Animals - Nickelback {Sanctuary , Henry/Ashley}

~No, we're never gonna quit

Ain't nothing wrong with it

Just acting like we're animals (animals)

No, no matter where we go

'Cause everybody knows

We're just a couple animals (animals)

So come on baby, get in

Get in, just get in

Check out the trouble we're in

So much had changed while she was…away. Mom and Dad seemed to have added additional new and messed up chapters to their long and doomed relationship. Tesla had become a tolerated houseguest, wandering the halls making sarcastic comments, drinking wine and driving Will nuts. Poor Will…he'd still been getting his footing around here when she left and now he was just as odd as any of them. Biggie was pretty much the same, though he was mourning the loss of a friend, supported by the new girl, Kate.

Ashley still didn't know her very well, but she seemed okay.

Then there was Henry. Sometimes, he was the same guy she'd grown up with, giddy over a new hi tech toy, always up for 3am ice cream sundae and B-movie binges…but other times he was different. Less jumpy, far more secure, comfortable with his dual nature. He'd even learned to control his abilities when in HAP form.

How cool was that?

Ashley only wished she felt as sure about her own ability to harness the powers the Cabal experiments had awoken in her. Sometimes, the pressure built inside her until she fled to the gym to hit something until her hands bled.

Henry had found her there one night, bloodied and breathing hard and she'd seen his heart ache for her. He'd gotten out the first aid kit, cleaned and bandaged her hands before making her promise to come find him before it got this bad next time.

She hadn't been sure what he intended to do, but the next time she felt ready to explode, she found out.

It was easy to forget that Mom had made certain Henry received combat training similar to Ashley's because he'd always been too timid to really use the skills he'd learned. He'd been afraid of letting go of the stranglehold he had on his animal impulses and the power they provided.

Now, while still not overly fond of fighting, Henry had learned to put his Abnormal abilities to use.

Fists flew, kicks were thrown, bodies crashed to mats only to flip upright moments later. Circling, watching for the slightest physical cue, panting for breath…Ashley knew she was still the better fighter, but Henry provided a challenge, a far better outlet than a punching bag or a wall.

The smell of healthy sweat and a hint of blood filled the air, grunts, gasps and pants echoing. Slick skin sliding along slick skin, hands grasping and bodies crashing together…It was a great release for her blood lust, but it only served to add to another kind of lust.

Henry felt it too, she knew, as her thigh had come into close contact with not-so-little-Henry during a takedown.

But neither of them were ready to acknowledge that, so sparring it was.

Bruised and pleasantly sore, the morning after such sparring sessions they'd both be ravenous. As they shoveled down whatever was served to them, Mom and Biggie looked on fondly, while Will looked confused, then amused and, after a few particularly black and blue mornings, Kate said, "I'm not sure who I should be slipping the number for the battered…um, persons shelter to."

Henry flicked a forkful of eggs into Kate's hair and Mom hid a smirk in her teacup.

Will leaned toward Kate to whisper, "I think this might be one of those things around here that we don't talk about."

Ashley grinned at Henry. Whatever the status of their relationship was, it wasn't anyone's business but their own.

On the other side of the table, Will and Kate continued what they considered to be a hushed conversation and Henry spoke into Ashley's ear. "How long do you think it'll be before they realize most people in the house have enhanced senses?"

She shrugged and popped a strip of bacon into his mouth.

If they were gonna talk about her, she was damn well going to listen. Which made her think that she'd better check on the sound proofing in the living quarters.

She was pretty sure that some of the things she was planning on doing with Henry were the sort of things Mom, Dad…heck, no one needed to hear.