull. He’d worry if too much time went by between responses from the pilot, and days where they’d meet up would cause a fuzzy feeling of anticipation in his head and heart throughout the entire day. Charles radiated warmth and cheerfulness and kindness like he was the sun, and Henry was Icarus. He’d flown too close, and now he was falling, faster and faster. And he didn’t know when he’d stop, or if he’d crash… or be caught.

Naturally, this revelation freaked Henry the fuck out. The only mercy the universe gave him that day was that Charles was too busy cleaning up his mess and cooking him soup (damn good soup, too) to notice the minor panic attack Henry was having under the sheets of his bed.

Charles also bought him a brand new linen set, soft and comfortable, and that didn’t exactly make things easier.

This new revelation had caught Henry off guard. Crushes and romance were as foreign to him as the straight and narrow had been just a few months prior. It was hard to tell what to make of these new emotions flooding to brain. Henry would have to take some time to process his thoughts, really think through what a relationship with Charles would look like… what he’d even want or get out of it… if Charles would even be interested in a petty, dirty thief like him. He should step back to think this through before he did anything. That was his plan, anyways.

Three days later, Henry got kidnapped.

“Ah, hello Henry. Welcome… to the Wall.”

Henry was blinded when he awoke, light assaulting him from the front. Unlike Charles’ gentle sunshine, this light was harsh and blaring, like headlights barreling towards you in the middle of the night. He attempted to shift, to move away into the comforting safety of the shadows, but found he couldn’t. His hands were sealed together behind his back, and the second Henry realized this his heart leapt into his throat. How the hell did this happen? Was he careless? Did he screw up?

...was letting Charles in the wrong move after all? Had his kindness been a cover for an inferno that would burn Henry’s tender heart?

Disregarding Henry’s obvious struggling, the gray old man in front of him continued. “Some of the most cunning and notorious criminals are kept here. And now we have the infamous Henry Stickmin.” The gray man stalked over like a wolf circling its pray, leering down at Henry with a vicious smirk. Henry paused in his struggles, his shoulders aching as they instinctively flinched as the man entered his personal space. “You’re going to be here a long time.” He then glanced up, past Henry. “Grigori, take him away.”

Henry couldn’t even see the man that ripped him out of that cold, hard seat. One second he was out in the open, exposed under a harsh artificial light, and the next he was ripped away back into the darkness. The entirety of the Wall felt uncomfortably fake. The ceilings were lined with harsh fluorescent lights that flickered and swayed. The air was more cold than anything Henry had ever felt before, and the jacket Charles had bought him, one he always wore, was conspicuously missing. He shivered as the winds blew around him, staring at the ground to avoid the snarling glares he got from the Wall’s many guards. They stood in the shadows, hairs raised, posture stiff, teeth bared; just as rabid and vicious as the wolf leading their pack.

He only looked up once, to see the moon’s reflection glowing on the ocean waves, before being violently shoved forward. There was ice floating on the ocean’s surface, which only made the anxious sinking feeling in Henry’s stomach worse. Where the hell was he?

Grigori, the stoic watchdog, shoved Henry into an empty, decrepit little room labeled ‘processing’, directing Henry to stand next to some red-headed girl with one simple instruction: “You wait here,” His brow was wrinkled with perpetual stress, “until cell found.”

With those simple words, Grigori stalked away to stand sentry at the doorway, leaving Henry to his own devices. Despite his nerves, a familiar sense of giddiness washed over Henry. Being a PI was nice and all, but this? This was where he shined. The biggest mistake the Wall would ever make was leaving Henry Stickmin unsupervised. Now, how to escape…?

With the eyes of an owl, Henry studied his surroundings. There wasn’t much to go with. The room was bare and dilapidated, with not a single thing to use as a weapon. With the tight, chafing iron clasped around his hands (preventing them from moving or signing or feeling, cutting him off from the world, tied like a stupid animal who can’t even talk-), hitting someone could really pack a punch, but could Henry really make it past the wolf-eyed guards patrolling the hallway? Or if he played dead- no, that was a terrible idea. That would just get him sent to the garbage chute to the morgue, which probably wouldn’t improve his situation any. Maybe he should just wait until they transferred him before-

Oh? What was that? Some sort of maintenance hatch just above his head. Well, Henry mused with a smirk, what a lucky coincidence. The problem was getting up there. There wasn’t exactly any ladders Henry could get his hands on-

Hang on. There was a girl sitting next to him, wasn’t there? Henry’s eyes trailed over to her. She sat in a slump, posture defeated, her vibrant red hair falling into her face. She was clothed in a tunic and leggings, and while she didn’t shiver in the cold as Henry did, her breath turned to fog in the air. He tried to get her attention, first by clearing his throat, then with a loud shivering sound that Grigori, thankfully, didn’t take notice of. The red-haired girl shifted her gaze up towards Henry, a dull amethyst colour shrouded with suspicion. Without delay, Henry tossed his head in the direction of the hatch, and the girl’s gaze followed. Suddenly her eyes seemed to brighten, becoming a vibrant violet colour as her hope was renewed. She gave Henry a short nod, and the game was afoot.

While the tight, restricting, terrible metal handcuffs made it difficult for the girl to perform any kind of toss, let alone a subtle one, she gave Henry the lift he needed to hook on to a pipe right next to the maintenance hatch. From there, opening the hatch was as easy as grabbing the handle with his foot and nimbly slipping inside.

Naturally, the first thing Henry did was free his hands. His wrists were sore from the cuffs clamping down on them, but he was hard pressed to care about that when he could finally feel the world around him. Henry flexed his fingers, stretching them out after being confined for so long, before looking down the long shaft he was in. All Henry had to do was-

Hold it, said a voice in his head, and Henry groaned. That had started happening sometime after the Airship mission. Anytime he thought about doing something totally cool and useful but not morally kosher, it popped up and snapped at him until he inevitably did the right thing. She helped you escape. Are you just going to leave her there?

Well, Henry argued back, this was a prison. Regardless of if she helped him, Henry didn’t know if he could trust her. What if she blew him off or screwed him over later for her own freedom? In the criminal world, you couldn’t – no, shouldn’t – trust anybody.

Well, you’re here, so clearly the warden isn’t basing his little collection on anything legal, pointed out that annoying voice, for all you know she deserves to be here just as much as you do. And besides, wouldn’t Charles go back for her?

And Henry sighed, because that was always the argument that got him.

Unhooking the ladder, Henry silently descended back into the room, tossing the red-haired girl a smile as he did. She blinked, and then returned it, her eyes shining with gratitude that made Henry feel a touch guilty for his earlier conundrum. With both hands free, it was easy for him to toss her up into the vent, and Henry quickly followed, retracting the ladder and closing the hatch as he did. Behind him, a clang, clang, clang told Henry that the girl was getting her handcuffs off just fine on her own.

“Thanks.” She said, the tension in her body slowly fading as she rubbed at her red wrists. Henry nodded in acknowledgment. “My name is Ellie. What’s yours?”

Without thinking, Henry lifted his hands, and managed to sign the first three letters of his name before remembering that most people didn’t understand ASL. Whoops.

