Chapter Text
Night had settled over Faerun as Darryl drove the Odyssey down a hillside path. The rest of the dads had fallen asleep by now. Glenn was splayed out in the back, taking up twice his space in some mangled form of a sleeping position - with snores to match. Curled up in a corner was Ron, who also didn't seem too comfortable but by this point Darryl felt he couldn’t begin to judge.
Henry was to his right, also gently snoring. The light from the road illuminated his face just enough to make it glow. It reminded Darryl of those angels you'd see on postcards - the ones with the blonde hair and perfect smiles. Those elves too, with silky blonde hair from the movie Carol liked but was too long so he fell asleep on the couch. Henry's eyes began to twitch, a frown breaking up the calm of his face. Darryl looked back at the road, chalking it up to a nightmare. Should he wake him up? Is that weird? Do friends do that - were they friends?
Darryl glanced at Henry again just as he gasped awake and locked eyes with him as well. He switched to looking at the road instead.
"Oh! I'm in the van, of course everything is just fine." Henry's shoulders relaxed and he slumped into the seat.
"Bad dream?"
"You bet. Some strange door." Henry looked out to the window to the moonlight, eyes tracking the passing forest.
"M’sorry to hear that. You’re alright though?"
"Better now! Thanks for checking in."
Even without turning his head, Darryl could feel Henry's smile beaming at him. It shaped his words when he spoke. Silence sat between them for a moment. It wasn't uncomfortable, a brief peace from everything and everyone. Just as quickly as it began, it was broken by Henry's soft voice, trying not to wake the others.
"How do you stay awake?"
"Ah you know. Think about stuff." Darryl replied, staring at the road. "What stuff?" Henry was unrelenting.
"C'mon Henry, I'm not that interesting"
Shifting uncomfortably, Darryl tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. If he knew Henry, that wouldn't really be enough to stop him from asking.
"I want to pick at your brain, Darryl! If you don't want me to pry," Henry put his hand to his chest, "I won't. But, I can’t lie and say I'm not genuinely curious."
Darryl's eyes began to ache from exhaustion. Driving the van was part of his muscle memory, but as of late his muscles were tired through and through. There wasn't much keeping him awake other than the anxious thoughts he tried to keep pressed down. But, on these nights, he felt them flicking towards the forefront of his mind. Carol's call, Grant's changes, Henry's kiss. Even laid out like that he felt them clinging to one another, sticky and sickening. It was hard to pick them apart, even harder when put on the spot like this.
"I think about my family."
Henry didn't say anything at first, which was a little unnerving. Darryl was expecting a lengthy, bumbling reply about how happy he was to hear him open up, or something to that nature. Instead, he placed a hand on Darryl's knee - the warmth of Henry's palm bringing him out of his stupor.
"I'm sure they're thinking about you too."
There was a deep earnestness in his voice, the kind that made him pause. The drumming of his fingers along the steering wheel stopped, and he glanced at Henry, just for a second, just to make this moment normal.
For all that Darryl expected, he saw a very human looking man. Henry looked exhausted. The smile lines were there but a pair of wrinkles above his brow had appeared. Blemishes marked his cheeks, nicks and freckles scratched across them. A digging shame started burrowing through Darryl, gnawing against the blooming feeling in his chest when their eyes met. This wasn't some angel he could adore from afar, this was a dad he met on the soccer field who told him the world's stupidest joke and hadn’t stopped since.
Darryl tore himself away and coughed into his fist to cover up whatever emotions he must've let bleed out in front of Henry.
"You should go back to sleep, it's still late." He tried to keep his tone flat.
Henry looked unsure, wringing his hands and clearly deliberating something before brushing his hand through his hair with a sigh.
"Fine. But tomorrow - I'll drive."
"Absolutely not." Darryl insisted.
"Ok fine, we'll get Glenn to drive it then."
"YOU can try that."
The mood lifted and Darryl breathed a little easier. Henry closed his eyes and leaned back. "Maybe I will." he mumbled under his breath before letting sleep take hold.