#burtmin

Dating Henry was certainly interesting. Then again, everything with Henry was interesting in one way or another.

Despite Henry being a literal crime boss, he was very sweet. 

Sometimes, Burt couldn't believe that they were dating. Then Henry would kiss his hand, or wrap his arm around him, and Burt would be reminded.

He had a boyfriend.

He had a boyfriend.

Burt hadn't dated much before Henry. He apparently went on a date once in high school, he didn't know it was a date.

In hindsight, he probably should've noticed the guy was flirting with him. He just assumed the guy was trying to butter him up so Burt would let him copy his homework or something. 

He remembered when the guy tried to kiss him, he cringed away in confusion.

Burt was in no way in the closet. He was gay. That was just a fact. Still, the guy wasn't his type. At all.

Burt looked at the topaz top hat Henry gave him months ago for his birthday. He left it on his work desk, by his computer. 

He smiled.

Apparently his type was "unpredictable, cuddly, dorky, kleptomaniac with a tendency to not think things through".

He heard someone knock on the door.

Burt pressed a button on his desk, the metal door slid open with a hiss, revealing the very man Burt was thinking about. Henry.

Henry walked in and took a seat next to Burt. He handed Burt a smoothie, and gave him a peck on the cheek. 

"Heh, thanks, Henry." A small part of Burt still had to fight the habit of calling him "boss". He was getting close to breaking it though.

Like usual, Henry signed to Burt. Asking him how his day was, updating him on heist plans, the works. It was… nice.

Really nice.

Burt had always been distant with the people around him, tuning them out unless it was necessary to interact. People normally only talked with him when they needed something anyway, so what was the point of trying to get closer? What was the point of an emotional bond in a transactional dynamic?

He only really liked his friend, Sven, and even then he kept him at arm's length for a good while.

He used to be so much more passionate about his work. He worked his ass off when he first joined the clan. When he first became the head of communications, he did so much. He even did jobs outside of his own required responsibilities. He just wanted to be appreciated for his efforts.

It was never enough. 

He was "too distant" to people. He was "too blunt". He "didn't dress appropriately". Reginald always complained that he wasn't approachable, and that he was creepy because he "didn't emote enough". It was always some little thing about him that seemed to irk people. No one bothered to get closer to him, so why should he try?

It was hard to shake off the apathy of it all. He stopped doing extra work, just sticking to being the head of communications. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worn out. He was tired of taking on extra work and getting no thanks for it. Why bother? It's not like he got paid extra. 

Then Henry showed up. He smashed through the window, held Reginald by the throat with his own golden chain, and took over the clan in a day. 

In one bold, sporadic maneuver, Henry, this complete stranger none of them had ever heard of, became the new chief. 

No one knew what to expect. 

Burt wouldn't admit this out loud to anyone, but a part of him felt the tiniest bit vindicated by Henry's overthrowing of Reginald. He took a bit of enjoyment out of seeing Reginald Copperbottom dragged around by this tall man in a worn out turtleneck sweater who never said a word during all the chaos. 

It was also weird how… weirdly intimidating Henry was. Sure, one could argue weather Henry was brave or just stupid. 

No one could argue that seeing what Henry did to Reginald's right hand man was… terrifying. Gruesome.

Right was always a force to be reckoned with. This hulking beast of strength that followed Reginald without question. If anyone dared to even look at Reginald wrong, he made an example out of them. 

Burt saw it all on his surveillance monitors. Countless bloodstains were smeared on the metal bridge, some of the red ooze dripped off the edge of the bridge. Seeing right on the floor, limbs cut from his body, a mangled face with one empty socket. There was something so surreal about seeing a powerful man on the verge of death. 

The sight, even through a screen, made Burt want to vomit.

 If it weren't for the fact Burt could hear Right through his headset, struggling to breathe as he choked on his own blood, he would've thought the man was dead by the visual alone.

He'll never forget how tense everyone was around Henry on his first day as chief. With Right still receiving medical care, and Reginald reluctantly following Henry around with a haunting look in his eyes, the power shift hung over everyone's head. The fact he wore Reginald's signature necklace on his hat like a badge of honor, was interesting.

Nobody knew what Henry was thinking.

The clan was quick to notice that Henry didn't talk. For the first couple weeks, Henry never made a peep. 

He was daunting.

Burt did what he did best: he hid under a mask of boredom with a monotone voice. He became "boring", in hopes to avoid whatever wrath Henry had.

Then, something strange happened.

When Right emerged from his medically-induced coma, it wasn’t surprising that he immediately started gunning for Henry, pissed that the man who mangled him was technically his new boss. He still wasn’t used to his cybernetics at the time, causing him to angrily stumble around, but that didn’t stop him from attacking Henry. That wasn't all that strange or out of character for Right.