Lucky for him, though, Ellie only smiled patiently and signed back. “DO NOT WORRY. KNOW A LITTLE ASL. THOUGHT IT WOULD BE USEFUL.” She winked. “I WAS RIGHT.”

Something in Henry felt a little lighter at the simple words. Most people, knowing that Henry could hear them, often made demands that he speak aloud, and Henry had always steadfast refused. All his life, his selective mutism had been an obstacle, one everyone framed as something he had to overcome. Even with Charles, who’d been sweet with him and was slowly learning to sign, they still had to communicate with a phone or by writing. It was nice to be able to just… talk to someone for once.

He completed his introduction, and the two silently crept along the vents, using ASL to hold a conversation as they did. Ellie, he learned, had once run with a dangerous criminal gang, too far to the north for Henry to have ever heard of them, and they’d betrayed her and left her to the mercy of the Wall when their last job went wrong. Despite this betrayal, Ellie was perfectly pleasant and friendly, and while a part of Henry was still wary, she did a nice job of keeping his fears at bay.

“GOT TO ASK.” He signed. “WHY HELP ME WHEN YOU COULD HAVE BEEN BETRAYED AGAIN?”

Something dark crossed her face for a split second, dulling her eyes to a palatine purple, and she took a calming breath. “HAD TO TRY. THAT OR BE STUCK HERE. AND I CAN’T LET THEM WIN.” Her brow furrowed. “WANTED TO BREAK ME. TO DRAG ME DOWN UNTIL I WAS JUST LIKE THEM. NOT GONNA HAPPEN.”

So, even when the darkness surrounded her, Ellie remained strong and loyal, a single ray of hope in a light polluted night sky. They could just be words, of course, but something in Ellie’s eyes told Henry that it wasn’t so. She seemed firm, and resolute. Strong and brilliant, even as she embraced the night.

Henry shook those thoughts out of his head, and they continued onward.

At the other end of the hatch was what appeared to be some sort of storage room. There were boxes strewn about, oddly untidy for such an otherwise organized place, and Henry and Ellie took advantage of that to duck under one of the boxes. There were two guards stationed here. They needed to act fast.

“I CAN CREATE DIVERSION.” Henry suggested. “YOU KNOCK THEM OUT?”

Ellie mulled this over. “NICE IDEA.” She signed back. “BUT WOULD PUT YOU AT RISK. NO WAY.”

Oh. She was… concerned about him? The thought caused a wave of warmth to rush through Henry. Before this, only Charles had ever shown genuine concern for Henry’s well-being. It was nice to hear that someone else cared as well, even if they’d just met.

Well, since they were on a streak of working well together, Henry grinned and signed back to Ellie, “OKAY. THEN WE TAKE THEM DOWN TOGETHER. I GET LEFT. YOU GET RIGHT.” She nodded, and they rolled out. Ellie’s footsteps were soft and practiced. How much experience did she have in the art of thievery? Regardless, they both pressed against the walls, waiting for the time to strike, then muzzled the guard wolves, knocking them out and resting them in a… relatively safe spot.

“Okay, we’re clear.” Ellie spoke aloud, her eyes narrowing like a cat on the hunt as she scanned the hallway ahead. “Nice job back there. You used to this?”

With a sheepish smile, Henry signed, “YOU COULD SAY THAT.”

“Well, it’s nice working with you. For once I don’t feel like a baby sitter.” Ellie laughed sweetly, a sound that echoed through the room like the chirping of crickets in a quiet forest. Henry found himself mirroring her smile. Despite his earlier doubts, he liked this girl. She was calm and serene, and Henry found himself perfectly at ease around her. Even though they were still trapped in the Wall, he didn’t feel afraid at all anymore. With Ellie guiding the way, Henry was sure he could find his way home. “So,” Continued the woman, brushing her hair out of her face, “ready to get out of here?”

“HELL YES.” Henry signed, then paused as he noticed a sign nearby. It said Confiscated Items. “JUST AS SOON AS I GET SOMETHING…”

One coat rescue, one story, and one massive prison break later, and Henry and Ellie had managed to make it to the Wall’s courtyard relatively unscathed. With his favourite jacket on and Ellie’s hand in his own, the cold winds that blew through the night didn’t seem quite so bad. What was bad was the chaotic riot that stood between them and sweet freedom. The guards ferociously pounced at prisoners, guns and smoke and fists flying haphazardly in every direction. They could barely see the gate over the havoc.

“We’re so close…” Ellie murmured, her voice only a whisper over the fighting and the harsh winds. “Just have to get over that gate, and we’re free! We can do it!” Her hand squeezed around Henry’s; strong, tight, reassuring. One guiding ray of hope over the cloud of chaos ahead of them.

Reluctantly, the two released hands, and they made a break for it. Henry sprinted as quickly as he could, leaping past prisoners, trying to get to the gate. So close, they were so close-!

“Henry!” The sudden call from his partner, much farther than it should have been, shocked Henry into pausing. He spun around, and Ellie’s lavender eyes were clouded with fear as Grigori’s claws dug into her wrists, much too firm for her to escape on her own.

He growled at her struggles, “Back to your cell, inmate.”

There was no time to think. Henry had to act, and fast! Could he hit that guy without hitting Ellie?! It was risky… if he was just a little faster, he could just nab her and be off…

Ellie stared at him, brilliant purple swirling as she silently pleaded for help. A sense of resolute calmness washed over Henry. He could do this. He could save her.

Now that he was calmer, Henry noticed something he hadn’t before in the midst of the chaos – vehicles, running wild through the courtyard. Henry couldn’t tell if the drivers were guard or prisoner, but it hardly mattered. They were clearly out of control.

They were heading right for them. All Henry had to do was draw his attention…

“What?” Grigori barked inquisitively, his grip on Ellie tightening. The girl herself stared flatly at Henry, plum coloured eyes flat and unimpressed. “You think that will upset me? Oh, very mat-”

That was the last thing Grigori said before being bulldozed by a stampeding truck. Ellie, thankfully, remained untouched.

With the guard dog out of the way, she bolted over to Henry fast. “Thanks… I guess?” Henry only granted her a small smirk in response. “Now, let’s get out of here!”

They had plenty of options for escape at this point, and Henry didn’t trust a single one of them. A truck like that? Too slow and conspicuous for a good get away. Going under the fence? Makes it easier to hide, but on foot they’d be incredibly slow. Even with his coat, Henry knew just how easy it would be for the two of them to freeze to death. Maybe they could steal a tank? Henry’d always wanted a tank-

“I see it!” Ellie shouted, her surprisingly soft hands pushing Henry to look eastward. At first he couldn’t see it, but a thief’s master eye couldn't be fooled for long, and he quickly spotted the motorcycle buried under the snow. It was fast, easy to hide… it was perfect. Henry didn’t know how to drive it though, and asked Ellie through ASL if she did, to which she smirked. “Oh, you’ll find out.”

That was… hardly reassuring.

They raced past the roaring crowd of rioters, this time running hand in hand. Henry’s lungs burned with the exertion, and his eyes burned with the force of the bitter winds. The fierce, cold artificial lights bore down on Henry’s skull, bringing with it all the irritation of eyes on the back of his head. He squeezed Ellie’s hand as they ran, and her reassuring squeeze back calmed his racing heart. She was a soothing light in the dark cloud of chaos that covered the Wall.

