"April 25th"
Posted on Mon Feb 2nd, 2026 @ 3:49am by Ensign Henry Taylor & Tessa di'Orion
Mission:
Lower Decks
Location: Holodeck/Henry's Quarters
The day had been one where Tessa had been kept busy even after she'd emerged from the sonic shower and chased down something by herself for lunch. With Henry's late start, having lunch with him had been impractical and besides, she had to plan for their dinner. The night before, Katie had given her a wonderful idea and she was surprised that she remembered it even now with all of that alcohol she had consumed. But a quick message to the engineer sister of her mentor and the holoprogram that Katie had started had been sent over to her. She'd taken an hour to detail what she'd been hoping to add, even if just for a temporary set of additions and with an hour left to go, Katie had come through for her.
But in the intervening hours, Tessa hadn't remained idle in her quest to make this a night to remember. She had remembered other conversations and spent an hour researching fashion from Earth and finally found the design of a dress that she thought would look good on her plus would get the approval of Henry for all her plans. The Bohemian style dress featured two strings to hold it up, one over each shoulder, with cutouts that exposed her sides and tied back behind the back with a decorative tie. She'd added flames around the fringe of the bottom, a tribute to her new fiery sigil to Heart's Forge. She looked up to the wall, the silver banner with the phoenix sigil on it now present in between the other two.
Then she made another call and accepted an invitation by the ship's lounge owner for an appointment that had lasted another two hour to make arrangements, several of them in fact, as a special arrangement for the evening to come. Michelle had provided the information and promises needed, a knowing smile on HER face, then an additional promise of something special unasked for.
She'd even made her bed, the one that she had yet to sleep in, with a bedding set that featured that same sigil prominently in the center, the three fluffy pillows with the same on their pillowcases. Over a dozen candles were arrayed in the room, all unlit, but ready for use whenever someone took match and fire to them. Otherwise, her room was all ready for her plans. At 1600 she decided to take another shower, then spent another hour carefully putting long rolling curls in her hair. By quarter to 1800, she'd been all made up and looking as pretty as possible, having replicated the dress in a pale silver with matching two-inch heels, the flames in a ruby red color. Silvery earrings dripped from her ears, newly pierced and the bleeding stopped with the dermal regenerator after inserting something to keep the holes opened. A delicate platinum necklace with a ruby in the pride of place dangled from her neck and she smiled into the mirror before hastily scribbling a note to him. As she left her room, she placed it on the outside of the door.
Henry, dress for an evening out, then meet me in Holodeck Three. ~Tessa
Henry had raced out of Sickbay after his shift and back to his quarters. He'd taken a fresh shower, shaved, brushed his teeth twice and put on his best suit. He replicated a bouquet of white and pink lilies and set out for Tessa's quarters.
As he approached, he slowed, seeing the paper stuck to her door. He read it, raised an eyebrow in curiosity, and turned heading for his new destination.
Thankfully, it was a relatively short journey, and when the holodeck doors opened, he walked in, then stopped short, looking around. As the arch disappeared, he looked around. He was standing inside a large gate, the double doors open behind him. He was standing in what looked like a medieval citadel, somewhere in the inner keep. He stopped looking around, however, when he saw a golden figure in front of him. His jaw dropped as he took in Tessa's made-up face and hair, and her dress. He walked up to her like a moth to a flame and stared. "How is it," he said slowly, "every time I think you can't get more beautiful, you prove me wrong?"
"Because you haven't known me long enough?" Tessa asked as she cocked her head at him with a smile, "Not long enough to be bored by my in any case. Add in the advice that I've been getting from Kally on the makeup and I've gotten better at this. I'm hoping to keep prettying up for you." Her smile had gotten even brighter.
He cleared his throat and held out the flowers. "I brought these to brighten up your quarters...and I suppose your castle." He smiled at her.
She accepted the flowers and cradled them in her arms, "And I'm afraid these may put me to shame. I'll have to make sure I put them in some water, but if I leave them in my quarters, I may not see them very often." She demurred, then offered her elbow to him in a custom that she'd learned from some show she'd seen, it had involved what was referred to as 'medieval England', "But I thought that for tonight, since I couldn't take you to Light's End, that I'd bring Light's End to you. If you can handle putting off dinner for another hour or two, I could take you on your own private tour of the inner sanctum."
Henry wasn't there for the food. He took her arm, looping his elbow in with hers and giving a slight bow. "It would be my honor and pleasure, Your Grace," he said, grinning.
