Chapter Text
Henry felt stupid for downloading the app, who on this planet would believe the real Henry Cavill would have a profile on Tinder. But, here he was, sitting on his couch in London, starting at his blank profile, they asked about his passions and for photos of him, he added one from his camera roll that he had taken at an after party and never posted on social media and took a selfie, figuring if he added photos that weren't anywhere on the great wide web, it might make his profile look a bit less fake and like someone trying to be a catfish.
He shook his head at the profile, it wanted to know everything, which he figured was understandable. He added music, gaming, dog lover, running, football, board games, military, reading and cooking to his list of passions and interests. Filled Taurus as his Zodiac and a dog for having pets, before giving the job title, a hard stare.
“What do I put?” Henry asked, looking across the couch to Kal. “Movie Star? Actor? Celebrity—no that's not a fucking job title. Ugh, I'll come back to it.” He huffed, skipping and put none for company and Stowe Boarding School in the next blank section, for education.
“Okay, that's a complicated question!” He laughed, shaking his head. “Where am I living?”
“London, Florida, Los Angeles.” He snorted, before bringing up his phone's keyboard and typed in, the world. “I'm definitely not linking my Instagram to this! Granted, it'll probably help with people not thinking I'm a fake! But the amount of traffic I'd probably get would be insane, and that's not what I want with this profile.” He said, ignoring that field.
But he did add his Spotify to his Tinder, before putting in his gender, sexual orientation and allowing his age and distance to be shown.
“All right, buddy.” Henry sighed, clicking save on his profile, and set his phone down beside him, with an anxious heart. “This is so dumb, no one is going to swipe on me.” He mumbled, chewing on his bottom lip and drumming his fingers on his thighs.
“Fuck it.” He snapped, snatching up his phone and started looking at profiles.
Many of the women he saw in the profiles were very pretty and gorgeous, but either something in their profile turned him off or he just didn't feel a click with them, causing Henry to swipe left on them. He sat on his couch, unaware of the two hours that passed while he checked out profile after profile. He noticed a couple Blue Stars on profiles he looked at, knowing they Super Liked his profile, but felt unease and overly cautious about liking them back.
“I just don't know.” Henry sighed, shaking his head and staring at his phone. “I'm just going to delete it.”
“Seriously!” You yelled, tears dripping down your face. “Now? Now, is when you decide to break up with me!”
“I can't do it!” Your boyfriend of six years screamed back, a vein bulging in his neck. “I can't do this anymore! Keep the fucking flat! Keep the fucking dog too, for all I care! I'm over you and all of this.” He hissed, arms wildly pointing around the living room.
You beat your clenched fists against the sides of your thighs and let out a shrill scream of frustration. “Fine! Then, pack your shit and fuck off!” You huffed, trembling and trying to swallow down your growing influx of tears.
“GET OUT!” You bellowed, stabbing a finger towards the door.
He stared at you for a long time, his brown eyes burning with hateful words and actions he wanted so badly to say to you, but instead, he turned on his heels and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door with such force it rattled the door frame and walls. You choked on your tears for a moment, before turning away and sitting down on the couch, pressing your hands to your damp face as fresh tears washed over you. You felt the nudge of something cold against your arm and a low whine, the dog you and your boyfriend had gotten together a year and half ago came and sat beside you, poking his chilly, black nose against your elbow, concerned.
Rubbing your palms over your face, you looked down at the pup, staring into his spooky, ice blue eyes, he was your baby. He was a Northern Inuit, all silver, except for a faded mask on his head, that was a soft charcoal color between and up his ears and eyes, before fading off just short of his muzzle. You loved his big, satellite dish ears, especially when he was a puppy, even now, they were still just a bit too big for him, and his plush, double-coat, that you honestly didn't mind shed like crazy. It was no wonder that these dogs were so commonly used as wolves in tv shows and movies, they looked a lot like them.
But, your pup was the sweetest marshmallow in the whole world.
“I'm sorry.” You whimpered, your jaw quivering. “I'm so sorry.” Your voice cracked, before you threw your arms around his thick neck and sobbed anew into it.
