IMAGINE: Liking Henry

| IMAGINE for @savannahofgondor | You straighten, stretching your back from hours at the telescope. The stars aren't going anywhere. You feel a stab of guilt. Carina, your best friend and twin sister, would never have stopped when she was sore. She never would... You stop that train of thought and shake your head. You try to push her image from your mind. Carina died in a freak accident a couple of months ago. So unfortunate, what a great loss, everyone had said; honor her memory and move on. It's not been easy to do when her job, her life was passed on to you to take up the title of ship's astronomer. The ship rocks softly as the moonlight dances off the tiny waves, stirring up thoughts of other peaceful nights with Carina, hanging out the window, drinking up the stars' unearthly shine. "Oh, Carina. I miss you." You whisper to yourself. --- You decide to go to bed when the floor, outside your cabin, creaks loudly. You look at your door. 0Y/N? Are you awake?" A voice calls. You throw on your shawl and run to the door. You pull it open and your heart leaps. Henry." You breathe. You're in love with Henry. Despite your twin being in love with him, you couldn't help falling in love with him too. "What are you doing here? You can't sleep again?" You ask. Ever since Carina died, Henry can barely sleep. He nods, crossing his arms dejectedly. "Do you want to come in?" You offer, raising an eyebrow. "Only if it's not too much trouble." He replies with a small smile. "Of course not." You smile gently. "Come in." You beckon, moving away from the door. You sit on your cot as Henry walks over to your small table. He runs his fingers over the star charts Carina had so carefully drawn. He turns to the telescope, crouching on the stool so he could look through it. "Y/N?" "Yes, Henry?" He looks back at you. "Could you show me the constellations? Carina never taught me the ones during this season." He says, frowning. You smile sadly and nod. You walk over to him. Sitting on the open window sill, you point out two stars. "Look through the scope. See those two? They are the Twins. Carina used to..." You trail off and swallow past the lump in your throat. Henry glances at you. You take a deep breath and start again. "She called them 'The Sisters' and said they were us. Together forever." You fight to keep your voice from cracking. You look at Henry who watches you. "I can't tell, but I feel like one of them has shone brighter in the past few months." You say hoarsely, your eyes filling with tears. "It's just so hard." You choke out, and quickly turn back to look out at the night sky. You don't want Henry to see your tears. You feel Henry's hand on your shoulder. "Y/N, I understand. I miss Carina terribly." He states. "At least you can be alone here in this room and not feel ashamed to show your true feelings." He includes. You think of Henry lying in the hold with the other men, unable to show what he feels, unable to show his emotions. "Oh, Henry." You whisper, looking at him in horror. He looks so sad. So heartbroken. You let out a sob. You cry hard, finally releasing all the feelings you have tried to ignore and forget about these past few weeks. Henry embraces you as you sob on his shoulder. He holds you tightly and whispers comforting words in ear. As you slowly calm down, you feel Henry kiss your head. You hold completely still, your eyes wide. He puts a hand on your face and tilts it up so he can look at you. Before you can say or even do anything, he leans down and kisses you softly. Your stomach clenches and you pull away, shocked at the measure of pleasure you allowed yourself to feel for that second. "Henry, no. We can't." You gasp, stepping away from him as if he's burned you. "This is so wrong! You loved Carina, not me. And now she's gone and you do this?" You ask in disgust. His face twists with so much emotion before tightening in hurt. "Y/N..." He gives a small, hopeless laugh. He shakes his head and sinks a hand in his hair. "You're right. I'm so stupid to think you would be all right with this." He states. He looks at you. "But, Y/N, you have helped me more than you'll ever realize. You have been my light ever since Carina died. I couldn't have made it this far without you. I need you, Y/N. I need you more than anything." He whispers earnestly. "It's always been either Carina or you, Y/N. I was torn between the both of you. I didn't know who to choose." He says, stepping towards you. Your heart squeezes. "Please, Henry." You beg, holding a hand up. "Not now. Please." You whisper, retreating to the end of your tiny cabin. You turn your back to Henry, your heart thundering within your chest. You hear the door close behind you, Henry's footsteps receding like the grasp you have on reality. You swallow. "It's for the better." You tell yourself confidently. "It's for the better." You breathe, before falling into bed, weeping. --- A week passes and you haven't spoken to Henry once. It's obvious he's avoiding you, and it hurts as much as—if not more than—if he had died along with Carina. One night, you stay up all night, watching the stars traverse the heavens, and replaying Henry's kiss over and over. Finally, you turn to the Twin stars. You sigh deeply. "Carina, I know you loved him. But I love him too. Please, give me a sign. I need your blessing." You wait. Nothing. Tears spill onto your cheeks as you look down at your shaking hands. "Please, Carina." You plead. Still nothing. You sigh deeply and straighten. You give the sky one last sweep and that's when you see it—a brilliant, pure white shooting star flashing over the Twins. You gasp, your eyes widening. You stumble backwards and clasp your hands over your mouth in surprise. You then begin giggling with relief. "Thank you, Carina." You whisper. You grab a blanket and quickly sneak out the door. You know Henry is on sentry duty tonight, and almost immediately find him asleep behind a few barrels. You laugh softly and shake your head. Crawling next to him, you spread the blanket over both of you and kiss him on the cheek. His eyes open slowly. Once he sees you, his eyes open fully. You cup his face. "Carina would want us to be happy, Henry. I believe that. I love you so much." You whisper. He smiles widely and pulls you closer. You rest your head on his chest, his head on yours. "I love you too, Y/N." He murmurs sleepily. [THE END] I hope you liked it!