Chapter Text
Some days, there was barely a whisper echoing throughout the Society. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Rather, some days, there was barely a crashing invention, some sort of chemical bubbling and effervescent reaction brimming away over a controlled (most of the time) flask. If one listened close enough, they could hear the scrabbling of tiny claws running across the floorboards, sometimes accompanied by a near silent padding, then thumping. Oftentimes, that specific noise was then met with a call of “Perseus!” from a particular white haired scientist.
Today of all days seemed to be incredibly normal. Except for one thing.
If one was to look carefully enough, through the small group of Lodgers hanging around the front entrance and making merry with one another, they would be able to see a friendly-faced leader; Dr. Henry Jekyll.
Now, that in of itself was not peculiar in the slightest. No. What was peculiar was that he was being almost constantly watched. By a certain Dr. Robert Lanyon. Every few seconds the man would glance over at his friend with a questioning and almost analytical gaze. This is peculiar for one simple reason. To the two of them, it made absolute sense, but to most onlookers it was quite interesting.
And the reason had to do with a certain.. Predicament that swirled around Jekyll like a shadow. Well. It was indeed his shadow. It was indeed to do with Edward Hyde. And Lanyon knew.
It had all started one day when Jekyll had finally allowed him to take over some of the workload of paperwork. They’d both been sitting in the office for quite a long while, when Lanyon looked over at the clock and saw the time. He’d meant to be home at least ten minutes prior, cursing his absentmindedness. He’d said a swift goodbye, stepping from the office and subsequently the Society. But he forgot one thing.
His coat.
And he could hardly walk home without it; it was already starting to rain. So, reluctantly, he stepped back to the office, going to open the door, when he suddenly heard the sound of glass smashing and Henry yelling out in pain.
Almost instantly, he flung open the door, looking around frantically for his friend. And that was when he witnessed the transformation. He stood and stared for the longest moment, but to his credit, he did not faint. At least, not immediately. Lanyon had utilised the sofa Henry kept in his office efficiently (absolutely not going lightheaded, thank you very much). Hyde had stared at him, like a deer in headlights, glancing back to the window momentarily.
“Lanyon. You couldn’t have come at a worse time. Look at that-” He had gestured to the window, “Perfectly good night! And now I gotta explain this all to you. I- Damnit."
That had been just over two months ago.
Now, everytime Lanyon was ever in the same area, hell, the same vicinity as Henry, his gaze would always filter to the other every few minutes. He’d become so well attuned to sensing when the other was going to transform, seeing all the little signs before the pain had even started.
He could see when Henry’s back straightened, as if being pulled up by an invisible rope, dragged up to the heavens. He could see the way his features tensed quietly, shoulders rolling back and tightening at the seams. If he could catch it then, the two of them had a good minute or so to exit the room and find somewhere safer.
Usually it worked. Usually he’d make some excuse and drag Henry away, get him into a silent room and comfort him until the change was over. The worst times had been when he couldn’t get them far away enough, where he’d missed the first cues and only had a matter of seconds to work with. Lanyon could drag him to a room, but the Lodgers would still be able to hear them if they made too much noise.
So painfully, Lanyon had to clutch Jekyll close, feel him digging his nails into his arms in an attempt to remove some of the pain. He had to run a quiet, comforting hand through the other's hair, grimacing as he felt the other's skull physically morphing beneath his fingertips. They’d managed to push through it though, with little to no problem. Hyde always shoved away from Lanyon as soon as he was aware enough to do so. Though, just briefly, just for a moment, whilst the other was still trying to get a handle on who he was, Lanyon could feel shivering fingers clutch into his jacket even tighter.
Usually, however, implied the existence of rare failures. Which, with a condition such as Henry’s, just couldn’t be afforded to happen.
So. What does one do, when the worst thing that could ever happen comes to pass? For that was a decision Robert Lanyon was faced with, one greying Thursday afternoon.
He had merely been assisting with the Lodgers and their daily tasks. Though, perhaps that wasn’t the real reason he was here. If he were to be honest with himself, Robert Lanyon was here because of two reasons. Well, really the same reason, but for two different parts. And both of said reasons had to do with the smiling man standing just across the room from him. The man with the sweetest of smiles, warm, inviting and unjudging.
God, he could almost lose himself looking at him, looking at his eyes. In the deep red of them, the lights hooked around the room glimmered like tiny fires, dancing like sparks and swirling around as he moved. What he would do to step over, take Henry’s hand in his own and never let him go.
What was he saying again? Right. The reasons why he was currently standing here. Holding a.. Actually, no, that was a better question. What in the hell was in his hands? Had he just taken something when he didn’t know what it was? Had he been that distracted? God- had someone seen him staring?
Robert finally snapped his gaze away from the other, looking around the room. No one appeared to be looking at him. Good. Good. Grand. He cleared his throat, staring at the floor for just a moment before he finally took the time to gauge what was in his hands.
It was a round ball, metallic and shiny. It wasn’t too big, but if he shook it, even gently, it made a rattling noise, like sand. It had an odd, sharp scent to it, slightly tangy and bitter when it hit the back of his throat. Curiously, he shook it again.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that, Doctor Lanyon! You never know what those sparks might cause.” The ginger, who he’d come to know as Sinnet, commented cheerfully. “I’ve got absolutely no clue what Mr Luckett puts in those, but they can make one hell of a mess!”
His gaze slowly widened and he found himself holding his arms out, holding the ball away from him. “I’m sorry, this thing can explode?”
