#ladygrim

‘Hey, what’s that?’ Jessica peered over at your phone, noticing you were staring a some chat message. You shrugged, quickly tucking the device back into your pocket. ‘Nothing.’ You smiled, stepping back a bit as Jessica stretched out her neck even further, curious by your sudden exhibition of mysterious shyness. ‘Nothing? Oh come on. Show me.’ She demanded, stretching out her hand. ‘Mm..don’t think that’s wise. Corona and all?’ You shrugged, knowing full well that even without the Corona virus you’d never had shown your phone to Jessica. You just knew that Jessica would have hijacked the conversation, stealing your phone for long enough to find out who the mysterious SirEltharin was.

‘What’s up with you today?’ Jessica shook her head, her body turning back to look into the mirror and apply some new lipgloss. ‘Nothing. It’s just..weird to be back. I mean. It’s literally been months. I haven’t been home alone that long..like..ever.’ You widened your eyes and also moved to look back into the mirror, your hip leaning into the sink.

‘So did Henry Cavill say anything to you? I saw you standing at his table Grimmy.’ Jess tried to sound only mildly interested, the brush of her lipgloss slowly gliding over her pouting lips.

‘Jess..ugh..you’re incorrigible.’ You rolled your eyes. ‘His table just wanted to order some drinks, nothing more.’

‘Right. And that’s why he rushed to the men’s room right after you left in a hurry?’ She clicked her tongue, laughing merrily. ‘Highly HIGHLY doubt it.’

You knit your brows together. Was it…? No. It couldn’t be. Like ..what were the chances your mysterious Insta-friend was some A-list celebrity. Ha. That’d be TOTALLY ridiculous.

‘Well I highly doubt there’s any correlation. I just had to use the restroom..and so did he..most probably.’ You shrugged and walked back out of the ladies room, waving Jess goodbye. ‘Got to go before the boss lord fires the both of us for lazying around. See ya later Jess.’  

Before long you were swallowed back into the hectics of work, your feet zipping past the neatly laid out tables as you carried trays of food, your thoughts about SirEltharin easily pushed to the background.

One o’clock at night. Your first day back at work had been exhausting. Perhaps because your team had been slightly understaffed for the amount of guests. Perhaps because you weren’t used to working together anymore after such a long hiatus. And perhaps, just maybe, you, personally, had spent a bit too much energy gawking at Henry Cavill whenever you could, his eyes meeting yours every now and then. Jess was right. He was a total snack.

But now you were back at home. Reality settled in again. And that mysterious message still remained unanswered. Opening your Instagram your eyes immediately fell back on SirEltharin’s last message.

SirEltharin - ‘I think we need to talk.’ - 5 hours ago

‘I think we need to talk.’ You leaned into the old oak desk, your head tilting slightly as you crossed your arms. He didn’t look up, too engrossed with his brush as it stroked in minituous movements over the tiny plastic wings, their size no bigger than a thumb nail. A very nicely manicured thumbnail that belonged to one bear of a man.

‘Mmm.’ He hummed, encouraging you to go on, his eyes still trained on the tiny object between his fingers.

‘Babe.’ You sighed, your hand hooking under his chin and tilting his head back so he had no other choice but to look at you.

‘Yes dear?’ He smiled sweetly, albeit clear his attention was still elsewhere.

Talk, you mimed, your lips speaking soundless words, your eyes widening as he still seemed reluctant to the idea of talking, his eyes quickly flicking back to the miniature in his left hand.

‘Okay okay. Give me a moment to store this away.’ He sighed, offering you his sweetest of puppy eyes. Rolling your eyes you gave in, a soft chuckle escaping your lips as you crossed your arms again. ‘Go on then.’

With nimble fingers he placed the little wings back on a toothpick, ready to dry along with the other hundreds of small items that were pinned into the piece of styrofoam at the end of the desk. Your eyes followed his moves with interest, travelling back and forth as he moved to settle everything just right. When he seemed to be stalling a bit too much, you cleared your throat, alarming him to not test your patience.

