Title: Communication

Author: LannaKitty

Rating: Mature

Pairs: Ashley/Henry

Category: Humor, Drama, Angst, Smut

Spoilers: The five and onwards

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.

Summary: Talking is hard. The conversation after the kiss doesn't go quite the way Ashley thought it might. Set during and after Edward.

Notes: Sequel fic to More Issues than National Geographic. Ashley's POV since I think I have a handle on Henry, and racethewind10 comment on "More Issues..."made me want to try writing her. Thanks to Oparu for late-night feedback, and many thanks to everyone who reviewed the last fic I did. My ego loves you all. I'm gleeful that I'm not the only one who finds these two to be so much damn fun. Super huge thanks to Racethewind10 for looking the mature part over for me and helping with some of the wording and generally making it better. You rock!!

Ashley walked down the hall, fists balled. She checked her speed and unclenched her hands. "This is silly, Ash. You just spent the better part of two days in the city with the things that go bump in the night. Seeing the best friend you've known most of your life should not be this...The best friend who kissed you…Really well." She stopped, turned around and retraced her steps to the end of the hall before she reversed direction once more. "You're overreacting. And you're talking to yourself." She winced, shook her head and continued on, nearly running into Bigfoot in the hall. He grabbed her shoulders to help her keep her balance.

"Sorry, wasn't watching where I was going." She let out a huff. This was becoming ridiculous.

"Ashley,"

"Yeah?"

Bigfoot peered down at her for a moment then grunted. "Going to see Henry?"

"Uhm. Yeah. He in his room?"

Bigfoot grunted again. "See if you can't get him to eat." He released her shoulders with a friendly pat and passed her in the hall.

Ashley spun around. "He's not eating?"

The big abnormal stopped and shook his head as he turned back to her. "Hardly. Hasn't left his room much since the window," he gestured to the window down the hall which had been already been replaced. "He won't talk to me."

She nodded lifted her chin. "He'll talk to me." Ashley turned and squared her shoulders as she strode to Henry's door. Rome, the window, both had happened more than a week ago. She'd spent most of the time she'd been home since then thinking about her own issues, but she wasn't the only one having a rough time. Maybe that's why he'd joined her on the couch, why he'd…She broke off that train of thought. Whatever happened would happen. She lifted her hand and her courage flagged. She paused for a second then mentally scolded herself and knocked.

"Henry?" Silence. "Bigfoot says you've been skipping meals. He left you something. Why don't you come get it?" More silence. She leaned her forehead against the door.

"Look, about the other day," she paused again, trying to think of what to say, "You're not in there because of that, are you?"

The door unlocked and opened a couple inches. "Hey Ash."

He wouldn't meet her eyes, but what worried her was his tone of voice. He sounded broken. "You okay?"

He shook his head and began to close the door. Ashley grabbed the door frame. When he met her eyes she silently dared him to close it. Henry sighed and left the door to sit on his bed. Ashley pushed the door open, quickly grabbed the tray of food and brought it in with her before Henry could change his mind. She placed the tray on the table by the door, mindful of the computer equipment there. Ashley then pulled his computer chair over across from him and sat. She pulled one foot onto the seat and rested her chin on her knee.

"You look like you've been thinking. Spill."

Henry looked up from his hands and let out a sigh. "It's me."

Ashley rolled her eyes and let her foot slide off the chair and back to the floor. So much for actually having some kind of talk. So much for the oddly bright-if-confusing spot in her week. "I know how this conversation goes." She stood.

"No, you don't," Henry's eyes were wide as he grabbed for her wrist. "That's not what I was going to say. This isn't about the couch. Or maybe it's more than the couch."

Ashley eyed him then sat on the edge of the seat. "So what's this all about?"

Henry squeezed then released her wrist before running both hands through his hair. "I'm changing. Something's going on. Inside of me. It's freaking me the hell out Ash."

"Have you talked to my mom?"

Henry's shoulders sagged and he looked out the window. "Everything's messed up. Smell's the worse. Taste is messed up too. Can't sleep. He looked back at her. "I'm not safe to be around. I can feel it."

"But it's you,"

"That thing is not me!" Henry got to his feet and stalked to the window. He crossed his arms over his chest and set his jaw.

"Okay," Ashley thought to herself. "Self-hating werewolf." She got to her feet and followed him to the window. She put a hand on his shoulder and felt awful when he winced away.

"Henry, I hate to break it to you, but you're a werewolf. You've always been a werewolf." He huffed in surly denial of fact and she felt a little angry. She grabbed his chin and made him look at her. "Those facts change nothing about you. Nothing."

"Yes they do."

"No. You are still the same person you have always been." She let go of his face. "Maybe this is what's supposed to happen."

"I'm supposed to turn into a monster? Ash, I can't control that thing!"

"How do you know that? You've hardly ever let it out and the one time you did, you saved Will's life!"

"I could have easily tried to kill him instead! It's primal. It's," he trailed off. "Forget it."

"Henry, forgetting it won't make it go away."

"I can try."

"Dude, why are you being such an asshat about this?"

Henry lifted an eyebrow, "Asshat?"

She glared and held up a finger, "Don't change the subject. I'm already letting you off the hook for that, that other thing."

