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Henry bolts awake.
It is 4am.
The warm blood stains his hands. He blinks, and they are gone.
The bed is empty.
He runs out of the bedroom, stumbling on the floor, clinging onto the doorknobs, holding onto the walls, desperate for something to hold him up. To anchor him. To tell him that he is in a different timeline now.
His vision is blurry with tears, his head hurts, so, so much.
He cannot stop seeing the gun in his hands - the debris in the sky - the broken headset -
He’s sinking to the floor, it hurts, it hurts so much - he can’t think, everything is in his mind -
He feels a soft kiss pressed to his forehead. The pain fades, for a moment.
Charles.
He is worried - of course he is. The headset around his neck is messy. It’s 4am at home, and he is alright.
He finds his anchor.
“Hey hey hey hey, hey calm down okay? Uh- you’re fine here. You’re here with me okay?”
Charles is very bad at comforting people, Henry thinks.
But it’s working.
“Uhm, uh- okay. It’s 4am, and uh I don’t know why you’re awake, but uhm, probably a bad dream? Are you okay?”
Henry takes a shaky breath. His hands try to sign, but they’re far too shaky. It’s not coherent.
“Aw man- uhm, it looks like it was really bad then. Uhm, do you need water?”
Henry shakes his head. He doesn’t think he can take water right now.
“Okay, uh, the floor can’t be comfy. I’ll take you back to bed?”
Henry nods.
“Cool.”
Charles hoists Henry up. Henry forgot how strong Charles was, actually. He works in the military. Right. How could Henry forget.
Charles makes an effort to be careful, gently setting Henry onto the bed.
He tucks the blankets over Henry’s shoulder.
“Okay, uhm. Comfy?”
Henry is silent.
He is scanning Charles’ face.
He remembers seeing the blood stain it, the hurt in his eyes, the acceptance in his voice. He can hear the explosion.
“Henry? Need anything?”
Henry grips the blankets.
“You.” He croaks out.
Years of not using your voice can do that.
Charles is startled by that.
“Oh! Uhm-“
He sets his headset to the side table, and settles into the bedside next to Henry.
“I can do that for ya.”
He holds Henry close.
This is his anchor.
This is his home.
He is in the correct timeline.
Henry tucks into Charles. He takes in the warmth, the comfort, and the knowledge that he will be okay. That he will wake up here, with the snoring coming from Charles, and he knows he will be okay.
He closes his eyes,
And he dreams of nothing.