Tessa's smile couldn't brighten much more than it already was and she started to lead him, but was determined not to release the flowers, "Light's End was built roughly nine thousand years ago, that is the innermost keep. It was torn down and rebuilt about four millennia ago as it was expanded again and this is still that same stonework, though the floors have been refurbished several times throughout the centuries." The two huge wooden doors that were in front of them opened on their own, not something that would have happened if they were real, revealing a massive hall with several banners of the familiar decor that had adorned Tessa's cloaks of a sun setting over a horizon, plus several dozen other more unfamiliar tapestries of crests, some doubling up a single one with three iterations. While there were scattered chairs around the edges, the seats near the end were prominent in place and design, as if it were a throne room. "This is the main receiving hall. Mother sits in the middle seat, mine is to her right and my brother Temer's is to her left." Her heels clicked across the stone flooring, smooth and without fault, though it did seem older than the rest, "The floor is original to the first founding of Light's End."
"It's beautiful," Henry said, looking around. "I used to read books about ancient Earth castles. This reminds me of some of that. They too found ways to make mere stone walls look like works of art by design. And the tapestries are...wow." He shook his head in wonder, walking around the room, touching various chairs and decorations.
"Those are ancestral banners of those who have been allied with Light's End." Tessa pointed out, "Starting with that one," She pointed out one with star being pierced by a sword, "Star's Quest, which is in the Southern Watch, it depicts the lineage of our house. My mother's sire came from there." She pointed out the next one in line, crossed spears over a tree, "Forest Spire, my grandmother's sire, but that's within a hundred kilometers of here. I've got a book of my heritage back in my room if you're ever interested in seeing." She gave a slight smile, "It is said that we are descended from Bey herself, but we aren't. If I've read far enough back, we are descended from Skull, even if it's far too long ago to really matter."
Henry stared at all the tapestries and tried to keep it all straight. "Even if it's long ago, it can still matter," Henry said. "Knowing where you come from is important." He continued to look around, examining each tapestry in detail. The colors were striking, and the iconography was fascinating. He wondered what he would've called his kingdom if he'd lived in those times.
She shifted the flowers into the crook of one arm and reached out to snag his hand and bring it closer to her. "The next stop is the armory." She guided him towards one of the side doors of the hall and through a short passageway that branched off with doors to either side, but kept straight on to another door that opened for her as they approached. Inside was another rather large room which was festooned with racks of swords, spears, bows and quivers of arrows filled to brimming. Mail armor as well as some pieces that were plated leather were arrayed around the room as well, including three ornate sets, each clearly made with exquisite craftsmanship. One in a medium blue with black highlights, the largest of the three, a set in white chased in gold that was clearly Tessa's, and another of black with silver inlays, the smallest of them all. Each of them had an array of weapons around them, swords (multiple) for the blue and black, and the white with a rapier, and a bow with a quiver of arrows with pure white fletchings and a golden stripe. "I don't know if I told you, but my brother Temer wishes to be a Bey'a'Dandian priest when he's of age, but he wasn't Chosen during the proper time, which had disappointed him. My mother was on that path as well, unwillingly, before my grandmother died. She was trained to the point where she was easily the equal to any War Priestess of the first class, with fair odds on facing a second class on equal footing."
Henry touched some of the armor, pausing at Tessa's and imagining her in her full regalia, smiling to himself. He looked at a few of the other pieces, wondering if any would fit him. He wasn't much of a fighter, and he'd never pictured himself as some gallant Knight of the Round Table when he was a kid, but he'd have put on a suit of armor and grabbed a weapon then and there if she'd asked.
The Tialan took his hand again after several minutes and led him through another series of corridors. "I'm afraid we don't have the living quarters very well programmed, Katie recreated this from the photos she took while she was on the ground, but I plan on adding to this when I can to put my own room in at least, then I'll take you there to see it." She tittered in laughter. "Though most of it will be filled with what's in my room here. She swung open a door and a vague room was put in as a placeholder, "Which is a disappointment, but you wouldn't be able to read my diary anyways. Let's see, want to take a walk on the parapets?"
"Can we see The Veil from other side?" Henry said, holding her hand and following along.