"You don't know what it's like to have everything just change on you." He pushed away from the wall to pace. "Everything you thought you knew, just gone. Its like I don't know who I am anymore."

"Yeah, I might know a little bit about that." If her reply was snippy it was because he deserved it. He was being an idiot and bringing up topics she'd come here to forget.

"You're no different from before!" he said, throwing her words back at her.

"Don't."

"That's what you were just telling me isn't it?"

She glared at him for a full second then stalked for the door. "Don't forget to eat something."

"Ashley,"

She felt him grab her wrist and spun around breaking the hold. "Let. Go."

Henry backed off but stood in front of the door.

"Get out of my way or I will make you."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Well that makes two of us." She prodded his chest. "Where the hell do you get off being the oh-so-scary beast, huh? The only time you've actually shifted you saved someone's life. What the hell is up with you? And don't you dare give me confused puppy dog eyes."

"Ash,"

"No. You've been Mr. Wallowing in self hate about something you've always known about. I was the one who was lied to. I'm the one who found out her father is one of the world's most famous psychopaths. Suddenly, my awesome talents don't seem so awesome. Maybe I'm going to start carving up working girls too?"

"You know that's not true,"

"Do I? I knew my father was dead and he showed up and kidnapped me twice. No. You've known about this your entire life. You don't get to have the emo werewolf pity party."

"I could kill you!"

"Oh, like that's unusual around here. You're talking to the hitman. Hitwoman. Whatever. I've taken out werewolves before and not with the tranquilizer rounds either. In fact, I'm probably a better hunter than you are." She poked him in the chest again until he was backed up to the door. "How does that make wolfboy feel, huh? The little blonde is a better hunter and tracker and killer than he is."

"Ash, I think you need to back off," Henry warned. His eyes had gone golden.

Ashley arched a brow and stared him in the eye. "Still not scary." She glared at him, daring him to do something. She watched tension grow in his face, but he restrained himself from yelling. Henry pushed her to one side and half collapsed on the end of his bed. He breathed heavily and the muscles in his arms were rippled with spasms. For a moment his face began to elongate. The bare foot closest to her twisted and extended into something more paw-like before it reverted. Ashley watched him fight the change. He curled in on himself, one hand desperately clutching at the bedsheets. When the attack was over, his shirt was stained with sweat and he was pale and panting.

Ashley went to the ensuite bathroom, ran some cool water over a washcloth then put it on his head when she returned. She sat on the bed beside him. She'd been able to actually see him stopping the transformation. She hadn't been afraid of him as much as she'd been afraid for him.

"Why didn't you leave?" he asked between panting breaths.

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" She rubbed his shoulder and the tension began to drain away, replaced with obvious exhaustion. She let out a breath. "This is really messing you up, isn't it?" Henry grunted a reply that was probably an affirmative. She worked out the knots in his shoulder with a firm thumb. "Whatever's been going on is what's making you play games with me too?"

"No," He sat up with some effort and clasped her hand before she could remove it. Henry's look of anguish quelled her remaining anger with him. "No. Ash, I'm not playing games, I swear I would never do that to you."

"Then what made you," she shrugged with one shoulder, "You know."

"Kiss you?"

"I have no idea." He looked at the ceiling. "But the, the other me liked it."

"And you?" She waited for an agonizing moment, unsure what she wanted him to actually say. Ashley found she couldn't look him in the eye and focused on his cheek. He had a dimple there. She met his eyes when she saw it appear with his small, bashful smile.

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his head and dropped his eyes. "You?"

She was still trying to sort though everything. "I was surprised."

Henry chuckled, "So was I." He paused then added "You smell nice."

Ashley shook her head. "You're all over the place."

Henry took a deep breath and sighed as he nodded. "I was way out of line. I didn't mean to toss that back at you."

"Yes you did." Ashley shifted around in her seat on the bed. "Maybe I needed to hear it."

He offered his hand and after a moment she took it. "I couldn't live with myself if I did anything to hurt you. If I hurt anyone. That thing can hurt people. That's all I've been able to think about. Well," the corner of his lips quirked, "there were a few moments where I wasn't thinking about it." He looked serious once more. "But after I came back here and was trying to figure out what to say," he trailed off then looked at her. "Did you see that snake?"

She nodded. "Amazonian Naga. Big one."

Henry squeezed her hand. "I've just been thinking about how much I have to lose here."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I dunno."

She sat behind then hugged him. "You're not alone. You know that right?"

After a second his arms came up to her hands. "Thanks, Ash."

"Do you know anything about what might be happening to you or where you could find something out?"

"There's some reading I've been avoiding."

She moved to sit next to him. "Maybe you should do some of that. Maybe if you know what to expect you won't freak out so much?"

"Maybe."

"The library is huge. There's got to be a "What's happening to my body book for werewolves" in there." Ashley was proud she'd managed to say this with a straight face. It lasted only a few second before she lost it, but she got Henry to snicker so she counted it as a win.

"Something like that."

