Geek

by tiwtin

After an incident in a bar, Henry has an emotional crisis... Luckily, his friend is there to give him everything he thought he could never have. Henry/Ashley. Slots in after 'Edward' and before 'Revelations'.

The original planned location for the team night out had been in the bowels of Old City, in some unknown darkened back-alley bar, aptly named 'The Claw and Fang'. Not a choice drinking spot, but the options were rather narrowed when Sasquatch was one of your party.

But as two chameleon-like abnormals had just been brought in, both Helen and Big Foot had pulled out to tend to their surprise 'guests', leaving Will to call a last minute change in venue.
Ashley had readily agreed, imparting a delightful tale from the last time she'd been to the Claw and Fang, involving squirming grubs in a peanut bowl. Will grimaced and called the changed of plan through to Henry who was already in the city buying technical components for his newest project.

An hour later, Ashley was pulling her bike up beside Will's chosen bar with Will on the back looking a little white from the trip.

"See, Will, we're not that late," Ashley said with a grin, seeing Will's pasty face.
Will whimpered and got off the bike hastily.

"Nice looking place," Ashley said, pulling off her helmet, and looking at the bar.

"Yeah, kinda reminds me of the Cheers bar but more modern – great atmosphere too." Will answered, handing over his helmet with obvious relief that the journey was over.

"And no bowls of insects…. Always a bonus!" Ashley added, locking their helmets to her bike.

"Come, on. I need a beer after that trip," Will implored and headed off to the main door, past the big open fronted window. Ashley visually checked the place out, always wanting to know what she'd be walking in on.

Ashley's firm grip on Will's arm stopped him before he made it to the door. Will looked at her questioningly, only to have his attention redirected through the window at the nod of her head.

Inside, Will could see the back of Henry, sat at the bar alone. His body posture screamed submission and defensiveness and Will didn't need his profiling skills to see why. At the end of the bar were a group of four guys, all in their early twenties. The jock type that Will, and any other kid with a brain, hated at college. The guys shouted something over to Henry, which Ashley and Will couldn't hear, but immediately got the jist of when Henry froze for a moment, then continued to ignore them.

The silent laugh they saw through the window made Ashley growl with annoyance and Will looked at her briefly to see real anger on her face.
Just then, Will's cell phone rang, leaving Ashley to stare through the window as Will took the call.

As far as she could tell, Henry had some sort of circuit-board spec open in front of him; she recognised the big sheets of A3 size diagrams form his lab. At the side of him, was a glass of what Ashley would put money on being lemonade; Henry was never much of a drinker. Ashley could feel the anger well and grow inside her as the group of guys looked over in his direction and laughed again.

"I've gotta go." Will said apologetically, gaining Ashely's attention from the window.
"Your Mom says those new abnormals have started talking… in English, no less. She needs me back there."

Her attention flipped back to her friend in the bar, followed by Will's, just in time to see a beer mat flicked at Henry's head. Henry did his best to pretend he didn't notice, but another bar mat quickly followed.

Will heard another growl, and grabbed Ashley's leather-clad shoulder as she surged forward towards the door. She was angry, livid, but managed to pause with her hand on Will's, ready to rip the obstacle out of her way.

"Look Ash, I gotta go. I'll grab a cab. But a word of advice – Don't go in there and beat them up for picking on Henry."

"Why the hell not? They deserve a good kicking!" Ashley's anger was momentarily redirected toward Will as he raised his hand from her shoulder to try and catch the attention of a passing cab driver. The cab passed by already occupied.

"Look," Will said softly, turning his attention back to the fiery blonde, "Henry will already be feeling undermined by having those idiots make fun of him…. He'll feel way worse if a pretty blonde has to go in there and beat them up on his behalf."

Will saw realisation pass over Ashley's face. "But then, what can I do?"

Will suddenly grinned, and at Ashely's piercing look, he shared his sudden thought, "The best way to get deflate those jerks egos and to save face for Henry, would be for say… a hot blonde to walk in and plant one on the geek…"

Will grinned as he saw comprehension dawn on Ashley's face. He held up his hand as he saw another taxi approach, this one pulling over.

As the cab pulled to the curb, Will paused for a moment as he opened the cab door, looking first through the window at his friend, then back to Ashley

"Actually, no… forget I said that…" Will said, seriously.

"Why?" Ashley asked, obviously liking the idea of deflating egos.

" 'Cos unless you have designs on our wolf, I think you could do more damage than good. Gotta go. Tell Henry I'm sorry I couldn't make it." And with that, he ducked into the cab.

Ashley twisted back around, eyes narrowing as the jocks laughed yet again, looking over at Henry and making it quite obvious that their mirth was at his expense. He was wearing a hoodie tied around his waist revealing a retro comic book tee that Ashley bought him last Christmas. With that, the circuit diagrams, the lemonade and the fact he was alone…well… he really was the picture of geek. But he was her geek, damnit!

