Henry Stickmin Oneshots And More!

Nightmare

Henry has a nightmare and doesn't know what to do. Thankfully, one of his friends is still awake to help him.

Toppat Recruits ending, by the way.

Angst? Comfort? Those sound right. No triggers, really, that I can see.

Hope y'all have a great day, or night, and I'll catch y'all later!

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He was falling. Through the rain and storm, he could see his second in command standing on the airship balcony, looking down at him with a smirk. His words were drowned out by the wind and thunder, but he could tell it was nothing good.

He was flying. His betrayer looked shocked at his return. His former third in command defended his betrayer, with cybernetic parts as enhanced and his own.

He killed the third in command and took down his betrayer, but as he turned to leave his betrayer shot him from behind.

The two enemies, betrayer and revenged, died together. The betrayer's words were the last he ever heard, and hurt more than any weapon could.

"Was it really worth it?"

Henry woke up with a sharp gasp, gripping the bed sheet so tightly his knuckles turned white. His breathing felt heavy and labored, and his forehead was slick with sweat.

He sat up, trying to calm down. His hands were shaking, but he couldn't stop it.

What was he supposed to do? He couldn't get the image of Reginald dropping off the airship out of his head.

No. Reginald wouldn't really do that to him. Their relationship was a little rocky, seeing how Henry had stolen the Romanian Ruby from the Toppats, then had to give it back. But to kill him in cold blood like that? It didn't sound like the Toppat leader at all.

Reginald could be harsh sometimes, but mostly he was a more laid-back type of person, not overly approachable but not outright terrifying. He was fair in his judgements, and if he punished someone, they'd done something to deserve it. He was almost unanimously accepted as leader, with little to no complaints about his leadership- a feat almost unheard of, even in a close knit community like the Toppats.

Henry shook his head, hugging himself as tears pricked in the corners of his eyes. He wouldn't kill me, he tried to reassure himself. I've done nothing wrong.

What was scarier was Henry's own actions. Would he really go so far as to destroy the entire airship, killing everyone inside, just to settle his own personal vendetta? He hoped not, but...

What if he did? What if he was so angry, so hurt, that he would kill hundreds of people to avenge himself?

Henry stood up abruptly. He needed to move, take a walk. He always felt better when he was in motion.

Pullin on his coat and shoes, he left the living corners of the Toppat orbital station.

With no real destination in mind, Henry ended up wandering through the rocket, still unable to get the terrible images out of his mind. He walked by the central core, then had the odd image of a spaceship crashing into it.

"Heh... I've always wanted to do that," Henry mumbled before he could stop himself. 

What did that mean? He always wanted to crash a spaceship? That made no sense- he didn't even drive spaceships!

Henry shook his head and kept walking.

Almost unconsciously, he made it to the Head of Communications office. The light was still on, and there was a sound of a computer running, which meant Burt was still awake.

Henry hesitated. He and Burt were friends, sure, but did that really warrant walking in on him in the middle of the night?

He must've made some sort of noise, because Burt walked over to the door and saw him. "Oh, hey, Henry. What are you doing up so late?"

"Couldn't sleep," Henry said. Not technically a lie. "What about you?"

"On the night shift." Burt walked back into his office, and Henry followed. "My usual replacement called in sick, which means I get to work overtime 'til he recovers. Joy of joys. Wanna play Magic: The Gathering?"

"I thought you were working?" Henry asked, sitting in the empty chair next to Burt. The Head of Communications didn't seem to mind his presence, and Henry really didn't want to be alone right now.

"Ehh, nothing happens at night. It's not like I have to be constantly staring at the monitor anyway." Burt opened a drawer, then held out a chocolate bar to Henry. "Want one? Chocolate makes everyone feel better, and you look a little shaken up."

Henry shivered, remembering his nightmare. "Was it really worth it?"

"Hmm. Is that a no to chocolate?" Burt asked. "It usually helps Sven when he wanders in here in the middle of the night, but to each his own I guess."

Henry felt too choked up to eat anything, so he shook his head.

Burt leaned back in his chair, looking at Henry. "Listen, bud, I'm not gonna make you tell me anything, but in my experience talking makes people feel better. Not pressuring you, but I'm here to help."

"I thought you were here to work?" Henry asked, gesturing to the computer screen.

"When you show up here looking like this? Never."

Henry smiled faintly, but it was still strained. "I- I think I'd like to talk about it."

Burt was a good listener. He didn't interrupt Henry, but nodded occasionally and asked clarifying questions once or twice. He never once looked or sounded judgemental, and didn't sneer or laugh at Henry's fears. 

Henry found himself telling Burt more than just the nightmare. He talked about his worries, insecurities, all of the things bothering him. And Burt just kept listening.

Henry probably would have talked until morning, but eventually his lack of sleep caught up to him, and he yawned. Burt didn't react as Henry dozed off, leaning his head on the Head of Communication's shoulder.

-Time Skippity~

Henry woke up, disoriented. He wasn't in bed. Where was he?

The events of last night came back to him, and he sat up. A coat slipped off his shoulders, and Henry caught Burt's jacket before it fell to the ground.

He must've put it on me last night, Henry realized. He placed the jacket on the back of the chair, then noticed a note pinned to the back of it.

Curious, he unfolded the note.

Henry-
Sorry to leave you, but something came up and I had to take care of it. Didn't want to wake you up. Y̶o̶u̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶ ̶c̶u̶t̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶r̶e̶ ̶s̶l̶e̶e̶p̶i̶n̶g̶
You sounded like you had a lot on your mind last night. Ever need to talk, give me a call. Wake me up if you have to, I won't mind.
-Burt

Henry smiled softly. Burt was a good friend.

That wasn't to say that he would ever wake up the Head of Communications in the middle of the night to talk. Burt barely got enough sleep as it was- according to him, his usual replacement was almost always calling in sick, leaving him with a whole lot of overtime.

But it was nice for Henry to know someone was looking out for him.

It was a nice feeling.