He fell silent and Ashley didn't know how to fill the space, so she didn't say anything either. They leaned against one another, lost in thought. For her part, Ashley still didn't know what to think. Did whatever he was currently dealing with make him kiss her? Except she couldn't entirely blame him. She'd kissed back. She'd liked it. Part of her had wanted more when she'd decided to seek him out this afternoon. Much more. Maybe it had been a fluke, and maybe it hadn't.

Her mother was always going on about the scientific method. Clearly she needed more data before she could draw a concrete conclusion. Okay it was a lame excuse, but it worked for the moment.

"So, where do-"

She cut him off with a kiss, just to see how it felt today. His stubble tickled and it took him a terrifying second to react, but it then he did. His hands framed her face, guiding her to tilt her head just slightly as he began to really kiss her back. With reluctance she broke it off before it became too involved.

She rubbed her thumb over his cheek. "I don't want to make whatever you're going though harder. You've my friend and I don't like fighting with you."

"So it's not you, it's me?"

She shook her head and left a peck on his cheek. "No, I'm saying we should have that conversation about the couch when you think you have a better leash on your inner wolf." She rolled her eyes. "Or something."

"I might need some help with that."

Ashley smirked. "I told you. You're not alone, okay?"

His sudden hug caught her by surprise. "Thanks Ash. You have no idea what that means to me."

She climbed off the bed then handed him the tray. "Eat. Do research. Talk to my mom. Do something other than sit here dreading what's going to happen."

He took the tray and nodded. "Thanks for the kick in the rear."

"Anytime."

The leather of the bag impacted her taped hands with a jarring sensation. She alternated which fist she hit the punching bag with and then followed up with a kick. Henry was scheduled for surgery later that day. Working some aggression off before she had to go sit with him seemed like a good idea.

She'd been more afraid for Henry than she had been disappointed in his decision to do the procedure. She didn't want to lose her best friend. She had few enough of those to begin with and now there were…interesting possibilities with him. Not that she dwelled on those. No, she kept them in the vague future because thinking about anything along those lines made her feel jittery. They weren't the primary concern in any case. She slammed her fist into the heavy sack, focusing on her form. He'd been her friend and ally since she could remember and he could be changed or hell, die if things went poorly for some unforeseen reason. She paused to let the bag settle and breathed as she took a break between reps. As much as she didn't want to lose him, she had to admit she could sort of understand.

He was terrified.

Without him throwing her own issues in her face, she could see that clearly. She assaulted the bag with a quick series of punches. She'd told him what she thought he needed to hear to reconsider. It was his life and his decision, but he needed to be reminded that he wasn't destined for life in the Shoe if he didn't let her mother hack into his brain. She kicked the bag with a grunt of effort then glared at it as it swung innocently. This wasn't working. She looked at the time. She had a couple hours to kill still.

She sighed and wiped down the bag and ripped the tape off her hands. She'd hoped Henry would have seen that there was more to his abnormality than fur and fangs, but he'd retreated to his room again after he'd returned home. He looked like he'd been thinking hard. Ashley wiped the sweat from her brow and headed to her shower. She'd clean up then maybe just hang out with him. Before…before whatever happened, happened.

She showered quickly then wrapped her hair in a towel and put on a tank top, her silver necklace, and some good lounging pants. She was about to dry her hair when there was a knock at the door.

"One second!" she draped the towel on the rack, turned off the straightening iron she'd just turned on, then answered the door. She was surprised by the person on the other side of her door. "Henry!"

His hands were stuffed in his pockets. She thought he looked different somehow. "You busy?" he asked.

"Just got a shower. Was gonna dry my hair then come see you."

He spread his hands wide. "Well here I am."

Ashley smiled as she opened the door wider, letting him enter. "You okay? Nervous?" She closed the door after him.

"No." The hands were stuffed back into his pockets. "I'm not doing it." He looked pleased with himself.

She hugged him and he had to take a step back to keep from falling. "I was so worried. I mean I know it's your life and I was probably selfish for not wanting you to do anything but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have sat beside you. You're my friend. But I'm so glad." She took a step back. "Sorry."

He hugged her back. "Thanks Ash."

"What made you change your mind?"

She felt him shrug. "A lot of things. Stuff you said, stuff your mom said, stuff the big guy said." He sighed. "And finding that kid was kinda cool. Made me think I could do more."

Ashley grinned up at him as he released her from the hug. "I heard about that," she socked him playfully in the arm. "You've got mad skills."

He blushed slightly and looked at the floor. "Yeah well. It's not laser eyes but it's, it's kinda cool."

"It's way cool. I had to get the big guy teach me how to track," she said over her shoulder as she headed for the bathroom. She switched on the straightening iron.

"Yeah?" Henry leaned against the door frame.

She nodded. "It was fun." She flipped the dryer on to a low setting so she could still hear him then began to dry her hair.

"Maybe I should ask him to teach me. The nose isn't really what you'd call consistent at this point."

"It isn't?"

"Nah. It comes and goes. Usually when I don't want it to, but it worked today."

"You've tossed around learning more field stuff. Maybe this is the kick in the pants you needed?" she arched a brow and looked at him in the mirror.

He chuckled. "Probably. Being able to sniff stuff down would be useful, wouldn't it?"

She smiled at him as she drew the comb through her hair. "Absolutely! You're not too far off coming with us anyway, you know."