“The Veil of Asta? No, it isn’t visible to the naked eye, aside from the haze but only when there isn’t any light pollution.” Tessa said sadly. “Some of our best telescopes can get a glimpse of it from orbit, and it wasn’t until we had come up with that technology that we even had a clue about it. We sent out long range missions early enough on to get readings about it, those Priests of Lind and Urd basically sacrificed thirty five years of their lives to bring us back imagery and samples, then no more than fifty years later we were able to make the trips in a third of the time. Most of the technology that we used when we first made orbit four hundred years ago was made right here at Light’s End.” Her eyes brightened, we can always go to see the caverns, we wouldn’t even need to truly cycle the airlocks, because it’s just a hologram!”
Henry grinned at her excitement. He pulled her close and held her, leaning down and kissing her. "I want to see it all," he said. "Lead the way."
They meandered across the parapet and the curtain wall, Tessa pointing out some of the various landmarks that were visible from them: the Skyfire mountains off in the distance, the island that would be Heart’s Forge was visible despite being nearly three kilometers off shore and she was just about to take them towards where the tunnel to the caves of technology were when a clarion call of a bell sounded. Her eyes lit again as she looked up at him, “I suppose Michelle decided to summon us to dinner.. I hope you don’t mind, but I asked her to put things together for us.”
Henry had been staring at the view and trying to take it all in. He'd been so enthralled with the sights around him, he'd forgotten he hadn't eaten yet. The mention of food made his stomach growl, however, and he held his arm out for Tessa again. "Well then, we shouldn't keep her waiting. I'd be happy to escort you to dinner," he said.
She took it and instead of taking the stairs going one direction, Tessa led him down the old stone steps in the other. These terminated on the ground floor and a couple of corridors later and another sounding of the bell found them in a quaint little dining room, perfect for small gatherings of no more than fifty guests with the Chimera’s lounge owner standing there, smile on her face as she awaited the two of them at the ludicrously small table that was clearly not normal to the location. On it were a pair of candles and the plates and cutlery for a rather formal dinner and Tessa gave her an appreciative nod as the young woman turned to retrieve the meal.
Henry had heard of the ship's bartender, but hadn't met her in person. He gave her a smile and a nod. "Good evening," he said. "Thank you so much for your help with this."
Michelle returned after a couple of minutes and placed a clotured dish in front of each of them, removing the covers simultaneously to reveal an extravaganza of pasta covered in a delicate marinara sauce and a piece of breaded chicken with cheese. Wordlessly, she then poured them each a glass of a red wine and some iced water before giving them a flourish of a bow and leaving the room again to let them be alone.
Henry came around and pulled Tessa's chair out, as he'd done for her birthday dinner. "My lady," he said, graciously.
“Milord.” Tessa allowed him to seat her and sat primly so that he could seat himself.
He pushed her chair in gently and came around the table to his chair, sitting down and taking a deep breath. "It smells amazing," he said. "How'd you know I love chicken parmesan?"
“I cheated.” Tessa smiled back at him, “I asked Milady Erilin to look up what you ordered most often at the lounge and to make that for us.” She had the grace to blush at the admission, which was still visible even under the makeup. “Though I’m avoiding this tonight.” She nudged her wine away from her, taking a sip of the water. “And she’s going to try to time the chocolate chip cookies just right,” she said.
Henry's eyes lit up and his mouth watered. "Thank you," he said. He didn't ask for much in life, but having her take the time to try to make this special for him meant the world. It was, overall, a foreign experience for him, and he loved her all the more for it.
"So, is there a pre-meal tradition for your people? Or do we just dig in?" he said, his hands poised over the cutlery.
Without hesitating more than a moment, Tessa reached out to pick up her own fork and knife, “Nope, no tradition other than to eat it.” She smiled broadly, resisting her normal method of stuffing her face and very delicately cutting into the chicken and slicing off a small piece. She was determined to get this right, to the last detail if at all possible.
Henry picked up his fork and knife as well and paused as he watched her. Her usual gusto for eating had been replaced with a more relaxed intake. He blinked in surprise as he realized what was going on, and made sure to also take his time. After the first bite, he was glad he did. His eyes went wide as he realized Michelle had dipped into the ship's actual foodstuffs for at least some of this, and the meal was fresh-cooked. He almost forgot to keep chewing as everything hit him. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal: his girlfriend organized a romantic dinner. For him, it was a completely new experience. Even on his birthday, he didn't get much more than cards, a practical gift or two, and some time hanging out with his sister. He almost brought it up, but didn't want to dampen the mood, and instead decided to tell her later how much this meant to him.
