entrancelogs | Walter goes to see Henry

Who: Henry & Walter (Harry's there at the very start)
Where Alessa's Room
When: Today
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Walter goes to see Henry after seeing to Dante, they talk for a while and Walter comforts Henry. More so than usual, Walter feels his emotions are a lot more potent today but he can't recall why.
the Story:
Harry: Finally, Harry's gotten Alessa to bed, at least when she seemed to calm down. Mostly, he hopes Henry and Lisa haven't heard anything; it's not their burden, not their problem.

It's getting to be a bit ... much for him, though.

He's thought about it, and he's decided to head down to the kitchen for the night. Lisa can keep an eye on them, and Harry's certain that they can protect themselves until he'll come back.

Harry opens the door to leave, but stops when he stares down.

Sitting against the wall next to the door is another man, probably about Harry's age (even if he gets a distinctive vibe that there's also something terribly young about him). The man is hunched over, staring at the floor. A mess of blonde hair. Dried blood splattered all across his coat and hands and -- jeez, it looks like it covers everything.

The condition of the man's clothes don't seem favorable either. There's a gaping hole in the middle of the man's coat, like something punctured it with pure force, and something's torn at the man's pants by the thighs, too. Yet, he looks... perfectly fine.

Perfectly fine and perfectly suspicious. Instinctively, Harry clutches tightly to the katana.

"You're him," the man mumbles. "Whose face she can see..."

"What?" Harry frowns.

The man leans his head back, staring up at Harry. "Alessa sees your face." He shudders. "...Henry. I want to see Henry."

"Wait..." Harry's brows raise. "Are you...? Walter?" Well... appearances can be deceiving. He didn't expect any friend of Henry's or Alessa's to be covered in dried blood, but then. Who knows what Walter's been up to?

Walter stands up slowly, staring at Harry; Harry notices his back, too. The back of Walter's coat is missing, like something just tore it off, and there's a cut int he back of Walter's pants--

"Can I see Henry?" Walter mumbles.

"...Hang on a second. Wait here." Harry goes back inside.

Henry: Wasn't doing much with his days, he spent a lot of time sleeping or talking with Alessa or Harry, he hadn't seen the illusive Lisa that much, he didn't know why since they lived together (for now), he just occasionally saw a flash of white and red and blonde and before he could stammer out anything... She was gone.

Right now he was looking through that bookcase he had taken an interest in the other day, Henry knew the names of a lot of books as he collected them, but the plots, and usually the authors too, didn't ring any bells for him.

Alessa's reading interests though... they were all pretty strange, ranging from horror to herbology, her room had the odd insect show case in it too, Henry quite liked those, especially the winged ones, moths or was it butterflies? He had a hard time telling them apart really.

He had heard Harry leave, and re-enter in fact, he didn't think much of it, he'd probably forgotten something... Henry didn't talk that much, so he didn't say anythign when he heard him come back in... He felt like he was enough of a burden as it was without playing happy families.

Harry: Harry approaches the room that Henry's been staying in, giving it a firm knock. "Henry?" he calls out. "There's someone--" He hopes he isn't being tricked here. He thinks it's Walter, but he's never really ever met him, and all that blood just looked...

"Walter. Walter's here to see you. Do you want to come out?"

Walter, who's waiting outside the hallway, anyway.

Henry: Stopped what he was doing that very moment and without hesitation he Alessa's room, "Yeah." he said absently as he was already heading to the hallway. Henry had been worried about Walter, he hadn't heard anything from him other than that note and his... surreal, twin-peaky, dream. Henry himself looked alright, perhaps a little tired, bags under his eyes somewhat and maybe slightly thinner... Which wasn't all that much of a bad thing. He was still dressed in those dreadfully unfashionable clothes with that average haircut... Henry was still very much Henry.

Heading towards the apartments front door, he called out "Walter?" assuming he'd hear him, despite the small nature of his voice.

Walter: Walter jerked a little, recognizing his voice immediately. Already, he sees the difference in Henry -- a bit thinner. Tired looking. Probably no where near as dreadful looking as Walter is right now, but naturally, he looks concerned. He approaches him, and his fingers twitch. He wants to touch him, but he's minding himself.

