#keepsakes ;; antechuity

[whiitenoize]

ah yes, another thread w/ @fangedscience ;;

I'm ridiculous, she thinks, laughing wetly as she dabs at the open and still bleeding wound on Henry's head. Yes, sure, he'll heal. The least she can do is clean the damned thing. It gives her something to do other than sit with worry about him. The hit he took would likely have killed any normal human, and she's never been more thankful of his regenerative abilities.

"Stop talking," she mutters, wiping the blood from his face with one hand, the other holding his cheek, her thumb swiping back and forth softly.

While it's not necessary, Mauri dresses the wound, if anything to stop blood from getting on anything. Though, she supposes that point is moot when she glances down at their bloodied and dirty clothes. Well. At least they're safe.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asks, releasing his face and holding 4 fingers a good distance away. It's silly, but it's a gesture that might help her gauge how fast he's healing.

[whiitenoize]

◈

"'Adorable'? What am I: sixteen?"

Henry rolled his eyes, clearly amused. “Are you only allowed to be adorable when you’re sixteen? What would you have rather I said?”

Huffing, Mauri shrugged and swung her arms in an effort to come up with the words. “I feel like at twenty-four I should have upgraded to, I dunno, sexy, or something.”

“Adorable and sexy are two completely separate things. Adorable doesn’t grow up to be sexy," Henry laughed, thoroughly entertained by Mauri's antics. "Regardless, you are both adorable and sexy. Happy now?”

Despite the fluttering in her chest, Mauri managed a 'tch' sound as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Well don’t say it ‘cause I said something. I want you to really think it.”

When she didn't hear an immediate response, Mauri looked up again, finding Henry looking at her with a look that makes her mouth dry. “I do really think it.”

“I don’t believe it,” she sputtered, cheeks red, before scoffing.

The look only became more intense when he grinned at her, his amusement for her distress coming across more wicked. “Yeah? And what would I have to do to prove it to you, hmm?”

“I don’t know," she shrugged, licking her lips. "Show me, maybe?”

“How am I suppose to show you that you’re both? Would you like me to direct you to a mirror?” His intensity faltered for a moment, not understanding Mauri's veiled desire.

This was it. No turning back. Taking in a breathe, Mauri leveled him with a gaze of her own. “No. I want you to show me that you think it.”

The smirk on his face was far too smug for Mauri's liking as he leaned in closer. “Ohh, you want me to show you I think you’re sexy. Well, in that case…”

And then Mauri was kissed - finally kissed - by the man she's been steadily falling in love with for almost two years now. Henry kisses her slow and sinful, and Mauri's legs would have buckled if he wasn't holding her hips flush against his own.

And yeah, okay, it was hot. Mauri would deny just how much she loved how his lips felt on hers, how his unfanged teeth pulled at her lip, if Henry asked. He would know she was lying.

But there isn't just the simmering lust burning beneath her skin at his touch. There's a warmth that makes her feel safe, protected. His cool skin is a balm on her wounds, still open from damage years prior. When she looks into his eyes, she sees a familiar hesitation, but it is a mere flinch. His eyes tell her he trusts her. He cares for her. He loves her. It quiets the constant thoughts of insecurity and fear. Lightens the heaviness around her heart, even if a little.