Seeing Things

its just brain cancer!

In the end, Benrey ended up returning to Gordon's apartment because, and while Tommy loved having Benrey over, he didn't want to get sick himself. So, very, extremely, reluctantly, Gordon agreed to let Benrey back in his house, under the one condition that when Benrey got better, they'd leave. Which of course, seemed simple enough to any normal human. But Benrey was not a normal human, or even human at all. Gordon was pretty sure they were faking it, but it was a little hard to keep up the speculation when he was woken up by a nightmare and the sound of someone retching in the bathroom graced his ears.

He'd done pretty well at avoiding Benrey, who claimed the couch for themself. They somehow acquired a PlayStation and would continually play games from under a pile of blankets until they happened to fall asleep. The fog that constantly clouded Gordon's brain was staring to lift, and he could almost feel the himself getting better. On the other hand, Benrey showed no signs of healing. Gordon tried to give them some Advil, but they always refused.

One of the days while Gordon was looking for a new job (not that he really needed one, it just felt off sitting around his apartment all day) he had a thought that stuck out to him.

Maybe Benrey isn't trying to get better so they can stay here to annoy me. There was another, rogue, thought after that one, but Gordon elected to ignore it and forget he thought it in the first place. His traitorous brain supplied him with the phrase 'cringe fail thought', which in turn made him pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

The day flew by without any other hiccups. Crawling into bed, he felt relieved that the day was over, but the relief was only a poorly masked looming cloud of dread. Sleep wasn't quick for the scientist, with his mind bouncing quickly from one thought to another. Somewhere around midnight, he fell into a light and restless sleep. Small flashes of dreams, broken stories his brain tried to display danced in his head. The fragments were interrupted by the somewhat familiar sound of someone stumbling down the hall and into the bathroom. Guilt seeped into Gordon, so strong it was almost tangible when it felt like it was scraping marks down his back.

Tossing the blankets off him and snatching his glasses, he walked down the hall. The bright light of the bathroom revealed a hunched up and shivering Benrey leaning heavily over the toilet. They were continuously brushing the long hair away from their face. It was a pitiful sight. They must've noticed Gordon standing in the doorway, because they turned their head oh-so-slightly in his direction.

"'m sorry i woke you up..." they muttered, and almost immediately after they jolted and turned back towards the toilet. Gordon didn't really remember getting on the floor, but when he was kneeling next to Benrey he held their hair back through the night. When they seemed to be done, he rubbed their back and picked them up, bridal style.

They're so light... a concerned thought said to Gordon as he carried them back to the couch. The shivers came in small waves where Benrey's face would twist up, and when they'd curl in on themselves in pain. He sat next to them as the shivers subsided, rubbing their shoulder comfortingly.

He draped a thick blanket over them, hopefully enough to keep them warm, and stood to go back to bed.

"noooo don't leave.." Benrey's voice was hoarse and cracked, most likely a result from that night's activities. "you-gordon real warm...benrey cold.." they whined. Gordon paused and looked back to Benrey, then back down the hall, then back to Benrey. He sighed, turned around, and shuffled back to Benrey. Scooping up the shorter person, he earned a small noise of surprise as he carted them back to his room.

"woah...gordon freeman-" they paused to cough into their elbow, "gordon freeman care moment?"

"Shut up or I'll drop you back on the couch." Gordon groaned, depositing them on the side of the bed closest to the wall. He clambered in right after, tugging the blankets up over both of them.

"If I wake up and- and you're on top of me, I'm gonna be like, big time angry." he muttered as he plucked his glasses off and dropped them back on the nightstand.

"yeah 'mkay sleep now please?" their voice came from behind his back. He took it as an agreement and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was deep in sleep, but the one next to him was wide awake. Listening to Gordon's slow and even breathing was calming, but the fact that Gordon willingly carried them all the way to his room and was now sleeping in the same bed as them was mildly off-putting. Benrey wheezed out an uneven breath as Gordon shifted behind them. A rogue arm appeared over them, warmth starting to seep into their side immediately.

A twinge of guilt flitted through them as they slowed wrapped a cold hand around the other's warm one. They rubbed a thumb down the ridges of his hand, yet another reminder of just how human he was. Benrey squeezed his hand lightly, feeling the steady pulse of his heart through skin. Gordon squeezed their hand back; if he was awake, it would've been a whole different story, but for now he was asleep and Benrey was with him.

They felt the Sweet Voice build in the back of their throat, a light tickle at first but soon evolving into what felt like a cough. They opened their mouth and let the song squeeze out, lightly colored orbs flowing past their lips and into the air with ease. Light pinks and blues filled the air above the bed, glowing profusely. If Tommy were there, he'd probably translate without thinking too much of it and shout Benrey's secret to the heavens. But for now, it was just the two of them, and even if only one was awake to see the light-show, it still meant neither was alone.

The orbs would dissipate by morning, so Benrey had no fear of Gordon seeing them and asking Tommy for a translation. Squeezing the hand they were holding one last time, Benrey closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.