Henry broke free to pull the bike out of the snow. That was a mistake. No sooner had Henry dug it out and stood it up that he was pounced upon by the warden himself. His eyes burned with a hate Henry had never seen before, his teeth bared, his pupils blown up with rage. The sharp claws of his nails dug into Henry’s flesh as he pinned the ex-con down. Henry tried to focus on breathing. He looked around, desperate for help, but the moon had disappeared behind the clouds, and Ellie had ridden off without him.

No… why had Henry thought he could trust her? Why did he listen to his gut?!

“Well, if it isn’t Henry.” The warden snarled. “There has not been an incident here in fifty years. And the day you show up, THIS happens.”

The vicious man looked ready to lunge forth and tear his throat out at any point, and Henry winced away, staring up. The clouds covering the moon shifted, exposing him to its comforting light one final time.

“You are going to regret every- huh?”

The warden went flying as a stop sign collided with his face, soaring amazingly high into the air before crashing down onto the hard, crunchy snow. A pink stain in the snow nearby revealed that at least one of his teeth had fallen out. Gross.

Henry was given a moment to just breath before Ellie’s hand reached out to him, her lips curled into a genuine smile. Her eyes shimmered in the moonlight. Awe washed over Henry at the sight of her. She hadn’t abandoned him. She’d come back for him.

She was breathtaking.

Without wasting a second more, Henry grabbed Ellie’s hand and let her pull him up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and off they went. Success!

“Woohoo!” Ellie cheered as they sped off into the distance. The move above them lit their path through the rough, snowy forests. “We made it! We’re free! Way to go, Henry!” She couldn’t glance back, not when she had to focus on the road, but Henry could imagine the same dimply smile on her face. Once they were a fair distance away she brought them to a stop. “Question is… what now?”

Well, Henry did have a best friend with a helicopter, and he signed this to Ellie. “WORKED WITH HIM ON A PREVIOUS JOB. GOOD GUY. TRUSTWORTHY. HE’LL COME FOR US.”

“You’re sure?” Ellie asked, her tone serious.

Many months ago Henry would have doubted himself, but being exposed to Charles’ light for so long had thawed his heart, and he smiled wistfully as he responded. “I PROMISE.”

“Well, I’ll trust your judgment. We’ll go until we find a town, and you can call your buddy to come get us.” Ellie sighed, leaning back against their bike as she took a moment to just… relax. The moonlight reflected off of her, highlighting details Henry hadn’t noticed before. Cute dimples visible only when she smiled, a fondness in her eyes as she gazed at Henry. “Got to be honest here, for a second I was worried you would leave me behind.” Guilt prickled Henry’s skin like a cold breeze, but it didn’t last long before Ellie’s hand on his own drew his attention back to calm and sweet lavender eyes. “But I’m so glad I stuck by you. You’re… actually really cool, Henry.”

A familiar warmth bloomed in Henry’s chest, and he froze. This… this wasn’t quite the same warmth as Charles gave him. It was calmer, less intense. He wasn’t overwhelmed with warmth, enraptured by intense emotion he’d never experienced before. Instead he felt soothed and safe, comfortable in the much softer, more understanding light she gave off. Ellie was the moon, a beacon of safety in a sea of darkness, the one natural beam of incandescence that could stand against the polluted lights of the world. And like Charles before her, she was pulling Henry out of the safe, cold, lonely shadows.

But of course, these emotions… they couldn’t both be love, could they? He’d just met Ellie, and he could already tell what he felt for her wasn’t quite as strong as what he felt for Charles just yet, but did that mean it was less valuable? Were either of them even love? Henry had never thought he’d have any interest in romance, but the pilot whose brilliant light inspired him and the kindred spirit whose gentle glow had been a beacon of hope in the darkest night… they both had him thinking things he knew impossible. A happiness that wasn’t meant for rats like him that scurried in the dark.

“Alright, I think I’m ready to go.” Announced Ellie, breaking Henry away from his thoughts. She stepped closer, following his gaze up to the sky. “Heh, you know, once you get away from the Wall it’s actually really pretty out here. The moon is beautiful tonight.”

Henry smiled and nodded, and the two hopped back onto her motorcycle.

Well, Henry mused as they zoomed along the trail, it would probably work itself out. He had more than enough time to work out his feelings, and besides, it wasn’t like you could be in love with two people at once. Everything would be just fine.

Henry was in love with two people at once, and everything was not fine.

Sure, it started out great. Charles had come to pick them both up, practically bowling Henry over with the force of his hug, and had regretfully informed the duo that this pick-up wasn’t exactly free of charge. Well, that was just fine. Detective work was nice and all, but these missions were where Henry really thrived. And teamwork, while not something he had years and years of experience in like thievery, was a subject Henry turned out to be a natural in, and with Charles and Ellie by his side, the three of them launched what remained of the Toppat Clan into the Wall (a bone, if you would, for those vicious wolves) and saved the day yet again. The awards ceremony that followed was dull, but it did make Henry feel good to have a shiny medal placed around his neck, and the after party was much less boring than what he’d expected from a bunch of government goons.

Ellie, as it turned out, didn’t have anywhere to go after the betrayal of her former teammates, so Henry was more than happy to offer her a place in his detective agency, and Charles helped her find a place to stay. It certainly put a more lively spin on his work, having Ellie to bounce ideas off of. At first Henry worried they’d get sick of each other, working together every single day, but that quickly proved not to be the case. The pair of ex-convicts were alike in the ways that mattered, but still different enough that things never got dull. And the longer Henry spent with Ellie, the more the warmth she caused inside of him spread, until it was just as strong as the warmth caused by Charles.

Speaking of Charles, things with them didn’t change too much at first, except that Ellie was now their official third clique member. Several weeks after Ellie had made their duo a trio, Charles joined them for a breakfast outing with a box containing two heart-shaped hair pieces.

“Henry and I have our matching pins,” Charles pointed out, gently resting a finger on the silver badge he worse on his vest. When they were on base, Henry would hear other soldiers gossip about how he never took it off, even while he stored his other mission souvenirs away, and the thought made Henry’s heart leap. “And you and Henry have those matching snowflake patches.” Subconsciously, Henry’s hand reached over to brush the little blue snowflake. Ellie had made them a matching set while they’d waited for Charles after hearing Henry’s story about how he’d gotten his coat, and Henry had gladly helped her sew them into his jacket and her purse bag. “So I figured, since we’re friends now, we need an ‘us’ thing too.”

Ellie took the box, carefully inspecting the two hair clips inside, made up of a simple silver metal and an unknown pink crystal. She smiled her sweet dimply simple and immediately used one to clip back her bangs. Charles took the other and attached it to his sleeve.

“Wow, Charles.” Ellie smiled and rubbed at the little gem heart with her thumb. “This is so nice. You didn’t have to do this for me.”

“Aw, it’s no sweat.” Charles leaned back in his chair, smiling cheerfully at the woman. “You know I don’t just hang out with you for Henry’s sake. You’re super cool, Ellie. Besides,” His friendly smile transformed into a playful smirk. “You deserve a consolation prize, after how thoroughly I thrashed you in Street Fighter last night.”

