1968 (Henry Creel/OC)

Chapter 4

"I'm sorry about that." Henry pressed his lips together in a thin line. He remembered getting exhausted and burnt out when he was younger.

Henry opened the door for Maeve when they got to the rainbow room and her eyes widened instantly. In the middle stood an easel with several canvases by its side.

Taking somewhat cautious steps towards it, she looked back at Henry with a confused expression.

"You said Dr Maxwell wanted me?" she turned back to the easel, investigating it. There was a drawer attached at the bottom which held paints and brushes. It was truly beautiful and her tiredness had faded away in an instant.

"That was a bit of a lie..." Henry confessed, a smirk crossing his face. "I just wanted to show you this."

"This was you?" her voice was soft as she spun around, stunned. Her heart was speeding up, feeling rather emotional over his actions. She didn't know if it was the combination of lack of sleep and exhaustion or whether she was simply so delighted, but water welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill. Overwhelmed with emotion, she smiled as she ran towards him, engulfing Henry in a hug. She wrapped her arms tightly around his torso as she rested her head on his shoulder. Henry hesitated before he wrapped his arms around her in return, the smell of ylang ylang and lavender once again filling his nose. His heart sped up at the close proximity and he closed his eyes to completely savour the moment.

"You said you missed painting, so I called around and bought some things for delivery. They arrived yesterday but I didn't see you at all." He explained when she pulled away from the hug.

"Thank you." Her smile was bright and warm as she turned towards the easel again.

"I have got to go. I will check back in later." Henry smiled to himself as he exited the room. Somehow it felt good to do something nice for her. It was strange to feel this way. Other people he couldn't care less about.

Dr Brenner sighed when he reviewed the surveillance footage of Henry that day. He always made sure to keep a close eye on the young orderly. His grey eyebrows furrowed in a frown as he watched the young man actively seek out Maeve in the early hours of the morning. The gesture seemed... sweet. Especially for someone like Henry. It was almost unnerving. He had never seen Henry in such a way and it made him suspicious. It was evident that Maeve was touched by it, her reaction rather affectionate, but Henry didn't seem to mind, returning her embrace. Despite knowing better, there was a glimmer of hope within Brenner. Maybe this was a way to bring out Henry's humanity. Maybe Dr Maxwell had a point? Perhaps he shouldn't keep Henry away from Maeve anymore. He had kept her busy enough to ensure they wouldn't cross paths. However, looking at this footage and against his better judgement, he decided to leave them be.

Henry walked through the hallways with determination. It had been a long day with Two. The teen was proving to be a pain in the backside and was wearing down his patience. He decided the best way to calm down was to check in on Maeve and see what she had been painting. He pushed the door open to enter the rainbow room to find her packing away the brushes and paints. She turned and looked at him, humming

"Hello Henry." She smiled gratefully at the man.

"I see someone has been busy." He teased as he noticed a blob of orange paint on her cheek. In fact, she had been covered in a good amount of paint all over her arms and apron as well.

"I have been, yes!" she agreed with a nod. "Thank you, again."

"So, where is the masterpiece?" Henry asked, a smile etching at the corners of his mouth as he looked around the room.

"Somewhere safe. It's not finished yet." She explained as she continued cleaning a brush.

"Am I not allowed to see the progress?" he feigned a sad expression.

"It's a surprise. You'll have to be patient." She mused, grinning from ear to ear. She enjoyed the exchanges they had.

"You'll come to find I am not a very patient person." He teased back, smirking devilishly.

"Well," Maeve started as she decided to dunk the brush on the remaining paint on her palette, then moved swiftly to catch his nose, covering him in orange paint. She giggled at his shocked expression which quickly turned into a grimace as he picked up another brush and dunked it into the paint.

"No, no, no!" she shouted through laughter as she tried to catch his wrist to keep it away from her, while continuing to use her other hand to attack him with paint.

Soon both of them were even more covered in paint and shared in laughter, looking at the state of themselves.

"Oh great! Now I need to shower!" Maeve exclaimed playfully, perfectly aware she would have needed one without his interference.

"Me too." Henry agreed, laughing as his mind slip into inappropriate thoughts of her showering. He realised then that they were still entangled from their war of paint and his laughter faltered, a flicker of lust visible in his eyes.

Maeve's expression mirrored his, but she quickly regained her composure by putting her brush down and taking a step back. Henry didn't miss that spark in her eyes though and he grabbed her hand, tilting his head.

"Why do you move away?" his stare was intense. Maeve gulped as she looked into his eyes, hazel melting into blue.

"I, I just... I don't-" Maeve started, but she couldn't come up with a good reason. In fact, she enjoyed being close to him and it scared her a little.

Henry realised then that she appeared nervous and let go of her, letting his hand rest by his side. "I'm sorry. I don't know what just came over me." Henry suddenly felt vulnerable. He had made his want to be close to her quite obvious. He had never felt like this, so he didn't know how to act.

"No, no, please don't apologise." Maeve quickly said, a blush covering her cheeks. She hesitated for a moment before reaching out, running her finger along the outside of his hand. "I have never met someone I click with before. Never even imagined it. That's all."

"Me too. I don't really know what to do." Henry admitted, catching her fingers in between his and caressing them tenderly. They spent a moment looking at each other with soft smiles.

"On a serious note, we really should go and wash before the paint stains us." Maeve blurted out, gesturing towards the paint on their skin.

"Alright. Let's go. I suppose I'll be patient and wait to see your painting."