“You need to get back out there.”
“No, I don't.” You sighed, shaking your head at your best friend, as the two of you sat in a restaurant, having lunch. “I'm over dating. I have my dog and he's the only man I need in my life.” You told her, picking at the plate of food in front of you.
“Besides, no one will want me, Kelly.”
“Well, too bad!” Kelly proclaimed, picking up her phone. “I made you a Tinder profile this morning.”
“You what!?” You barked, shocked. “You did not!”
“I did, and you'll like it!” She grinned, pulling the app up on her phone. “Now, I only filled in the basic stuff I know about you.”
“Which should be more than I know, we've only been friends since we were toddlers.” You countered, rolling your eyes at her.
Kelly gave you a look, before looking back at the app. “Anyway, the only thing left, that I didn't fill in, was the 'about me', which I was sure you would want to fill in yourself.”
“I don't want to fill in any of it, Kelly.” You told her, sighing heavily and took a sip of your ice water.
“Again, too bad.” She replied, sarcastically. “What do you want to put on it?” She pressed, determined not to take no for an answer.
You drew in a deep breath, knowing she wasn't going to give in, and rolled your eyes at her, before holding out your hand for her phone. “I'll type it in myself, thank you very much, my Fairy Tinder God Mother.” You told her, snarkily.
“If I find out you deleted it, I'll put it back up and run that bitch myself!” Kelly threatened, handing her phone over to you. “Have those men showing up at your apartment, like a blind date.”
“I would kill you.” You remarked, focusing on her phone as you tried to think of something to put in the about me that summed you up; short and sweet. “All right there, done.” You sighed, finishing up and passing her the phone back.
“I'll text you the login information, so you can download the app, then we can look at the guys on it and see if there's any good ones.” She said, sending it to you.
“Really, [email protected] and I love hand jobs 45.” You frowned, looking over at her, brow lifted. “That's the email and password you set up for me.”
“Yep!” Kelly grinned, incredibly proud of herself, before sliding into a chair beside you. “Now, let's see who Tinder suggests you match up with.”
You sighed, rolling your eyes and shaking your head, you really didn't want to do this, but you humored Kelly. “Fine.” You grumbled, going to the matches and frowned at the first match. “God, no! He looks like he has more beauty products in the bathroom than I do.” You groaned, shaking your head at the profile picture.
“And what the fuck is that about me?” Kelly replied, grimacing at it. “'No special snowflakes, not into plague ridden vaginas.' You are so swiping left on that guy.” She said, reaching out to do it for you.
“Oh, well.” You perked up a little bit. “He's cute, he has a great smile and seems to have a really good job and loves dogs.” You said, glancing to Kelly for approval.
“No, he looks like a dude that takes a girl to an expensive restaurant, makes her pay the bill, then ghosts her.” She shook her head, her face twisting with disgust. “Left!”
“Hey!” You protested, trying to stop her, slapping at her hand. “I still wanna swipe right on him!”
“Friends to let friends swipe on ghosts!” Kelly argued, managing to finally get the swipe on him. “Holy crap, look at this!” She giggled, pulling your phone out of your hand. “There's a Superman profile.”
“What's a Superman profile?” You frowned at her, leaning against her to see what she was looking at.
“This is the guy that played Superman, Henry Cavill.” She explained, checking out his profile. “He is such a hunk, I would let the man fuck me silly and break me in half.” She giggled, licking her lips and rubbing her thighs together.
“It's probably fake though, how could a man like that need the help of Tinder?” You asked, doubtful, looking at the profile over her shoulder.
“Probably, but let's have some fun with it.” Kelly grinned, swapping up.
“What, no!” You protested, grabbing at your phone. “You won't let me swipe right on a real profile, but you'll Super Like a fake one. What's the deal, Kelly?” You groaned, shaking your head at her.
“Oh, just have some fun with him, if this poser is going to try and act like a celeb, then why not play along for a bit.” She chuckled, clearly amused by the thought of fooling this guy.
“I don't like it, Kelly. It's not right.” You sighed, looking at the other profiles.
“You're no fun.” Kelly pouted, batting her lashes at you.