Not once did Ellie lose her cool. Instead, she only turned up her nose and taunted back, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember. Was this before or after I ran circles around you in Mario Kart?”

The banter continued, and never once did either of Henry’s friends raise their voices, or even frown at the other. Ellie and Charles were night and day; calm where the other was excitable, thoughtful where the other was impulsive, but despite this they took to each other immediately. A part of Henry, the darkest part he buried in the corner of his mind, felt a little lonely when the two would begin bickering like this, since as a mute it wasn’t so easy for him to participate (he could if he’d just stop being so weak, so pathetic, you CAN talk, you’re just not trying-). But more than that, he felt relief that the two people who’d so quickly become so close to Henry got along so well.

(On the rare nights Henry slept soundly, he had dreams of the two of them holding him together, smiling at him. Ellie soft and serene, Charles bright and cheerful. He’d wake up those nights in a cold sweat, wondering what was wrong with him.)

For a while Henry was certain his feelings would fade over time, but the longer he spent basking in their presence, the stronger his infatuation grew. Sometimes Charles would smile, and Henry would go red from heat stroke, or Ellie would laugh, and her voice would echo in Henry’s ears like the song of the crickets in the night. And seeing them together, smiling and laughing and genuinely enjoying each other’s company, only fueled the outlandish fantasies that plagued Henry’s dreams, where he was just as important to Charles and Ellie as they were to him. Like the night and the day, the two had become invaluable to the function of his life; he couldn’t imagine being without his two partners.

Henry couldn’t lose them; he couldn’t go back to cowering in the darkness, praying that the pollution of the world around him was enough to drown him out. So he kept his feelings to himself, even as they grew stronger and stronger. The thought of exploding from the force of it was a constant thought on Henry’s mind. But the consequences… no. He’d sooner implode.

The only reprieve Henry got from the cloud of turmoil constantly hanging over him was the nights he’d spend alone in his apartment. There, in the dark, he was sheltered from the growing affection he’d developed towards his two friends, even if it accompanied bouts of loneliness and anxiety that left him with terrible insomnia. But it was fine. If it meant he’d be able to bury his feelings and keep them secret from his two companions, Henry even preferred it. As long as he could take the time to recuperate, his feelings would never get out.

Henry stared down at the strong bold letters of his eviction notice with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The trumped up laundry list of lease violations that accompanied it were a pathetic justification to get Henry out of there; the sorry truth of it was that the majority of other tenants in his building were also criminals, and while Henry hadn’t turned on them yet, with his new agency basically being sub-contracted by the government they probably figured it was only a matter of time. What kinds of pressures did they put on the landlord to pull this off?

It wasn’t important. Even before this place, Henry had a spotty renter’s history at best, and this just made things more complicated. The thing about moving was that thirty days sounded like a long time, but in fact the days flew by disturbingly quickly. At the end of week one, Henry had only managed to confuse himself looking at various listings. By week three, he’d seen a grand total of three apartments – all somehow in worse condition than his own. The other agents hadn’t even returned his calls.

Two days before he would become homeless, Ellie and Charles found out, and Henry learned that, despite his sunny disposition, Charles was perfectly capable of getting angry.

“What the actual hell Henry?” He screeched, rage blazing so hot that Henry had to resist the urge to flinch away from it. He merely kept his head down as Charles continued scolding him. “What, were you just going to not tell us?! Would we just find you dead of exposure in alley somewhere, and that’s how we’d learned you lost your home-?!”

Ellie’s hand came to rest on Charles’ shoulder, gentle and light like the evening summer’s breeze. “Hey, easy. Sometimes these things are just hard to talk about.” She turned gaze to Henry, and he gulped. Her anger was much less prominent than Charles, but even though she appeared serene, behind her the tides were raging. “Now, you want to tell us about this whole ‘homeless’ situation?”

Defeated, Henry raised his hands to explain himself, briefly summarizing the events before sighing heavily. “DID NOT MEAN TO KEEP IT SECRET. JUST…” He paused for a moment. Why hadn’t he told them? The thought of it had made Henry sick with worry, but why? Eventually he just signed, “DID NOT WANT TO BOTHER YOU.”

The rage on Charles’ face cooled, but the clearly hurt expression on his face was almost worse. “Henry…” A speechless Charles was about as rare as a meteor shower, but there he was, struggling to find the words to respond. “Dude, you shouldn’t worry about that. We’re your friends, we want to help you. You’re important to us. Important to me.” The lurch of Henry’s heart at those sweet, platonic words was expected. The way Charles avoided his gaze, a slight pink blush highlighting the freckles scattered across his cheeks, was not.

(He’s probably just embarrassed he has to explain this to you, you black hole of common sense-)

Ellie’s arms were looped around Henry’s shoulders before he could even begin to think of a proper response. She hung off his back like a cape, and Henry tried not to think about how perfectly her head fit into the crook of his neck, or how she was close enough to feel his heart beating in his chest.

“Seriously. You drag us off on life-threatening adventures every other week, you can ask to crash on my couch, man. I wouldn’t mind having you around more often.” Ellie smiled up at him, and Henry could see her dimples, a once in a blue moon rarity. Both he and Charles had very quickly learned that her biggest, most genuine smile was reserved for only the people she trusted – for only them.

“Hey, here’s a crazy thought.” Charles, never one to be left out of a hug, quickly moved to Henry’s side and pulled him closer by the waist. Ellie adjusted herself to stand by his other side, keeping one arm wrapped around Henry’s shoulders. They both listened breathlessly as Charles proclaimed, “Why don’t we all just move in together?”

If you listened closely, you could hear Henry’s train of thought crashing at the station.

Living together. Him and his two crushes, the best friends he’d live and die for, under one roof. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. No time to bury his thoughts, no time to cool down between meetings, no darkness to retreat into. A part of him reveled in the prospect. Another was screaming in horror as it squished all the scenarios of everything that could go wrong into a single second of time. Could Henry even survive that? What if he let something slip? What if he started acting weird, and couldn’t retreat, and Ellie and Charles noticed?

“I mean, we basically spend all our time together already, why not?” Perhaps Henry’s anxieties had made themselves known on his face, or perhaps he’d simply gone stiff, but all of a sudden Charles’ confident expressions wavered. “I mean, we don’t have to… but, well, Ellie’s on a month by month lease, anyways, and you guys are subcontracted by us so much, and since I’m the only one who works with you… it, uh, it makes sense, work-wise. And, uh… I just, I wanna be around you guys more.”

The crestfallen look on Charles’ face made Henry kick himself. His stupid feelings were already ruining everything. Just a second ago Charles had been shining so brightly, and Henry had rained on his parade and ruined everything like always.

Without thinking, Henry reached forward and grasped Charles’ hand in his own. Ellie moved to stand between the two men, using their shoulders as elbow rests. Casual touching was something Henry never thought he’d be okay with, but he’d grown accustomed to it distressingly quickly, to the point where he’d begun initiating more often than not. Ellie had called him ‘touch-starved’ once, and Henry wondered more than once if she was right. After being alone for so much of his life, Henry felt the need to reach out, to try and spread his own light, even if it paled to Charles and Ellie’s.