"Henry..." he says quietly. "I missed you."

Harry clears his throat a bit. "You two can go inside, if you want." As for him... he still wants to head out.

Henry: Henry double-taked, what on Earth had happened to Walter? He looked terrible, well... somehow, he did and he didn't. Henry, knowing Walter's nature, knew that his body was probably fine but the clothes showed something else. All sorts of bloody horrors... What had he been doing in his time away?!

"I... missed you too." he said as the contented, excited, expression he had on his face at the idea of seeing his friend again was slightly jilted, broken somewhat, upon actually seeing him. Henry looked worried. Before being able to add anything else he heard Harry and nodded, talking in the hallway was... probably kind of inappropriate and Henry didn't want to draw any attention to himself...

"Yeah, let's talk inside."

Walter: The concerned look bothers Walter, as if he can't immediately understand why Henry would be worried about anything other than himself. Still, he smiles hesitantly at the words. He was missed. He knows that he honestly wished he could have stayed with Henry throughout all this, but Dante had to be taken care of. But he nods at the invitation.
Harry glances at them, letting them inside the room first. "Listen. If you need anything, ask Lisa; I'll be back as soon as I can." He's not really that sure when that'll be, but he hopes he can come back in time to get some answers from Walter.
For now, he'll let them be; Harry shuts the door and heads for the stairs.
Walter glances hesitantly at Henry.

Henry: Upon being left alone Henry felt a strange influx of emotions, happy, sad, confused, hurt, scared... Really scared... He was so scared and hurt.

Shaking his head, to try and clear it, he shuffled over to a nearby couch and hunched over, sitting down. Leaving enough room for Walter to join him if he wanted to, or to sit on the nearby seat. "Ah, um..." where to start... Henry somehow hoped that... Walter didn't know what had happened, it would make things a lot easier.

"I've not seen you in a while... are you okay?" naturally he had to ask that question.

Walter: Unfortunately, he knew -- the precise reason why he went after Dante more than Vergil, although the latter did still aggravate him for attacking Mr. Kennedy. Walter remembers the little details and the big details, with the eyes and visions that the Mother of All and Valtiel gave him.
But he feels different now. Something is different. He isn't sure what it is.
Slowly, Walter sits down beside Henry, yet at the same time he is sure to keep a humble distance without being obvious. "I'm fine. You know I don't stay injured for long. ... You didn't mind staying with Alessa, did you?"

Henry: He shook his head, despite Alessa occasionally... being strange, she was nice... She talked to Henry, and was one of the few people he didn't feel grossly ill at ease with. "No, it's okay..." looking towards the door as if being given a sign "But I should probably go back to my room soon, I think..." he really felt like he was a massive inconvience here.

Despite what Walter had said, Henry still worried. He didn't know what was going on the mansion anymore, he couldn't really keep up with it at the moment, but... Something made him feel weird, he sensed something, he couldn't put his finger on it, and that feeling made him worry for Walter... He was his closest friend here afterall. Somehow...

Walter: "Give it another day or two, then you should go back there," Walter replies, looking away from Henry. "I'm not... I'm not done yet in there." It's been hell of a mess to clean, but he doesn't want Henry to see any of it. Honestly, he should have waited to see him, but once he had his own will to think clearly, he ran right here.
Like he'd been released from a burden, only to be given more.
"This will be probably be a ridiculous question to ask, but. How have you been doing? It must not be easy."

Henry: He heard "... not done yet?" Henry echoed, unsure of what Walter meant, it hadn't passed his thick skull that Walter was concerned with the mess left over from Henry's attack. Like with his coming back from the dead, Henry had stupidly assumed that the room would return to normal too.

But this echoed question was muffled out at Walter's... How had he been. Ups and downs, but the ups were shallow and the downs were hellish, Henry spent a lot of time alone as he thought it would be easier that way... But it wasn't, with people or without them he still felt scared and timid, more so than he was before... And that's a lot of timid.

"I've been alright." he lied, and unlike Henry's little white lies this one wasn't to make things easier on Walter, this one.... was to make things easier on himself. If... he said he was fine, he must be fine... right?