With Will's words in her mind, she looked down at herself. Well, the leather was good, tight in all the right places (biker leathers hand to be – there was nothing worse than rain pooling in saggy leather when riding), she'd done her makeup… and with a run of her fingers she tried her best to minimise the helmet-hair effect. With a last touch, she lowered the zipper on her leather jacket to show as much cleavage as she dared.

The music of the place hit her as soon as she walked through the door. Apart from the dicks at the bar, Will was right, this was a nice place.

As Henry was faced away from the door, he didn't see her walk in, though the same could not be said for the idiots at the bar. She took a few steps in, then realised she was stomping… a phrase of her mothers that usually went in the sentence "Ashley! Walk like a lady, don't stomp." So with a swing of her hips to emulate her mother's classical glide she approached the big bar.

The first idiot that caught a glimpse of her immediately reacted with a whistle prompting the others to turn, one uttering a rather sordid greeting. They were obviously a little hammered.

She was less then a metre away from Henry when he eventually turned.

"Ash!" Henry exclaimed, twisting on his stool to face her fully. A broad smile betrayed his relief to see her. Only then did his line of sight suddenly shoot to her cleavage. Henry's smile faltered, showing surprise and something more.
For a moment, he looked a little flustered and Ashley suddenly felt a little self conscious, the unfamiliar feeling briefly throwing her off.

"Will couldn't come. He got dragged back at the last minute because of our…visitors," Ashley said, wary that the dicks had gone quiet and were in earshot.

"Hey, babe. Want a drink with us?" The rude interruption came from their right, causing Henry's head to drop, turning away from the jerks.
Ashley took the last step up to where Henry was sitting, head now down. She had heard the conceit in the slurred voice and turned her head briefly to examine her enemy, seeing the self-appreciation on the jerks faces. It was at that moment that she decided that Will's initial 'plant one on him' advice should be followed to the letter.

Steeling herself and making the move quickly before she could over-think it, she took the last step towards Henry, bringing herself up close and into the personal space between his legs as he sat on the stool. The action snapped Henry's attention from his hands to her face, and she leant down quickly, doing her best to ignore the startled look on his face, and trying best to ignore the nervous clench in her stomach.

It felt like forever to reach his lips, but as soon as her own mouth touched his, her stomach relaxed and performed an excited flip. Her hand came to his shoulder, caressing up his neck and coming to rest cupping his stubbled jaw as she caressed his lips. Reality then hit her and her eyes squeezed tightly shut and uncharacteristically, she trembled; partially because she was living out an act she had fantasised many times in her teens, and partly due to the gut-wrenching knowledge that Henry wasn't kissing her back.

She'd had an attraction to Henry since about the age of thirteen, when, as for all thirteen year olds, a crush was a life encompassing need. As she had grown, her crush had never really gone away, simmering quietly over the years until it had become more like background noise, almost unnoticed...almost.
She started to slowly pull back, not wanting to leave his lips despite his lack of interest, but she needed to stop before she betrayed herself, while she was still lucid enough to try and save face.

Just as she was about to break contact, Ashley felt Henry lean forward, chasing the pressure of her lips. Ashley's stomach then seemed to do another flip-flop as Henry's lips moved tentatively and quickly over hers, as though hastily trying to convince her to stay. Emboldened by his move, she kissed his more deeply, swiping her tongue over Henry's bottom lip, unconsciously seeking entrance. Over the music and chatter in the bar, no one heard Henry moan, but Ashley felt it, and moved in closer pressing herself against him. She was exhilarated when hesitantly, Henry's hands came up to her waist and his mouth opened under hers.

It was then Ashley's turn to whimper against Henry as his tongue entered her mouth first, caressing against her own.

The little part of her mind that wasn't engrossed with the wonderful sensation of Henry's mouth and stubble against her, was whirling. Did he really like her? Could he possibly want her in this way? Would it matter that Henry had known her as a kid, a stroppy teen? Was he responding now out of pity? It seemed like every one of Ashley's insecurities was coming to the surface, and suddenly everything was over too quickly… Henry was pulling away.

"Ash?" Henry murmured, looking puzzled and vulnerable.

Ashley was still close enough to feel his breath on her face, but not close enough to keep their environment, which had seemed to disappear during their kiss, from flooding back into her senses. She had enemies close by, and her eyes flicked towards them, assessing the threat.

"Ah… Right, I get it," Henry mumbled, bringing Ashley's attention back to his eyes.

"No, it's not… They were…I mean… Look, can we grab a booth?" Ashley spluttered, not wanting to explain herself within potential earshot of the jerks.

Henry pursed his lips and nodded, turning back towards the bar. "Let me just get a drink. You want one?"

By the time they'd been served, grabbed Henry's stuff, Henry had excused himself to the bathroom and they'd eventually gotten seated in a booth, Henry seemed eager to talk about other things. Although confused, Ashley held back from bringing up the kiss and the reason for it; it was all too likely that Henry's avoidance of the subject meant at least some of her insecurities had foundation.

