In that peaceful moment with Sterling, nothing else in the world really mattered. The way he felt when he was being held by his roommate and the way he just caressed his cheek felt so right. It felt like he had done the same thing many times before. Something about this moment was so familiar and yet, he knew he had never been so intimate with his roommate. Sterling was, after all, just his roommate. Surely he didn't love him as much as Henry loved Sterling. No, that was impossible, right?

However, in the midst of this perfect moment, Henry was still so very confused. He didn't remember anything that happened. He remembered being sick to the point of death (or so it felt) last night and now here he was in the morning...on the steps of his building buck ass naked. Even though he was cherishing this moment with Sterling, he needed to know why he didn't remember anything and he certainly needed to know why he was naked outside. Something wasn't adding up and Henry needed it to. He just hoped he hadn't done something stupid.

Henry was not prepared for the words that came from Sterling's mouth nor the way he looked at him. Henry wasn't sure if Sterling was disgusted with him or if he was mad. He was being hard to read and it added to the confusion. Not to mention, the words that came from his mouth didn't help the confusion at all. He was a were? No. He was more human than even Sterling. His brows furrowed as he tried so hard to make heads or tails of what Sterling was trying to communicate with him. "Slow down...what the fuck are you talking about? Last I remembered I was sick as a fucking dog last night and now I'm here...naked...and very, very confused." Even though he was still exhausted, he managed to drum up whatever energy he could to make sense of what Sterling was telling him.

And then, as if a lightbulb went off in Henry's head, he realized what Sterling was saying.

While Henry had no idea that panther in the alley was anything short of a panther, he did remember the cat biting him just momentarily while he was trying to save Mrs. Davis' dog. Although still a little confused, it was starting to make a little more sense, if only a little. "I tried to stay inside...the only time I went out was when I went after Mrs. Davis' dog. I saw a large panther in the alley. It tried to eat Sparkles..." At the time, Henry knew nothing about weres, except that they existed. He know what they were, but he didn't understand how they were made or anything about their culture. Sterling hadn't been one to want to share what was in the city for fear of getting Henry curious about them, or so he suspected. Sterling only disclosed the bare minimum. "...But I still don't understand what you're saying...and I don't remember what happened since last night." He was still confused. At least now it was muddled and cloudy instead of feeling downright in the dark.

However, the look on Sterling's face was nothing short of worried now. He seemed genuinely concerned about Henry and Henry still wasn't sure why. And then when he spoke, Henry reached up again to caress his cheek. He hadn't meant for Sterling to worry so badly about him. He had no intention of ever leaving him. While Henry couldn't explain why he did what he did, he knew that if he was cognoscente of his actions, he would never intentionally leave Sterling. "Sterling..." His voice was soft, his loving gaze settled right on Sterilng's eyes. "...I would never intentionally leave you." There. His feelings were out on the table. Sterling meant so much to him, more than he might even care to admit to himself. Sterling seemed to understand because he leaned down and just the anticipation of what Sterling might have planned had the air escaping Henry's chest. His heart beat faster as Sterling leaned in closer. The kiss Sterling planted on Henry's lips was sweet and chaste, but it wasn't enough for Henry. He wanted more. He deepened the innocent kiss, his hand wrapping around Sterling's head and pulling him forward as he begged for an even deeper encounter.

However, even though Henry wanted nothing more than to continue to kiss Sterling well into next year, he had to keep in mind that they were outside where others might be. He wasn't sure how many people would like to see him sucking face like he was. So Henry reluctantly pulled back, convincing his lips to finally loosen their hold on Sterling. But when he pulled away and looked back into Sterling's eyes, there was a lightbulb that had gone off. It had nothing to do with the events of last night, but everything to do with his life before coming to Sacrosanct. He knew Sterling. He was in love with Sterling well before he woke up remembering nothing about his life. He had been Sterling's lover for some time and he had never even knew it. No wonder living with Sterling felt so right. No wonder he kept longing for Sterling's touch. It all made sense now.

But did Sterling remember?