Henry didn't even notice the noise of the airport that he was sitting in, his focus on his screen. He had told himself a hundred times that he would delete his Tinder profile, but here he was, a month later, still on and using it. He had swiped right a few women and spoken to a couple of them, even less believed it was truly him they were speaking too. So, in the end, they stopped speaking. One of the women did end up believing in him, but the connection and conversation started to become strange and a bit on the stalker side, so Henry had to block her.
But, while he was sitting there, waiting for his flight, he got the notification that someone had passed him a Super Like. He sighed, readying himself for another possible disastrous encounter, and opened the notification, but paused seeing the four photos belonging to the profile.
“She's beautiful.” Henry mumbled out loud, licking his lips and shifting in his seat, tapping to see more of profile. “Oh!” His mouth dropped open, seeing the about me, gulping. “That's quite something.” He said, biting his lip, and scrolled back up to the photos. “But, there's something about her. There's just something about her.” He mumbled, his thumb hovering to swipe.
“Oh, what the hell.” He grinned, his thumb shifted and swiping up, just as his flight was announced to board.
While standing in line, Henry opened the private messages and thumbs poised above his keyboard, tapping his foot as he tried to come up with something to say to his Match, he didn't want to come off too strong or awkward, he especially didn't want to come off fake.
“It's so much easier meeting people in person.” Henry mumbled, pocketing his phone, feeling intimidated.
Getting on the plane and finding his seat, Henry settled in with Kal, the thoughts of the private message still tugging on his mind. Groaning, he pulled his phone back out and quickly typed in a message before the flight crew started their safety demonstration and all the passengers' cell phones had to be turned off for take off.
Henry: Hi, I'm Henry.
It was simple, polite and to the point, at least Henry felt like it was, as he shut his phone off and put it back into his pocket, resting his hand on Kal's neck, to settle his nerves.
You were sitting at your work desk, pinching the bridge of your nose as you tried to get your brain flowing on the work on your computer screen, when your phone buzzed loudly on the stack of files next to your elbow.
“Please, Jesus, don't let it be Craig, asking me about the damn report again, or I swear to all that's holy, I will go down to his cubicle and beat him with it.” You growled under your breath, picking up your phone, squeezing your eyes shut as you activated the screen, before looking at the notification. “Oh Jesus.” You gulped, an icy lump of anxiety forming in your chest as you noticed the notification was from Tinder.
Someone had Matched and messaged you.
“Don't be a creep, don't be a creep.” You chanted, opening the notification and felt another blow to your psyche. “You have to be kidding me. I'm going to kill Kelly for doing this to me.” You sighed, reading the message.
Match: Hi, I'm Henry.
“Why, God! Why?” You whined, dropping your phone to your desk and slapping your palms to your face. “Why do I attract the nuts?”
“Because nuts like being in shells.”
You yelped in startled surprise, jumping in your seat and twirling around to face the voice. “Craig, I swear to God, if you sneak up on me again, I'll run over your foot.” You threatened, pressing a hand to your chest.
“Yeah, it's probably not a good thing, with a woman in your condition.” He retorted, narrowing his eyes at you.
“Fuck off.” You hissed, rolling your eyes at him and turning back towards your desk.
“I will, when you give me that report I asked you to finish for me.” Craig answered, glaring at you, hotly.
Rolling your eyes shut and swallowing down the insult you really wanted to spit at him, you turned sideways to the stack of files you had and rifled through them, until you came upon the manila file folder he wanted. “The Lincoln and Monroe case.” You said, handing it back over your shoulder to him, not wanting to see his face, even for the second it took to give him the folder.
“Thank you.” He smiled, smugly, then returned to his cubicle.
“I hope you choke on it.” You mumbled under your breath, then sighed, rubbed your face and turned your phone back over, looking at Henry's message. “When on Tinder, act like Kelly.” You sighed, picking it up.
You: Hey, how's it going?
You stared at your reply for a moment, should you have given him your name back? He gave you his, if he actually was Henry Cavill. But, he could also see your name on your profile, so maybe it didn't matter. If it did, he could simply ask you. Closing the app, you messaged Kelly, sure she would get a real kick out of the Henry Cavill profile swiping up and messaging you.
