I will

rise up

in spite of the ache

When his eyes finally did rose to look at Sterling, they rose slowly and did not miss the way his ex-boyfriend was clothe in almost nothing. He wore only a pair of pajama bottoms, the hem sitting so low on his hips that Henry had resist the urge to think that just another millimeter or two and Henry would see the top of Sterling's groin, the hair and subsequent organ there that Henry could only say he missed. It was hard for Henry, his eyes fixed there for a brief moment as he fought the urge to continue that line of thinking. Sterling was not his anymore, the other man had made that so bluntly clear.

Realizing that his eyes were inappropriately placed, he quickly drew them up over Sterling's naked upper half, still fighting the urge to reach out and caress where those scars had once been. He cleared this throat in an effort to distract himself as he stepped across the threshold at Sterling's willingness to let him in. Well, it may not have been true willingness, but at least he wasn't slamming the door in his face which is what he half expected.

He waited until the door was closed behind him before following Sterling down the hall towards that hall bathroom. He stepped into the steam ridden bathroom, flipping the shower back on. Henry dialed the facet to deliver hot water, even though he knew a cold shower was probably better. Then again, if he was going to spend the night in the cold, he wanted to at least start off warm. He might regret that later, but oh well.

He picked up Sterling's towel and hung it on the towel rack. Moving to the entrance of the bathroom, he reached out his hand to take the towel Sterling was getting for him. He was silent a moment before he decided to speak. "I'll be out in 15 minutes. I'll lock the door on the way out." He knew that the tent and sleeping bag was in the bottom of the same linen closet and he already had plans to grab those items before he headed out of the apartment.

Closing the door behind him, Henry laid down his duffle bag on the counter and removed a pair of clean clothes. Henry took a moment to strip out of his wet clothes, tossing the items in his duffle. He would have to remember to hang his pants out to dry after setting up the tent.

The water in the shower was soothing. Henry just stood beneath the steady stream, enjoying the feeling of warmth for the first time tonight. He lost track of the minutes and for a moment, Henry thought that he might have gone over his fifteen minute timeline. One more thing to disappoint him over. He sighed. He finished his shower, rinsing off his body of soap and the shampoo out of his hair. Turning off the shower, he stood there for a moment before pulling back the shower curtain and stepping onto the rug. He dried himself off, shivering lightly as the coldness of the air on his wet skin began to set in. Hanging the towel to dry, Henry quickly dressed and put the bathroom back together. The last thing he needed was to leave the bathroom a mess. One more thing for Sterling to hate him for.

Once the bathroom was far cleaner than when he found it, Henry grabbed his duffle and threw it over his shoulder. He opened the door to the bathroom, took a deep breath, and hurriedly rushed down the hall to grab the tent.

Henry Tudor

I will rise a thousands times again