Unnatural History, "Caught In-Between" ch.1, rated T
Fandom: Unnatural History
Title: Caught In-Between
Chapter Title: A Barbarian's Honesty
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R/M
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Characters/Pairings: Henry/Maggie, Jasper/Maggie, & hinted Jasper/Henry
Warnings: polyamory, UST in later chapters.
Disclaimer:: Cartoon Network owns Unnatural History. I only borrow and play.
Notes: In progress. OT3 fic, with mature situations to be added later. (Once completed I'll post to the UnH comm here at LJ.)
URLS: FFnet | AO3
Story Summary:As a strange heat wave hits DC, the gang becomes involved in a mystery that enhances their feelings for one another, with a new fertility artifact as a possible cause. Henry x Maggie x Jasper. In-progress.
Chapter One: A Barbarian's Honesty
Jasper came running toward them, his expression shocked and anxious, but Maggie suspected he was more thrilled by new gossip than anything dire. He turned to his cousin (seemingly bypassing her and interrupting her pleasant conversation with Henry) and he took a deep breath.
"Dude!" he said, and instantly Maggie frowned. "You kissed Madison Brinker."
Henry, with his usual nonchalant demeanor, turned to his cousin and smiled affably. "Oh, yes. I did."
Maggie felt her mouth gape. The idea of Henry dating any girl at their high school seemed so surreal, let alone kissing her. "Oh my God, are you guys dating?" (Maggie ruefully hoped the girl had all her shots.)
Henry's brow scrunched in confusion, and he seemed oblivious to the notion. "No, she kissed me, and I let her." He flashed his usual tempered smile.
Maggie turned to him, mentally noting his matter-of-fact honesty was getting kind of annoying. "So you two just kissed, and then what? I hope you didn't leave things like that, Henry."
Good grief, she knew that Henry was sometimes clueless, but this bordering on offensive - to the girl anyway.
"Uh, well it didn't end like that," Henry started, but Jasper stepped in to finish his story with a frantic impatience.
"Dude, you kissed her and told her you felt nothing when she asked you about it. That's what I heard," Jasper said with a quick nod, showing signs of sympathy. At least, Jasper knew better. Henry's blunt honesty was getting him in trouble again.
"But I didn't feel anything. It was no point lying to her. She asked, and I was truthful," Henry said, his eyes darting back and forth to them, as if he knew he had done wrong, but he was only just realizing it now. He looked desperately to Maggie for further explanation.
Maggie rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Henry, you may have been honest with her, but you could hurt someone when you say things like that. If you're not interested in a girl, you have to let her down gently."
He furrowed his brow again, and she knew his brain was going into overdrive with these new and strange social concepts. "But... I only did what you did one time, Maggie, and that was being honest. You told my friend Tomba that you didn't think "boyfriend-village" is a place you would ever go with me. You were being honest as well." He smiled at her politely.
Maggie admitted that his reference surprised her, and she didn't know what to take from Henry's comment. Had he been offended when she had made such a stark public statement and not noticed? She couldn't tell with Henry, especially when it came to the normal emotions of high school boys.
It was true, Maggie found Henry bizarre, perhaps even too strange for her tastes, but he had never asked her out explicitly, and his interest in her had been nothing more than friendship. He had saved her (and Jasper) several times from danger, and though he was the sort who was always concerned for the safety of others, he considered Maggie as a close friend, even though she was not his family. Jasper was his family, so it was understandable Henry regarded him more, but being a girl and not in his family, sometimes Maggie noticed that Henry considered her just as important.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that, Henry," she mumbled. It was the only thing she can think of to say at that moment. She glanced to her side and found Jasper's curious eyes watching her, and then turning to his cousin. As usual, Henry looked pleasantly blank and Zen with the state of things.
"That's alright, Maggie." The issued seemed dropped at this point, and Jasper made this awkward "uhhh, so anyway" remark and soon they were talking about Madison Brinker again.
"You must be insane. That girl is smokin' hot, like Taylor Swift or something, and she's in gymnastics. I heard last year before she transferred here, she was training for the 2012 Olympics and still is," Jasper said, and Henry seemed only somewhat attentive, sharing his smiling face equally with both of his friends. Jasper shook his head sadly. "I just don't know what is up with you. You're like an alien." He gave his cousin a frightened look. "Or... you're interested in dudes." Maggie held her breath as she watched him, wondering if Jasper was planning on changing the setup in their room already.
