Henry’s friendships / Hansry rant
The more I think about it, the more I’m fascinated with the Hansry romance on Henry’s side. Because even though it’s obvious that Hans has been pining for a LONG time, Henry mostly saw Hans as a great, maybe his best friend. Sure, he had friends in Skalitz that he’s known his whole life. But it was… how do I put it. Give and take friendships. I scratch your back, you do mine. I help you redecorate the German’s house, you help me beat up that alcoholic asshole. I bring you three full sets of cuman leaders’ armors and you give me… a small share of what you earned for a ring you stole. Yeah. Great pals. Such a true, uninterested friendship. Then when you compare it to hanging out with Hans, you can understand why Henry definitely has more fun with his lordship. They actually chat, joke, tease, share rides, hunts, wine. It’s more… natural. Relaxing in a way, even though trouble is never far.
And now I think that for a long time, maybe, Henry didn’t see Hans romantically, at least not obviously. He tells him he’s his closest friend, that he won’t allow anything to happen to him, that he cares about him very much, that Hans’ safety matters way more than his own. So he did have strong feelings for Hans - of course - but he really didn’t have time to think how deeply they went before. (To be fair, in both games, Hans mostly waits or is trapped somewhere 90% of the time, so he has plenty of time to ponder, while Henry runs around from errand to errand to save everyone, so I doubt our blacksmith boy has much time to think. About anything. Ever.)
It makes it truly tragic when you imagine that Henry understood these feelings completely the ONE moment he did nothing, when the room was quiet and the world stilled : in Suchdol. Listening to Hans’ tale. When he placed a hand on his own to reassure him. Imagine, that’s when it finally completely clicked. Right before he has to leave to his death. So he gets up because he has to go, and it’s too late anyway - he took too long to understand these feelings properly and now he’s likely going to die without knowing if they could blossom.
And then Hans kisses him. He recoils in shock, misunderstanding, horror, because it’s too late. And it’s too much. He doesn’t have time to think, to process this, he never does. He’s on another mission to save everyone. No time to linger on feelings. But when he hears Hans on the brink of tears and thinks just for a second about the implications, he realizes that for once, the world can wait. For once, he focuses on his own feelings. And the clarity is blinding - he’s in love with Hans and Hans loves him back. So he locks the door and walks back inside to show him, determined, maybe kind of upset at himself, but tender the second he holds Hans’ side and cradles his neck, guiding him to the bed. As I’ve seen many people say - he’s locked in now. Taken control of his own path once and for all.
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