"So, what are the specs?" Ashley asked, as one avenue of conversation came to a close.

"These?" Henry asked, pulling the circuit-board diagrams out of his bag and laying them out on the table in front of them. "They're not quite right for our needs, but I think we can modify them." Ashley smiled as she saw Henry's eye's light up with excitement about his project.

"They're for an electromagnetic shield for a circuit board…any circuit board," Henry continued. "See, everything else I've looked at has the Endor problem…" Seeing her blank look, he elaborated. "Star Wars… the Death Star's shield generator was located on the moon of Edor… outside the shield, so it was vulnerable…" Ashley scrunched her brow, then smiled, plainly communicating that she still wasn't getting it. "An electromagnetic burst can take down computer systems, anything with a pre-programmed chip… An electromagnetic shield can stop a pulse of electromagnetic energy from having effect on anything within it. Now, the key to this solution is that all the governing chips for the generation of the shield, go inside the shield… Imagine if the Death Stars shield generator was actually inside the death star…"

"I get it – bye-bye Rebel Alliance and less crispy Ewoks. But how does that help us?"

"Well," Henry said, suddenly less forthcoming, "Our EM Shield is supposed to keep Druitt out, and it did, but only just… plus, this technology could be used to create a personal shield so he couldn't teleport… anyone wearing one."

"Do you really think he'll try to attack the Sanctuary again after what he did for us in Rome?" Ashley asked, surprised Henry was thinking along those lines.

"I don't know Ash," Henry said, looking down at the table, "but he was able to take you anywhere… and I hadn't given you anything that could defend against him." His eyes flicked up to hers, full of apology.

"Oh, Henry. There was no way you could have possibly known that was coming."

Henry looked back down, still looking guilty. Ashley knew he took the protection of the Sanctuary and the provision of her weaponry very seriously, taking any fault or malfunction quite personally. She knew he was working hard on this, not just to protect the sanctuary, but mainly to protect her. She swallowed, trying to stop any emotion from surfacing, especially after what had happened tonight.

"Seriously, Henry, how could you have prepared for that, huh? Should you have woken up one morning four months ago and thought 'Hmm, better make provisions just in case a famous Victorian psychopathic prostitute killer decides to teleport in and kidnap a newly found relative who just happens to be living on the premises?"

Henry laughed, and glanced up. "When you put it like that…"

"Nice work, though," she said, motioning to the specs and nudging his arm. "You'd make the best Sith Emperor," Ashley added with a smirk and Henry laughed out loud.

Ashley grinned glad to both make him laugh and to ease the tension.

The next few hours were much more relaxed. Though, Ashley felt like they weren't quite back to normal. Their banter was as easy, and as scathing, as usual, but there was a new element creeping into their time together – the odd held eye contact, or pensive pause… and to Ashley's amusement and liking, the odd glance at her still exposed cleavage.

Ashley didn't realise the time until she heard the last call. She looked around noting that the jerks were nowhere to be seen; she hadn't even noticed them leave.

"Better head off," Henry said, looking unaccountably sad.

Walking out and into the night, Henry quickly slipped his bag strap over his chest, popped on his helmet and slid onto the bike behind Ashley. She thought back to earlier in the night where she'd had to virtually coax Will on the bike for his second trip. She did ride fast and cornered hard, but she knew what she was doing and at that moment, she acknowledged how much Henry trusted her. She smiled to herself under her helmet, enjoying the feel of Henry's hands once again on her waist, and started the bike.

By the time the sanctuary gates opened and Ashley rode the bike inside, they were both soaked. The heavens had opened a block from the bar, and Ashley had belatedly realised she had not zipped up her jacket. Her front was now completely soaked, poor Henry must have been entirely drenched and they were both mud splattered.

As she came to a halt, she shut off the bike as they both dismounted. Ashley grabbed the handle bars quickly, eager to get the bike in the garage and get out of the rain.

"Need a hand?" Henry asked, shielding the contents of his canvas bag as well as he could against the rain.

"I'm okay, Henry. This won't take a second."

Less than thirty seconds later, when she came out of the garage, Henry was nowhere to be seen. Ashley stopped for a moment in the rain, confused and a little hurt at Henry's disappearance. Whenever they'd been out before, they'd always come home, grabbed snacks and spent a few hours playing the silly fighting games that Henry loved, and Ashley was terrible at. Ashley sighed and ran her fingers through her soaked hair. She had to go and find him and sort this out. The idea that Henry was uncomfortable around her made her want to kick herself; she needed to apologise and to make things right again.

Halfway through the entrance hall she'd realised that she had been making big wet marks on the wooden floor, and fearing the Big Guy's chastisement, she'd decided to clean up before walking mud and water all over the Sanctuary to find Henry.

After a quick shower and throwing on her cookie-monster pyjamas, she set off to Henry's room, bare feet padding through the hallways. Ashley tried knocking three times before opening the door to his room and peeking in. The lights were off and Henry was nowhere to be seen. Ashley then tried the kitchen, then the library, before at last padding down to his lab near the SHU.