Over the course of the dinner, they talked about the day, about the architecture of the castle, the lands that Tessa had called home, then the conversation turned to Henry and where he’d grown up, and, despite his inner reservations, a promise to visit when they had the chance. The meal had vanished over the course of time, followed by exquisite chocolate chip cookies that were chewy and delectable and music started to play over the holodeck speakers, audible over the laughter of the two. Michelle came by to whisper something into Tessa’s ear before she cleared the table and carefully picked up the bouquet with the promise to both of them to put them in a vase and deliver them the next day.
Henry sat back and let out a contented sigh, looking at Tessa and smiling like an idiot. An idea struck him, and he sat up a bit straighter. "Computer," he said, "play Sinatra, 'I've Got You Under My Skin'." As the computer switched songs, he stood up and came around the table, offering a hand to Tessa. "May I have this dance?"
The lessons from earlier with Michelle came into play as she perched her hand on his and rose carefully onto her feet, allowing herself to be led onto the dance floor. While she had some experience wearing heeled shoes, they had been few and far between, as an exercise in 'height politics', but once away from the halls of the palace, they'd more than often been discarded for more practical footwear. The practice Michelle had given her in the early afternoon had given Tessa, whose balance was excellent, even more confidence in herself and as she walked with him to the dance floor, she ducked under his arm as she lifted it, spinning under it to face him in a move shown to her by the lounge lady.
Henry smiled as she spun right into his arms, his hand going to her back and his other hand holding hers. As they moved, he watched her doing his best to lead and not step on his own feet.
'Small steps, small mistakes.' Tessa reminded herself as she perched her free hand on his shoulder as she'd been shown, watching Henry with only the occasional glance down to make sure her feet were out of his way. His obvious moves as he stepped back, then to the sides were relatively easy to follow, though as he turned them was where she got one foot stuck behind the other and stumbled but caught herself quickly, giving him a smile that told him not to worry.
Henry caught her and did his best not to stumble as well. As he pulled her along, he leaned down and sang in her ear. "But each time I do, just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin...'cause I've got you under my skin." He kissed her temple and stopped, putting his arms around her and leaning down to give her a kiss.
She stopped onto one foot, the other setting down early before finishing the step to support her as she wrapped one hand around the back of his head to kiss him back. As she opened her eyes once his lips left hers, "I take it that you're having a good time?" She asked quietly as the song ended and returned to the playlist that had originally been on before the requested change, 'I'll be your dream, I'll be your wish, I'll be your fantasy...'
Henry smiled at the lyrics. It wasn't a song he was familiar with, but it definitely fit the theme. He kept his hands on her back and danced slowly with her, leaning down and kissing her. He had been to one school dance in his life, and it had been a disaster. This was, by a landslide, better than any slow dance he'd ever had back then.
Their synchronicity improved with each song, and Henry got a bit braver. By their third dance, he'd gotten bold enough to dip her and lean down to give her a real kiss. He brought her back up to vertical and smiled at her. "I love you so much," he said, holding her close and grinning. "Thank you for all this. It means...it means a lot to see how much you care."
It had scared her slightly when she'd been dipped without warning, afraid her feet would slip out from under her, but it scarcely showed on her face through sheer determination. "And you know, this evening is still young.. ish. I really do love you too, Henry, and nothing is going to change that, and I know I've broken promises before, but never again. I don't know how I can convince you that it's true, but I'll do whatever I need to do to make sure you know it."
Henry's smile faded and he gave her a serious look. "All right," he said. "Let's talk about it, because I've had some time to think about it." He looked up. "Computer, mute music." The room fell silent and he led her by the hand back to the table, sitting her down. He brought his chair over and sat right in front of her, leaning forward and taking her hands in his, looking her in the eyes. "Tessa," he said, "what happened that day wasn't a broken promise; it was a pragmatic decision. You didn't do it to hurt me, you did it to save me, to save both of us. Just because it caused us pain doesn't mean it wasn't the right call."
"The right call or not, I didn't have the courage to tell you myself." Tessa interjected, "That's what really bothers me. I should have come to you myself to tell you rather than pawn it off on Kally."