Walter: Walter hates lies, but he doesn't expect the truth to come out so easily now. He raises his hand instinctively -- but his fingers fold and he pulls his hand back. This is going to be much more difficult than he imagined. So freely, he used to touch Henry, maybe even to just test the boundaries. See what he could get away with.
No more of that.
"I will believe you, if you say so." No he won't, but he doesn't want to make Henry speak of anything he doesn't wish to. "I'm glad to see you. And you can be assured that those two will never bother you again. It's been taken care of."

Henry: The brothers... Henry liked helping people, it made him feel a better person, but how he wishes in the pit of his heart that he'd left Vergil where he was. He'd never meant to cause the rift between the two of them, he'd never meant to make Dante so angry...

Henry wasn't a brave guy, he wasn't the sort who could laugh off the sort of things that had happened to him, no.. it would stay with him for years and hurt him everytime he thought about it.

His face tensed, as if he was using all his energy to stop himself from bursting into floods of frightened, hurt, tears. "I... I shouldn't have done anything... I... brought it on... Should've been more careful, shouldn't I?" As he spoke, his voice quivered at one point, he couldn't help it...

Walter: Somehow, emotions are completely overwhelming Walter. Usually, he's ... calm. Terrifyingly so. Sometimes he smirks, sometimes he laughs, gets a little angry, but right now. Right now, he feels. Oddly.
Human.
"No," Walter says suddenly, almost snapping. He winces to himself. Calmer, calmer -- what the hell is the matter with him? "You were doing what was natural to you, Henry. If it's anyone's fault, it's theirs and theirs alone. Don't harbor any blame. You didn't do anything wrong. Me... I was. I was being weak. And hiding. Because I was scared of the Red Devil."
Still scared, now that he's had his punishment.

Henry: Jumped slightly, Henry wasn't used to Walter raising his voice, even a little bit. He didn't mind, it got the point across really, it was just a bit of a shock.

Wided he shook his head at what Walter was saying, every word of it. "No... it's not your fault, and you're not weak... You... shouldn't have to look after me, I'm... heh, a grown man afterall." although sometimes he wondered about himself... Sometimes when Henry gets so scared he can't even walk away from a horrible situation like that, all he can do is stare dumbly... and doing so got him in this terrible situation.

"If... I shouldn't blame myself, neither should you... okay?"

Walter: "I want to take care of you," Walter says a bit more firmly. "You're important to me, and I want nothing bad happening to you." Strange turnaround on matters. Months ago, he'd been chasing down Henry to finish the Sacraments because he thought it would wake up Mother.
Now, it's... it's very different. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes... like right now, perhaps it's not so good. Not good for Henry.
"Then I will not, as long as you do not," Walter agrees quietly. "Just know that I wish I could have... prevented it."

Henry: "... Me too." He says, eyes drifting to the side slightly, his brow slowly wrinkled, becoming more intense as horrible flashbacks began to litter his brain. Moments of pain and fear that Henry had never felt before, and Henry's been to Silent Hill.

"I... was scared." he said in his tiniest voice, the noise barely even passed his gently frowning lips. The thought of dying wasn't the scariest thing of all then... the idea of his body being torn apart, being so violated... thinking back to it made him wince, he genuinely looked like he was about to cry.

Walter: "Henry?" He can see it in the other man's face. Walter's fingers curl tightly, enough to dig his own fingernails into his skin.
This is so damned difficult.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry -- we shouldn't talk about it, if you don't want to. I'm sorry." It's not that Walter can't deal with it. He doesn't mind listening. He doesn't mind letting Henry do what he needs to, but he isn't so sure if it's for the best.
And seeing him look like he's about to cry.
That. Makes him feel sad. And Walter knows all about being sad.

Henry: Was he being inappropriate? With a hard swallow and a forced, tight, smile Henry quickly wipes his eyes on the cuff of his shirt. He's fine, he's not crying, his eyes were just... watering because of something else...

"It's okay." he managed as he sucked in air to try and calm himself down. "I, um..." what else could he talk about? Anything, anything but that, anything will do "Erm..."He was finding this hard, not because of Walter, not at all, Walter... was comforting -somehow- but having a conversation with someone properly was prooving to be hard. "Have... you been busy?"