Ashley breathed a sigh of relief when she turned the corner into the lab and found Henry. She leant on the separating wall between the SHU and his for the moment, taking the opportunity to look at him while he was still unaware of her presence. Frowning, Ashley looked over her friend. He was slouched back on his work stool, a bottle of what looked like her mother's London Gin beside him on the work bench. In his lap sat a large box of resistors he seemed to be throwing into different tubs on the workbench… missing most of them.

"Henry?" Ashley asked, moving forward into the lab.

Henry looked up in surprise, his eyes look a little glassy, perhaps reddened too. He clothes were still wet and muddied, and his hair was still all flattened from the helmet.

"Henry, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ash. You not headed off to bed?" Henry said, his voice a little cracked and gruff.

Ashley ignored the obvious hint for her to leave. Instead she walked over, picking up the bottle and pulling a face. "What the hell are you drinking?"

Henry had already had a couple of beers at the bar while she stuck to coke as she was driving. She looked at him worriedly; Henry was legendary for his lack of tolerance for alcohol. "Gin? You're drinking this straight?"

"Not too good. Found it in the kitchen." Henry admitted, picking up another resistor from the box and throwing it over to the workbench.

"Mom mixes it with tonic… want to tell me why you're drinking this shit? And why you're doing a drowned rat impersonation?"

Henry didn't answer, just fiddled with another resistor in his hand.

Ashley lowered her head. He was obviously still very uncomfortable around her. "Look, I'm sorry, Henry. I shouldn't have kissed you tonight… I've just wierded you out and I ruined the night…"

"No… no." Henry interrupted, but didn't elaborate.

"Then what?"

Henry took a deep sigh, knowing Ashley wouldn't leave the subject alone until he explained. "On the ride back I just kinda realised those guys were right…" Henry paused for a moment before continuing and ignoring the shake of Ashley's head. "Everything they said, everything they thought was all bang on. I am the sad fucking geek. I spend all my time in my lab, playing with computers. I live and work for the person who's pretty much my mother."

Henry grabbed the box of resistors on his lap and threw it angrily onto the workbench."Just look at me… I'm a geeky fucking wimp. There's not a chance in hell I'd really be able to pull a girl like you…any girl in fact, and the worst part is, none of that is ever going to change."

"Henry," Ashley said, placing a hand on his arm to make sure she had his attention. "You're the smartest guy I know. I rely on your geekiness, as you call it, virtually every day to keep me alive when I go for a ghoul with one of your weapons. You're not wimpy, you've got a body buried under those clothes, I've seen you in the gym… and they're just clothes… Henry – what's more they're you… You don't try to be some flash car driving, hair gelled dick-head."

Henry shook his head and looked down. Ashley crouched down in front of him, demanding eyes contact and continued; she had to make her friend realise. "I can't speak for all girls, but girls… girls like me, as you put it, don't want that... they want a guy like you." She smiled at him genuinely.

"Any girl would be lucky to get you… Plus ," She added with another smile, "you kiss really good, too."

Henry made a sad depreciated laugh, and shook his head. "Well congratulations, Ash. With that kiss you've been lucky enough to go further with Henry Foss than any other female in history." Henry laughed at his own joke and unscrewed the cap from the London Dry Gin to take another drink. Ashley's hand stopped the bottle inches from his lips.

"Henry?" Ashley asked. He couldn't possibly mean that, surely?

Henry sighed again, realising the strong hand on his wrist wasn't going to let his lips near the bottle anytime soon. He resigned himself to further explanation.

"Magnus warned me early on that normal human relationships weren't really on the cards for me…. Kinda depressing for a teenage boy to hear, I tell ya."

"Why? I know you're Lycan and all, but the wolfy part doesn't come out…well, much." Ashley questioned.

"Well, it seems it could come out an awful lot more if I…. well… lucky for me it doesn't get the chance."

"Oh, Henry!" Ashley took the bottle from Henry's hand, placing it back on the workbench. She took a deep breath before she spoke softly. "What about me? I mean…I like you… and I can handle you wolfing out… you wouldn't have to hide anything from me."

Henry closed his eyes tightly before wiping the heel of his hands over them, and making the sob from his throat into a choked laugh.

Opening his reddened eyes, he looked directly at Ashley. "As appealing as the idea of a pity fuck from you is… I've another problem… the final nail in the coffin of my sex life…Wolves mate for life."

After a pause, all Ashley could say was "Really? Wow…"

"Yeah, wow. Can you imagine me going on a date? I'd turn into a giant freakin' dog and perhaps tear out her throat before I got to second base… and if I did manage to get to third base and we both lived, I'd follow her around like a pathetic stray for the rest of her life." Henry lolled his head back and laughed mirthlessly at himself. "Now do you get it?" he said, bringing his head back down again to hide his eyes.