"No?" he reached out and began to pick up random items from her bathroom counter; a bottle of perfume, some hair spray, body mist. He put each one down with a quizzical look. "You've got way too much stuff."

She elbowed him as she unplugged the hair dryer and put it away on the shelf beside him. "Oh, like you're such a slob and don't have your own grooming supplies." She picked up the hot iron and began to straighten her hair.

"Why do you do that?"

"Frizz."

"What is frizz anyway? It's this mysteriously horrible thing women always complain about."

Ashley rolled her eyes and moved on to another section. "You are such a guy sometimes. Plus I always get "Oh you look like your mother!" comments if I don't do anything with it. Those get old after the first billion." She snorted then changed the topic, "So, what's it like to have heightened senses? You gonna get super hearing too?"

Henry shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets again. "Supposedly I'm going through another morphological phase, so I could."

"That could be fun," she paused with a frown, "or really, bad."

"Yeah, it's already like that with smell."

"What's it like?"

Henry frowned in thought and chewed his lip before finally answering. "It's a little bit like seeing time."

She shot him a look. "Cryptic much?"

"Nah, Ash, I'm serious. Everything leaves this scent trail and it's like…I can almost see them and follow where people have been if I'm there soon enough. The older stuff is more faint but it's there on the ground. Smells cling to people and things." He rubbed his nose. "Man just talking about it is making my nose itch."

"Sounds confusing."

Henry nodded. "It's overwhelming. I can't go into the kitchen and food tastes weird if I try to eat when it's active." He paused then added, "people are really complex too."

"People?" she smirked.

Henry rolled his eyes. "Ash,"

"Oh, but there are so many dog jokes."

"Can we just count them as being said?"

Ashley let him hang for just a moment before taking pity on him. "Fine. Fine." She switched off the iron and shook out her hair, satisfied with the results. "So what do I smell like?" she looked at him in the mirror. "Or were you just commenting with your normal senses?"

Henry focused on his shoes. "I don't go around smelling people. That'd be…really creepy."

"But you've been around me with your super senses?"

He nodded and focused on the floor. She leaned against her counter and crossed her arms, waiting. "The couch. Right before you started in with the wolf jokes. The incredibly poor jokes I might add. The first things were mango and pomegranate."

"My shampoo and body wash."

"Gunpowder. I looked for you in the shooting range but you weren't there."

"I did some target practice. You were looking for me?"

Henry shrugged. "I needed to get out of my room for a bit. Thought you'd be fun to hang out with. I could smell wood polish and the couch leather. Lots of things. And you."

"I'm different from all that?"

He nodded. "It was kind of weird. It was more like a memory than the rest of it is. More intense maybe."

"You've lost me. Sorry, I'm a mere mortal."

"I don't really see scents, it's more like images and emotions and everything wrapped up together. I don't even think English has words for some of this."

Ashley blinked, "Huh. That's cool."

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah. There's this whole other layer of the world that you can see that I can't. Like how Bigfoot can see a little bit into infrared and I can't."

Henry blinked. "He can what?"

"Infrared. You know, heat vision." She paused. "I'm pretty sure that's IR and the other one is UV. Steve's the one that can see UV." She bit her lip. "Unless I'm mixing those up."

"I did not know that."

She walked over and poked him in the shoulder. "Don't think you're off the hook here."

He shrugged and grabbed her prodding finger. "Maybe it's because I'm an abnormal. Scents aren't like colors on stuff they're more like triggered memories that," he shook his head, "it's like they encompass the whole of a thing. So far you and Robbie are the only ones I've been around when the super sniffer's working. I didn't know him, but I had a vague mental image from what I got off the shirt as much as from what Edward told us."

"You've known me forever, so it was more clear?"

He nodded, "Exactly." Henry tugged on her finger and she tugged back. He pulled her and she took a stumbling step and ended up staggering into him playfully.

She put her free hand on the center of his chest. "I'm glad you're going to stay as you are." Ashley felt butterflies when he put one hand then the other on her hips just above the waistband of her pants. It was unsettling but she also felt safe. It should have been a contradiction but it wasn't, because it was Henry, who didn't have a malicious bone in his body. She watched him closely as he lowered his head to hers then gave her a light kiss, as if testing the waters. She tried to relax, this was Henry, she'd known him for years. But he was Henry which set off a whole different set of butterflies. A laugh bubbled up and she blushed, one hand covering her lips.

"Way to make a guy feel great, Ash."

She bit her lip then smiled at him. "Sorry?"

"I bet you are," he smirked.

"Care to try again?" she offered.

His response was to kiss her soundly. She stepped closer into his arms and ran her palms up his chest while his hands roamed across her back then under her shirt. They broke for air and he groaned.

"No bra." He left a series of small hot kisses along her neck.

"I just took a shower." Ashley grinned wickedly. "No panties either." She laughed when he growled and pulled her hips against his and let him silence her with more kisses. His hands worked up under her shirt, caressing her sides and going higher until he brushed the undersides of her breasts, and she wondered if she should stop him or not. Where was this going?

"At the risk," he said between kisses, "of being thrown out of here and possibly," he worked the hem of her shirt higher, "killed, there is one thing that I would really like to do."