Walter: He still feels sad. It's not a real smile from Henry, and Henry is hurting, and Walter isn't so sure there's anything he can do to make it better. All that torture and pain he dealt to Dante will never, ever take back what's been done. Will never change anything.
Henry is going to remember, for the rest of his life, and there isn't anything Walter can do about it to make it okay.
"Very," Walter replies quietly, placing his hand against his forehead, as if to ward off a headache. "I've been very... busy. But I think it's done now. But ever since I got back, I've felt strange."
He shakes his head. "I'm sorry I left you alone. I wanted to stay."

Henry: Without thinking Henry reached out and settled his palm, ever-so-gently, on Walter's shoulder. He didn't even realise he was doing it, it was just when he saw that tired, strainned expression and Walter's hand on his forehead.. Well, Henry worried.

"Are you alright?" It seemed a bit ironic that Henry was asking Walter this but... He worried, he'd grown so fond of Walter in a strange sort of way... After fearing him so much now he cared... But that was just Henry's nature.

Walter: The touch surprises him. He doesn't expect Henry to even be able to do that anymore, but he doesn't argue it. He's glad for it. Slowly, Walter lowers his hand and looks hesitantly at Henry.
"I don't know," Walter responds. Because he isn't so sure. Whenever he thinks about the last few days, it hits him hard. It never used to bother him. Violence never bothered him, pain is something he's grown associated with.
Why does it bother him now?
"I suppose I feel a bit overwhelmed," he admits. "But you shouldn't have to ask me that. I'm more concerned about you than myself, Henry."

Henry: "You're... my friend, even though things have.. um... been hard... I want to know you're alright. If you're not then... I want to do something to help... I think." His hand slowly released Walter's shoulder and landed on Henry's lap lazily.

His eyes followed the limb and his eyes dully looked at his thighs. Despite trying hard to be strong and positive there was still something very broken about him.

Walter: Hesitantly, Walter smiles at him, then shakes his head. "...I'm glad to know that, in spite of everything, you've changed very little. I will... I will be all right. I have dealt with much before, now should be no different. For now... worry about yourself, before you worry about me. Please."
Walter knows pain. Henry hasn't experienced it quite as much. Walter would rather that Henry worry for himself for a change.
He stands slowly, rubbing the back of his neck, as if it's sore. There's a confused look on his face before he speaks again. "Don't force anything from yourself either. You will not heal immediately from your new burdens. ... If you feel... sad. I think it is best you let yourself. Holding it back is much more painful."

Henry: Henry looks up quite suddenly as he hears Walter move, seeing him stand Henry couldn't help but assume that he was moving to leave... He didn't want this, he didn't want to be left alone, he'd only just seen Walter...

"I... don't go." he pleaded, and there was a palpable desperation about him in those three little words. Henry had to stop himself reaching out and grabbing Walter, the need for company so dire.

Walter: He was thinking -- he should finish cleaning the room. Get it ready for Henry, like nothing had changed, like nothing had happened.
But he freezes, hearing the way Henry pleads with him to stay.
Why does... he feel so sad? Walter frowns, concerned. But he nods.
"I won't go." He'd rather stay, anyway. He lifts a hand, as if to touch Henry's face -- but it stops, just short a few inches, because he must contain himself.

Henry: When Walter reaches for him, Henry feels some comfort, as if he's being accepted somehow... But when he stops, he gets the completely wrong idea, he takes it as Walter feeling some disgust, as if Henry was now tainted.

"I... Am... I... Have I changed so... much that you don't want to..." he swallowed hard after he spoke, his jaw tensing slightly.

Walter: "No," Walter hisses, more vehemently than he means to sound. "I just-- I know what happened. I don't... want you to be frightened of me."
Before the mansion, he didn't care about any of that.
Now, he cares too much.
"I didn't think you would want me to, anymore -- not after what happened."

Henry: He's fronwingly gently, it isn't necessarily a sad expression, more like a painned one. Walter's feelings weren't the only ones that had changed, Henry's had too... More than he ever thought possible... He was scared of Walter, he dodged him at every corner and never ever wanted to see him before he came here...