Ashley pulled both of Henry's hands into her own, then bit her lip, confirming with herself that what she was about to do was the right choice. She looked up at Henry; his tatty hair, damp Captain America t-shirt with a resistor stuck in the hem, and sad eyes that made her want to hold him. Yeah, he was her geek, and she loved him.

"Henry..." Henry sniffed and raised his head. "If…if everything was…well, normal… if we were just regular people… would you like me like that?" Henry tilted his head questioningly.

Ashley took another deep breath and continued. "Thing is, I'm kinda not suitable for anyone else either… I'm not saying I haven't dated… you know I have. But those guys don't know who I am… I can't tell them why I turn up for a date with stitches or even where I live – it can never go anywhere. But you… you know me, we have the same interests… well, you make em', I fire em…Hell, can you imagine me bringing a guy home to a gothic castle full of monsters to introduce him to my parents 'Here's my 157yr old mother and my dad, Jack the Ripper.'

Henry managed a humoured half laugh and looked back down.

"So what I need to know, Henry, is if you're interested in me… seriously interested in me… because whole for-life thing isn't putting me off."

Henry's eye's widened in surprise. "Ash, you can't mean that?"

"I've kinda liked you for a while. Actually, a long while…Tonight really kinda brought it all to the front if you know what I mean… the kiss." She looked down; suddenly it was her turn to be self-conscious.

Henry came out of his slouch and he leant forward. His hand came to her cheek, bringing her head up so he could search her eyes.

"You're serious." It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. She was hopeful by his reaction, but he hadn't answered her question yet.

His thumb stroked her cheek as he looked into Ashley's eyes. A moment later Ashley realised that Henry was moving closer, tilting his head. He was going to kiss her. Ashley's breath caught in her throat as he moved slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted to… instead she moved forward, closing her eyes as their lips touched.

There was no question of Henry's participation this time. The hand on Ashley's cheek, came down to cup her jaw, angling her mouth to accept Henry's exploring tongue. His other hand slipped around her waist, pulling her up and against him as he continued to ravage her mouth. Ashley did her best to give as good as she got, but Henry's sudden strength and enthusiasm was making her weak.

She found herself crawling onto his lap, eager to get closer to his body; her hands roamed their way to the hem of his t-shirt, slipping underneath to feel his hot skin.

Panic suddenly flooded her when Henry's mouth abruptly stilled, and he pulled away. She clenched hold of his waist, not wanting to let go.

"Stop. Please Ash, stop. We've gotta stop." Henry panted, bringing his lips up to still against her brow.

"Why?" Ashley pleaded, not able to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"I could hurt you Ashley. I could turn wolf and hurt you… I'd never live with myself. I can't risk it."

"But you want to?" She asked, her eyes searching his.

"Oh god, yes." Henry murmured, bringing his face down to her neck and inhaling her scent. "But I can feel it wakening in me… you wouldn't be safe."

"I'm a god damn monster-hunter, Henry!" She said, exasperated.

"I know, I know…" Henry said, pulling back and looking into her eyes, "But you'll be at your most vulnerable."

She could see tiny flecks of yellow in his eyes, almost completely masked by dark pupils, dilated with arousal.

He wanted her, he actually wanted her, and there was no way in hell Ashley Magnus was going to accept that they couldn't be together after they'd gotten past so much.

"How much have you drank of this stuff?" Ashley asked, picking up the bottle and noting that not a lot was missing.

"Umm, about two mouthfuls. It's pretty awful, but what's that…"

She pulled back to stand and held up a finger, motioning for him to wait. Twisting around she headed for a computer and quickly flicked to the screen she wanted, making all the necessary clicks.

Turning back towards her friend, her eyes darted to the prominent bulge in his jeans, she moaned in the back of her throat before stepping forwards and determinedly pulling Henry to his feet.

"What the?" Henry asked, perplexed at Ashley's behaviour.

"Shush…Come with me."

As Henry's lab was just off the SHU it didn't take her long to lead Henry to one of the low-lit examination cells; cells they used when they brought a new, and possibly dangerous, abnormal into the Sanctuary.

Henry looked down at the secure exam bed, the only thing in the room, with its leather straps and metal restraints. "You're kidding."

Ashley looked nervously from the bed to Henry, "I know it's not exactly the perfect solution, but it means that you don't have to worry about me. I'll be safe, even if something does happen."

He looked across at her, still not willing to risk touching her… if he did, he might not be able to stop. One last worry nagged at him. "What if I change while right in the middle of…" Henry motioned at the bed. " You'd be…you know… with a wolf."

It wasn't said, but Ashley understood the underlying message of insecurity – 'I couldn't stand the hurt of your reaction to me.'

"Henry!" Ashley admonished, coming over to bridge the gap between them, grasping his face and looking directly into his eyes, "What is it going to take for me to get this into your thick skull… I love you… YOU!... All of you – wolf part included."
Henry looked at her in disbelief.