“Well, I think it’s a great idea.” Their red-headed friend piped in. Her eyes drifted towards Henry; the shadows cast by her bangs making them look as dark as the waning moon. “Don’t you, Hen?”

This was why the light was dangerous. It was pulling him further and further out of the safe shadows, and Henry couldn’t say no. Not with Ellie and Charles staring at him with such hope in their eyes. And, if Henry was being honest with himself, he wanted it to. The time they spent apart helped him push his feelings down, but it was filled with loneliness and longing, doubt and distress. What had attracted Henry to their light in the first place was the revelation that stepping into the light washed away these feelings. Despite the attraction he’d developed, Henry didn’t truly want to drown alone in the dark anymore. And as long as he was careful, everything would work out fine, right?

So Henry signed to them, “IF YOU SNORE, I WILL SMOTHER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP,” and sealed his fate.

Ever since he was a child, Henry had loved the stars.

One of his earliest memories was being awake in his bed, trying his damnedest not to listen to his parents in the next room talk about what to do with ‘that strange boy’, and staring out the window. There were few things Henry had appreciated about his childhood; one of them was that he’d grown up far enough away from the city that just outside his window he could see a field of stars spread across the sky. In school, Henry had learned about stars. They were balls of gas and fire that were so far away it would be impossible to reach them, but they glowed so brightly that humans could still see them from trillions and trillions of miles away.

Henry wished he could be trillions of miles away.

Supposedly, if you made a wish upon a star, then your dreams would come true. Henry had heard this in movies ever since he was young, so every night he wished for something else he wanted: the ability to speak so he wouldn’t be so isolated; to be far, far away from his home; to be able to have shiny things and fancy things and all the other things he wanted. Sometimes, Henry would even get brave enough to wish for the impossible: for someone to like him, for him, without having to change.

It quickly became very apparent to Henry that wishes on stars meant nothing. The stars were bright and beautiful, but they sat in an empty, uncaring universe. An insignificant, pitiful thing like Henry was nothing compared to the splendid beauty of the cosmos as a whole. It was easy to believe that he, like a single star in the canvas of the sky, didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. After all, who would notice – who would care – if a single star went out?

So Henry decided, after fourteen years of being treated like a nuisance through no fault of his own, that he’d grant his own damn wishes. The stars were useless, but there was something Henry could do. In the middle of the night, the quiet boy had snuck into his parent’s room, stolen his mother’s most valuable jewelry, and never looked back.

The Henry who came to live in the city was nowhere near as stupid or fragile as the Henry he’d been under his parents’ roof. For once his silence did Henry some good, as his employers often took it as a sign of toughness or professionalism, and Henry himself was in no hurry to correct them. He put as much distance between himself and the rest of the world as he could, letting darkness fill the space between them. Living alone and taking up a life of crime, Henry found it best to blend in. Just one star in an endless, meaningless expanse.

It wasn’t until after he’d moved in with Charles and Ellie, however, that Henry began to embrace his long forgotten love of the night sky. It wasn’t the spectacular view of his childhood home, no, but after driving his scooter the wrong way one night Henry realized that the perfect sky viewing spot was only an hour’s drive from their new home. The light of the city was still bad enough to drown out the majority of it, sure, but even the few Henry could see brought back a sense of awe and childlike innocence he’d thought he’d left behind for good.

It had been this view that had inspired Henry to commission custom patches for himself and his two friends. Charles wore his on his sleeve, out in the open, while Ellie put hers on her favourite purse, a spot of honour where it would never be scratched. They’d… called him pretty.

Henry wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

Now that they all lived together, Henry didn’t have any time to shut his feelings back into their cage before Charles or Ellie would come along and scold him for not taking a break, or drag him away on some sort of misadventure. Oddly enough, the chaos Henry didn’t mind – on the contrary, he’d come to live for it. The dark apartment he’d existed in before was a quiet, dreadful place, where Henry had felt scared and alone. He’d thought that was what he should feel. That being alone in the shadows made him stronger. Ellie and Charles showed him that he didn’t have to live like that to be strong. They shone brighter than him, but his presence connected the three wayward souls and made them something stronger, something better. Living with them made everything from their government assigned missions as the Triple Threat to a simple trip down to the shops a thrill.

But it made it a lot harder to hide, too. Ellie already suspected something was up, he was sure. She’d look at him sometimes, when she thought he wasn’t looking, and her gaze was intense Henry was sure she was reading his thoughts somehow. Charles could be a little harder to read, so Henry couldn’t tell what he knew, but if he was getting suspicious Henry wouldn’t be surprised. Not when Henry couldn’t stop smiling when they were around, or when his face would go red at any vague compliment. And they’d just keep doing things that made his stupid feelings stronger.

Ellie remained his light in the dark, shifting and changing to provide Henry the comfort he needed. When the demons of his nightmares roared at Henry and prevented him from sleeping, it was usually her who would stay up until dawn to keep him company. She’d spin distracting tales, laughing at her own obnoxious jokes, and Henry felt right at home. It was her who brought home a series of astronomy books for Henry to peruse, and though he could tell she had little interest of her own, Ellie still smiled and nodded as Henry told her about the interesting things he’d uncovered.

Charles was his ray of hope, pulling Henry along to try new things and shape himself into a better person. It was Charles who got Henry to finally cut down on the coffee. Despite his nonchalant personality it felt like he took everything Henry said seriously, and feeling listened to was a surprisingly uplifting sensation. He’d been the one to buy Henry a telescope, and would brew tea as the two of them sat outside under the night sky and observed the universe at large.

They just kept being amazing, and Henry just kept falling and falling, like a shooting star raining down upon the earth. So far Henry avoided a complete meltdown by just not thinking about it, but on rare occasions his mind wandered to the love he’d developed for his two best friends, and he’d swoon. Henry wondered how long it would take until he reached his breaking point.

This breaking point came shortly after Operation: Triple Threat took down a small mafia clan. It was late at night, so late that the general silently urged them to just take up an apartment there on base instead of making the trip home, and none of them were in any state to argue the point. Charles wasn’t put out by the idea at all; before moving in with the two of them he’d lived on base, and seemed pretty content to make himself at home. Ellie, on the other hand, seemed on edge, and Henry couldn’t blame her. Being on the run from the law instilled a distrust of the police and military that, even almost a year later, hadn’t quite faded from either of them. He took her hand as they walked past groups of glaring soldiers, one even roughly shoulder-checking Henry. Charles glared back at them in response, and the three of them quickly made their way to the on-base apartment they’d be squatting in.

“The Capt’n said we could bunker down in here,” Charles told them as he led them into the place. It wasn’t much, with only one bed, a couch, and a tiny kitchenette, but it was better than sleeping in a dorm with strangers. “Ugh, I know I promised food when we got back, but I’m bushed. I’ll make breakfast in the morning?”

Ellie practically collapsed into the couch with a thumbs up. “Sounds good.” Henry had no complaints, and signed so as he plopped down next to her.

Charles only spared a moment to toss his carry-on bags nearby before joining them on the couch. He sat to Henry’s left, and Ellie to Henry’s right, and a part of him felt right at home sandwiched between them. Another was screaming at him to move before he did or said something that would ruin everything.

Instead, Henry signed to Charles, “NOT GOING TO TAKE THE BED?”

