BATIM Oneshots (Clean)

My Weakness (Joey Drew x Henry)

Joey had already been experimenting with the ink machine for a little while, but success never seemed to come his way. Each time he had corrupted another person, all they became was an inky, slug-like creature and his sanity kept dropping to an all-time low. After what seemed like the millionth failed attempt in his experiments, Joey felt his mind slowly start to slip out of his grasp.
Instead of cleaning up the mess he created, his new "searcher" was left to roam free and haunt the studio. But, at that point, he really didn't care what happened with it.
Once he had cleaned all the ink off of his tired hands, Joey sighed and put on his coat. He really needed to take his mind off of this.

———

Who knew how long he had been in there, experimenting and stressing out over his lack of positive outcomes. Even Sammy Lawrence seemed to notice him dragging his feet as he walked feet.
"Are you alright, Joey?"
...
For a moment he stopped and fell silent, before opening his mouth to speak after what felt like ages.
"I'm fine..." Joey said tiredly, earning a doubtful look from Sammy.
He just watched as Joey kept walking away, hunched over and rubbing his eyes, before what he heard next that left him a bit shocked.
"And it's Mr. Joey Drew, to you."
This negative response left him a bit taken aback and he started sweating nervously. Joey was the most positive person Sammy knew, and even though he could see through his little facade, this was definitely a new development.
Norman Polk had just come up for his rare visit to the main floor and was a bit shocked to see Sammy acting so nervous.
"Is everything alright?" he asked, following his eyes.
"Yeah, it's just that Joey never usually acts like this... All angry and stuff, y'know?"
Sammy looked up at Norman who towered over him and almost everyone else in the studio. Norman was caught off guard by his unsettled glance, a truly rare sight for anyone working in the studio. What really made him freeze were Sammy's beautiful, chocolate-brown eyes. He'd heard Susie Campbell say he was quite handsome, before, but he'd never been able to confirm that in person.
"I'd heard that Joey hasn't left the studio in a few days, but I was never certain of what he was doing. Being so secluded must've made him a bit cranky." He said, trying to reassure Sammy.
"Let's hope you're right..."

———
-Joey's POV-

While I was on my way to the exit door, everyone gave me nervous looks or avoided me all together.
"Do I really look that bad?" I thought to myself.
By this point, my vision was starting to blur and my mind couldn't think straight. All I could think of was how great the comforts of home would feel, finally being able to rest and let my mind wander.
Somewhere along the way, my thoughts slurred and I almost froze in my tracks.
"Wouldn't it be great to spend all my free time with Henry?" I mentally asked myself.
Wait, what!? My mind couldn't start wandering just yet! I needed to get home first, but in my thoughts, I'd already lost my sense of direction, making me feel disoriented.
"Joey, are you okay?" came an all too familiar voice. I looked to my left and low and behold, there sat Henry, quietly working at his art desk, sketching the line work for our latest Bendy episode. Almost immediately, mind came back to him.
"He's cute, isn't he?"
"I can't stand it when he acts all shy, it's just too adorable!"
"What if I took him home with me as well?"
That last thought finally got me to slow down and I stopped to stare at him.
Henry was quite good looking. He had deep brown, almost black, eyes, messy brown hair, and dark grey glasses. Usually he wore a neat, white dress-shirt and dark pants with suspenders going over his shoulders, but today, he was wearing something different. It might have been from the cold, it was winter, after all, or maybe it was just Henry being Henry. Either way, his face and nose were slightly red from the chilly air, giving him an innocent expression, and he wore a light pink sweater with two white stripes going through the middle.
My face was becoming uncontrollably flushed and I started to feel myself blacking out from tiredness.
The last things I saw were the world starting to spin while the floor came closing in. Soon enough, I was on the ground and Henry was on his knees, desperately trying to bring me back to my senses. I couldn't tell if I was happy or in pain. Whichever one it was, the failed experiments didn't matter because I had finally gotten his attention, everything I had wanted. Then, it all went dark.

———
-Henry's POV-

"Joey, Joey!" I yelled, begging him to wake up.
My work desk was farther away from all the others, so no one could have heard my desperate cries.
"Shoot, what do I do?" I asked myself, frantically trying to search for an answer.
In a split second of quick thinking, I carefully placed Joey over my shoulder, almost falling over from his weight.
After steadying myself, for a second, I reassured myself that, "I know that I don't work out or anything, but I have to at least try!"
If I'm being honest, there were plenty more people in the studio that were stronger than me. Heck, even Sammy or Wally could probably beat me in a fist fight, even though the only fights Sammy had ever got into were verbal, but none of that was stopping me this time.
As soon as the lobby was emptied, I rushed towards the stairs. And clung onto Joey and the handrail for dear life, praying that it could hold both our weight. Thomas Conner had warned me earlier that the elevator was broken when he had tried using it before, leaving me with only one option. I'd have to climb the stairs with Joey in my arms and while battling the cold!
The studio was absolutely freezing around this time of year, and even though it was my first time experiencing it, I was hoping it'd be the last. After all, if Joey had already installed those ink pipes in the building for God knows what, he might as well get some heating in here, as well.

———

After what seemed like an eternity, trying my best to not fall over and come tumbling down the stairs, we finally made it to the top floor, Joey's office. My arms felt like they were starting to go numb from all this strain, until I finally got him into his work chair and I collapsed onto the floor.
Once the feeling started returning to my legs, I picked myself up and almost immediately passed out, again, onto a couch. Joey's office was a very comfortable place, usually being the warmest spot in the building since hot air rises, so we sat there in comfortable silence, me feeling like I was going to pass out and Joey probably already having passed out.
"W-What?" I heard someone ask, tiredly.
I looked over to the desk and saw Joey rubbing eyes and lazily sitting up.
"Oh, you're awake!" I proclaimed, rushing over to him.
"Henry?"
"Yes, I'm here."
He stared at me blankly for a second before placing both his hands on either side of my face.
"J-Joey?"
Then, it happened...
Joey pulled me close to him, standing up and pulling me into a tender kiss. For a moment, I felt like melting into it, but quickly returned to my senses, pulling away and pushing him back into his chair.
"N-No! Please, restrain yourself!"
A soft blush came across his face as he continued to stare at me blankly. I put my hand on his forehead only to pull back, quickly, and try to cool it off.
"Jeez, you're burning up! I guess that explains 'it' then..."
For a second, we shared a seemingly awkward silence before I took a step back and headed towards the door.
...
"You know what, I don't think I can deal with this, right now. I'll send someone else up to come look at you."
Despite the fact that I had been a field medic before, this just wasn't anything I could handle.
"Go try your tricks on someone else, Joey." I said before closing the door.
But, for a moment, I couldn't help but blush a little myself.

———

To be quite honest, I'm horrible at writing love stories or these kinds of romantic moments, but y'know what?I'll just work with it. Please, give me suggestions for what you'd like to see, next, or any other story suggestions you might have.
Stay safe out there! In order to put a stop to COVID-19, we all must work together!