Chapter Text
“My what glasses?” Henry leaned back, creating space between Zora and himself.
This was going terribly. Zora groaned. “I-“ she prided herself on being able to find her way out of any situation. But this situation had her trapped. She struggled to find anything to say.
For the past three months, Zora and Henry had been meeting. Usually at crowded coffee shops and dingy diners, talking low and speaking quickly, discussing how they would release the genetic information gathered on the island. Henry had spent most of the time just trying to find anyone with the same moral compass. He was nervous of recruiting anyone else, but he had told Zora, quite solemnly, that he lacked any type of web based knowledge for allowing others to access the data.
He had finally found a few collaborators to assist in the digital distribution. One, Henry claimed, was “rather surprising”. Which Zora figured he meant he found someone at the museum to help. Zora had spent hours trying to explain how important it was to keep themselves publicly distanced from the distribution. Giant pharmaceutical companies weren't normally ones to turn a blind eye to their stolen information being leaked online.
With Krebs gone, they technically didn’t have any witnesses to deny their claims that they “didn’t find the right sample” and “stopped the research as soon as the Delgados came aboard.” Duncan wasn’t dumb enough to say otherwise, and Parker-Genix didn’t find the Delgados of any use. They were sent home, and given a few thousand of hush money to say they never heard of any research team. The first few hours of their return, Parker-Genix worked hard to cover any and all traces of their little research trip. Especially since they believed it was a failure.
The topic of distribution had started quickly over dinner that night. Henry beaming as he explained the network of VPNs and servers being constructed by one of his new colleagues. His voice full of excitement, and his hands fluttering around, trying to help Zora visualize the network. It had been a good night. A great night, actually.
Dinner in Henry’s small apartment dining area turned to drinks in Henry’s small apartment living room. The two sitting on his small couch, Zora found herself watching Henry speak intently. He had been recapping her on the full sequences they were able to collect from the blood samples. The modified dinosaurs had modified genetic codes, of course, but a few different tests had a found an anomaly they were hoping would help with research. Zora was drawn in to his smile, his laugh, his overall demeanor. God, she was in trouble.
Zora, admittedly, didn’t have the same knowledge of data collection and analytics as Henry, and if anyone else tried to explain it to her, she wouldn’t find it interesting. But, she could listen to Henry for hours, it could have been about the museum or dinosaurs, hell, she would listen to him read the dictionary.
She watched his eyes as he told her about the system update, and if everything stayed working as well as it currently was, the data could be distributed in less than a year. Zora sat for a moment, not realizing Henry was waiting for her to respond.
She shook her head, trying to focus on anything else besides his face. “That’s fantastic. That’s- I mean, you’re fantastic.” She took a breath, “Watching you do this all, just to help other people, God, it’s just,” she couldn’t find a word that truly enveloped everything so wonderful about him. “It’s just been so amazing to see.”
Henry smiled, looked down at his glass. “It’s not just me. I seem to remember you being right next to me when we retrieved the samples in the first place.”
Zora let out a short laugh. “Eh.” She shrugged, “I just made sure we didn’t die.”
Henry laughed in response, leaning closer towards Zora. “As I am still alive, I think you did a phenomenal job.”
Zora had to admit in the past few months, things had changed between them. After the first few flirty jokes and lingering smiles, Zora wasn’t sure if she was imagining something, or if she was hoping for something to happen between them, or if Henry was feeling the shift between them, too. Meeting in coffee shops and diners moved to his apartment to give them 'more privacy as the project progressed'. Coffee and slightly burnt toast turned to homemade dinners and a small liquor cabinet to choose from. After the second dinner at Henry's apartment, Zora started testing the waters, letting her hand linger on his when she would take something from him, bumping shoulders as they walked next to each other. Taking a little longer each meeting to leave. She had almost stopped by the museum unannounced once, but she felt that was a little too forward.
Zora didn’t expect Henry to make the first move. He had set his drink glass down on the coffee table, the two fingers of scotch sloshed. The half empty scotch bottle rattled slightly as he adjusted the coaster under his glass. Zora could tell he was stalling. She smiled. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one trying to continue their time together. Henry straightened and turned towards her. Anywhere else, Zora would have tried to fill the silence, but this was comfortable. Everything with him was comfortable.
Henry turned towards her, adjusting his glasses.