“Nah.” Charles waved him off. “Ellie can, if she wants, but I know you have trouble sleeping in places if you’re not comfortable, so I… figured we could, uh, share the couch.” Even in the faint moonlight that shone through the window, Henry could still see Charles fidget… nervously? Uncomfortably? He didn’t know what to make of that. “If you don’t mind, I mean, I guess it’s pretty silly, huh?”

Henry gathered his courage and whispered aloud, “I… don’t mind.”

The nerves left Charles, and his grin spread wide across his face. It was too dim to make out his freckles, but Henry could imagine them contorting cutely with his smile. “Cool, cool. That’s totally cool. Els, the bed is yours if you want it.”

“I’m not getting up off this couch.” Responded the tired but firm woman to his other side. She rolled over to face them, and though her eyes were sagging, she had a strange look of determination on her face. “’S too far. Besides, you don’t get to hog Henry.” As if to prove this, her arm hooked solidly around Henry’s, and she pressed her face into his neck. A perfect fit, just like before.

Charles didn’t put up a fight. “Fair enough,” He agreed, and leaned down beside the sofa to pull at the leaver that would make it recline. It was far from the most comfortable sleeping arrangement: the sofa itself was too firm, it’s seating too leathery, and Charles and Ellie were pressed so firmly against his sides that Henry couldn’t escape even if he tried.

He didn’t want to try. Here, in between the two brightest lights of his life, Henry felt right at home. It would have been the best sleep of his life, had he not been woken up by the apartment’s door slamming open in the wee early morning, early enough that the sky outside was still black and inky. Henry didn’t even have a chance to fully awaken before his ears were assaulted with shrieking and shouting too high-pitched and fast for him to make sense of. It was like someone put a chipmunk on fast-forward, and Henry desperately wanted to roll over and let Ellie chase them away.

Unfortunately, he caught the word, “Thief,” in the intruder's tirade somewhere, and that woke him up far more thoroughly.

“Cap’n…?” Charles mumbled as he too stirred at the commotion. On Henry’s other side, he could hear Ellie grumble something under her breath, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge their intruders. There were now an additional three people in the room; General Galeforce, standing straight and tall with an unreadable expression; Rupert Price behind him, trying and failing not to look like he was dead on his feet; and some soldier Henry had only seen in passing, the most loud and lively of the trio. He’d… seen the guy last night, hadn’t he?

“I know he did! I know it!” Shouted the loud guy, whoever he was. He jumped up and down like a manic monkey, face distorted by a large scowl. “He stole the necklace I bought for my girlfriend!”

Oh. Oh fuck. This was the absolute last thing Henry needed to deal with right now.

“Whoa, what?!” Charles’ eyes popped open, wide and sharp. Beside him, he could feel Ellie tense as she finally sat up to deal with this mess. Charles beat her to it, jumping to both his feet and Henry’s defense. “That’s impossible! He’s been here with us all night!”

“You’re a deep sleeper, Calvin!” The soldier snapped back. “And like hell we can trust her!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ellie inquired with a calm voice and crossed arms. She was keeping her cool. For now.

Galeforce sighed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he glared dully at the accuser. “As I said, Simmons, we’re not going to just throw around accusations like that. Henry, would you mind letting us look through your backpack?”

Henry nodded sharply. There was nothing in there, he reminded himself in a vain attempt to calm down, there was no need to worry, he wouldn’t find anything because Henry hadn’t done anything-

Rupert picked up the bag and unzipped it with all the enthusiasm of a late-term college student. His hand dipped inside, and came out with a golden locket encrusted with jewels. Henry’s heart sank. No. He didn’t steal that, he knew he didn’t steal that, how the hell-?!

“I DID NOT DO THAT!” Henry signed insistently. His hands were moving so fast he was afraid not even Ellie would be able to catch everything. “I WOULD NOT- I HAVE WORKED TOO HARD AND GIVEN UP TOO MUCH TO TRADE MY NEW LIFE AWAY FOR SOME CHEAP TRINKET!”

A hand came to rest on Henry’s shoulder. “Deep breaths, Hen.” Charles coached, and only then did Henry realize he’d been hyperventilating throughout his entire spiel. “It’s okay, we know you didn’t do this. Just take it one step at a time: In… and out. In… and out.” Henry focused on the sound of Charles’ voice, letting the sunshine guide him out of the dark hole he’d been pushed into. All the while Charles’ hand ran soothing circles over his shoulder blade.

Ellie, meanwhile, practically sprinted to stand in front of Henry with her arms spread protectively, her violet eyes dark as the night as she glared ahead of her.

“See? See?!” The soldier declared, sounding almost gleeful at this ‘proof’ of Henry’s guilt. “It was right there, right next to those astronomy books! I was right!”

“Like hell you are!” Ellie retorted, her voice a harsh gale. Henry had never heard her sound this angry, and it made him feel guilty. Calm, unflappable Ellie, had her temperance broken because of Henry. “General, this is clearly a set-up. Henry wouldn’t risk our jobs for a cheap bobble like that!”

“Cheap?!” The soldier looked offended, as if it wasn’t obvious.

“Now, calm down…” Galeforce tried to pacify. Henry couldn’t fault him too much for his mediator approach; as the boss of basically everyone here, he was obligated to play an impartial judge, even though Charles was basically his foster kid. “Let’s see if we can try to figure out what really happened…”

The soldier scoffed. “Are you serious?! It’s CLEAR what ‘really’ happened!” His withering glare turned towards Henry, and the ex-thief tried not to shiver under his gaze. Tried and failed, if the way Charles’ hand on his back stiffening was any indication. “That rat thief stole my girlfriend’s necklace! Tossed it right into his backpack with those nerdy astronomy books!”

Up until this point, Rupert had been silent. He hadn’t liked Henry, and maybe still didn’t, but his stance on the ex-con had softened after the Triple Threat’s second mission to rescue a certain man held hostage by the Toppats. Since then he’d been cordial, if impersonal, about conducting business together, which was probably more than Henry deserved after ruining the life of his partner. Twice. This time, however, he spoke up. “Funny.” Rupert quipped humourlessly, one eyebrow raised tiredly at the accuser. “How’d ya know they were astronomy books?”

The soldier’s mask went down for just a moment, but in that moment everyone could see the shock and apprehension he was keeping under the surface. He hurried to recover, “Well, I saw them just now, same as you did.”

“No,” Ellie pointed out, realization dawning on her. “No, you couldn’t have. I bought Henry those books, and the titles are all plain and simple and in, like, eight point font. It’s dark. There’s no way you could see what kind of books those are from where you’re standing.” Her glare turned scathing and cold, like a jaguar in the night eyeing a fool too close to her cubs. “You son of a bitch. You planted that.”

Somehow, that revelation didn’t make Henry feel any better.

Charles’ blunted nails dug into Henry’s skin, and he tried not to wince. “What the fuck, Simmons?” The pilot all but screeched, stepping out so that he, too, was in front of Henry. The angry twinge in his voice made Henry’s guts twist in his stomach. Even when things were at their worst, Charles was the most relaxed of their little trio, keeping their pace steady and their hearts light. Hearing him be so angry immediately put Henry on edge. And as they stood in front of him, Henry couldn’t see either of his friends’ expressions, but he could picture them in his mind, all distorted with rage and hate that never belonged there.