“Well, most things can, if given the right encouragement! Even you and I. Now ain’t that a thought..”
He took the ball from the others' hands, holding it with far less care than Lanyon had. Sinnet raised it to his eyes then hummed, nodding. “Yup! This is one of Luckett’s alright. Who knows when it woulda gone off!”
“I’m sorry ?” He blinked, taking a quick step backwards away from the other, “Are you insinuating that I’ve been holding a bomb?”
“Pretty much!”
How was this man so calm about this? He was just holding a literal bomb in his hands and he expected Lanyon to be completely comfortable?
He opened his mouth to respond, but his words were silenced over the sound of someone yelling out in pain. No- He recognised that scream.
“Henry-”
In an instant, he was moving, darting past the tables. He couldn’t believe he’d missed the signs. He couldn’t believe he’d abandoned the other, just like that. He got distracted for just a moment and everything could come crumbling down around them. All of Henry’s reputation, gone, because he couldn’t pay attention.
He could see Henry, just ahead of him, already doubled over, one arm wrapped protectively around his stomach. Robert could see the crease marks around his cheeks and eyes, strained beyond belief. The others' dark eyes glanced towards him and he expected to see some form of betrayal lying deep within them. You left him behind again. You abandoned him again. You did this.
But all he could see, on closer inspection, was the sharp panic and roiling pain. He could see the fear in them for just the second their gazes connected. Then Henry’s eyes were gone, glancing around the group of Lodgers already circling him.
Lanyon pushed his way through the crowd, tugging off his coat as he went, trying to get to Henry. They didn’t have enough time to get far away, but if these Lodgers would just let him through-
“Dr. Jekyll? What’s wrong?” He heard Cantilupe say. The woman took a step closer to Henry before he could be beside him. Lanyon’s heart rose into his throat, finally running the extra step to get beside Henry. As quickly as possible, he grabbed the man, wrapping one of his arms around his shoulder, already feeling the man sag into him.
“Henry will be fine. Now, if you’ll let us pass-” He tried, trying to disguise the panicked tone in his voice.
But, the Lodgers didn’t leave. If anything, they circled closer, like carrion around a corpse. At his side, he could feel Henry shaking. His legs were giving out. Robert could feel Henry falling against him, sinking lower and lower. There were a million eyes on them; Henry couldn’t transform here. He just couldn’t.
“Would you move out of the way?” His voice rose up in his fear, finally being heard over the rabble. Surely they’d move now. Please, just move-
“Lanyon, what’s going on?” He couldn’t even remember the name of the Lodger that spoke.
“It’s fine! It’s all fine! Just let us pass!”
They still wouldn’t move. And Henry was going further and further down. His entire body was shaking violently now, to the point where his hand was hitting his back every now and then. Robert had to stifle his own noises of pain, slowly starting to lower himself down to the ground. He could feel his coat in his other hand and got an idea.
As he rested his friend down on the ground, still feeling Henry writhing beneath his hands. The other had already curled himself into a tight ball, trying to seek some comfort in his pain. Whilst he hated to see him look like that, he couldn’t help but sigh in relief lightly. That made his next job far easier. Robert extricated the others' hands from his shirt, seeing them instantly go to hold Henry’s head. Then, with speed and grace, he draped his coat over the other, concealing him from sight.
“Now, if we could all just calm down!” He shouted but no one seemed to quiet. His voice was drowned out in the sheer cacophony of others.
“What is going on here?” Was that.. Helsby? He couldn’t even tell anymore.
“It’s all perfectly fine! Now if you could please leave-”
“Well, it’s obviously not fine, is it!” Helsby retorted. Lanyon didn’t even get a chance to respond before another chimed in.
“Come now, anything that’s going on, who better to assist than a group of scientists?” Mr… Bird?
“No, no! I have this all under control!” Lanyon was quick to respond, just wanting them to get away. Please, just leave..
“Certainly doesn’t seem like it..”
God, all the Lodgers were coalescing together. He was failing. He couldn’t get Henry out in time. He’d got distracted and-
“Miss Lavender no-!”
Somehow, one of the Lodgers had snuck past him. She was now gently approaching who she believed to be Henry on the floor, reaching up a hand and laying it on his shoulder.
“It’s okay now Dr. Jekyll. You’re safe here. We’re going to look after you-”
As if struck by lightning, the person under the coat bolted upright. There was a loud shriek from Miss Lavender as the person’s fist flew out from underneath to protect themselves. As they did so, the coat fell away limply.
And finally, horribly, the room fell completely silent. No one said a word for a long time. They just stared.
Because there on the floor lay Edward Hyde.
The first thing Lanyon noticed was the way he was still tightly coiled into himself. It reminded him of the fingers hooked into his jacket. Hyde was still in pain. The second thing he noticed was that the other was trembling harshly. It could’ve easily been put down to the pain of the transformation until Lanyon saw the others wide, bugged out eyes. Fluorescent green eyes scouted the room, panting and pushing himself up on his hands to crawl away. He didn’t have the strength in him to successfully move just yet, ending up only a few inches from where he started. Then finally, the others gaze rested on him.
Lanyon’s resolve quietly grew till finally he stepped forwards with a speed he didn’t know he possessed, scooping Hyde into his arms. He heard the muffled whimper of pain and felt the other press into his shoulder, feeling the mess of hair under his chin. Then he started walking to Henry’s office, gait determined and fast. The Lodgers parted around him like the Red Sea. And then the pair were gone, leaving behind a stunned crowd.