His Translator

Part 15- Reflection

*Blood/gore/violence warning*

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.