LITG Oneshots

under my skin - Henrik/Bobby (Mature)

"I don't get why you hate him so much."

Henrik pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced the length of his living room, his cell phone pressed to his ear. "I dunno, Lucas, there's just something about him."

"Henrik, he's my boyfriend. The least you can do is try to give me a little support."

"I know, and I want to. I want you to be happy. I just..."

He pulled the phone away from his ear as the sound of Lucas's heavy sigh came through the speaker.

"Hen, you're my best friend. I need you to get along with him."

"But—"

"Please, Hen. For me."

Henrik lowered the phone to his chest as he closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He could barely make out Lucas's voice calling his name, a sound that he never got sick of. In resignation, he brought the phone back up to his ear.

"Okay," he said quietly, his voice strained as he struggled to push the word out.

"What?"

"I said, okay."

"Really? You will?"

"I'll try, at least. For you."

For you. Only for you.

"Thanks, Hen." The voice on the other end of the line sounded relieved. "Look, there's a party at Chelsea's this weekend, and I'm bringing Bobby. It would mean a lot to me if you could be there and take some time to talk to him. I'm sure once you guys start talking more, you'll find some common ground and figure out a way to get along."

Common ground. Oh, they had common ground, alright, but Henrik wasn't about to mention that.

"Yeah, sure," he said finally. "I'll be there."

"Good. I'll see you then, alright?"

"Yeah. Alright. Bye, Lucas."

The line went dead, and Henrik stared at the phone in his hand, his stomach tying itself into knots. Getting to know Bobby fucking McKenzie better was the last thing he wanted to do.

***

"Henrik, hi!" Chelsea beamed at him from her open doorway. "Come in!"

Henrik greeted the bubbly blonde, kissing her on both cheeks before stepping inside her penthouse.

"Is Lucas here already?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from quivering the way it always did when he spoke of the man.

"Yeah!" Her eyes lit up. "And Bobby, too! Aren't they so cute together? I'm so glad Lucas finally found someone."

Henrik smiled thinly as his eyes searched the open space that was already crowded with people. Bingo. He found Lucas – he'd recognize the back of his head anywhere – and went over to him, clapping his hand on the other man's shoulder as he approached.

"Lucas! What's up, buddy?"

Buddy. How he hated the word.

Lucas turned around with a smile, and it was only then that Henrik noticed Bobby standing there. His stomach roiled as the attractive man with a permanent smirk (or at least, it seemed permanent to Henrik) on his face looked in his direction, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"Henrik, good, you're here!" Lucas smiled at his best friend and shuffled over to make space for him to join their group. "I promised to help Chelsea with something, so why don't you guys go get yourselves a drink?"