"Jasper, come on; I just wasn't interested in her. I don't even know her, and then she just kisses me like that?" Henry said with a shrug. "It's not like she proposed, so it's nothing to get upset about."
"Proposed! Holy crap, will you listen to yourself?" Jasper sighed heavily. "Definitely an alien," he added in a low voice.
Henry cocked his head and said, "Yes, proposed, like this one time when I spent a week in a village in Zimbabwe, and the chieftain's daughter engaged herself to me. That was way messier than this. I actually had to dodge flaming spears when I refused. I was only fourteen; it was ridiculous."
"Okay, as usual, this conversation just got totally weird," Maggie said, not wishing to prolong the discussion anymore. "Listen, Henry, what Jasper is trying to say is that when girls in high school do that to you, you need to let them down easily. Don't be so blunt, and try to politely tell them you're not interested so you don't hurt their feelings."
"You can even lie. Say you like someone else," Jasper said, and Maggie quickly elbowed him.
"Don't listen to him, Henry. Lying is the last thing you should do," Maggie clarified.
"What if it's not a lie?" Henry said, looking at her. Maggie turned to his cousin, who seemed shocked.
"Whaaa? You like someone, Henry?" Jasper said. His eyes bulged with excitement. Just great. Jasper had a new mission on finding out who his cousin liked.
"Well, I'm not sure, but it could happen," Henry said optimistically.
"Okay, you can't just leave things like that," Jasper said, waving his hands. "Henry, you are like, the antithesis of a hot-blooded American high school boy and then you tell us that you like someone? A girl even! It is a girl, right? Since you only seem to care about fighting off hordes of ninjas and solving mysteries about cursed Japanese armor."
"You have to admit, those things are a lot more fun," Henry said with a wistful grin.
Before the conversation could go on any further, the bell for the next period rang and the trio was forced to make way to their respective classes. Though, their classes wouldn't last long, and they would reunite in time for their after-school activities and internships at the museum. When that time came, Maggie was sure Jasper would continue where he left off and pry anything he could get out of his cousin on just exactly who Henry "wasn't sure" he liked.
Chapter Two
Title: Caught In-Between
Chapter Title: A Barbarian's Honesty
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R/M
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Characters/Pairings: Henry/Maggie, Jasper/Maggie, & hinted Jasper/Henry
Warnings: polyamory, UST in later chapters.
Disclaimer:: Cartoon Network owns Unnatural History. I only borrow and play.
Notes: In progress. OT3 fic, with mature situations to be added later. (Once completed I'll post to the UnH comm here at LJ.)
URLS: FFnet | AO3
Story Summary:As a strange heat wave hits DC, the gang becomes involved in a mystery that enhances their feelings for one another, with a new fertility artifact as a possible cause. Henry x Maggie x Jasper. In-progress.
Chapter One: A Barbarian's Honesty
Jasper came running toward them, his expression shocked and anxious, but Maggie suspected he was more thrilled by new gossip than anything dire. He turned to his cousin (seemingly bypassing her and interrupting her pleasant conversation with Henry) and he took a deep breath.
"Dude!" he said, and instantly Maggie frowned. "You kissed Madison Brinker."
Henry, with his usual nonchalant demeanor, turned to his cousin and smiled affably. "Oh, yes. I did."
Maggie felt her mouth gape. The idea of Henry dating any girl at their high school seemed so surreal, let alone kissing her. "Oh my God, are you guys dating?" (Maggie ruefully hoped the girl had all her shots.)
Henry's brow scrunched in confusion, and he seemed oblivious to the notion. "No, she kissed me, and I let her." He flashed his usual tempered smile.
Maggie turned to him, mentally noting his matter-of-fact honesty was getting kind of annoying. "So you two just kissed, and then what? I hope you didn't leave things like that, Henry."
Good grief, she knew that Henry was sometimes clueless, but this bordering on offensive - to the girl anyway.
"Uh, well it didn't end like that," Henry started, but Jasper stepped in to finish his story with a frantic impatience.
"Dude, you kissed her and told her you felt nothing when she asked you about it. That's what I heard," Jasper said with a quick nod, showing signs of sympathy. At least, Jasper knew better. Henry's blunt honesty was getting him in trouble again.
