Henry slowly woke up, sitting up on his bed in the dark bedroom. He ran a hand across his face, trying to figure out what on earth could have interrupted his sleep. He looked at his right. Beatrice was still in her dreams, her face hidden in a pillow. He smiled at her and got out of bed carefully to investigate the rest of the house. He heard a distant, familiar grumbling coming from the kitchen. He climbed down the stairs as quietly as he could.

"What the hell are you doing here, Joey ?" He mumbled as he turned the lights on, rubbing the tiredness off of his eyes.

Joey turned his head to Henry, baring his teeth and squinting at the light. He kind of looked like a possum like that, with the dark circles around his eyes clashing with his ghostly pale face. The intruder was by the stove, watching a pot of coffee boiling over it.

"I'm making coffee." He replied after a few long seconds of silence, as he was getting used to the light. His tone was so calm and oblivious, he didn't seem to realize most people didn't make coffee in someone else's house at night.

Henry took a deep breath and leaned against the door frame, holding back a yawn.

"But… Why?" He sighed, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"It's for you. I figured you would be tired." 

"Of course I am, Joey. I was sleeping." 

Henry lazily walked to the table and pulled himself a chair to sit on. He crashed on it and rested his head on the table, looking up at the other man. He wondered how Joey could sleep so little and still find a way to do things. Joey was looking near him now, sitting on the counter in the opposite corner of the kitchen. 

"The stars are beautiful tonight," He started, a little smile in his voice. "I thought you would like to see them. I got wine and candy in the hearse, we could go to the lake and enjoy what nature has to give us."

Henry simply smiled. He would have preferred having a full night of sleep, but alcohol and sugar seemed to be an equally interesting plan. He sat up and stretched, yawning while he did.

"Yeah, sure." He trailed off, looking at the ceiling for an instant. "Just let me get actual clothes and write a little note for Bee." He gently tapped both of his hands on the table once he finished his sentence, then stood up.

Joey gave Henry a little nod and waved him goodbye as he left the room to get dressed. When he came back, buttoning up his shirt, Joey had prepared him a big cup of coffee and was sipping his own, still perched up in his corner of the kitchen. Henry sat down on his chair and pulled his drink closer, hoping this would be enough to wake him up. But since Joey made it, it would without a doubt. He always managed to make impossibly strong coffee. 

"Did you get any rest before coming here?" Henry asked, although he knew the answer already.

"Well, I finished a few paper tests. Counts as rest I say, it's almost automatic now." Joey replied jokingly with a faint smile, making drawing motions into the air to accentuate what he said. 

Henry smiled back at him. He didn't want to argue with him about what was actual rest and what wasn't. It wouldn't lead anywhere. He finished his cup quickly, as Joey was already done and was washing his in the sink. It showed that he wanted to leave the house soon. Henry helped him tidy up the kitchen and shortly after they were both out on Henry's front lawn, in front of the hearse, their lungs full of the sharp cold autumn air. Joey always parked horrendously, but as he did not actually have a driver's license it was understandable- but still concerning.

"Should we take my-" Henry started, hoping this time he would be driving. He sadly got interrupted by the shorter man.

"My hearse, of course." He said, taking out his keys from his pocket.

Henry opened his mouth to compromise.

"I won't drive too fast, it's alright Henry. We have the whole night, after all." He continued, his voice soft and reassuring, trying to soothe Henry's troubles. He walked to his black car, menacing shiny metal under the moonlight. Henry once again hesitated to get near, but he felt this night was going to be peaceful, so he followed Joey and settled on the passenger seat, smiling as his boyfriend sat down next to him.

"So, where are we heading to?" Henry asked, raising his voice so it could be heard over the sound of the starting car.

"Harriman." Joey simply said, more focused on manoeuvring his unpractically shaped car out of Henry's lawn without damaging anything to form full sentences.

Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Harriman? It's almost all the way back to Walden, Joey."

"And…? It's not that far. And it's worth the drive anyways."

"Mh, you're right."

Henry snuggled against Joey, closing his eyes to avoid looking at the road. It was night, it's not like there would be a lot of traffic to a park at this time. At least he hoped so. He refrained from talking to Joey during most of the drive to let him be focused on not killing them on accident, although Henry had to admit- Joey's driving was not that terrible. Maybe it was just knowing he didn't have a license that made him overreact and be scared about it. Or not. Maybe it's because he was driving slowly tonight. He let himself be rocked by the movement of the hearse, mindlessly stroking Joey's arm through his shirt. He dozed off for a while, being woken up by Joey hitting the brakes suddenly as ever. Henry squeaked in surprise, holding hard onto his tiny boyfriend, only half awake.

"What's going on?!" He asked, looking around outside. It was dark, that was the only thing he could see. "We're here already?" Joey nodded as he turned the engine off and put his keys in his jacket's pocket.

"Yes sir. You slept almost all the way here."

"Oh."

Henry yawned wide and stretched his back, having slept in this uncomfortable position made him a little sore. Joey observed him with a soft expression before leaving the car, grabbing his hat sitting on the dashboard. He got around the hearse to get what he promised in the back. Henry waited for him outside, walking around to wake up and get his legs working again. Joey joined him with a basket by his left arm, and a thick blanket rolled up under his other one.

"Let's find a good place to settle down, my dearest." He said with his soft, quiet voice.

Henry nodded and followed the redhead through the cold woods, glad to have brought a scarf with him. He snuggled up in his coat, hiding his hands in his pockets. Joey led him through the woods as he probably had a good idea of where they were going, not always following the tracks to go deeper in nature. After walking in the cold for a few minutes, the trees parted into a clearing and gave place to a sleeping lake, cold calm black water barely rippling under the wind. The trees' dry leaves chimed like a deep tired sigh, feeling like a cold pigeon puffing up its feathers to keep warm. Henry looked at the place in wonder, tired but glad to be there at last. Over the lake was a beautiful black sky speckled with stars, without a cloud in sight, the trees making an almost perfect circle around them. Henry held his breath, astonished by such a view. Joey put the things he brought with him on the ground against a tree and searched in the basket, taking out a few candles to place them around the area. Henry observed with interest, his eyebrows furrowed, his mind deep in thought. He looked at the sky, the lake, the ground where Joey was burying the bottom of the candles to keep them up before lighting them. Something clicked in his head once he saw the pattern the candles were placed in. "Did you trick me into doing a ritual with you?" His voice finally rose.

Joey stopped moving, his lighter frozen over a candle.