Henry gave half a shrug. "Maybe, but that carried risk too. I know I told Kally I was prepared and that I could control myself down there. Looking back on things...I don't know if it would have been true. If you'd come to see me, I don't know if I could've held myself from talking you out of it, or causing other trouble. And on the planet? I'd have seen you walk away and....let's be honest, everyone would see the look on my face. One whisper from a guard and it would have been all over. Hell, I could barely keep it together meeting your mother. I had to keep fighting the impulse to ask her to smuggle you a message or beg to see you one last time. Her telling me that she'd managed to find happiness in her life there was the only way I came to terms with anything."
"She is happy, because it's all she knows." Tessa said softly. "If she'd been out there, among the stars and everything new, like I was? I don't know if she would still be, if I would have been. I was going to make it work though. I would have tried to find a way to be happy just like her, even if just on the outside. But I would always have felt like...a jerk because of it."
He looked deep into her blue eyes and smiled gently. "Well, you're no jerk. You're here. We're together. If you want to hear the words, here they are: I forgive you." He put his hand on her cheek and gently traced his thumb along her cheekbone. "If we're going to build something together, something real and something lasting, we can't do it with this anchor dragging behind us. You have nothing to prove to me, Tessa. Relationships aren't built on that. They're built on communication and trust, and if there is anyone in this galaxy I trust implicitly, it's you. Don't spend your time proving yourself to me, just spend your time continuing to be this wonderful, magical angel I'm in love with. All right?"
She pressed her cheek into his hand and a tear of happiness leaked out, though if asked she'd have said it was pure relief and completely out of her control, in fact, something had gotten in her eye, that was why it came out. Yes, that was it. "I can only be who I am, Henry, and that's all I ask of you. Be you, don't think you need to impress me with anything, because you don't. You took me back after I wounded you deeply and you didn't have to. The fact that you did means more to me than you could think."
"I didn't take you back," Henry said. When her eyes went back up to his in surprise, he smiled. "That implies I let go in the first place." He blushed a bit and looked down at the floor. "I had...a bit of a tantrum, before you left. I was in Kally's office, ranting about how unfair it all was, how you and I should be together, how even if things could change, it'd take a century." He took a breath. "She asked me if I'd have waited that century. If I, then a wrinkled, cantankerous, old man, would return to you after a hundred years." He got the same far away look in his eyes as he stared at the floor. "I told her I would." He looked back up at Tessa and grinned. "Thanks for not making me wait quite that long."
"A hundred years old? I'd have been dust in the ground." Tessa gave a choked chuckle at that, "You'd have come back to Tial to see my memorial and I'd have hated myself every day between those years. And Kally was understating things...a century? That would have to have been a miracle for that much change to happen in such a short time." She beamed up at him. "Did she tell you what she did, and then what I did to her?"
Henry looked at her confused. "No...she's hasn't really said much about that. It's been mostly work talk, but then again I have been trying to focus at work lately," he said.
"Well, she sort of told me that if I left that she'd..." Tessa flushed a deep red as she remembered the words that Kally had said that had truly put her over the edge. "I reacted poorly, almost killed her for it." Her eyes went back up to his, "Not intentionally, if she'd been wearing any armor it would have knocked the breath out of her only, but I really hit her hard, twice, and broke her ribs, she said. I really wasn't going to stab her, I promise!"
Henry's eyes went wide. His mind flashed back to the shuttle bay and the details he'd missed. Kally had been bloodied and bruised and he hadn't thought as to the reason why. He opened his mouth to ask what it was exactly Kally had said, but then decided he didn't want to hear it. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. None of it mattered.
He leaned over and took her face in his hands gently and kissed her. He took his time, letting the kiss linger. When they finally pulled apart, he held her gaze. "I stand by what I said. We move forward from here. No one's been stabbed, and we've all said our apologies, so now we look to what comes next. Agreed?"
"No one has been stabbed." Tessa agreed as she recovered from this kiss, which seemed different, "And Kally did say that she didn't blame me for what I did, that she was out of line. So we can go forward from here, which is to say... Where do we go from here?"
Henry looked beyond her to the castle walls, remembering they were in a holodeck. "Well," he said with a wry smile, "forgive me if this seems routine, but why don't we go somewhere more private and snuggle up together and relax." He brushed some hair out of her face and smiled at her. "I could do with some time holding you close."
"My thoughts exactly." Tessa smiled back and stood from her chair and reaching for his hand, giving him a gentle tug to assist him to his own feet, then slipping her arm into his own and leaning against him, "But let's make it my place instead of yours tonight? I need to show you a few things and it's all cleaned up, I promise."