Kelly: How long are you going to string him along?
You: I don't know, depends on how much of an ass he makes of himself.
Kelly: That should take too long with fakers like these!
You laughed at her comment, knowing she was right, people that cat-fished couldn't help themselves, showing off and causing trouble for the person they try and peg as a victim, but you weren't going to fall for it with this guy, you knew his game.
It wasn't until you were on the way home that you got a reply to your message from Henry, but you decided to wait until you were home to read and reply to it. Setting your bag and keys on the counter and loving on your dog, you made yourself a cup of tea and got comfortable on the couch.
“All right, bud, let's see what this guy's got up his sleeve.” You said, opening Tinder.
Henry: It's going well. I hope you're doing all right. How was your day?
You snorted. “Look at this, Ghost.” You grinned, showing your screen to your dog, as he sat beside you. “Mmhm.” You chuckled, taking a sip of your tea and set it on your side table, beside you.
You: Good to hear. My day went the same it always does, full of legal reports and mountains of file folders. How about yours, Henry?
You tucked your phone between the couch cushions and grabbed the tv remote, flicking the tv on and looking for something to watch, while also waiting to see if you got a reply. Which came a few minutes later.
Henry: Legal reports, you a lawyer or something? As for my day, it's going pretty well. I am a bit tired though, because I had to travel from London to LA for some work.
You: No, I'm a legal researcher for one of the biggest law offices in my area. But, your day does sound a lot better than mine. I would rather be on an airplane, then stuck in a freaking cubicle all day long.
“If he thinks I believe this, he can get wrecked.” You said, looking over at Ghost, who just lifted an uninterested brow at you.
Henry: I wouldn't wish that on anyone, honestly. I saw in your pictures, you have a dog, what is it?
“Oh, he wants to know about you, bud.” You grinned, chuckling.
You: He's a Northern Inuit, almost two years old, called Ghost.
Henry: Ghost? Seems very appropriate by the looks of him.
You: Indeed. I know about your pup, Kal. Haven't seen him on your Tinder though.
You bit your lip, wondering if he would take the bait you set out for him.
There wasn't a message from him for a several long minutes, making you wonder if you had scared him off, but you noticed a new photo uploaded to his profile. Tapping on the photo, you saw it was the Bear, half standing with his front paws on the bottom of a bed, his mouth open and long pink tongue rolled out, like he was smiling at the camera and a clear pair of human legs also showing at the bottom of the photo, like Henry was sitting up against the headboard, when he took the picture.
“Well, I'll be damned.” You choked on your sip of tea, setting your cup down and patting yourself on the chest. “Let's see how easy it is to find this photo, shall we?” You said, doing a reverse search on it, but came up empty. “What do you know, looks like it might be real.” You mumbled, rather surprised and caught off guard.
You: That's absolutely adorable. I would totally steal him from you!
You: I'm kidding. Not really though. Ghost is dying for a brother. Lmao!
Henry: Maybe, when I'm back in the area, Kal and Ghost could have a doggy date?
You bit your lip, staring at his message for a long moment, gulping.
You: Maybe, we can see.
“So, this is the photo he posted, after I mentioned he didn't have a photo of Kal on his Tinder profile last night.” You were telling Kelly during your lunch, the next day. “I did a reverse search on it, and it didn't come up anywhere on the internet and it's not even on his official Instagram.” You told her, finally taking a bite of your lunch that had arrived several minutes before.
“He even suggested a doggy date for Ghost and Kal, when he gets back from LA.” You added, despite your mouth still being full.
“Seriously?” Kelly smiled, setting your phone down, so she could dig into her own food.
“Yeah, part of me thinks it's kinda cute.” You smirked, sipping your water.
“Woman, this dude is a damn catfish, you can't fall for him!” She protested, kicking you in the shin under the table.
“Ouch!” You jerked, rubbing at your leg. “If he's a catfish, how did he get an unreleased photo?” You asked, scowling at her.
