Unnatural History, "Caught In-Between" ch.15, rated R/M
Fandom: Unnatural History
Title: Caught In-Between
Chapter Title: 15: Loose Ends
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R/M (subject to change)
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Characters/Pairings: Henry/Maggie, Jasper/Maggie, & 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 Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen: Loose Ends
When Henry woke up that morning, he realized that it was unusually cold - well, unusual in the sense that they’d been subjected to a dreadful heat wave for almost a couple weeks. Henry pondered the eccentricity of the heat wave, that it was now gone while November was fast approaching, and though there was no proof that the artifacts had caused the heat wave, Henry liked to think that they may have had some part in it.
The surprising notion that, like the heat wave, the artifacts were not the cause of his feelings for Maggie, since he still felt them as strongly as ever. Perhaps a mystical nature of the artifacts gave them the much push they needed, but they didn’t take the feelings away as soon as Mrs. Farah’s exhibit had left the National Museum Complex.
Jasper appeared to be in a slightly better mood that morning when they both woke up to get ready for school. Henry could tell by his expression that his cousin had done some heavy thinking last night while he and Maggie had met to stop Madison and Ms. Crowley. He seemed more preoccupied than angry, which meant that maybe he was coming to a decision on things.
Henry had come to a decision too, and despite Maggie’s pleading and his own feelings, he was ready to give Maggie up for Jasper’s happiness. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, but first he wanted to see how deep Maggie’s feelings went for his cousin, and vice versa, to see if giving her up was really the best choice.
They had a rather amiable car ride to school. Jasper braved asking Henry where he had gone to last night, and Henry was cautious but soon became eager to tell Jasper all about thwarting a robbery at the museum. He mentioned Maggie, though it pained Jasper a little, but when Henry mentioned Madison and Ms. Crowley and their schemes, Jasper became much more interested in the details.
As they walked inside and began filtering in with the other students, Henry had just finished telling him the story when Maggie joined them and gave them the unfortunate news.
“Madison Brinker transferred to her old school this morning,” Maggie said with a grim expression. She inhaled a deep breath and explained, “She called me last night. She told her parents everything, and well, naturally they were upset. They’re moving her to Virginia with the rest of their family.”
“That sucks,” Jasper bemoaned. “So much for our date.” He snorted and gave both Maggie and Henry a forlorn look.
“Jasper...” Maggie began, and he waved his hand, halting her words.
“I really don’t want to get into this now,” he said defeated, and before he could walk away, Henry grabbed onto his arm and began pulling him to the bathroom as Maggie watched them with surprise.
Henry pushed Jasper inside, turning to lock the door and then coming back and grabbing onto his cousin. Jasper struggled a little, not sure what his cousin was up to or if he liked the direction this was going.
“Dude, what are you doing?” he fumed at him, and suddenly his cool temper from the morning had turned hotter.
“We need to speak, you and me, away from Maggie,” Henry said sternly. “We can’t keep doing this. It’s not fair.”
“Well, it’s too late, isn’t it? You guys are together and I’m just SOL. I’m the loser in this, Henry, and thanks very much for being my friend and stealing the girl I like, by the way,” he said condescendingly, but Henry responded physically, and moved in to draw him into a tight hug. “Hey!” Jasper complained, but then the hug became intimate, and he felt his cousin relax his grip. Jasper froze, not sure what to make of the endearment, but he sighed and let Henry speak.
As his cousin slowly pulled away, Henry met his eyes and looked at him with desperation. “Listen to me, Jasper. I’ve found a way to stay friends with you both; only one thing needs to change, and it doesn’t need to be me and Maggie.”
“You can’t just take things back, Henry. None of those artifacts is a time machine,” he said mockingly in disbelief.
“I can. I’m giving up Maggie for you. I would rather you have her than you be mad at us and lose your friendship,” Henry said, bowing his head once and coming up to watch for Jasper’s reaction.
He expected his cousin to give in, to take the olive branch he presented and go with it, but instead Jasper was shocked. His mouth gaped and his eyes widened, and he rested his hands on Henry’s shoulders.
“You can’t just do that! It’s not right; you’ve never admitted feelings for anyone before, and it’s not fair to Maggie,” Jasper said, and Henry cocked his head in curiosity.
“Funny. Maggie said the same thing,” Henry said pensively.
“That’s because she really likes you, and she doesn’t want to give you up!” Jasper said, throwing his hands up and then he began pacing back and forth.
“And I really like her, but Maggie and I have discussed this, and she has admitted feelings for you as well,” Henry explained, and Jasper turned to him, caught off guard by the news.