“Zora.” He placed his hand on the couch cushion between them, giving Zora as much space as she wanted. “I think you’re phenomenal.” He glanced down at his hand, and raised his eyes back to hers. “We-do you-“ he sighed. “I’m not very good at this, uh, type of thing.” He raised his hand from the cushion and adjusted his glasses again. It was a nervous tick that Zora couldn’t help but find endearing.
Zora smirked, she wouldn't let him have this so easily. “What type of thing?” She leaned forward to place her own glass on the coffee table, careful to place it on the coaster. “I mean, you seem to be doing pretty well with the distribution project and-“
“Zora.” Henry huffed. “I think you know what I mean.” He held out his hand, gently pulling her closer when she took it. “I feel pretty confident that I’ve been picking up on your, uh, signals.”
Zora held back a laugh. She let him pull her close, her arms now around his neck, his hands resting on her back. Their faces slowly growing closer, “You have. You definitely have.”
“Good.” He smiled, he leaned in slowly, giving Zora the out, if she wanted. She closed the gap between them hastily. She tried to slow herself down. This wasn't some random guy in a bar when she couldn't sleep, or some distraction to take her mind off a rough job. This was Henry. Her Henry. She wanted to savor this moment, let it be imprinted in her brain for the rest of her life. She felt his hands lightly settle on her hips, his grip on her tightening. Her fingers slowly combed through the hair at the nape of his neck. She wanted to take this at his speed.
They broke apart, both breathing heavily. Zora pressed her forehead to his. “I wanted this for a while.” Her voice soft, almost as if she was telling him a secret. “Like, since I watched your face light up when you got that first sample.” She carefully played with a lock of his hair between her fingers. “At first, I thought it was just, I don’t know.” She lets out a breath, “It was hot out there. You were hot. I told myself I just had a thing for your slutty little glasses.” Zora was startled by the abrupt shift in their position.
Henry sat back, Zora’s hands slid from his neck to his shoulders.
”My what glasses?” His voice filled with surprise.
Zora groaned, this was it. She tried, and she failed. Her words faltered. There was no recovering from this. She always recovered. Her back up plans had back up plans. And yet, here she was. Staring at Henry, staring at those glasses. "I-" She cleared her throat, trying to fix this, to go back to the perfect moment they were having. "I was trying to come up with excuses for myself. It's not professional to be thirsting after the guy you're supposed to be keeping safe. I don't get distracted when I'm working."
Henry had leaned back into the couch, his reaction not immediately readable. Zora sat up straight, trying not to let his rejection affect her demeanor as much as it did.
Henry smiled, "Apparently, you do." He turned towards her again. His smile growing as he slightly leaned forward, "At least when 'the guy' is wearing these." He put his finger on the rim of his glasses. 'What did you call them? My horny silly glasses?" He jokingly tapped his chin, pretending to be deep in thought, "My sexy funny glasses? Ah, no." making a show of remembering the phrase, "Yes! Yes, it was my 'slutty little glasses'." He laughed again, "In the 25 years I've worn glasses, I have never heard that term."
Zora felt her face redden. She gave Henry something to use against her. Something she didn't do with anyone. She could let herself sink back into the couch, cover her face, try to change the subject, But she was in a safe place, with someone she trusted. She would let him have his fun, of course. Zora sighed. She watched as Henry leaned forward, gently lifting his glass of scotch and taking a sip, a small smile still lingering on his lips.
"Look, I like what I like." Zora composed herself with a shrug. If she was going to have to deal with this, she might as well do it her way. She lowered her voice, doing her best to keep a straight face. "And maybe I want to see what you look like without them."
Henry coughed slightly on his scotch. He pulled the glass from his lips and cleared his throat. A slight blush had crept on his cheeks. He tilted his head back, quickly finishing the liquid. In a quick motion, Henry placed his empty glass on the table and leaned back into the couch, placing an arm on the headrest, almost as if he was challenging Zora. Henry hummed, watching her, "I'm not sure. You seem awfully fond of me wearing my slut-" Zora didn't let Henry finish his sentence. She leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of Henry's face and pulled him towards her- capturing his mouth with hers. Henry let out a light groan when she shifted towards him, slowly moving herself fully against him. Zora smiled against his lips.
Henry shifted, guiding Zora onto his lap. Henry leaned back, resting his head on the couch, taking a deep breath. " Do you want to take this-" Before he finished his question, Zora was standing up and reaching for his hands to pull him up from the couch.
"Yes, yes, I do."