‘Okay! Done!’ He quickly turned in his chair, smiling sweetly while looking up at you, your body still leaning against the desk. You sighed and looked down at him, trying your best to be stern but also desperately failing. Those big blue eyes could make you do and say anything, really.  

‘What is it dear?’ He smirked, looping his hands around your wrists and pulling you closer to him, your body automatically stepping into the room between his legs, his arms quick to circle your waist.

‘You and I had a deal, remember?’ You quirked your head waiting for him to process, seeing the little cogs and wheels turning in his head. Then he remembered, his eyes clearing as his smile grew. The deal. Ah yes, the deal.

‘I remember, sweetheart.’

‘No more secrets.’ You reminded him.

‘Absolutely.’ He smiled, squeezing your buttocks with his large hands. You widened your eyes, admonishing him for his cheeky behaviour - literally cheeky.

‘So, why is the door to the garage locked?’ You raised an eyebrow.

‘Oh..that.’ He swallowed a chuckle, his teeth quick to bite his lip.

‘Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill. Are you keeping secrets from me?’ Your eyes widened even further, when his chuckle burst through, his lips turning into a wide grin.

‘Don’t be Grim, baby.’ He cooed, kissing your navel through the thin material of your shirt.

‘No playing games with me, good Sir.’ You tilted up his head again with a finger, raising your eyebrow in question. ‘Now tell me what you are up to.’

‘Well..okay..’ He got up at once, his height towering over you all of a sudden. He smiled down upon you, his hands moving to gently cup your face.

‘Paint Hen. Paint.’ You protested, but he didn’t stop, his thumbs now brushing over your cheeks.

‘Sshh it’s fine. My hands are clean.’

‘And your conscience? Clean as well?’

‘I guess you’ll have to see for yourself?’ He shrugged, playfully pecking your lips.

‘Henry.. I don’t like surprises..you know that, I..’ He turned you around with the least bit of effort, his hands settling in your lower back as he pushed you in the direction of the hallway, down the stairs and to the garage.

From his pockets he retrieved a pair of keys, making you gasp softly. Ah! So that’s where they went! The sneaky bear! The garage had this really old lock with only one set of keys - near impossible to get copied - and so usually it was unlocked, except for today. You had found it more then a little strange. Why would he want to suddenly start locking the garage? It was just the door from the hallway to the garage, there was no need to lock it..right? Did he buy something silly again? Oh please don’t let it be like a sea of a thousand roses or some corny shit like that. You always thought such a thing was a waste of money.

‘Okay, now, close your eyes.’

‘Oh Hen..no… No surprises. Come on. Just…’

‘Close. Your. Eyes.’ He pleaded gently, kissing your forehead.

‘Am I going to ..like..this?’

‘Stop talking.’ He chuckled, slowly turning the key in its crunchy old lock, your eyes now finally closed.

Please don’t let it be corny. Please don’t let it be corny.

Henry looped his arm around your lower back and walked the two of you inside, halting you somewhere in the middle of the garage. It was…strange. Wasn’t the car usually here? Oh dear… Did he make it into some tacky game room with big black leather seats? He had fantasized about it the other day. Oh please no. That’d be so..

‘Open your eyes.’ Your thoughts slowed as you opened your eyes to see…wait..what? This was not a thousand roses, or a bunch of stinky black leather couches. No. It was..a landscape..table? You moved closer, the TL light flickering above your head as you quirked your head, finally realising what it probably was. Ah.

‘Is this what I think it is?’ You looked back at Henry with a glint of surprise in your eyes. Henry shrugged casually.

‘A Warhammer ..game table?’ You started to giggle as you saw Henry’s eyes glimmer with boyish enthusiasm, even though he truly tried his best to play it down like it was nothing. It was more than a little clear he was enjoying every second of it.

‘Ah you know, it’s a shared hobby of ours and..the shelves are running out of space..so..I..’

You turned back to further examine the table. Deep oak wood just like the furniture in the study - it would probably fit just perfect there. And from the looks of it, it was made to offer the player full flexibility, thousands of tiny holes making a large grid, which could be used to secure building structures or landscaping elements. For now there were already a few of them placed, creating a small little sci-fi town at the far end of the table.