“Wait...she likes me too?” Jasper croaked, barely able to speak from the shock.
Henry nodded once. “She has said she has strong feelings for you, which has made this difficult for her to choose. I made some suggestions to her in order to see how she feels, one being to kiss you, and if she feels stronger about you, she will choose you, and I will stand aside in the interest of peace.”
Jasper furrowed his brow and blew out a strained breath. “What if she has deeper feelings for you?” he asked fearfully.
Henry looked introspective again. “Then, I suppose things really will change.”
Jasper nodded but looked away from Henry’s pitying gaze. Without any more delay, Henry unlocked the boy’s bathroom again, and he grabbed onto Jasper’s sleeve and pulled him back out the door toward Maggie, who was still hovering at her locker. Henry was grateful the three of them got to school early enough that morning because they had at least another two minutes to spare before the first bell.
“What happened?” she asked frantically, uncrossing her arms.
“Jasper and I had a talk,” Henry said simply, and he nudged Jasper with his elbow as his cousin gawked at her. He was obviously still trying to recover from the news that Maggie liked him too. He turned slowly to Henry after the second nudge, and Henry nodded after they shared a knowing look.
Suddenly, Jasper sprung forward, and he cupped his hands around Maggie’s cheeks and brought her lips quickly to his. She made a noise of surprise, and suddenly she melted into it, only drawing away when they realized Henry was still watching them. They both looked at each other, faces reddening as some passing students laughed and gossiped about the scene, and then they met Henry’s face, and he looked unexpectedly delighted and anxious.
“Well?” he asked, and Jasper slowly drew his hands away from Maggie’s face as they both awaited her response in anticipation.
She frowned and wilted a little under their gaze. “I don’t know,” she bemoaned with frustration. “It must be a family thing because I’m more confused than ever!”
“Are you saying you still can’t choose?” Jasper braved a question.
Maggie shook her head and bit her lip. “Oh, Jasper, you really don’t want to know what I think right now.” She watched his bewildered expression and sighed heavily. “But no, I can’t decide.”
“Then that settles it,” Henry chimed in with his trademark, easy-going smile. “We have to take this further.” If Maggie and Jasper could blush any redder, they would have. “You two should spend some time together.”
He nodded and squeezed both their shoulders in encouragement. Despite his optimism, Maggie and Jasper didn’t seem so sure.
Chapter Sixteen
Title: Caught In-Between
Chapter Title: 15: Loose Ends
Author: Paynesgrey
Rating: R/M (subject to change)
Genre: Adventure/Romance
Characters/Pairings: Henry/Maggie, Jasper/Maggie, & 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 Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen: Loose Ends
When Henry woke up that morning, he realized that it was unusually cold - well, unusual in the sense that they’d been subjected to a dreadful heat wave for almost a couple weeks. Henry pondered the eccentricity of the heat wave, that it was now gone while November was fast approaching, and though there was no proof that the artifacts had caused the heat wave, Henry liked to think that they may have had some part in it.
The surprising notion that, like the heat wave, the artifacts were not the cause of his feelings for Maggie, since he still felt them as strongly as ever. Perhaps a mystical nature of the artifacts gave them the much push they needed, but they didn’t take the feelings away as soon as Mrs. Farah’s exhibit had left the National Museum Complex.
Jasper appeared to be in a slightly better mood that morning when they both woke up to get ready for school. Henry could tell by his expression that his cousin had done some heavy thinking last night while he and Maggie had met to stop Madison and Ms. Crowley. He seemed more preoccupied than angry, which meant that maybe he was coming to a decision on things.
Henry had come to a decision too, and despite Maggie’s pleading and his own feelings, he was ready to give Maggie up for Jasper’s happiness. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, but first he wanted to see how deep Maggie’s feelings went for his cousin, and vice versa, to see if giving her up was really the best choice.
They had a rather amiable car ride to school. Jasper braved asking Henry where he had gone to last night, and Henry was cautious but soon became eager to tell Jasper all about thwarting a robbery at the museum. He mentioned Maggie, though it pained Jasper a little, but when Henry mentioned Madison and Ms. Crowley and their schemes, Jasper became much more interested in the details.
As they walked inside and began filtering in with the other students, Henry had just finished telling him the story when Maggie joined them and gave them the unfortunate news.
“Madison Brinker transferred to her old school this morning,” Maggie said with a grim expression. She inhaled a deep breath and explained, “She called me last night. She told her parents everything, and well, naturally they were upset. They’re moving her to Virginia with the rest of their family.”
“That sucks,” Jasper bemoaned. “So much for our date.” He snorted and gave both Maggie and Henry a forlorn look.
