Charles x Henry One Shots!

Exception

Henry's POV:

E: "Just admit it! You like Charles!"
H: "Would you leave me alone about that? I swear to god, El, I don't like him in that way!"
E- "Oh come on."

        In frustration, I walked away from the red headed woman, locking myself in my bedroom. Throwing myself onto the bed, I released a deep sigh. Ellie had been bugging me about my supposed 'feelings' for Charles for weeks, not giving me any breaks.

         Years ago, I had sworn off relationships, no exceptions. After being hurt one too many times, I had just decided that I didn't want to deal with it anymore. It started to become too much for my heart to handle.

          Between the girl who cheated on me multiple times, the person who left in the middle of the night after stealing a bunch of stuff from me, and the guy who attempted to murder me after I broke up with him, I had just decided that it wasn't worth it anymore.

            Besides, even if I did develop feeling for someone, I wouldn't allow myself to act on those emotions. The risk wasn't worth the outcome.

             I was brought out of my thoughts by the front door opening, followed by a cheerful voice calling out, "Hen, El, I'm home!" It was undoubtedly the pilot returning home after a day on base. Feeling a huge smile creep up on my face, I got up and exited my room.

            Charles had just hung up his keys when I stepped out, catching the brunettes attention. That signature smile of his immediately spread across his face, the man halfway running towards me before wrapping his arms around the back of my neck in a hug.

            I wrapped my arms around the pilots waist in return, resting my head on top of his. The scent of jet fuel and machinery still lingered in the brunettes hair and clothes. Pulling away, Charles flashed a huge grin before heading to his room, undoubtably to shower and change clothes.

           That seemed to be his daily routine when he arrived home. Call out to Ellie and I, hang up his keys, give me a hug, grin, and then go shower. Every day he did those five things in that order.

            Apparently, I had been staring in the direction Charles had walked off in for a little too long, Ellie appearing beside me with a smirk on her face.

E: "Earth to Henry?"

             She joked, waving a hand in front of my face. I flinched and looked over at the woman, rolling my eyes before walking off into the living room, speaking while walking.

H: "Don't even say it, cause I know damn well you're thinking it."

             With that, I flopped down on the couch, pulling my phone out of my pocket to scroll through Instagram. After a second, I felt the couch dip about two feet away, signaling that someone else had sat down. Peeking up from my phone, I wasn't surprised to see that it was Ellie. Yet, when she spoke, her tone was more serious than usual.

E:"You need to get past this fear of yours, Henry. I understand that it's hard, it's extremely hard to heal from trauma. But, you can't just run from it forever. You have to face it eventually."

               I pretended to not listen to the red head, continuing to scroll through meaningless posts. Ellie, however, continued.

E:"It's obvious that you're in love with Charles, you're just scared to accept it, scared to let those feelings in. I'll let you in on something, he likes you too. But, you probably haven't realized that since you don't know what actual, genuine love looks like. 'Cause I can tell you right now, what your previous partners gave you wasn't love."

              The words that she spoke struck something deep within me, a tight feeling coming into my chest, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. I put my phone down before leaning my head back, staring straight up at the ceiling. It took me a moment to form words, just trying to gather my thoughts into a coherent sentence.

H:"I just don't want to be hurt again. I know Charles wouldn't ever purposely hurt me, emotionally, mentally, or physically. But, I'm more afraid that I'll lash out at him for something, project my trauma onto him. I'd never forgive myself if I hurt Charles because of my own pain."

E:"Charles is a very patient and gentle person, he'd be willing to work with you on anything you feel may be an obstacle. Just talk to him about it. Trust me, Hen, don't let him slip by. At least try it, maybe give a tester kiss or something to just see how it makes you feel. The trauma won't vanish overnight, but you've at least got to make a step towards healing."

H:"You're right, El. Never thought I'd be telling you that you're right, though."

         We both laughed lightly as I got up, making my way to Charles' bedroom. I knew that it would seem a little weird, but I entered the room, hearing the shower still running from the bathroom that was connected to his bedroom. I sat down on his bed nervously, waiting for the man to finish his shower.

           After a few minutes, the water shut off, only making my anxiousness about the whole situation worse. Before I could fully gather my thoughts, the bathroom door opened, Charles, who was thankfully clothed in a tee shirt and shorts, walked out. He flinched when he saw me, chuckling lightly.

C:"Henry! You scared me. Wait, is everything okay?"

            He suddenly asked, sitting down on the bed beside me. Taking a deep breath, I struggled to find the correct words, feeling the pilot gently place his hand on my back. Deciding to just be blunt with my intentions, I asked,

H:"Could you please kiss me?"

              Charles seemed surprised by my sudden question, but that was an understandable reaction. Yet, instead of just immediately doing it, the man placed his soft hands on my cheeks, moving my face so I was looking at him.

              Having his hands on my face made my whole body feel light, comforted by both his touch and the scent of the cinnamon sugar lotion he always put on after showers. He knew about my past relationships, and the things that occurred during them. So, the pilot seemed hesitant to fulfill my request.

C:"Are you sure? I don't want to make any bad memories resurface."

               I nodded at the brunette, looking directly into his sparkling green eyes. For a moment, we simply stared into each other's eyes, Charles gently rubbing his thumb on my cheekbone. Yet, after I relaxed a small bit, the pilot slowly leaned in, giving me plenty opportunities to pull back if I needed to.

               Our lips softly connected, feeling a tingly feeling spread throughout my whole body. It was something I had never felt in my past relationships. After a moment of just gentle kisses, I brought one hand up to the pilots still damp, brunette hair, running my fingers through it as I pressed our heads closer, the kiss deepening as a result.

                It took a few minutes, but we finally separated our lips, gazes reconnecting. Before anything else, Charles spoke to me in a soft tone.

C:"Are you okay?"

                 I immediately nodded, my answer genuine. In that moment, I finally began to accept my feelings for the pilot, knowing that Ellie had been entirely correct in what she had told me. It would take time, but I knew I could overcome my fears.

               After all, with Charles by my side, I could overcome anything. I had nothing to fear in his presence. To fill the silence, the brunette piped up again.

C:"We'll get through this all together, okay? If anything I ever do or say steps over the line, just tell me. If you need anything at all, reassurance, space, anything, just tell me. I'm here for you absolutely every step of the way, and I'm prepared for anything this may throw up."

                 Hearing his words made me get a little bit emotional, pulling the man in front of me into a tight hug. All I could muster out was a small "thank you", feeling almost overwhelmed by emotions. After all those years of not believing in true love, connections, trust, relationships, loyalty, or even feelings in general,

                           I found my one exception.