Sterling wasn't truly sure what he had anticipated at the sight of his boyfriend on the other side of that door. Henry had once meant everything to him and refinding the man here in this city had been more of a gift then even he had expected. He'd been looking forward to re-establishing that relationship with the man - one that might last instead of being subjected to the same passing flights that their old one had. Everything had been going so perfectly up until that moment on the boat and then, somehow, it all simply fell apart within his hands. He was damn near certain that Henry's sudden presence on that doorstep would only further that downward spiral he had been so plummeting through. Those hushed words drew his gaze almost hesitantly upwards, and yet, Sterling merely nodded in response. It hadn't occurred to him that Henry had failed to return to him because he thought he was dead. Then again, it wasn't as if the man had come to even check on him in the weeks that had passed either. It left the poor boy entirely confused upon where they stood - much less why Henry had been gone so long and why he had returned now.

The repetition of those words only caused Sterling to merely stare at the man in response, the warlock shifting off that wounded leg with a hint of uncertainty. Standing for too long began to cause an ache within his ankle. The poor boy was hardly prepared for that sudden launch of his boyfriend across that threshold. He nearly would have stumbled back from that weight of Henry's body against him if it was not for the man's arms near wrapping around him to hold him closely against him. That abrupt press of the man's lips against his own equally as shocking as everything else, his bright blue eyes near staring at the man before him as Henry's lips so feverishly kissed his own. That kiss ended as suddenly as it had started, that simple comfort of Henry's arms near disappearing. He equally didn't expect that sudden loss of those supportive arms, the man near falling back onto the door with a small wince. Those softly spoken words drew his blue eyes back towards his companion, the man acutely aware of those tears that traced down Henry's features. He was certainly not ready for this.

"I..." He started, almost unsure of how to handle this in the slightest. "Um...I'm fine...I'm okay. Please don't cry." There was a hint of desperation to his voice as the warlock nibbled upon his bottom lip. He wasn't really as 'fine' as he attempted to make himself seem for his once boyfriend (still boyfriend?). After all, his body was marred with scars from his surgery, the ligaments within his leg were still not wholly healed, and his own self esteem was certainly at an all time low. No - Sterling was certainly not fine but, for Henry he was willing to at least attempt to be.

STERLING TENEMBRAGE