“I don't know, but I still don't think it's the real Superman.” She replied, narrowing her eyes at you. “If you fall for this shitter, I'm going to hide your slip on shoes.”
“Ugh! That's horrid!” You retorted, outraged.
“You falling for this guy is horrid!” She said, just as your phone rang. “Is that him!?” She asked, trying to grab your phone before you did.
“Back off, demon!” You barked, smacking her hand with your fork and swiping up your phone. “And yes, it is him.”
Henry: How's the office going?
You: I'm at lunch with my demon at the moment.
Henry: ...Your Demon?
You: My friend Kelly, she's demonic as all get out.
“What is he saying?” Kelly asked, leaning over the table to see your screen.
“Woman, sit down!” You laughed, grinning at her. “What do you care, he's a fake shitter, remember?”
Your phone buzzed and you looked down at your messages, before you busted out laughing. “Okay, Real Superman or not, he's got a great sense of humor.” You giggled, seeing his message about an Amazon sale for Same-Day delivery of Holy Water.
You: That is pure gold!
Henry: You have to do what you have to do. Lol!
“What did he send you?” Kelly asked, seeing you grinning at your phone.
“He sent me an ad for holy water, so I can deal with your demonic butt!” You said, before dipping your fingers into your water glass and flicking droplets into her face. “I just might have to order a case too.” You chuckled, licking your lips.
Henry laughed as he kicked out of his running shoes, returning from his afternoon run and seeing your message. The pair of you had been speaking pretty regularly for the last two weeks and it was going so well, you hadn't gone all creeper, fan girl on him and talking to you was one of the easiest things Henry had ever done in his life. He looked forward to your messages throughout the day, you were usually the first person he spoke to in the morning or the first message he read, as well as the last person or message he sent at night.
He found you to be funny, lighthearted and incredibly intelligent, you clearly loved your dog, which meant a lot to Henry, since he loved Kal just as much, and you didn't seem to mind that he was a big time actor and celebrity, but he did still get the feeling you weren't entirely convinced he was who he said he was; though he couldn't blame you either. Henry respected your caution and even appreciated it, to a point, that you weren't willing to blindly believe he was who he said he was and follow along, it told him a lot.
But, he also wanted to reassure you that he was being truthful with you. He just wasn't entirely sure how to do it, in a way that would cause you to be comfortable. He could be returning home in another two weeks and there was that possible meet up for a doggy play date, you both could take Ghost and Kal to a local dog park, but that worried Henry because he was a celebrity and the possibility of paparazzi being in the area and catching sight of him, then taking photos of the two of you, wasn't something Henry wanted to put you through. Though he did know of a private, indoor dog park he could take the two of you too, he had taken Kal there several times.
There was also the possibility of Face Timing each other or just talking on the phone in general, allowing you to hear his voice. However, asking you to Face Time or talk on the phone made Henry nervous and shy, him asking you on a doggy date had been impulsive.
“What do you think, Kal?” Henry asked, pulling a bottle of Rosemary water out of the mini fridge. “Should I ask her to video call or speak with me on the telephone?” He said, cracking open the white and green bottle, and chugged down the still, Rosemary-infused water. “I want her to trust me, to really trust me, before and if we actually meet in real life.” He sighed, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.
His phone vibrated on the small table in his hotel room and Henry bit his lip. “Maybe, just speaking on the phone first, would be easier. Then, if that goes well, we can Face Time and when I get back home, we can meet up for that play date with you and Ghost.” He said, staring at his phone, trying to gather the strength and courage to pick it up and ask if you would swap phone numbers with him.
You: The only place I can run to is my bathroom.
Henry chuckled at your message, before staring at it for a moment longer and answering; I was thinking, but this is totally up to you, if you wanted to talk on the phone? He bit his lip and paced the room, phone clutched in his hand.
It took nearly an hour and a half for your reply to finally come, giving Henry the time to shower and have something to eat. His heart was in his throat as he checked your answer, worried you were going to tell him no or that you didn't want to talk to him anymore.
You: Sure.
“Oh, thank god.” Henry laughed, falling back against the couch cushions, a huge smile on his face. “She said yes, Kal!” He called out to the Akita.