And it was all Henry’s fault.

“I, well, I… are you seriously going to trust this thief over me?” Snapped this so-called Simmons. Desperation raised his voice higher and louder, loud enough to pierce through Henry’s ear drums like an arrow. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I’m the victim here!”

“Doubling down isn’t helping your case!” Ellie scolded. “You son of a bitch- Henry’s put his life on the line for you goddamned assholes so many times over the past year, and this is how you repay him?!”

“Like we can trust a thief to watch our backs!” Simmons argued back.

“That’s enough! Let’s all calm down and discuss this like-!”

“Capt’n, that’s just STUPID! So he gets to lob these bullshit accusations, and we can’t say anything bad about him?!”

“He’ll get his due punishment, but-”

“He’s damn lucky I haven’t kicked his ass yet! Hen’s a goddamned hero, you can’t treat him like this-!”

Voices flooded the room, flowing so quickly and so loudly that after a while Henry couldn’t even tell them apart. They came from all sides, pushing down on Henry’s eardrums until he began drowning in them. What had Charles said earlier? In… and out… in… and out…

“You’re seriously believing this- this thug over me?! She’s no better than the thief!”

In… and out… and in and out and in…

“You have no goddamn honour at all, do you? I get not believing they’ve changed, but-”

“Seriously?! He’s the reason your Dave almost died, why aren’t you on my side?!”

And in and out and in and out and in…

“It’s only a matter of time until they betray us anyways! We should’ve gotten rid of them when we had the chance!”

“Stand down, lieutenant! Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble as it is?!”

And in and in and out and in and in and- and in…!

And Henry couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t breathe he couldn’t see he couldn’t focus he couldn’t do anything-

He ran. The voices flooded after him but Henry ignored them as he just ran as far and as fast as he could, until he was surrounded by darkness and silence. Only then did his frayed nerves calm enough for him to take in his surroundings. As luck had it, he actually hadn’t gone too far. The military base was surrounded by woods, and Henry had run some ways into it. He leaned against a tree and looked back at the base. It wasn’t far, getting back would be easy. Instead, Henry sunk to the ground and tried not to groan.

Geez, how pathetic could he get? He should have stood up there and defended himself, pointed out the obvious holes, insulted the tacky piece of cheap metal that he’d think Henry would risk his career, his life, his… his Charles and Ellie to steal. But when that necklace had appeared in Henry’s backpack, something in him just… froze. All he could think about was the things he’d lose, the terrible loneliness that would await him. Once the dark had been his noble, faithful protector, but after so long with his two best friends Henry had come to realize a terrible truth: the protection came at the price of the happiness that being around Charles and Ellie had afforded him. And in one terrible instance, because of one terrible man, he could have lost that.

Except, Henry realized, he wouldn’t have. Ellie and Charles, they trusted him. They’d jumped to his defense without any sort of prompting, holding Henry and comforting him and standing by his side.

Trust was not a concept Henry was intimately familiar with. On the contrary, he didn’t think he’d ever trusted anyone before. Not his parents, not his teachers. Certainly not the nebulous employers who’d once contracted Henry to steal for them. And this applied, Henry realized with a sinking gut, to Charles and Ellie. He’d been with them this whole time, basking in their light and letting them take care of him, but with doubts still casting a shadow over their entire relationship. If they thought Henry had relapsed and stolen again, they’d leave him to his fate. If they knew Henry was losing his home, they’d think he was an irresponsible loser.

If they found out Henry had developed a crush on the both of them, they’d think he was gross and abandon him. Wasn’t that what he’d been thinking this whole time?

It was sickening. All this time they’d been exactly what Henry had needed, trusting him and sheltering him, and he hadn’t afforded them the same privileges. Henry felt like a proper jerk for not realizing this until now.

Time passed as Henry took a seat at the base of a tree, watching the stars twinkle above. There wasn’t quite darkness to see the starscape the way Henry liked, but what he could see was still a quiet consolation. This time of year the north star was visible from its position at the tip of Ursa Minor. Nothing special on its own, but with its other stars in formation, they were the beacon guiding wayward sailors on the sea throughout time.

A star on its own was nothing, like Henry was nothing by himself. But with his Triple Threat – his dearest friends, who he’d come to love so much – he was complete. He was whole.

They deserved more trust than he gave them.

Footsteps approached Henry from the side, slowly approaching. He figured he knew who it would be, but decided to continue watching the sky, even as Ellie and Charles came to a stop a few meters behind him. They remained silent, and Henry smiled as he watched the stars, waiting for one of them to speak.

“Hey… uh, you feeling any better?” Charles asked, breaking the spell of silence cast over the forest.

Henry smiled, and motioned for them both sit down. Wonder of wonders, they listened and took a spot next to the once thief. “YES. MUCH.” He signed as soon as they were in range of visibility. “SORRY FOR RUNNING OFF. DID NOT WANT TO MAKE YOU WORRY.”

Ellie looked bewildered by his words. “You’re sorry? I’m the one who should be sorry! You were freaking out, and I did basically nothing to help! I just- I got so angry when that jerk started tossing around accusations like that-!” Her fists clenched briefly, but then she took a moment to breath and her hands relaxed. “Sorry, he just- he really ticked me off.”

“Seriously. General said he’ll get court-martialed.” Charles informed them from Henry’s other side. Talking about Simmons made him just as annoyed and frustrated as Ellie was. “Anything less than a dishonourable discharge is too good for that guy. If we hadn’t all known you- he could have ruined you! And all because he doesn’t think people can change, just- urgh.” There was an angry furrow to Charles’ brow, but it smoothed as he directed his energy towards Henry. “But, Ellie’s right. We should have focused on how you were feeling, and I’m sorry.”

These silly dorks. Henry shook his head and signed to them again. “YOU DEFENDED ME. MORE THAN MOST WOULD DO. I AM… JUST HAPPY YOU BELIEVE ME.”

“Well, of course we believe you!” Charles proclaimed, leaning in a little closer to Henry so their arms were touching. They were both the affectionate type, he noted with fond amusement. “I’ve been your partner for, what, a year now? I know you wouldn’t betray my trust.”

“And I know you wouldn’t waste your time stealing something that worthless.” Ellie remarked, letting her held fall into its spot on Henry’s shoulder. “I hope that was just bait he bought for cheap online and not, like, an actual gift for his girlfriend? Because that would just be sad. And besides, we’re partners in crime and crime-fighting. We tell each other everything.”

For a second, Henry hesitated. Then he raised his shaky hands. “WELL… NOT EVERYTHING.”

The confusion evident on their faces gave Henry the time to shift so he was face to face with his partners. “What do you mean?” Charles asked.

Henry trusted his partners. They believed in him, they cared about him. Even if they didn’t feel the same way, maybe telling them would release the pressure on his heart that made it difficult to breath at night. They wouldn’t leave him over something as silly as this.

“WELL…” It was hard to get the words out, even in the form of sign language. His fingers were stiff and clumsy from the cold night chill. “YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED I HAVE BEEN ACTING FUNNY. NOT LIKE MYSELF. NERVOUS AND WEIRD SOMETIMES.”

