Work Text:
The first thing Henry noted when he woke from his sleep, was that the night was still as dark and quiet as when he had gone to sleep. Somewhere outside his primitive tent, he could see the embers from their cooking fire, still glowing faintly.
He groaned tiredly as he stretched his tired limbs, irritated at waking up in the midst of night, especially after the harsh day they'd had, battling a group of bandits that had been trying to take Hans for ransom, which had left them both understandably shaken and sore.
For some reason, something in his gut felt that there must have been a reason he woke, which only made him paranoid that something was wrong.
Accepting that he wasn't going to fall back asleep, he rolled off his mat, standing up outside and rubbing at his eyes groggily with a tired sigh, preparing himself to check that everything seemed quiet and normal, and that Hans was okay.
Groggily he padded past the fire, over to Hans' small tent, pulling the fabric back a bit, only to frown in confusion when he found the tent completely empty, no sign of the young noble.
His eyes seemed to have finally adjusted to the dark when he turned around, frantically looking around for a moment, searching for any signs of the man.
“Hans? Hans ” Henry whispered frantically, looking around “ Hans are you he-” Henry stopped in his tracks, as his eyes fell upon a silhouette.
Hesitantly Henry walked towards the figure.
“ Oh .” was all he could whisper at the sight before him.
Hans had apparently moved his bedroll in the night, and was now sleeping on the ground, beneath the stars… right by the foot of Henry's own tent.
Confusion tinted with affection filled his mind, and he kneeled down on one knee beside the sleeping man, placing a gentle hand on top of his shoulder, shaking him lightly.
“Hans” he whispered.
“Hans, wake” Henry said, as he watched Hans stir at the disturbance, waking slowly and shooing Henry's hands away with a groggy groan.
“
Hmn
go away, I'm sleeping” Hans groaned annoyed.
“No, wake up” Henry insisted, speaking in a low and steady tone, as to not make the other think something was actually wrong.
Finally Hans seemed to come too completely, and accept that Henry wasn't leaving, as he finally turned on the mat to look at Henry with a confused stare, blinking up at him tiredly.
“What is it?” Hans asked, voice rough with sleep. “Is something wrong? It is still night, is it not?” he questioned.
“No. no. Nothing wrong.. Except, I guess one thing is wrong actually” Henry answered, looking at Hans questioningly.
“Well what is it, spit it out then” Hans grumbled.
“How come you're sleeping beneath the stars at the foot of my tent, instead of in your own perfectly functioning tent?” Henry asked with amusement.
“ Oh .” Hans answered quietly, immediately averting his gaze away from Henry.
“No reason” Hans whispered in a tiny voice, before rolling over on his other side yet again, facing away from Henry.
“Now if it is okay with you, I'd like to continue my sleep, thanks” Hans said sarcastically, voice still small and no more than a whisper.
“No, I won't have you sleeping outside exposed like this” Henry insisted.
“What compelled you to move your bedroll here?” Henry questioned again, shaking Hans shoulder again when the younger man continued to ignore him.
“Come on Hans, tell” Henry said amused and confused, poking Hans in the side of his rib cage.
That seemed to finally get a reaction from the other, as he rolled back over with a frustrated sigh.
“Fine! If you must know, I moved here to feel just a small resemblance of safety, so that I could actually rest!” Hans admitted, voice starting out loud and frustrated, but very quickly turning small and vulnerable at the admission.
“Oh.” was all Henry could reply, confusion replaced by a look of soft affection, which Hans must have interpreted as pity or judgment, as the other turned his gaze to the ground, with an almost sad sounding sigh.
“Yeah..
oh
, so can you leave me be now?” Hans asked, a smidge of desperation to end this conversation, tinting his voice.
“No, Get up” Henry replied, rising himself.
“Oh. yeah, i- sorry. Of course- you'd want me to move away from your tent, because this is strange of me. Sorry, yes.. Ill- ill move now” Hans said, stuttering as he rose quickly to his feet, immediately grabbing and fumbling to move his bedroll.