Henry held her close. "Wonderful idea," he said. "I'd love to see what you did with the room." He looked at the table, wondering about the setup, but Michelle appeared, assuring them she'd take care of it all. Henry gave her a heartfelt "thank you" and escorted Tessa out, making a mental note to figure out how to properly thank the hostess later.
They walked through the corridors slowly, getting a couple of looks from passersby as they did for being in something formal instead of uniform or 'casual' civilian clothes. They walked in silence just enjoying the other's company as they meandered towards her quarters and the door slid open, the note having vanished, to a set of lights barely on to provide light, plus a dozen lit candles that provided the bulk of the lighting. Tessa smiled as she saw the bottle sitting in the champagne bucket, two glasses set by it. then released Henry and raised her arms. "And I present to you: the new crest of Hearts Forge."
Henry walked into her quarters and looked at the tapestry she'd been working on. Of all the creatures that had been mentioned in The Neverending Story, she'd been most curious about the phoenix, a creature that cycled through life and death, but always was reborn from its own ashes. Evidently she'd taken that motif to heart, and here they were, their relationship reborn from the ashes of their first attempt. The phoenix she'd woven looked to be made of pure gold, and its wings rose majestically, each forming the outline of a half of a heart shape. He smiled, remembering how he'd drawn that shape for her, and the long discussion they'd had over why that was considered a heart, when it bore no resemblance to the actual organ. He was grinning ear-to-ear when he turned to look at her. "Tessa, it looks absolutely.....breathtaking..." he paused as he saw her smiling at him, her dress puddled around her feet on the floor and he felt his heart threaten to break through his ribs once again.
She stepped out from the pool that had been her dress, heels remaining in the middle of it as she moved liquidly towards him, completely nude as she reached out towards him, a slight tremor in her hands that she felt more than saw. "This time, I'm not drunk, I'm not 'hung over', this is me." She said quietly, never once breaking their eye contact.
Henry had forgotten to breathe and quickly took a breath to avoid passing out. He licked his lips nervously, but couldn't look away from her gaze if he was hit by a phaser. He unbuttoned his collar, trying to get more air and reached out as well, taking her hands, finding they were shaking as much as his. "Tessa," he said, forcing a calm he didn't quite feel, "I am going to attempt to remove my suit without tearing it to shreds, and then I am going to kiss you. I can't promise what happens after that, but I promise you we will go slow, talk things out, and any time you want to stop or ask me something, you are completely in control, all right?" He tried to keep his voice steady, acting as if he weren't as nervous as she was, and for the same reasons.
He reached up with shaking fingers and fumbled as he tried to undo the seam on his shirt. Tessa reached out with her own hands and stopped him, slowly and deliberately unsealing it and then turning him around to pull it off and toss it to the floor on top of her dress. His undershirt followed soon after by his own hands, then he kicked off his shoes, reached down and quickly pulled off his socks, then let his pants fall to the floor as he turned back towards her.
Standing there in his boxers, he tried not to blush, reminding himself they'd already been in this position. He marshalled his courage, and his boxers dropped to the floor. He took one step forward and grabbed Tessa, lifting her up and cradling her in his arms, as her own went around his neck to help support herself as he kissed her deeply. "I love you," he said.
"I love you too, never doubt it and never forget it." She said in a whisper, her own face red with unknown embarassment. She'd been like this the night previous, she knew, because it was how she'd woken up in the morning.
He carried her over to her bed and laid her down gently, moving next to her and kissing her again, pulling her to him. She was quite satisfied with him being generally above her, it was one of the things that she had come to expect from her first pairing, but everything she had been told hadn't prepared her for this. She was trembling in nervous anticipation, arms wrapped around him as they lay there.
Then suddenly they weren't kissing any more, her eyes looking into his as she recognized the same nervousness in his eyes as well. 'Of course, he's done this before.' She told herself, seeing his nervousness as being only in concern for her, "I don't need to be in control, Henry, I trust you... I want to do this, for you, for me, for us. Is it my first time? Yes, but I'm ready for this, and I want it to be you and only ever you." Her voice was barely a whisper.
The hand that was completely free ran down his bac, then traced around the front as she watched him, then came up to his chest, "There's no need to worry, I promise, there's nothing you can do to me that could hurt me or make me disappointed in you, nothing at all." Encouragement, that would be important as well she figured.
Henry nodded and smiled down at her. "I suppose it helps we have all night to get it right, too," he said, kissing her and pressing against her.
