A/N - So, I'm not really into Henry Stickmin anymore. I've been hyperfixating elsewhere.... Oops! But I'm updating this by popular demand! There were actually supposed to be two chapters, one about Ellie, but sadly I never was able to write Ellie's chapter in a way that I like and I kept deleting it and rewriting it and the chapter for afterwards was already finished and I was like "oh no this will never get posted if I keep trying to write this other chapter" so I hope this doesn't feel too awkward haha!

And I don't want to sound rude but please don't ask for anymore updates.  This was meant to be a one-shot, but I updated so people could have more because they wanted it, but I had a few people demanding updates and it was stressing me out.  That's part of why the update took a bit to happen.  Of course, I'm not going to blame anyone for it, though!  You've all been lovely and I've greatly enjoyed reading your comments!!  Okay, I'll let you read now.

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Only a day later, Ellie showed up unannounced. She only stayed a few hours to make conversation and check on Charles. Ellie was observant though, more observant than Charles, and after her visit, it left him with a lot to think about. So, Charles was sitting on the couch. He needed to contemplate things a little. It all made sense. He just wished he'd seen it sooner.

Henry had grown a great deal more protective of Charles after his presumed death. At first, Charles hadn't realized it. It wasn't until Ellie had noted, "He always seems to be worried when he's not around you," that Charles began to notice. He wondered how he hadn't noticed sooner.

It was the way Henry held his hand, not tight enough to hurt, but firm enough that no outside force could separate them. It was in the way Henry held Charles at night, the way Charles woke up with Henry pressed into him. It was in the way that, despite Henry's best efforts to appear calm, panic flashed in his eyes whenever the subject of Charles returning to work came up. The air around Henry felt heavy with guilt. He never stopped blaming himself.

It crossed Charles' mind to just quit, just once or twice. He could stop being a military pilot, in fact, drop military work completely, to save Henry from so much grief. He knew deep down he couldn't. He missed his helicopter. No, it went deeper than that, and he knew it. Stopping his work wouldn't help Henry, because it wasn't the help Henry needed, and without the help he really needed, Henry would always be afraid. Henry wasn't afraid of Charles piloting again, he was afraid of losing Charles again.

Charles shifted his position, feeling a great deal uncomfortable with the thought. He'd never meant to hurt Henry, not like this, not ever. Positives, positives, he needed to focus on the positives... Of course Charles knew that his return was good for Henry, ultimately, but it was hard to be optimistic when it still seemed that there were detriments to it as well. Instead of easing, Henry's survivor's guilt had only seemed to worsen. Henry's words echoed in Charles' mind, "I should have gone back. It should have been me who found him. I left him there!" Charles wished that Henry could see his own dedication. There was never a second that Charles felt unloved.

But that wasn't positive, and he needed to focus on the good! He listed everything in his mind, things from that morning alone. There were forehead kisses, and Henry's smile, and the way Henry had laughed because of the silly things Charles said, the sound more beautiful than any other. With a glance at the table beside the couch, Charles found more reasons to smile. That was the answering machine he had given to Henry, was it? Henry even kept the sticky note, Charles :), right there with it! That made Charles feel nice and warm!

More interesting, a pen and small sheet of paper torn from a notepad was next to it. "Possible jobs:" Charles read as he picked up the sheet. He knew Henry sometimes wrote down the places he wanted to rob, or good opportunities for crime, but this was different, heartwarmingly so. "Uber driver, store clerk, test subject, drive thru..."

Charles grinned. "He could definitely be an Uber driver," he murmured to himself. He reread the list. Test subject? Charles picked up the pen and crossed that off. Henry wasn't the only one who could be protective.

"Hey!" peeped a voice across the room. Well, speak of the devil. "Oh, you saw that? What do you think?" Henry asked. His voice had significantly improved since Charles had returned. Yeah, he still only talked to Charles, Ellie, and General Galeforce, opting to sign to everyone else, but that was the Henry that everyone always remembered.

"Uber driver," Charles suggested, "You can drive anything, including that tank you take everywhere. It's the perfect job for you."

Henry laughed quietly. He slipped the list and pen from Charles to himself, conveniently brushing hands with Charles despite the fact that there was plenty of space to take it without. Charles watched him circle 'Uber driver.' "Why'd you cross one off?" Henry asked.

Charles giggled at how ridiculous Henry could be sometimes. "Because I'm not letting you be a test subject!" Charles insisted, "That's so dangerous!"

"Whatever gets us cash, though, right?"

"No, Henry," Charles argued gently, "I don't want to lose you. You're worth more than all the money in the world."

"You don't wanna... Yeah..." Henry tried to laugh but it was just a huff. He paused. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Henry, we've all thought of doing stupid things for money," Charles shrugged, "Like when I was ten I colored my hands with pink highlighter on a bet of two dollars. It took days to wash it off!"

That got Henry to laugh weakly. "No, I mean, for making you feel like you were going to lose me.

Charles snapped to serious mode. There's a time for jokes and there's a time to just talk. "Henry, are you okay?" Of course he wasn't, but even if it's a stupid question, it's a good place to start.

"I- No," Henry admitted, "I just- when you- I thought I lost you."

"I know," Charles hummed, "Here. Come here." He opened up his arms.

Henry obliged, dragging his feet over to the couch and cuddling up into Charles' arms. Charles pressed his lips against Henry's forehead, hoping for even just a ghost of a smile. Instead, he got tears. "I don't want you to go through that."

He could never get Henry to open up to him about it. Charles knew that both of them would feel better if they did though. "What was it like?" Charles asked in earnest. He wanted, needed to know.

"It was empty," Henry sighed, "I knew I'd never see you again- at least I thought I would, and I'm incredibly lucky that I did see you again. But during that time, I felt like there was a void inside me, a blackhole seeping the life out of me from the inside out. It was like without you I was incomplete."

"What did you do?"

"I cried. I stopped talking. And I waited, and I don't know why," Henry continued as Charles wiped away his tears as they ran down his cheeks, the feeling of Charles' thumb brushing against his skin a comfort. "Maybe I knew deep down that you were okay, or maybe I was waiting for a one-in a-million-miracle. Either way, it ended up working."

Charles smiled, his heart warming. "I'm glad that you got your miracle."

"But the waiting... It was horrible. The grief, the loneliness, all of it was horrible. I don't want that for you."

"It's okay right now, alright?" Charles reassured him, "We're both right here. I can feel you in my arms, and you can feel me, right?" Henry nodded. "Yes, see?" Charles continued, "It's okay now."

Henry finally smiled, although he hadn't stopped crying. "Yeah," he agreed, his voice so close to inaudible that calling it a whisper felt like an understatement. Henry nuzzled his face into Charles' chest, and then there was a pleasant silence. That heavy feeling of guilt that seemed to hang around Henry suddenly felt lighter, Charles noticed.

This was okay. They were okay. Everything was okay.