"Hmm what?" she leaned back, still undecided about what to do or where it was headed.

"I've been thinking about it for awhile and uhm, I would really like to check out your nubbins."

She blinked in confusion then when she got what he was talking about she burst out laughing. "You are such a dork." She shook her head remembering the conversation. It had been oddly flirty but afterward she'd chalked it up to the pheromones the cute little creatures had been throwing off. Maybe it hadn't all be pheromones.

Henry winced. "Yeah I know. Does that mean I can't see them?" he looked hopeful.

She touched the side of his face. "You're a dork but you're kinda sweet." She paused and decided why not, "So I guess you can." Before he could react, she pulled off her tank top and let it dangle by one strap from her fingers. She laughed at Henry's immediate focus on her chest. "Like?" She couldn't help but bounce on her toes just slightly.

Henry nodded a few times before words seemed to work again. He dragged his eyes up to her face and said very earnestly, "Your nubbins are amazing."

"How long have you wanted to say that?" she asked between giggles.

He took a deep breath then let it out. "Awhile." He was making a valiant attempt to remain looking at her face but his eyes kept wandering.

Ashley took a deep breath just to see his eyes dart downwards and snickered. She remembered how the conversation had ended and grinned. Ashley and pressed herself against his hips and dropped the pitch of her voice. "Don't you just want to squeeze 'em?"

He stared at her chest, his face open and honest. "Yes. Yes I would. Very much so."

Most guys she'd fooled around with would have been groping her by now. He wanted to, she could tell. The fingers on her hips twitched and she could feel him getting harder through his pants. The restraint he was showing was novel and made her feel a bit tingly inside, but she wanted him to touch her. She dropped the tank top, took the hand on either hip and moved them up her body to her chest, so they covered her breasts then let go. Henry tentatively stroked her nipples with his thumbs and she leaned into the caress. He repeated the action before he very gently squeezed then resumed stroking her with his thumbs. Ashley let her eyelids flutter closed as he continued to touch and stroke. Her breath caught when he flicked the left one with his nail then soothed it with his lips. Ashley let out a breathy moan as he released her and kissed his way back up to her neck. His hands moved back to her hips, his fingertips skimmed along the top of her pants then undid the knot in the drawstring. One hand slid down beneath the waistband and she drew a sharp breath.

His hand paused. "This okay?"

Ashley met his eyes. Blood thundered in her ears but she found herself nodding. She leaned up and kissed him. Ashley found the edge of his shirt, ran her hands up his chest then tugged at the piercings and flicked at them with her fingers. Henry's fingers brushed through curls then between her legs on either inner thigh. His hand wandered over her skin, lightly touching and passing very close to her clit and entrance. She widened her stance and pressed her hips closer and his fingers meandered nearer to where she wanted them to be. She hummed as Henry finally began to stroke her, his other hand massaged her lower back.

The pleased hum turned into a gasp when he slid a finger into her. She gently rocked her hips against his hand and tugged on the barbells a little harder. He added a second finger and began to rub small circles around her clit with his thumb. She broke the kiss and panted in his ear. Her world narrowed down to the smell of his cologne, the feel of his scruffy beard on her cheek and his hand within her. She released the barbells, withdrew her hands from his shirt and grasped his biceps to steady herself as she rocked against his fingers.

Henry kissed the juncture of her neck and shoulder and slowed his movements. "Ash?"

"Don't stop." She squeezed his biceps and rocked her hips against him.

"I want to go down on you."

She froze for a second. "Okay," she breathed. She'd been fingered and fucked before, but none of the guys she'd fooled around with had offered that. Usually her encounters were focused; a means to an end for both parties. This felt like something different. Henry withdrew his fingers and she caught his wrist, needing some control of the situation. She slowly sucked each finger, tasting herself mixed with the tang of his skin. Henry growled deep in his chest and let his had fall back with an audible 'thunk' against the door frame. His eyes were gold for just a second when he looked back down at her after she finished. Ashley smirked.

"Bed?" Henry asked.

Ashley drew away from him and sauntered out of the bathroom, taking control of his tentative suggestion. She felt oddly powerful as he followed in her wake, close enough she could feel the heat off his body, but nerves jangled just under the surface. She paused by her door then quickly locked it. The nervous feeling began to find more cracks to squeeze through as the click of the lock resounded in her room. She stopped by her bed. It was a daybed and suddenly seemed small and inadequate. She didn't bring guys home as a rule; her home was on the weird side and she didn't welcome the thought of her mother sticking her nose into her love life.

Henry stepped up behind her and placed on hand on her hip. He brushed aside her hair and kissed the base of her neck. Ashley shivered. The gesture was erotic and intimate. She felt exposed and just barely resisted the sudden urge to cover her chest.

"You know," Henry told her, "I've always thought you were beautiful."

"Y-Yeah?" She didn't get that as a compliment often. More frequent were "Hot" or "Intense" or some immature variant of "Babe."

"Mm-hmm." His hands encircled her waist and he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Not just 'cause you're pretty. You're smart, brave, compassionate and you call me on my bullshit. I- I just wanted you to know. I've always thought that."

Henry sucked at lying to her so she knew he was telling the truth. She turned in the circle of his arms. "Why didn't you say anything?"