“No Hans, Hans .” Henry interrupted, grabbing the mat from his hands.
“What..?” Hans replied confused.
“You're coming with me, to sleep in my tent” Henry replied, tone clearly leaving no room for discussion.
Hans immediately stopped dead in his tracks, his mind going completely blank for a moment as he stuttered out a pathetic “ w-what? ”
“Just come on brat ” Henry said with a huff of amusement, carrying the mat with one hand and dragging a still sleepy and confused Hans by the sleeve of his arm, with the other.
Hans stood in complete silence, suddenly feeling very small, as he watched Henry get the bedroll ready beside his own, the tent not leaving room for space between the two cots.
“Henry, you really don't have too” Hans whispered, hugging his arms closer to his chest as a chill breeze swept through the air.
Henry seemed to just ignore the remark completely, as he finished making the bedrolls presentable before plopping down on his own with a tired grown.
“Lay down, or must I also lay you down?” Henry teased.
“That is no way to speak to a noble” Hans grumbled, without heat, squinting his eyes at Henry for a few more seconds before letting out a tired sigh and padding over to his own bedroll and laying down.
Hans didn't dare lay to face Henry, but was quick to grow antsy, shifting and shuffling around, thoughts racing with images and fears from the day, just like it had been when he had first tried to sleep earlier.
“For Christ's sake, just come here” Henry muttered after a few minutes of watching Hans squirm around like a fish out of water.
Not harshly, but determined, his fingers wrapped around Hans left wrist, pulling at his arm, making him roll over and lay face to face with him.
Hans was unsure what to even say in this situation, if anything he could say would possibly make this situation less strange. Most of all he felt bad that Henry probably felt forced to do this for him, because Hans was too pathetic to be able to put the day behind him yet.
“I'm sorry, you really do not have to do all this for me Henry” Hans whispered, staring into Henry's own eyes, dark in the night, but still so full of warmth.
“I want to” Henry replied, simple, like it was the most obvious thing in the world to him.
“...why?” Hans questioned.
“Why not, it's you” Henry replied, once again sounding like it was all the most obvious thing in the world to him.
“I may be your lord, but you do not owe me this .. All because of my own pathetic.. Worries” Hans said, frowning at Henry.
“I'm not doing this because I feel obliged to do it as you are my lord, I want to do this because you are my friend,” Henry replied earnestly.
“And you are not pathetic Hans” Henry said.
“I'd be more worried for your sanity, if you were unaffected by days like these” He elaborated, staring into Hans eyes, trying to get his honesty across as clearly as possible, to the young noble.
“If it would make you feel better, I could ask you to do something for me in return?” Henry suggested after a few seconds of silence, clearly sensing that Hans was still feeling conflicted and guilty.
“I- i suppose that sounds fair” Hans replied, sounding relieved.
“Give me your hand” Henry said, reaching for his hand, Hans giving it willingly.
“I get cold at night” Was all Henry said in explanation, before pulling at Hans hand, making the other man have to move in closer, closer, close enough that they were almost nose to nose, before he placed Hans hand and arm, around his own midriff.
“This feels awfully inappropriate” Hans whispered in the space between him, but with no real heat behind it, lips quirked up into a shy smile.
“Well, I suppose you should really push me away then, shouldn't you my lord?” Henry whispered back with a matching intimately joking tone.
Instead of responding to that, Hans simply let out a tired sigh before tugging his own head beneath Henry’s, shuffling the last few inches closer so that their bodies were finally connected from top to toe. Henry wrapped his own arm around Hans in return.
A light silence fell over them, and Hans took a deep breath, breathing in the warm and comforting smell of Henry, feeling his muscles slowly relaxing.
“Thank you, Hal” Hans whispered against Henry's neck.
“No need,” Henry replied.
“It's you.” he added, like it explained everything.