No, the strange part was Henry’s response to it.

Burt, once again, only witnessed the assault through the computer and his headset, but it still surprised him nonetheless.

Right stormed into the cockpit of the airship, yelling obscenities at Henry, Reginald stood behind the cyborg. Burt could tell that Reginald was silently rooting for him.

He couldn’t remember everything Right yelled at Henry, but he did recall some. He remembered his “ears” hurting from Right’s loud voice thundering through his headphones.

“Did you think I was done with you!?” Right boomed. Henry’s expression was odd to Burt. He seemed to only be slightly surprised, like he saw this coming, but the rest of his expression was… hard to read.

“What do you have to say for yourself, huh!?” 

Henry was silent, still unreadable. The shock on his face had already faded away. He didn’t look angry, or scared. Just serious?

Right charged at Henry, tackling him to the ground with his hands around his neck. Henry was pinned with his back pressed against the ground.

“What? You think you’re too good to talk? Answer me!” Right tightened his grip, shaking with anger. Henry gripped Right’s wrists, trying in vain to ease the pressure. He could still breathe, but one could tell it was starting to get difficult. Reginald gently put a hand on his organic shoulder. “He doesn’t talk, dear.”

Right scoffed. “He definitely won’t when I’m done with ‘im,” Right’s glare intensified, “As far as I’m concerned, he’s no ‘chief’ of mine.” He growled, tightening his grasp on Henry’s neck. Henry began to gasp, his instincts desperate to get air in his lungs. Fear struck onto his features once more. 

It only took a few seconds, however, for Henry to make some strange decisions. 

Henry let go of Right’s wrists. His eyes glossy, probably tearing up, he shakily rested his hands to the floor, and stopped gasping. He stopped resisting. Stopped trying to breathe. Willingly.

Henry closed his eyes, resigning to his fate. 

In less than 10 seconds, he was already giving up?

It took an insane amount of willpower for someone to fight their survival instincts so quickly. With that sheer amount of self discipline, why wouldn’t he use it to save his own life? 

Apparently Right was wondering the same thing, he seemed to hesitate. His brows tense in confusion. Right let go of Henry’s throat, and backed away from him, hesitating as he did so.

Henry sucked in a sharp breath, and coughed. He put his hand to his neck, massaging it through the fabric of his turtleneck. He sat up, still relishing the fact he could breathe again.

It was then, Burt heard Henry's voice for the first time.

"I… did what I had to do. To get my freedom." He rasped. His voice was far more rough and strained than anyone expected, even for someone who just got strangled. It was bad. Everyone could tell that it hurt for him to speak.

Henry's face had so much emotion in that moment. His watery eyes, his pained face, it showed so much. Fear. Pain.

Guilt.

But another spark found its way into his eyes. Defiance. Determination.

He slowly made it to his feet, sshakly standing. He leaned back against the control panel, avoiding any buttons.

"If you want to kill me now, then do it… If you're willing to…" he paused, coughing. He took a deep breath, and continued. He stood a bit taller. "Willing to give me a chance.. to prove myself.. Either way.." Henry gave Right a determined glare. "I'll die a free man."

Burt couldn't help but think how different things were now. They lived on a space station. Henry had his right hand lady, Ellie. Henry, Reginald, and Right actually got along. Reginald has actually defended him in the past. Right helps Henry with his new cybernetics. 

Burt's opinion of Henry definitely changed. Substantially. 

Henry was once this strange, intimidating force. He was a quiet, eerie, stranger that was hard to read. He was distant.

 That's what everyone thought, at least.

As more time went on, Henry proved his loyalty to the clan. He showed that he was caring, determined, and still strange. He was a thief, he was a leader. He was isolated, now he's more social. He was funny, he was random, he was optimistic.

He was a kind, patient, loving boyfriend to Burt.

He was the first chief to thank Burt for his work. He was the only person who gave him a gift for his birthday when everyone else forgot.

He was decently attractive, in Burt's opinion. Something about Henry just made Burt's gay little heart twist.

Henry waved gently at Burt, snapping him out of his train of thought.

Shit. He did it again. Why did he keep zoning out around Henry? Henry signed to him, "You okay?" 

Burt chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking. Didn't mean to tune you out." Burt fidgeted with his headset's Mic.

Henry smiled, gently cupping Burt's cheek. Henry kissed Burt on the cheek he wasn't holding.

Burt wasn't ready for kissing on the lips. So Henry worked with other types of kisses.

Burt rested his head on Henry's shoulder. Henry wrapped his arm around Burt's shoulder.