He shrugged and looked to one side. "Guys like me don't usually have a shot with the smart, cute, ass-kicking girls who wear leather. Which, by the way, I have always really appreciated." Henry wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and she laughed. She knew he liked the outfits, he was a guy, but he hadn't ever seriously made a pass at her. "We grew up together," he continued. "So I thought that pretty much killed any chance."

She lifted a brow, feeling more confidant now that they were back to bantering. "And you think you have a shot now?"

He leaned forward and claimed her lips for a heated kiss. "Given that you're not wearing a top, I'm not dead and I'm pretty sure you're going to let me eat you out? I think I have a tiny chance." He smirked at her.

Ashley made a show of giving it some thought. "I guess," she finally admitted. She thought she saw a flicker of relief in his expression before he leaned in to kiss her again. Maybe he was feeling as off balance as she was, except, a small voice said, he seemed so confidant as he guided her back onto the bed and followed after her.

She hadn't paid much attention to his dating habits before. Ashley wondered what he expected of her as she lay back against the pillows propped up at the end of her bed. Thinking became hard when he began to lave her nipples and alternated sweeps of his tongue and thumbs. Ashley began to think again when he moved down her body with licks and kisses. She wondered where he'd learned this and then wondered if she really wanted to know. Chronologically he was much older than she was, but he was only a little older mentally. Maybe. His mental and physical ages didn't seem to be in synch and had alternately lagged behind or raced ahead of her before settling to what they were currently. He tugged at her waistband, drawing her attention back to his ministrations.

Ashley lifted her hips so he could remove her pants. He eased the grey material off her hips and then down her legs, slowly. Henry ran his hands back up her legs at the same pace, barely touching. Each small contact seemed to send a small electric shock to the base of her spine, winding her tight with anticipation. Ashley closed her eyes and gripped the bedspread. He spread her legs when he reached her knees and continued upward. She jumped when he trailed his fingers over the inside of her thigh.

The trailing fingers stopped and he put his hand on her knee, shifting her leg so she wasn't open to him. "Ash?"

She opened one eye then the other. "Hmm?"

Henry braced himself on one arm by her head. "This is okay, right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

He looked at her with a small frown. "You're jumpy." He rubbed her knee. "If you don't want me to, that's okay." He paused then added "If you don't want to do anything at all we can stop. Go ba-"

She shut him up by putting a hand over his mouth. When she had his attention she removed it. "I, uhm." She rolled her eyes. "No one's actually ever…"

His eyebrows shot up. "Ever, ever?"

"No! Not that. I've done," she shrugged, "you know. That. What you want to do is the part I don't have much, uh , experience…with."

Henry squeezed her knee and looked away for a second. "Well, Ash, the truth is I don't have all that much practical experience with that either."

"You don't have to if you don't want to. Guys don't like it."

"I like doing it." Henry shook his head with a grin. "You have no idea what a turn on it is."

She tilted her head to one side. "But I thought you just said-?"

"I've done it enough to know, but I don't get out all that much." Henry winced. "I, uh, I do a lot of reading."

She arched an eyebrow. "Reading? Where?"

He looked up at the ceiling then finally admitted. "There's a lot of stuff on the internet that seems to work."

"The internet."

"Yeah." He nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "You want me to go now don't you?"

She burst into laughter. "No!" she shook her head, "No. God, you're such a geek." She sat up and touched his face and shoulder. "That's so you." She kissed the end of his nose. "I kinda like it. So this is your secret kink?"

"Yep." He smirked and gently eased her back onto the pillows. His hand ran from her knee to her waist. "Tell me if you like or don't like what I'm doing?" He dropped a line of kisses from her collarbone to her right breast and tongued her nipple.

"I like that," she commented, feeling slightly self conscious.

He chuckled which sent pleasant vibrations across her skin. His thumb replaced his lips and he smirked up at her with an arched brow. "Your secret kink?"

"Maybe," she flirted back.

Henry kissed the underside of her breast. "Noted." He continued to kiss down the length of her body, his hands ran up her legs in the same not-quite-touching caress but this time she didn't jump at his touch.

His fingers played over her skin, brushing close to her entrance then back as he kissed the inside of her thigh. He slid onto his stomach and looked up at her from this new position. Apprehension began to grow again but then died a quick death as he began to kiss the inside of her thigh and moved closer to the apex. He skipped across then did the same thing on her other leg. He drew designs with his tongue, always coming close to, but never quite going where she wanted him to. Henry watched her reactions as he kissed and licked from his prone position. His scruffy beard tickled her skin in contrast with his soft tongue and lips. Ashley's fingers wove into her bed sheet as he teased. She shifted her hips and tried to stifle a needy sound but didn't quite succeed. Finally he kissed her, then again harder, parting her with his lips and tongue. She arched on the bed towards him, encouraging him.

Ashley's free hand reached up and gripped the bed's iron frame as the hands that had been massaging her thighs moved to open her wider to him. She moaned as he began to lick her in long swipes in and up. She let out a breathy "Yes" when his tongue just barely touched her clit. He paid more attention to that part of her and gently wrapped his lips around it and sucked before he caressed with his tongue. She reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

He looked up at her with a mischievous glint. "Hmm?"