Henry: When's good for you?
You: I get off tomorrow, at four. So, any time after that. If it's good for you.
Henry: How about five-thirty? Give you time to relax and eat dinner.
You: Sounds good.
You and Henry exchanged phone numbers, you even installed WhatsApp to make it easier to interact with him and the two of you started texting there, it gave you and Henry a freedom to chat that the DMs on Tinder didn't, like being able to call each other or send photos and videos, if you liked. The first thing Henry sent you through text message on WhatsApp was a video of Kal getting the zooms around the sitting area of his hotel room, making you chuckle at him.
You: Ghost can do tricks too!
“Ghost, you wanna sing for Kal and Henry?” You asked, getting up and turning on your Bluetooth speaker, then found Ghost's favorite song on your Spotify. “You ready?” You grinned, turning your video feed on the Inuit and hit play on the song.
“Let it rip!”
Henry received the video and felt giddy, pressing play on it, he was met with the song, Great Unknown by the X Ambassadors, and Ghost sitting in front of your phone, his big silver body wiggling as the lyrics streamed out of the speakers and every time there was a pause, Ghost would bark and if they were drawn out, he would howl along; even jumping up on his back legs, like he was doing a little dance. Henry laughed at the video, finding it incredibly cute and felt his heart flutter, when he caught the sound of you laughing a little bit at one point.
“I can't wait to talk to her tomorrow.” He mumbled, playing the video again, as he laid back on the bed. “I bet she has a sweet voice.” He grinned, biting his lip, a dreamy look in his blue eyes.
You chucked your shoes across the room as you entered your flat, your heart thundering in your chest as you dropped your bag on the side table and rushed for the bathroom. Henry was supposed to be calling you at five-thirty. Which was in forty-five minutes! You would have been home sooner, if Craig hadn't been an ass and held you later, so you had to scramble, showering and changing into something more comfortable than your work clothes and tossed something simple together for dinner. You had been intermittently talking to Henry throughout the day, but not as much as most days, since your workload was heavier than usual and Henry was up to something of his own.
You had just managed to finish eating and to load your dinner bowl and fork into the dishwasher, when your phone started to ring, a sudden rush of anxious nausea hitting you. But, you quickly nabbed your phone off the coffee table, took a deep breath as you stared at Henry's caller ID on the screen, then hit answer.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” You squeaked, feeling the last of your doubt get pushed out as Henry's soft and deep voice came over the connection. “Did you have a good day?” You asked, grasping to get a hold on yourself.
“I did, for the most part.” Henry replied, smirking, excited that he finally got to hear your voice. “I hope that you did?” He cooed, shifting to get comfortable on the bed.
“It went all right, I suppose.” You sighed, taking a seat on the couch and crossing your legs.
“You sound tired.” He pointed out, his brow pinching with concern. “You all right?” He asked, worried.
“Yeah, I'll be fine, promise.” You chuckled back, shaking your head. “The downfalls of an asshole boss deciding he wants to dump an extra case on me.” You groaned, racking a hand over your face.
“Should he be doing that?” Henry frowned, taking an instant disliking to your boss. “Given, you know?” He mumbled, biting his lip.
You took a deep breath and bit your lip. “It'll be fine. It's nothing I can't deal with. I'm almost done with one of the cases I'm researching for the firm, so it'll blow over.” You tried to reassure him, a lump in your throat, knowing Henry's concern was well placed, but you also wondered why he was even interested in you because of it.
“Anyway, all that's just boring and depressing, what've you been doing all day?” You asked, putting a light and cheery tone in your voice.
Henry laughed, smiling shyly. “I don't know how exciting what I've been doing all day really is.” He admitted, picking at the blanket next to him. “I just met up with my agent about a couple of possible role opportunities and discussed the future of a few roles I'm already tied to.” He explained, resting his head back against the headboard.
“Anything you're excited about?” You asked, hugging a pillow to your chest.
“Maybe.” He sighed, tilting his head as he thought about it. “There's a possible war movie out in Jordan, I've been specifically asked to play a part in. I'd play a Captain in the Special Forces during the 2003 Iraq war.”