"But I didn't feel anything. It was no point lying to her. She asked, and I was truthful," Henry said, his eyes darting back and forth to them, as if he knew he had done wrong, but he was only just realizing it now. He looked desperately to Maggie for further explanation.
Maggie rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Henry, you may have been honest with her, but you could hurt someone when you say things like that. If you're not interested in a girl, you have to let her down gently."
He furrowed his brow again, and she knew his brain was going into overdrive with these new and strange social concepts. "But... I only did what you did one time, Maggie, and that was being honest. You told my friend Tomba that you didn't think "boyfriend-village" is a place you would ever go with me. You were being honest as well." He smiled at her politely.
Maggie admitted that his reference surprised her, and she didn't know what to take from Henry's comment. Had he been offended when she had made such a stark public statement and not noticed? She couldn't tell with Henry, especially when it came to the normal emotions of high school boys.
It was true, Maggie found Henry bizarre, perhaps even too strange for her tastes, but he had never asked her out explicitly, and his interest in her had been nothing more than friendship. He had saved her (and Jasper) several times from danger, and though he was the sort who was always concerned for the safety of others, he considered Maggie as a close friend, even though she was not his family. Jasper was his family, so it was understandable Henry regarded him more, but being a girl and not in his family, sometimes Maggie noticed that Henry considered her just as important.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that, Henry," she mumbled. It was the only thing she can think of to say at that moment. She glanced to her side and found Jasper's curious eyes watching her, and then turning to his cousin. As usual, Henry looked pleasantly blank and Zen with the state of things.
"That's alright, Maggie." The issued seemed dropped at this point, and Jasper made this awkward "uhhh, so anyway" remark and soon they were talking about Madison Brinker again.
"You must be insane. That girl is smokin' hot, like Taylor Swift or something, and she's in gymnastics. I heard last year before she transferred here, she was training for the 2012 Olympics and still is," Jasper said, and Henry seemed only somewhat attentive, sharing his smiling face equally with both of his friends. Jasper shook his head sadly. "I just don't know what is up with you. You're like an alien." He gave his cousin a frightened look. "Or... you're interested in dudes." Maggie held her breath as she watched him, wondering if Jasper was planning on changing the setup in their room already.
"Jasper, come on; I just wasn't interested in her. I don't even know her, and then she just kisses me like that?" Henry said with a shrug. "It's not like she proposed, so it's nothing to get upset about."
"Proposed! Holy crap, will you listen to yourself?" Jasper sighed heavily. "Definitely an alien," he added in a low voice.
Henry cocked his head and said, "Yes, proposed, like this one time when I spent a week in a village in Zimbabwe, and the chieftain's daughter engaged herself to me. That was way messier than this. I actually had to dodge flaming spears when I refused. I was only fourteen; it was ridiculous."
"Okay, as usual, this conversation just got totally weird," Maggie said, not wishing to prolong the discussion anymore. "Listen, Henry, what Jasper is trying to say is that when girls in high school do that to you, you need to let them down easily. Don't be so blunt, and try to politely tell them you're not interested so you don't hurt their feelings."
"You can even lie. Say you like someone else," Jasper said, and Maggie quickly elbowed him.
"Don't listen to him, Henry. Lying is the last thing you should do," Maggie clarified.
"What if it's not a lie?" Henry said, looking at her. Maggie turned to his cousin, who seemed shocked.
"Whaaa? You like someone, Henry?" Jasper said. His eyes bulged with excitement. Just great. Jasper had a new mission on finding out who his cousin liked.
"Well, I'm not sure, but it could happen," Henry said optimistically.
"Okay, you can't just leave things like that," Jasper said, waving his hands. "Henry, you are like, the antithesis of a hot-blooded American high school boy and then you tell us that you like someone? A girl even! It is a girl, right? Since you only seem to care about fighting off hordes of ninjas and solving mysteries about cursed Japanese armor."
"You have to admit, those things are a lot more fun," Henry said with a wistful grin.
Before the conversation could go on any further, the bell for the next period rang and the trio was forced to make way to their respective classes. Though, their classes wouldn't last long, and they would reunite in time for their after-school activities and internships at the museum. When that time came, Maggie was sure Jasper would continue where he left off and pry anything he could get out of his cousin on just exactly who Henry "wasn't sure" he liked.
Chapter Two