Ashley's eyes rolled back for a second as the vibrations hit her clit. He chuckled as he licked, which just made the feeling of coiled tension all that much worse and better. "Fingers." She wanted the feeling of something within her.

He hummed against her as he rubbed with the fingers of one hand then slowly slid two fingers insider of her. Her hips jerked toward him and he lost contact with his lips for just a second but then he was there again, with more pressure. He fingered her as his mouth made love to her and she found herself moving, needing, wanting more. He curled his fingers as he moved them in an out, learning what made her gasp and writhe. Ashley let out a short wordless cry when he hit on her g-spot. The tension was wonderful but she wanted release but she never wanted it to end. He was relentless after finding that one spot, applying more pressure in response to her shifting body and the hand gripping his shoulder. She came hard, the tension released with a sharp cry as she gripped the bed and his shoulder, body arched as far as it could go. The world exploded and reformed and she was left panting. He hadn't left her, his tongue pressed with delightful pressure.

She collapsed back onto the pillow. Ashley looked down the line of her body and met Henry's eyes. And then the magnificent bastard licked her, long and hard and her world shattered again.

Ashley was vaguely aware that Henry moved to sit near her head. When she opened her eyes he was casually massaging one breast, which felt fantastic, and looking at her with an expression of naked lust. It was a little intimidating coming from laid back Henry, but exciting at the same time. She'd made him look at her that way.

He leaned down and kissed her. "You have no idea how hot that is," he murmured against her lips before kissing her again. "No clue." He growled when she reached out and tugged at his waistband then undid his belt. He pulled off his shirt then helped her shed his pants revealing tented boxers.

Ashley eyed the design critically. "This is?" she asked, tugging at the waistband.

"Level one of Mario Brothers!" he answered in mock shock.

She grinned. "Geek."

"These are awesome!" he assured her.

Ashley tugged at the waistband again. "These need to go away."

"Yeah?"

She arched a brow. "I let you get this far, you think I'm going to stop now?" she asked, tone dry. She sat up, kissed his cheek, then pushed him away with orders. "Condoms. Second drawer on the right behind the tampons. I always use two methods. You don't get a choice."

"As you wish." He gave her a teasing salute and, after some banging around in her bathroom, returned with a foil package held up between two fingers. He hooked his thumbs in his waistband then paused. "Uhm, there's one thing I forgot to mention."

"What? Woah." She blinked as he shed his geeky boxers, then smirked. "You know, after I found out about the chest and the navel, I wondered what else you got pierced." She eyed him critically. He looked like he'd be a pleasing size, but the interesting part was the reverse Prince Albert piercing. He wore a steel barbell with round ends, one ball behind the head at one just at the tip. Ashley bit her lip and wondered what it would feel like rubbing her on the inside.

"You're, ah, actually going to be the first person to try it out," he answered.

She realized she'd asked the question aloud and felt a faint blush creep up. "When did you do it?"

"'Bout eight months ago." He shrugged. "I wanted another one. This one looked like it might be fun. I can take it out if you don't-"

"No, no. Leave it in." She shifted on the bed. "Did it take that long to heal?"

"The wolf thing. I didn't feel comfortable being with someone who didn't know. I, uh, didn't seriously look for someone to try it out 'cause of that."

Ashley rose up to her knees so she was at eye level with him. "But I know." He took a step closer and she put her hands on his hips. She grasped him and stroked from base to tip and smirked. "Doggie has a boner?"

He made a sound halfway between a growl and a moan. "Ash."

"What?" She looked innocent even as she stroked him again.

He grabbed her wrist. "Stop or I'm done." She let go and reclined on the bed. He gripped the mattress and took a few slow breaths to calm down.

She held up the foil packet he'd dropped to the bedspread. "Bet it'd be a bad idea for me to put this on you, huh?"

He smirked and held out a hand. "Yeah."

She watched as he took it out and unrolled it over his shaft, taking care to make sure it went smoothly over the piercing. "The barbell isn't going to break it, right?"

"Nope."

She grinned. "Tried it out solo, eh?"

"C'mere you," he reached for her and she let him catch her. They fell back onto the bed in a tangle of limbs, laughing at one another between kisses.

Ashley got the upper hand and ended up sprawled on top of him, her hands on his chest, his erection trapped against her stomach. "Can I be on top this time?" She took his grin as permission and dragged herself up his body as she straddled his legs. She rubbed against him and enjoyed watching his eyes roll back as one hand grabbed the bedspread and the other her leg. She eased her hands up his chest from his lower belly to his shoulders and back down while she teased them both. She balanced with one hand on the center of his chest, held him with the other hand, and sank down with a shared sigh.

She closed her eyes in pleasure as she felt the raised nub of the barbell slide against her. She drew back to feel it slide again then took him all the way and felt the other end hit her deep. It was an unusual sensation but not unpleasant. He stretched her and she moaned as she rose up then sank down again. His hands rubbed from her hips to her knees and back in slow, deliberate strokes. She could feel the tension in his body under her. Ashley tossed her hair and shifted her hips as she leaned over him and watched his expression. He looked up at her and she smiled as she moved one hand off her leg and placed it against her clit. She braced the other hand against his chest and began to move.

