And They Lived....

Posted on Tue Nov 25th, 2025 @ 4:26am by Ensign Henry Taylor & Tessa di'Orion
Edited on on Tue Nov 25th, 2025 @ 6:04am

Mission: A Princess Of Tial
Location: Henry's Quarters

Henry looked at himself in the mirror embedded in his closet door. Behind him, his quarters looked different. His sheets were fresh, and his bed was neatly made with hospital corners. His pillow was fluffed and undented. His room was clean and smelled fresh, his clothes were neatly put away. His guitar was on his bed, ready for practice. He hadn't cleaned out his dresser yet...that he would still need more time for.

But he himself was scrubbed up as well. He'd showered, shaved, and put on clean clothes, looking presentable for the first time in a few days. He'd had time to think, time to process, time to grieve, and time to decide what he was going to do about it.

At one point, Kally had attempted to rouse him. She asked him if he honestly thought he would never get past this. He told her about how he felt after his mother died. You don't get past it, not really; you just learn to live with the loss and the new reality left to you. Now, he had to do that all over again. He wasn't over Tessa by any stretch of the imagination, and he doubted he every, truly, would be. But he was ready to at least stand up and face the world for a few hours.

His chime going off, however, signaled the world was coming to find him first. He sighed, presuming Kally was coming to try and persuade him to spend time with people again. He'd probably give in, but only for a little while. He walked back to his bed, sat down against the wall and pulled his guitar across his lap, trying to look casual. "Enter," he said.

The door slid open to a figure cloaked in a blue the color of a clear open sky, eyes only a few shades darker looked out from the slight shadow cast by the hood, but slender hands reached up to brush the hood back, blonde hair in curls spilling out as the eyes looked across the room. "Hi."

Henry stared, dumbfounded. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, blinked again. He put his guitar aside and stood up slowly, walking up to her. "Tessa?" he said, briefly terrified he was having a nervous breakdown.

She couldn't keep her eyes off of him as he approached, then it was almost as if he crossed some invisible line and she launched herself at him, eyes tearing up as she threw her arms around him. "I came back," she said, muffled into his shoulder.

As he felt her arms go around him, he immediately wrapped his around her and held her tight, his eyes moist and his chest aching. "You left me...without a chance to say goodbye." He didn't sound angry, just somewhat confused. It was the one thing that had really stung about her departure, the one thing he couldn't reconcile.

She pulled back just enough to look him in the eyes, the pain of the accusation in her eyes, but knowing she deserved it. "I couldn't...I didn't have...I--I'm...s-s-sor-"

He didn't wait for her to finish. The hurt in her eyes and the beginning of an apology were enough for him. He leaned down and kissed her without reservation, picking her up and bringing her in his quarters, sitting down on his bed, holding her in his lap.

Tessa didn't resist, couldn't resist, because this was the reason she'd come back--he was the reason. "My mother...she gave me the choice." It was the answer to the unasked question, the one she knew had to be answered.

Henry brushed a lock of hair out of her face and caressed her cheek. "Well, you're here now, and I'll take it. How..." his breath caught in his chest, but he pushed through. "How long do we have?"

"Forever." Tessa plucked at the cloak, plain though it was, even with the silver and gold embroidery around the edges and the family crest emblazoned boldly across the back of it. "I'm here, with you, forever."

Henry's eyes got wide and his face flew through hope, euphoria and terror all in the blink of an eye. "Tessa...what about your family? Your people? I can't...we agreed, you can't put them all at risk. Did they strip you of your title? Are you hurt? No one's coming to stab us, are they?" he said, his eyes instinctively looking around for Cass as if she were about to burst out of the bathroom while his arms automatically went around her protectively.

His eyes then noticed her now exposed leg and the intricate tattoos she now sported. He looked up at her, now showing some hope.

"If you really want to be stabbed, I can arrange that for you," Tessa giggled, shifting in his arms slightly, more so she could wrap her arms around his neck to hold him better. "No, I'm not hurt, I'm not disowned or anything. My mother came to me...Gods, is it only a handful of hours ago? We talked about...things. About what had been planned, about the past and about the future and I think she knew more than she was letting on, because she asked me what I wanted."

Henry's hands went to her hips, holding her gently as he hung on her every word. Part of him was terrified there was going to be a second shoe dropping, but he held out hope for the end.

Tessa left it at that for a few seconds, but it was clear she wasn't done. "I told her what I was supposed to say, that I wanted to do right by the family and Light's End." The words were quiet as they left her tongue. "Then she stopped me, asked me what I wanted, not what I thought was expected of me. And I didn't have the nerve to answer her, so she made it plain and simple and asked if I really wanted to stay at home, or if I'd rather be here with you. You specifically, Henry, because I think Cass told her more than I'd ever expected."

Henry shook his head, chuckling. "I...I am going to send her a lifetime supply of chocolate truffles," he said. "And your mother as well. I wanted to tell her so many things when she came to see me. I held back, tried playing things close to my chest but..." He smiled at her. "She's a very perceptive woman."

Tessa's eyes went wide. "Sh-she came to see you?" That was news to her, something her mother hadn't mentioned one bit. "I'd asked her to leave a gift for you with Lady Kellerman... Did she give it to you?"

Henry nodded. "She did. I've kept it safe. I've been planning on studying your language so I can learn to read it." He paused, a thought occurring to him. "Did you get my gift?"

"It's what inspired me to give you mine," Tessa admitted with a slight blush. "I didn't want to at first, because I thought it may hurt you even more, but in the end I asked Mother to give it to Kally to give to you if she thought it appropriate. It's the same one Mother read to me from, some of my earliest memories were her voice making the characters come alive. Tales of a Tial long past...I thought that if I gave it to you, you could remember me better than, well...the way I left."

"Funny thing about human memory," Henry said. "We tend to remember the good things the most and learn to let other things go." He kissed her again, softly and slowly this time, savoring the moment.

When they finally paused, he rested his forehead against hers. "Would you mind staying here tonight? We can arrange for your quarters first thing tomorrow."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Tessa said softly. "But maybe second thing tomorrow? There's going to be something I have to do before that."

Henry leaned down and nuzzled her neck, kissing it softly. "Oh? And what's that?" he said.

"Well, two things really... I need to see Kally tomorrow, but for tonight?" She leaned in closer, hands running coming down from behind his neck, down his arms. "I have one question for you..." Her voice grew a little husky and she hesitated for effect. "Are you ticklish?" And she attacked.

Henry laughed, but it wasn't the uncontrolled laugh of someone succumbing to the tickling fingers of another. Still, he let her tackle him onto his back and grabbed her wrists, pulling them above his head, lifting her up to his lips and kissing her. "That," he said, "was not your smartest move." He let her wrists go and his hands moved to her sides, returning the favor with a devilish smile.

Her response was far different, a squeal of protest that devolved into the maniacal laughter of someone who couldn't help herself, ineffectively batting at his hands before her hands found their way up above her again in surrender before she was suddenly released from the torment of tickling and she saw him above her, looking down at her and her laughing smile faded slowly.

"Welcome home, Angel," Henry said, smiling softly. He moved down to match her rising up and their lips met again as they held each other.

The part of Henry's brain, far in the back, where his by-the-book, rule-following mindset still resided knew this wasn't the end of their story. They still had a million minefields to traverse, mountains to climb and storms to weather. Henry didn't mind, because he was finally with the person he would face those challenges with and for. And they would cross those minefields, climb those mountains and weather those storms together, happily.

Ever after.