I will

rise up

in spite of the ache

He knew the moment Sterilng had fallen asleep. The way his body relaxed against him, the way his breathing slowed into a rhythmic motion. Henry just lay there, stroking Sterling's arm, trying to be the comfort he man needed. Despite how much more he wanted, Henry relented to just enjoying this moment, a moment he hadn't had in so long.

Only when he was certain that the man beside him was asleep, he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to the other's shoulder. The gentle kiss hardly noticeable, but it was an act of affection that Henry couldn't deny. He loved the man beside him with every cell in his body. Despite his past mistakes, he still clung to hope that just maybe, the was the start to their new beginning.

Henry hadn't realizes that he too had fallen asleep. Instead of moving himself to the guestroom as he had said, he had fallen victim to the comfort of Sterling beside him. He felt into a deep sleep, his arms still clinging to Sterling's middle. It wasn't until the sun began to shine into the bedroom that Henry even flinched. Apparently, he too needed to soak in the comfort that Sterling had to offer him.

Slowly, he rolled over, running a hand over his face trying to make sense of what had happened. At first he was confused, not recognizing the room he was in. But as he sat up and began to wake up, he realized that he was still at Sterling's apartment. In fact, he was still in Sterling's bed. Eyes looked down to the sleeping warlock and he sighed.

Slowly and carefully, he tried to climb out of the bed without waking Sterling. However, it had been so long since he slept with someone beside him that his movements were less than graceful. He looked back over at Sterling one last time before he crossed the room to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, leaving it cracked lightly as he moved to turn on the shower. As the bathroom began to fill with steam, Henry began to undress, folding his clothes neatly and placing them on the bathroom counter. He was a little dirty and banged up, his body showing bruises that weren't there the night before. But before he dwelled much on the events of last night, he stepped into the shower and just stood there, letting the warm water fall downhis head and back. It cleared his sinuses and soothed his bruises. It felt nice...the only thing he was missing to make this shower perfect was Sterling.

Henry Tudor

I will rise a thousands times again