"Look," she said with a sigh; she needed him to understand. "I don't have some weird bestiality kink or anything, but I wouldn't freak out if it happened. I'd still be making love to YOU!"

Henry didn't respond, so she continued, "I've got Druitt genes in me, right? Jack the freaking Ripper genes. That's where my speed and my strength comes from… Would you freak out if I took control, using that power…physically, while we were having sex?"

"No!" Henry responded instantly, "But I trust you."

"And I trust you, too! Don't you see?" Ashley took a breath. "This," she said, turning away and indicating to the restraints on the bed, "Is for you, not me. I trust you and I trust your abnormal side the same way you trust mine."

Henry closed his eyes for a moment, taking in her words, then looked up at the camera, and Ashley knew she'd won the argument.

"I turned 'em off," she said, moving closer, slipping into his arms and smiling. "So… have we put all your demons to bed?"

Henry scoffed, tightening and arm around her. "I can't believe you put 'demons' and 'bed' in the same sentence, considering what we're about to do." Henry said, toying with the leather strap on the bed.

She smirked, glad Henry was trying to be his usual jokey self. "Well, I couldn't call you a demon in bed yet, because I don't know… you keep delaying me from finding out."

"Well I wouldn't know either … Probably shouldn't get your hopes up on that score." Henry answered, suddenly a little insecure again.

"Is a kiss really as far as you're ever been with a woman?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah," He answered, still rather self-conscious.

She laid a kiss against the stubbled area of his neck, and whispered, "Then you're really gonna love this." She pulled him into a slow kiss, letting a hand wander down his body as he opened his mouth to her.

Ashley felt the little moan against her lips as she cupped the erection in his jeans and she smiled against his kiss, palming the hardness with the heel of her hand. Henry's hips began unconsciously moving against her hand and she decided that teasing him would be too cruel tonight.

Continuing the warm, lazy kiss, she flicked the button on his jeans and slipped down the fly, to gently release his erection from its confines.

At the first touch of her hand on him, he gasped into her mouth and she marvelled at how responsive he was. She'd have to be careful not to overstimulate him this first time, but it was going to be hard; the idea that she was the first to do this was a massive turn on for her. A possessive thought ran across her mind unbidden: she would be the only one ever to do this - He was hers, he would only ever be hers.

Releasing him from her gentle grip, she placed her hands on his shoulders, turning him so that he backed up to the examination bed. Breaking the kiss, she whispered, "Sit up on here. I want to do something."

Ashley could tell he was nervous as Henry swallowed hard but followed her directions without question, letting her help him pull his still-damp jeans lower on his hips to keep from trapping his erection. He moved quickly back in for another reassuring kiss and she returned it, but let her hands wander down to the hem of his tee shirt. She lifted the shirt over his head before he had any chance to argue, discarding it quickly onto the floor before turning back to him and letting her hands run over his arms and chest.

Henry came back in to continue the kiss, but she pulled back. "Let me look at you… God, Henry, I can't believe you thought you were wimpy!" She said, running her hands over his biceps to his chest. Henry made a little whimpering noise when her fingers brushed over his pierced nipples. "They sensitive?" She asked needlessly, watching him bite his bottom lip and her fingertips lingered over them.

She leaned forward, avoiding his kiss, to bring her lips to his neck where she licked and caressed. One hand remained on the sensitive piercing of a nipple, and she let the other trail back down to take him back in her hand. He moaned out loud as she kissed downwards across his chest while slowly stroking his cock. She had to remind herself not to tease as her tongue found his nipple and continued on, despite delighting in the gasp and whimper from Henry.

"Lean back a little," Ashley murmured against Henry's stomach, having found the navel bar with her exploring tongue. She pressed a hand against his abdomen, pushing him back, and looked up to see him lean backwards to rest on his elbows, his eyes wide. She grinned at his expression; she could see the blatant hope on his face that she would keep moving her mouth south, and she had no desire to disappoint him.

She kept eye contact with him as she trailed her tongue down the soft line of hair trailing towards her goal. She had to remind herself, yet again, not to tease him as his eyes widened. So instead, she took a broad swipe of the underside of his erection with her tongue, earning her a guttural moan as his cock twitched against her. His eyes closed and head tipped back when she took him into her mouth, sliding him as far as he could go, before sucking her way slowly back up the shaft.

"Oh, fuck….Ash!"

Her hands found his hips, giving her a little more control and she repeated the motion more quickly, pressing down against Henry hips as they unconsciously tried to buck upwards. She ran her tongue against the sensitive underside and heard a throaty moan followed by what she could only describe as a growl. Looking back up, she saw Henry twist his head from side to side, eyes squeezed tightly shut. She sank her mouth over him again, but pulled back quickly when she heard, "Ahh, Ash! Gotta strap me down… quickly. I'm loosing it, here."