But it's all changed, when Henry was dying, bloody and scared he wanted Walter there.. Not just to help him, but to be there. To... talk to him when he died... To be there, when he was there, Henry felt... better.

"Y..ou're different. From anyone else here... to me."

Walter: It's terribly flattered. Walter manages a small smile.
"Even if my hands are... this way?"
Blood-covered. Dried out, but still -- he knows Henry wouldn't exactly prefer it. Regardless, he presses his hand near, gently, against the side of Henry's face.

Henry: "I... don't think it matters anymore." Henry had bloody hands too... He'd attacked creatures brutally too, he'd ended up blood stainned and battered like Walter... Just for different reasons.

Walter's hands were a little rough but against Henry's stubble he could barely tell. Subconciously he leaned into Walter's hand, he was... desperate for comfort.

Walter: "I will believe you, then."
He crouches before Henry places his other hand against the other cheek, carefully cradling the other man's face. "As long as you don't mind, then," Walter says quietly. He wants to touch. And he doesn't want to scare him.

Henry: As hard as he had tried to hold back his emotions, feeling Walter's hands on his cheeks and watching him look at him... no, it was all too much. Henry didn't mean to let it all come out, he didn't mean to break in, break down, fall apart.

"I... don't... Don't go." he said blinking profusely as an occasional tear would escape Henry's busy eyelids only to go and be sucked up by Walter's bloody hands.

Walter: "I will not leave you," Walter says quietly.
The tears are... the tears are hurting him. They really hurt to watch, but it's probably better to see them than for Henry to hold back. He pulls away his hands, if only so he can put his arms around Henry's shoulders. He imagines this isn't preferable; he stinks of gore right now, but he can't. Really help it.
Walter wants to hold him.

Henry: Had Henry more sense on him right now, accepting this somewhat smelly hug would've been something Henry may have commented on... But right now he needed this more than anything. Despite Alessa and Harry being very supportive... He needed someone to listen to him and hold him, and right now in Henry's mind there was noone better suited for that then Walter.

Without a moment of hesitation Henry leans into this hug, arms shakily raising to grip Walter's tattered coat. He stammers, his voice so scared, hurt... tender "Walter... Walter... I was scared... I'm sorry."

Walter: "You're allowed to be," he murmurs. "You don't have to apologize for anything."
It hurts. This isn't something he's faced before, and it's more frightening than anything else. He's not ever held or comforted anyone before -- much in the way he's rarely ever BEEN held or comforted. But Walter is... willing to try his best. Because Henry needs him.
Walter tightens his arms around Henry, as if that's going to protect him from everything else.

Henry: His face is pressed against Walter's chest, but his eyes don't shut, they barely even blink.

"I... I..." he was trying to talk, trying to explain himself, trying to tell Walter it wasn't his fault... He couldn't, speaking made it harder, so much harder...

He breathed in deeply -probably not the nicest thing to do in his position, but he needed the air. "I didn't... want..."

Walter: Slowly, Walter sits back onto the floor, pulling Henry with him. He's not sure how comfortable he's going to be, but if Henry wants to stay holding on -- then very well. He listens, and slowly strokes his back (because this is the sort of thing Walter's always wanted).
And he will love the pearl, and he will shine it.
"What is it?" he asks quietly.

Henry: Doesn't resist, he moves down to join Walter so that he's kneeling infront of him. There was a peak in this embrace, where Henry's emotions rose and then gradually began to fall again. There was a point where he was so consumed by them that he felt like he was going to wail like a child, but didn't.

All of the horrors of the other day, they were being steadily eclipsed by Walter's kindness, his caring. "I.. didn't want to do it..." he said somewhat more coherantly "I... he wouldn't listen..." the tears were beginning to slow.

Walter: "I know," he murmurs. "I know it very well."
To Walter, Dante is nothing but a monster. Logically speaking, he ... shouldn't. Walter is no innocent, either, is not a good man -- but at least Walter has accepted and been punished for his sins. He is cleansed of them. And through his work, Dante has finally admitted that what he did was wrong.
"He has been taken care of. You have nothing to worry about from them anymore. I've taken care of it."