Ashley focused on the feeling of the jewelry sliding against her and his fingers as the teased. Henry groaned as she began to move faster. She felt tension coil low in her body and she began to ache for release as she increased her pace. Ashley was sure she was close, her body still humming from earlier activity. She came, voice caught in her throat as she arched over him. Henry's hand stroked up her side and cupped her breast. She looked down as she caught her breath and found she didn't know how to read his expression. She couldn't look away either.

He was still hard. Ashley focused on that as she started to ride him again, intent on his release. She ground her hips and tightened around him and finally he broke eye contact as he groaned and thrust up under her. Ashley gripped his shoulders as she moved, watching his face, his eyes scrunched, mouth open as he panted. She stopped for a moment, swallowing his frustrated groan with a kiss then a second. His eyes focused on her again as she thrust down once more. "Ash," he gasped as he came. The expression on his face was intense. He met her eyes for a moment then closed them, lost in pleasure.

Ashley was shaken. The enormity of what had happened hit her and she tried to process everything. She couldn't recall being this affected by a lover before, Ashley couldn't even name the emotions she was feeling. Part of her wondered if it was because of her choice of partner in this instance. She'd just had sex with Henry, her oldest and dearest friend. He'd been one of the guiding constants in her life. The only constant, now that her mother had proven to have kept some very serious secrets from her, not matter the motivation. Had she just ruined that?

Doubts swirled in her head, clouding other thoughts until Henry slid out of her. She moaned as the barbell slid across her sensitized flesh. Ashley let him pull her down to the bed at his side, tucked neatly between his body and the pillows. He kissed her hair, the got out of bed to deal with the condom. Ashley watched him walk back across the room, collecting their clothing as he went. He slid on his boxers and dropped his pants and shirt in a pile before he sat on the bed. He offered her the tank top with a shy smile.

"Can I get you something else to put on?" he asked, with a glance at the patch of gold curls.

She put on the tank top as an excuse not to look at him. "Left top drawer. Whatever." She felt the bed shift as Henry got up again, and heard the familiar slide of wood on wood as the drawer was opened. When she finally dared to look up he was examining her drawer. Finally he reached in and picked out a pair of panties. They weren't what she would have considered her sexiest pair, but they weren't the most boring either. They were a simple pair of black, cotton bikini briefs with a little pink bow as an accent on either hip. She took the undergarment, put them on then sat back beside him on the bed because standing while he was sitting seemed awkward. His arms encircled her waist and he toppled them back into the pillows.

Ashley waited for him to say something, because she had no idea what to say. Henry, however, seemed content with cuddling. Cuddling was something she didn't normally do. Cuddling prolonged the time between the end of the actual act and then the awkward goodbye, hey I'll call. The longer the time, the more awkward it became. This was shaping up to be epic on the grand scale of awkward conversations, if her history with men was any indication. Her heart ached because she didn't want that to happen. The ache sped into something akin to terror as that thought occurred to her.

"Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"I, uh, don't know what to say here."

"Oh thank God," she breathed, feeling some of the tension drain away. She turned over so she was facing him. "I feel the same way. I- I didn't screw this up, did I?" The look of sheer relief on his face helped loosen the tight feeling in her chest, but now that she'd started speaking she couldn't stop. "I mean maybe I wasn't that great, but that's no reason not to be friends anymore right? I don't- I mean- You are- I can't lose you."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere, and if you wanted to lose me, well, you're doing it wrong." He kissed her forehead. "I thought you were good. Uhm, did you?" he trailed off.

"Oh yeah," she assured him, a little more emphatically than she'd intended. Henry chuckled, a bit smug in his expression, but she found she didn't care. She laughed with him but the nagging fears reasserted in the silence that finally fell between them. She let out a long breath. "Where the hell is this going?" Ashley didn't like the plaintive note in her voice and she hoped he didn't notice. "Where did this even come from?" she questioned in a steadier tone.

Henry's forehead touched hers and the small circles he'd been rubbing on her back became longer caresses. "Not sure. I told you I never thought I had a shot, but that doesn't mean I never thought you weren't amazing. You're my best friend too. I never wanted to hurt that."

"So we don't let it," she decided.

"Just like that?"

"Yes?"

He laughed. "Can we make it that easy?"

"Can't we try? We just don't change anything that works." Emboldened by his answering smile she added, "Even if you're fantastic in bed, I'm still going to call you out for being an idiot."

"Right. And I'll still inform you when you're being one too."

She smirked. "You get it easy. I'm never an idiot."

"Fantastic in bed huh?" She rolled her eyes and he laughed again. "So what are we doing?"

She propped herself up on an arm. "Do we need to define it? I mean it's worked pretty well so far."

He mirrored her position. "I'm willing to give it a try if you are."

"I don't want to bring anyone else into this. They'd just make it harder to figure out. We're not telling my mom."

"No," he agreed. "No, let's figure it on our own."

Ashley shifted closer to him and decided she could get to like cuddling. "Any idea where this is headed?"

"Nope. But I think we'll have fun getting there."

Ashley smiled and brought his head down for a kiss.

~fin