‘It’s got drawers too.’ Henry noted, stepping in and pulling at the sides, long drawers opening there. ‘Good for the pieces we want to hide slash store away. Separate armour pieces, guns, ..’

Your soft giggle turning into laughter. ‘Oh my dear lords Henry..hahahahaHAHA.’

‘What? Is it bad? Too dorky?’ His face fell a little flat, worrying that you didn’t like it.

‘Oh no. It’s just like.. like telling a woman; oh, and the dress’s got pockets too.’ You laughed as Henry gave you an even more puzzled look.

‘Which is..?’

‘Good Henry. It’s good. It’s great. Oh my. Praise be the God Emperor!’

You turned back to face Henry, your lips still stretched in a wide smile. He grinned, relieved you liked it, then stepped back behind you, looping his arms around you and laying his head on your shoulder. Your eyes kept travelling across the board, taking in the little details. 

‘Hey..is that..are these our..?’ Your laughter quieted down for a moment as your fingers brushed over golden letters that were lain into the wood.

‘Initials. Yes.’ He nuzzled your neck.

‘What?’ You blurted out, your voice laced with your confusion. Like, you totally understood why he wanted to have such a table. Especially with the vast collection of miniatures he had collected and painted by now. But have your initials there too?

‘At the other side you can also find our in-game names.’ He pointed at another set of shiny letters.

‘SirEltharin?’

‘And LadyGrim. Mhm.’ He nodded into your neck, playfully biting your ear, his body pressing you into the table, your hip now stuck between the table and a very happy-to-see-you Henry. You twisted your body slightly so you could look him in the eye, your hip still stuck between him and the table.

‘Why?’ You asked, completely flabbergasted by this ridiculous gesture. You had been dating for a year now. And let’s be honest. Most of your relationships would end by this time. Guys would lose interest. Cheat. Start to become big boychilds who nagged you until you snapped. But Henry? Oh no. He ordered a custom made Warhammer game table with both your names engraved into it. Like..really just…why?

‘Because I really, really love you. From the moment I first saw you I just knew.’

‘Embarrassingly so.’ You added.

‘Yes..a bit, hmm?’

‘You stared all night.’

‘And you didn’t even know I was..well..like..that you knew me.’

‘Yea..you sneaky bugger.’

‘Will you ever forgive me?’

‘Mmm..gotta keep working on that.’ You tutted. ‘Maybe, repay in kind?’

‘What kind..hmm?’ He hummed.

‘Oh..you know..’ You pushed your hip into his groin, making some room for yourself to turn and face him, his body not wasting a moment to pin you back to the table, his frame crowding you as he leaned in, his lips hovering mere inches away from you.

‘Like..this?’ He leaned down for a heated kiss, his soft lips feeling like hot little pillows on yours, his dimpled chin scratching you just a little. And you liked it, humming into the kiss, his hands now pinning you fully into the table, spread at either side of your body.

‘Maybe.’ You sighed against his lips.

‘Well, at least I started..’ He grinned.

‘Gotta keep up with the practice.’ You agreed, squealing as he easily picked you up, his hands pulling your legs at either side of his hip.

‘Now let’s see if there’s more we can make on here.’ He growled, bending you backwards over the table, your arms now sprawling up over your head and your back flat on the pinboard like structure. You sure must have looked like you were some kind of large space monster, your arms only missing the little village with mere inches as you squealed and writhed beneath Henry’s administrations.

Let’s just say that his hands were not only good at painting tiny miniatures.

‘Oh you are quite something Sir.’ You breathed, your eyes meeting in between passionate kisses, his hands drifting down to the hemline of your skirt.

‘Always sweet LadyGrim. Always.’ He smiled.  

‘Hmm..I think I might need to change my name.’ You smiled, giggling as he brushed feather light fingers over the inside of your thighs.

‘I can help with that.’ He whispered.

You crooked up an eyebrow. ‘Can you?’