“Jasper...” Maggie began, and he waved his hand, halting her words.
“I really don’t want to get into this now,” he said defeated, and before he could walk away, Henry grabbed onto his arm and began pulling him to the bathroom as Maggie watched them with surprise.
Henry pushed Jasper inside, turning to lock the door and then coming back and grabbing onto his cousin. Jasper struggled a little, not sure what his cousin was up to or if he liked the direction this was going.
“Dude, what are you doing?” he fumed at him, and suddenly his cool temper from the morning had turned hotter.
“We need to speak, you and me, away from Maggie,” Henry said sternly. “We can’t keep doing this. It’s not fair.”
“Well, it’s too late, isn’t it? You guys are together and I’m just SOL. I’m the loser in this, Henry, and thanks very much for being my friend and stealing the girl I like, by the way,” he said condescendingly, but Henry responded physically, and moved in to draw him into a tight hug. “Hey!” Jasper complained, but then the hug became intimate, and he felt his cousin relax his grip. Jasper froze, not sure what to make of the endearment, but he sighed and let Henry speak.
As his cousin slowly pulled away, Henry met his eyes and looked at him with desperation. “Listen to me, Jasper. I’ve found a way to stay friends with you both; only one thing needs to change, and it doesn’t need to be me and Maggie.”
“You can’t just take things back, Henry. None of those artifacts is a time machine,” he said mockingly in disbelief.
“I can. I’m giving up Maggie for you. I would rather you have her than you be mad at us and lose your friendship,” Henry said, bowing his head once and coming up to watch for Jasper’s reaction.
He expected his cousin to give in, to take the olive branch he presented and go with it, but instead Jasper was shocked. His mouth gaped and his eyes widened, and he rested his hands on Henry’s shoulders.
“You can’t just do that! It’s not right; you’ve never admitted feelings for anyone before, and it’s not fair to Maggie,” Jasper said, and Henry cocked his head in curiosity.
“Funny. Maggie said the same thing,” Henry said pensively.
“That’s because she really likes you, and she doesn’t want to give you up!” Jasper said, throwing his hands up and then he began pacing back and forth.
“And I really like her, but Maggie and I have discussed this, and she has admitted feelings for you as well,” Henry explained, and Jasper turned to him, caught off guard by the news.
“Wait...she likes me too?” Jasper croaked, barely able to speak from the shock.
Henry nodded once. “She has said she has strong feelings for you, which has made this difficult for her to choose. I made some suggestions to her in order to see how she feels, one being to kiss you, and if she feels stronger about you, she will choose you, and I will stand aside in the interest of peace.”
Jasper furrowed his brow and blew out a strained breath. “What if she has deeper feelings for you?” he asked fearfully.
Henry looked introspective again. “Then, I suppose things really will change.”
Jasper nodded but looked away from Henry’s pitying gaze. Without any more delay, Henry unlocked the boy’s bathroom again, and he grabbed onto Jasper’s sleeve and pulled him back out the door toward Maggie, who was still hovering at her locker. Henry was grateful the three of them got to school early enough that morning because they had at least another two minutes to spare before the first bell.
“What happened?” she asked frantically, uncrossing her arms.
“Jasper and I had a talk,” Henry said simply, and he nudged Jasper with his elbow as his cousin gawked at her. He was obviously still trying to recover from the news that Maggie liked him too. He turned slowly to Henry after the second nudge, and Henry nodded after they shared a knowing look.
Suddenly, Jasper sprung forward, and he cupped his hands around Maggie’s cheeks and brought her lips quickly to his. She made a noise of surprise, and suddenly she melted into it, only drawing away when they realized Henry was still watching them. They both looked at each other, faces reddening as some passing students laughed and gossiped about the scene, and then they met Henry’s face, and he looked unexpectedly delighted and anxious.
“Well?” he asked, and Jasper slowly drew his hands away from Maggie’s face as they both awaited her response in anticipation.
She frowned and wilted a little under their gaze. “I don’t know,” she bemoaned with frustration. “It must be a family thing because I’m more confused than ever!”
“Are you saying you still can’t choose?” Jasper braved a question.
Maggie shook her head and bit her lip. “Oh, Jasper, you really don’t want to know what I think right now.” She watched his bewildered expression and sighed heavily. “But no, I can’t decide.”
“Then that settles it,” Henry chimed in with his trademark, easy-going smile. “We have to take this further.” If Maggie and Jasper could blush any redder, they would have. “You two should spend some time together.”
He nodded and squeezed both their shoulders in encouragement. Despite his optimism, Maggie and Jasper didn’t seem so sure.
Chapter Sixteen