Henry: "You... took care of it?" Henry repeated, pulling back slightly, still in the embrace but he's leaned back enough for him to be able to see Walter's face when he talks to him. Henry looks tired, his upper eyelids have swollen from crying and there are small bags underneath them too.

Walter: Walter nods. He closes his eyes a moment as he leans his forehead against Henry's before he speaks again. "I did. It has been dealt with, and they will have nothing to do with you now. You do not have to fear them."
If Walter must, he'll kill them again -- now that he knows how.

Henry: "Did what?" Henry hadn't gotten his head around what Walter was saying, but being held, being touched (by him) made him feel a lot calmer.

"You... didn't try to attack them... Right? They're... strong." it then dawned on Henry, why Walter must be so bloodied up "D..di they attack you?!"

Walter: "Shh, it's okay," Walter murmurs, stroking his back gently. "I went with Sora to confront Dante. I dealt with him. Although Vergil seems to have disappeared, I did speak with him briefly."

Some of the blood is indeed Walter's -- not that Dante drew any of it.

"Even if they did attack me, they would not have stood much of a chance. After all, they can die. I do not so easily."

Henry: "You... didn't do it... because of me. Right?" What a stupid question, Walter obviously did it because of what happened to Henry, but... He just didn't like the idea of the two of them, the two strongest people in the mansion as far as Henry knew, having a showdown.

"I, um..." his voice began to soften as he was being stroked, he calmed down considerably, so much so that he was whispering instead of talking. "Even if... you can't die, you can still get hurt, right?"

Walter: This makes Walter tilt his head. He peers at Henry curiously. "What other reason would I have to attack him? He hurt you. He deserved punishment for that. That is all."

Hesitantly, he answers, "Yes. I can." Fingers stroke through Henry's hair. "But, don't let it worry you. I heal. I do not stay hurt. You have no reason to worry about me."

As far as Walter knows.

Henry: He worries about Walter for... various reasons.

But right now he couldn't think straight, the way he was playing with his hair, stroking his back, it all made him feel so drowsy. "Heh... Hey." he said, with a pleasant but small smile on his lips "If you keep doing that, I'll fall asleep.. And I've been sleeping so much recently."

Walter: "Maybe you'll sleep better this way," Walter muses, smirking softly. He studies Henry best he can, catching sight of the small smile. It makes ... it makes Walter feel very happy to see him like this.

It's such a relief.

"Sleep. I promise to be here when you wake up."

Henry: Really? Henry's never tried sleeping in someone's arms before. Although right now the idea was extremely appealing.

"You... wont go, right? Even if I'm asleep for ages?" he had to be sure, he didn't want to wake up alone... Not right now. He needed company and Walter's was much prefered!

Walter: Amusing question. Walter doesn't quite laugh, but he's grinning a little.

"You could sleep for years, and I promise you I will not budge." He leans back somewhat against the closet support -- that being a wall. "Are you comfortable, at least?"

Henry: Keeps that smile, he moves slightly so that instead of his forehead being pressed against Walter's, his cheek rested on his shoulder instead. A much more comfortable position.

"I'm fine." he mumbled, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, as he did so his body became slighlty heavier as he relaxed. "I don't mind if.. you're sleepy too."

Walter: He shrugs a little, slowing his strokes to be more relaxing, sleep-inducing. It's appropriate, he thinks, considering the emotional turmoil that Henry is going through.

Hopefully this will help.

"I'm not sure if I am." Truthfully, Walter is fairly exhausted. More so since...

Since something. Important. He can't quite remember.

"Sleep," he murmurs softly.

Henry: "Mm..." he hummed adding "'m... Sorry, I always seem to be such a.. burden." and with that he became even heavier still.

His breathing slowly down and began much deeper, much more of a solid rythem, at first he just fell into a heavy slumber, probably the heaviest he's had since his rebirth. He looked so harmless, so peaceful...

Walter: He snorts softly. "You aren't. This path, I have chosen. I wish to do this for you. That is my decision. ... Because I care about you."

More than that, really. But those are words unappropriate -- and will be probably for good. But Walter can live with that.

As long as Henry is happy and content, nothing else matters.