"It's okay Henry, just breathe," she said softly, guiding his legs to come up onto the bed. He was shaking as she helped him lie into position with his hands above his head, his eyes still tightly shut as he tried to fight off the change. She'd seen him like this during his initial changes, back when he actually thought about getting surgery, and she knew this was taking a huge amount of concentration. She finished tightening the straps on his wrists and ankles and hopped up to sit on the bed at his side. She stroked soothingly down from his shoulders, across his chest and down to where his hips disappeared into his shucked down jeans. He was still hard, looking almost painfully so, but Ashley didn't touch him and avoided Henry's sensitive nipples as she continued to soothe him, muttering calming words.

Eventually, Henry's breathing calmed and Ashley heard a quiet "Dammit!" as he opened his eyes. At Ashley's questioning look, he added "Can't believe I didn't get your top off before I got strapped down."

Ashley bit back a laugh, needing to confirm he was alright. "You okay?"

Henry nodded, testing his restraints and then looked at her hovering over him. "Hey, I'd understand if you wanna pull out of this…this isn't going to be the most normal of relationships," he said, tugging his wrists in emphasis.

Ashley rolled her eyes, continuing the soothing strokes of her hand. "When have we ever had anything normal, Henry?" she asked. "Besides, I have you mostly naked and strapped down to a bed so I can have my wicked way with you… there's no way I'm pulling out now."

"Last chance," He said, his eyes tearing from hers as she stopped touching him to pull her pyjama top over her head, exposing her breasts. She grinned at his obvious reaction, before jumping down from the table to remove her pyjama bottoms. His head followed her movement, his hands automatically pulling at the restraints to reach for her as she stood up beside the bed, naked. "Ash… Jesus, you're so beautiful."

Ashley couldn't help blush at the compliment, and climbed up onto the bed quickly to hide her sudden feeling of coyness. He pulled at his wrist restraints again, wanting badly to touch her as she crawled up his body on her hands and knees, coming in for a kiss.

Her breasts brushed against his chest and his nipple piercings as she kissed him, and she felt him whimper into her mouth. Pulling back, she saw his eyes shut tightly again. "Don't fight it so hard. It'll be okay, Henry," she soothed. She sat herself back, straddling his lower hips and took his weeping erection into her hand, rubbing the glistening fluid of he pre-come over his shaft. His eyes snapped open and he moaned out loud, taking the sight of her in.
She kept her eyes on his, noting the flecks of yellow swirl in his irises. She willed him to keep his eyes open as she raised up and shifted herself forward, bringing Henry's erection between her legs. Henry moaned at the feel of her wet heat against him, and his eyes flicked down to where their bodies touched so intimately. It was Ashley who made the next noise in the darkened cell as she bit her bottom lip into her mouth to stifle a cry and sank slowly down onto Henry's hardness.

"Ahhh!" Henry moaned, feeling her tight and hot around him. He could feel her trembling thighs against his hips and wished he had free hands to steady her, hold her.

"Okay?" She breathed, placing her palms on his chest to brace herself.

"Oh God, yes. So good…" She pushed lightly against his chest to help raise herself up before sliding back down around him again. "Soo good," he muttered, watching her long blonde hair cascade over her shoulders as she leaned forwards. "So beautiful, love you so much, Ash."

She smiled, pushing herself up again, faster this time and basking in Henry's further mumbled endearments. After a short while, her movements and Henry's hips found a good rhythm, and Ashley slipped her hand down to rub against her own clit, letting her head fall back as the sensation hit her.

Henry's loud whine grabbed her attention back, and her breath caught as she saw his reaction to her touching herself. His hips bucked a little harder, eyes fixed where she rubbed against her clit. She felt the telltale clench in her pelvis and pressed her fingers harder and faster against herself, feeling a spike of arousal as Henry liked his lips, his eyes still fixed between her legs.

Ashley gasped in air, her body knowing orgasm was on her before she did.
She shuddered to a halt with Henry still inside her, a brief suspended moment before intense pleasure swept from between her legs, causing powerful tremors through her body. She let her head fall back as she started moving against Henry's cock again, riding out the bliss of sensation, and feeling a flush spread over her skin, her breasts, her chest, to her face as her climax started to subside.

When Ashley brought her head back down and opened her eyes, her body was trembling. Henry was panting hard, despite little movement between them now. The look of awe on his face took her breath away. Suddenly she needed him; she needed to be in his arms. She checked his eyes, the flecks of yellow were still present but hadn't become any brighter - he was in control.

She acted quickly before he could argue, leaning forward and pulling away the straps from his wrists.

"Ash!" he murmured, admonishment in his voice, yet his actions contradicted his tone. He sat up, wrapping his arms around her waist, splaying his hands across her bare back, cradling her in his lap. His lips moved to caress her throat and she circled her hips against him, causing him to cry out and buck up against her.

She kept her movement going, using his shoulders as leverage, causing him to moan out her name and grip her hips, pulling her down against him as his own movements juddered and faltered. He pulled her down roughly onto him, gasping against her neck, and froze for a second before trembling violently as he climaxed deep inside of her.