“That sounds like it would be a lot of fun.” You replied, propping your feet up on the coffee table and flexing your swollen toes. “If not a tad demanding, it's hot out in the desert.” You chuckled, smirking.
Henry chuckled back at you. “Yeah, it definitely is that.” He agreed, raking a hand through his hair. “And relations aren’t great over there, from what I've heard either. So, it is a tad dangerous, but I do like how the character reads on the script.”
“Well, if they can keep you safe and you like the character, is there anything stopping you from taking it?” You asked, lifting an arm as Ghost came to lay his head on your lap.
“Nope.” He replied, shaking his head. “It doesn't start filming for about a month, and it'll take two or three to film. So, it shouldn't take too much to do.” He said, slowly licking his lips.
“Then, I say go for it.” You said, stroking between Ghost's ears.
“I think I will.” Henry grinned, relaxing against the headboard. “I come home soon.” He said softly, just in case you didn't hear him.
“Do you?” You replied, drawing lazy patterns in Ghost's fur.
“I do.” He answered a little bit louder, before pausing.
You looked down at Ghost and felt your stomach flutter, then felt a shy confidence wash over you. “I think Ghost wants to take Kal up on that Doggy Date.” You said, pressing your lips together and shaking your head, feeling so silly.
You just managed to ask Superman, himself, out.
Henry chuckled, bashfully, grinning like a schoolboy asked out to the dance. “Kal would love that.” He told you, his eyes flickering to the sleeping Bear at the foot of the bed. “We'll be back in a week. We can discuss a good time to meet up, whenever.” He suggested, excited about going out with you.
“Sounds like a plan.” You agreed, letting out a soft breath.
Henry was starting to grow worried, and if he was honest, a bit paranoid. He had returned back to home three days ago, and up until then, you and him texted as usual, you had even spoken on the phone again several times. But the night before he returned, he told you good night, like always, but unlike always, you never replied back, you didn't even read his message.
He paced the mews, a million scenarios bubbling over in his mind.
“What if something's happened to her?” He said, ranting at Kal. “She typically walks to The Tube after she gets off work, what if she'd gotten mugged and she's in the hospital. Perhaps her phone's dead, but why the hell would her phone be dead for three days straight. That's ridiculous.”
A sick feeling washed over Henry and his shoulders slowly relaxed.
“Or she's ghosted me.” He sighed, face falling and stopping in place. “I suppose I can't blame her. Being a celebrity is a pain in the ass on a good day, but being associated with one is just as big a pain in the ass, or she sufficiently got me to relax with her enough and she'll be posting everything we talked about online.” He shook his head and slapped his hands against his thighs and began pacing again.
“No, she wouldn't do that! She's not like that, I just—I just feel it. There's something wrong, there must be something wrong. But...”
It suddenly punched Henry square in the brain what was wrong and he felt like a complete moron for not realizing it first, the two of you had never openly spoken about it, it was the quiet acknowledgment, the bombshell in your 'about me' that had almost cause Henry not to swipe up on you.
“I'm such a fucking idiot! Of course, she would be terrified about meeting me like this, talking and texting on the fucking phone is one thing, but meeting in person makes it real and concrete.” He rambled, scrambling to find his phone and dialed your number, half hoping you would answer it, but knew you probably wouldn't.
However, he prayed you would listen to his voicemail.
“Hey, I know I've been messaging you, and you're clearly not reading them, and I know you watched this call ring, and ignored it. But—God, I hope you listen to this.” He paused, licking his lips and carded a shaky hand through his curls, he was about to make a potentially life changing move. “I know why you're ghosting me, and I want you to know that I don't care. If I had cared, I would have never swiped up on you. But I did, because I saw something in you, I feel something with you. I don't know what the hell it is and I want to know what it is. If you would only give me a chance to.” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
“But I'm serious, when I tell you, that I don't care that you're pregnant.” He declared, his voice softening. “Another man's baby or not. I just want a chance to prove myself, and that, to you.” He said, his back straightening as he did.
“Please.”