“It’s… come up.” Ellie acknowledged awkwardly. The night cold brought a tinge of red to her face (Henry dared not hope it was anything else). To make things a little easier on all of them, Henry cast his eyes downwards towards the grass and continued on without looking at them.

“THAT IS BECAUSE I… WHEN I AM AROUND YOU, I FEEL THINGS. THINGS I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH. WAS NOT COMFORTABLE WITH. THINGS THAT MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS GOING MAD SOMETIMES… ALL THE TIME. IT WAS TOO MUCH TO HANDLE. I FELT LIKE I WAS BURNING UP ON THE INSIDE. EMOTIONS GOING HAYWIRE. IT FELT LIKE I WAS GOING CRAZY, AND IT MADE ME AFRAID. I COULD NOT LOSE YOU. I COULD NOT. BECAUSE…”

With all the strength inside of him, Henry took in a deep breath, smiled, and said aloud, “I love you. Both of you.”

Henry mustered all his courage and looked up. The sight that greeted him was something to behold: Ellie Rose, unflappable conqueror of the Wall, and the bold action man himself were gaping at Henry like fish out of water. An amusing reaction, one that immediately struck Henry as ‘cute’, but not necessarily a positive one. So he continued.

“I KNOW IT IS STRANGE AND SELFISH TO LOVE TWO PEOPLE AT ONCE. BUT… YOU ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN MY LIFE I HAVE CARED ABOUT LIKE THIS. I FEEL HAPPY AND SAFE. ALL THE TIME. BUT ALSO LONELY. I WAS WORRIED. IF YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS… WOULD YOU STILL WANT ME AROUND? WOULD THINGS BE WEIRD AND AWKWARD? I WAS WORRIED ABOUT LOSING YOU. ALL THE TIME. IT HAUNTED MY NIGHTMARES.”

This got a reaction out of Ellie, “Is… is that why you’ve been having trouble sleeping? Henry…”

Henry smiled. “NOT YOUR FAULT. MINE.” After all, he’d been the one keeping all of this inside of himself.

“Uh, confession time part two,” Charles raised his hand like a child in a schoolroom, looking almost sheepish as he admitted, “I kinda, sorta, maybe… have been having similar weird thoughts…? About, like, the three of us, being together. In… romantic ways.” He blushed, one hand drifting down towards the ground to draw circles in the dirt. “But I thought, well, there’s only really two people in a couple, and they work so well together. So I tried to bury my feelings…”

Charles was avoiding Henry’s eyes as he spoke, but he was smiling at the patch of dirt he was staring at. So did this mean… was he really saying…?

Ellie, meanwhile, sat pondering for a long moment. She took in the information they both gave her, picked her jaw up off the ground, and then began stroking it in thought. “I cannot believe…” She mumbled aloud, “that we are all this stupid.”

Both Charles and Henry directed their gazes at her, blinking dumbly.

“I mean, it’s so obvious in hindsight, how did I miss we all had feelings for each other?!” She threw up her hands. “Ugh! I feel like a total moron. Henry wasn’t retreating because he noticed my feelings, he was retreating because he couldn’t cope with his own. And Charles didn’t think we’d be interested, because why would he, it’s not like we ever talk about stuff like that!” She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Why are we all so dumb?”

Henry laughed, and when he looked up, he found both Charles and Ellie staring at him. The looks they gave him were… borderline mesmerized.

Blushing, Henry looked away from them and stated, “I WAS WORRYING A LOT ABOUT RUINING THIS. ROMANCE OR NOT YOU TWO ARE IMPORTANT TO ME. DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU.”

“I… kinda worry about that too.” Charles revealed. “I mean, I don’t like thinking about it, so I usually don’t, but you two are so similar. You’re both smart and cool, and you do wicked awesome stuff on missions, and sometimes I just kinda feel like… the guy in the helicopter.” Charles rubbed the back of his head. His words made Henry feel absolutely gutted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong! I know what I do is super important! But it’s hard not to look at what you guys do and feel a little… left behind, you know?”

“Charles.” Ellie took one of his hands, and Henry, on impulse, took the other. “I promise, we will never leave you behind. You’re stuck with us, whether you want to be or not.”

“Heh, more like you’re stuck with me.” He quipped.

The reassuring tone of Ellie’s voice faded, however, as she continued. “I get what you guys are talking about, though. After my old gang ditched me, I kept wondering what I did wrong, why they didn’t think I was good enough to keep around. I guess I thought that if you guys knew how I felt, you’d see me as… lesser, I guess. I dunno.”

Henry shook his head. “NEVER.” Even if he hadn’t felt the same, Henry would have never shamed Ellie for feeling the way she does. “YOU ARE THE SMARTEST AND STRONGEST PERSON IN THIS GROUP MOON LIGHT. LOVE OR NOT YOU MAKE ME FEEL SAFE. AND KEEP ME CALM. DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT YOU.”

When Ellie started giggling, Henry assumed that maybe some of the romance or sincerity had been lost in translation, but then Charles asked Henry, “I know this sign means LIGHT, but what does this sign mean?” And stiffly echoed back, “MOON.” Henry felt his face go red.

Damn it.

“If I’m Moonlight,” Ellie asked in a sickly sweet tone, like honey on a flytrap, “then what is Charles?”

Knowing it would be forced out of him regardless of the choice he made, Henry finger-spelled the word for them, “S. U. N. S. H. I. N. E.” And then signed the word. “SUNSHINE.” The cooing he received in response felt less than sincere, somehow.

Once Ellie and Charles got done poking fun at Henry’s choice in pet names, Charles (nicknamed the Bold Action Man for a reason) asked, “So… are we all, like, dating now or something?”

“I’m all for it.” Ellie agreed. “But, uh, it’s pretty clear that we’ve got a lot to work on. I mean, we all have abandonment issues, so that’s a problem right off the bat.”

“BUT WE WILL WORK ON IT TOGETHER.” Henry signed, because apparently, he was the sappy sentimental member of the group. “I FEEL LIKE I CAN DO ANYTHING WITH YOU TWO AROUND.”

Charles grinned. “Because your world literally revolves around me?”

“SHUT IT.”

Ellie chimed in, “Aw, do you need me to calm the tides for you?”

“SERIOUSLY. STOP.”

“Jokes aside, I do love you both a lot.” Ellie told them. “So… yeah. I want to date. But first, I want you guys to promise that if this doesn’t work out, we can still be friends. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Honestly, a promise like that would make Henry feel more at ease too. If they’d all been burying feelings for a long while, then there was a good chance these weren’t just fleeting flights of fancy, but it would still suck for romance, of all things, to kill the amazing dynamic the Triple Threat had going. “I SWEAR IT.” Henry signed. He then spoke aloud, “I will always be there for you two.”

“Same goes for me!” Charles declared, squeezing between his now boyfriend and girlfriend to pull them into a hug. “I don’t ever want to lose you guys! Ever! I’ll always be your friend!”

There was still a lot more to discuss; how this would affect their work, if they needed to change anything about their living arrangements, whether or not inform anybody… but those were problems to be solved at dawn. For now, while the world was quiet and the shadows of their anxieties loomed overhead, Henry invited his two loves to watch the heavens with him.

The light the stars gave off were beautiful.