She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, waiting for his breathing to even out and his heart to stop racing, she could feel the thudding against her chest.

"Hey," She said quietly, her fingers moving to stroke against their hair above his temple. Henry eventually pulled away from her neck to look at her, tears soaking his eyes.
"Henry," she whispered, her own eyes filling up. "You didn't change… everything is alright. Everything was wonderful."

He nodded silently before gripping her tightly into a hug and burying his face back into her neck. She held him tightly, understanding his emotion; that many years of denial and sadness.

But that was all over, now.

"Come on," She said coaxing his face up again, laying gentle kisses onto his eyelids. "Let's go find a real bed."

Epilogue:

Henry paced up and down in front of the chesterfield in Magnus's office, and although Ashley saw enjoying the view, it was beginning to drive her nuts.
She watched him run his hand over his hair, letting the palm of his hand rest on the nape of his neck as he walked. Despite the current unease, she couldn't help but think about how she'd had her own hands there, just an hour ago, pulling him as close to her as possible as he thrust deeply into her.

"Oh, God. She's going to hate me," Henry bemoaned, turning again to pace over the same patch of carpet.

They were here to confess to her mother when she came down from her rooms. It was hardly like they'd be able to hide their relationship, not that she wanted to from her mother. The few seconds they'd considered keeping their relationship a secret this morning when they'd discussed it, came to an abrupt end as they simultaneously realised they were living with a nosey and incorrigible profiler.

"Henry, look," Ashley said, grabbing his arm and bringing him down onto the sofa beside her. She rubbed her hand down his stubbily cheek, the vulnerability melting her annoyance away. "Mom, will understand…she loves us both. I have no doubt about that. She may be worried, but she won't reject us. And even if she doesn't accept it, nothing…NOTHING, will keep us apart. Nothing can interfere with that. Even if the very worst happens and she flips and throws us both out, I'll still have you, and I'll still be about a hundred times happier that I was this time yesterday."

Henry looked into her eyes for a moment, seeing the naked truth there. He cupped her jaw with his hands and quickly pulled her into a kiss, pouring all the love he had for her into it; all the love he couldn't quite find the words for.
Ashley edged closer, her hands stroking his sides, gripping his tee and pulling him closer as they kissed. In fact, they were so embroiled in each other, neither noticed Magnus enter the room and stop suddenly at the sight that greeted her. After the brief shock of seeing her daughter and her werewolf technician making out on her sofa, she smiled to herself.

Realising they wouldn't be parting any time soon, Helen coughed lightly and was amused to watch them jump apart like guilty school children. Well Ashley looked guilty, poor Henry looked utterly mortified.

"About time…" Helen says, rearranging the medical reports in her arms and walking over to the desk. "Now Henry can stop moping about the Sanctuary and you can stop dating those idiot arms dealers… I really didn't approve of any of them, Ashley."

"Mom?" Ashley asked in a pitch higher than usual. Henry just sat wide-eyed and speechless.

Helen sat against her desk, facing them with a smile. "I must admit, I hoped you two would see past your friendship and become something more to each other. It can't have been easy for either of you growing up here, and with each of your abnormalities complementing each other so perfectly…"

Henry mouthed like a goldfish, but Ashley broke out a genuine smile for her mother. Despite their occasional personality clash that came from the fact they were two strong opinionated women, she had always relied on her mother's sense of practicality and logic.

Helen returned her daughter's smile. She'd seen the potential a while ago, years in fact. She'd realised that the perfect match for the lonely young man, and potentially dangerous werewolf, was the equally lonely young woman who was perhaps the only person in the world who could handle that danger.

Helen did not want Ashley to experience the loneliness that she had endured for so long. And she loved them both, dearly.

"Though," Helen said seriously, "There is perhaps a safe-sex issue that perhaps should be broached…"

Henry slid down the sofa beside Ashley, a look of utter humiliation on his rosy face.

Ashley glanced at him, realising he'd be no help, and held up her hand to interrupt. "All sorted out, both the usual side, and the wolf-related…" Ashley said, wanting to reassure her mom quickly. It was the least she could do after she had been so understanding.

Helen cocked her head for a minute, her sharp mind quickly jumping to the right conclusion. Ah, I wondered why the report this morning stated that observation systems went off-line in the exam rooms last night. Good thinking, Ashley."

Henry sank lower into the sofa, covering his face with his hand. This woman was like his Mom, he couldn't cope with the realisation she knew he'd be strapped down and… Henry's mortifying thoughts were interrupted by an unexpected gasp from Helen.

"That means… Henry being Lycan, that… you've bonded. Oh, Ashley! Congratulations!" She gasped, pulling her daughter up into a hug.

"Okay, what did I miss?" Will asked, walking through the door and halting at the sight in front of him.

"I took your advice and I planted one on him," Ashley joked from over her mother's shoulder. Will grinned at the confused and mortified looking technician.

The End.