I will

rise up

in spite of the ache

To say that Henry was shocked when Sterling agreed to allow him to cook dinner would be an understatement. Sterling always preferred to cook, knowing that at least his meals would taste good. The fact that he didn't care if Henry fucked up their dinner was telling enough. There was a part of him that wanted to ask what was wrong, but he knew it wasn't his place. They weren't together anymore. He no longer had the right to ask, to try to cheer him up. Had they been together, Henry might have took him to bed to distract him and then in their post-coital state, tell his boyfriend that they would be alright...that they would figure it out. But they weren't together. Henry hardly felt he had the right to even ask. So instead, he simply resigned himself to finish unpacking and putting away the groceries, quietly working about the kitchen and letting Sterling sulk.

Henry had grabbed a pot and a skillet, filling the pot with water and placing it softly on the back burner. He turned it up to high, watching as it grew red as it heated up. With the water on, he took out a pound of hamburger meat and tossed it in the skillet to brown. Grabbing a cutting board and a knife, he began to cut up an onion, careful not to cut himself. He tossed it into the pan with the meat, letting it cook.

Pulling out a load of French bread, he halved it and began to slather it with butter before putting garlic on one half, cheese on the other. He liked both and never could decide which he wanted more, so he decided both would be sufficient enough. Just as he was sliding it in the oven, he heard Sterling speak, telling him that his work had shut down indefinitely and he had enough to cover the next month.

While nodding his head in understanding, Henry continued to stir the meat until it was cooked all the way through. As he was busy draining the extra grease into a coffee mug with a paper towel wedged in it, he looked up at Sterling. "I'll make sure you're taken care of." Even though they weren't together, Henry still cared for him. Hell, he still loved the blue-eyed boy in front of him. He would make sure Sterling was cared for. He wasn't sure how yet, but he'd figure it out. He had a month.

As he mixed the pasta sauce in with the meat, adding some thyme, rosemary, and oregano, he sighed. Sterling wanted to know how the DMV had gone. Fuckingly well, that's how it went. "It's closed. I'll try looking to see if I can sort it out online." Surely he could find some way to get an ID so he could at least access his bank account. Surely he could just reorder a new driver's license online and have it mailed here. At least that would be easy. Once he got his ID, he could get new bank cards and credit cards which would open up his options financially.

Turning down the sauce to simmer, he tossed in the noodles and started them cooking. Leaning against the countertop, he looked down at the floor. "You'll get through this." It was meant to be encouraging, though he wasn't sure if it came off that way. "What I want to know is who the fuck ate a bat in China to cause the whole world to shut down." He wanted to know who started all this nonsense. Seemed silly that someone should eat a bat and cause a virus that no one understood. Silly if you asked him. Unfortunately, no one asked him.

Henry Tudor

I will rise a thousands times again