The young man in front of Wren certainly was something. Not only was he polite enough to not stop her when she rambled on, but he seemed to actually enjoy talking with her. Perhaps that was narcissistic of her to think, but Wren was heavily accustomed to sussing out when people were growing tired of her. Her only problem was finding the will to stop talking, nearly always continuing her muddled monologues until she was left short of breath. Only then did she grant the other person time to excuse themselves and get away from her seemingly never ending train of thought. It was only people like Jay and Quinn who had adapted to her quirks before, simply finding ways to listen comfortably to her verbal tirades that spiralled into unnecessary anecdotes. Other people, who had never met Wren before, struggled to keep up with her at times especially when they got her talking about birds, but the young librarian standing next to her in the aisle, seemed to be taking it in his stride.
His smile, toothy and white and wide enough to make laughter lines crease his face, caused a flutter within Wren’s ribcage. She’d felt the sensation before, of course, and had likened the feeling to the erratic flapping of hummingbird wings. It was a little dizzying and all too familiar, but that just meant she was used to suppressing it.
When overseas, Wren had spent all of her time surrounded by plenty of attractive men, their hair cut regulation short while hers was scraped back into a tight bun. Each of them were stuffed into the same camouflage uniform that was the mark of a US Marine, signalling that they moved as a unit now and were stripped of their individuality. Wren, who had grown up being able to recognise subtle difference between any number of flying feathered creatures, was always able to distinguish the men in her regiment. Lewis from Memphis and Jacob from Detroit and Philip from Chicago were all more than a military number to her. They all had their own backgrounds and stories and quirks. And while it was shallow of her to think so, it had only been human of her to notice that they were all, well, rather attractive. Of course, when covered in scars and bruises as their tour went on, Wren was forced to push those thoughts aside and not blush whenever Lewis lifted a shirt so she could stitch up an open wound or when Jacob unashamedly pushed down his trousers after taking a bullet to the behind.
All in all, Wren had been surrounded by her fair share of attractive men, although none as polite and seemingly put together as the one dressed immaculately in front of her. He had yet to let out a creative and newfound curse word or spit tobacco across the room to prove he could make it go the furthest, but he still made Wren’s heart leap frantically in the same way Philip had the first time he had pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. She was no longer in sandy warzone, so anyone else would think that perhaps she would allow herself give into the flutters. Wren knew better than that though and simply tried to pull herself together, reminding herself that she had no time for dating, not until she had enough tours under her belt to make her father proud.
That didn’t mean she could completely control her reaction when the man clasped her hand in his and commented on her name. ‘Beautiful’, he had called it, and Wren could only think that she immediately ruined the illusion of living up to such a so-called beautiful name when she let out a very ungracious laugh. It was deep and jittery and she began blushing profusely when she realised she was making it very obvious how much the compliment had affected her.
Sinking her teeth into her bottom lip to suppress a giddy grin, Wren’s face lit up excitedly when the man told her his name. It was very nice and very normal and Wren thought that it suited him just fine.
“Henry, I love that name!” she exclaimed, the words bubbling over her mouth before she could stop him. “I actually used to go to school with a boy named Henry but he didn’t like birds as much as I do and, well, you do I’m assuming and he was definitely more of a sports guy which is absolutely fine but I’ve never been all that into things like football and basketball and I can’t really remember which sport that Henry played, but I think it was something to do with a ball and sticks and I think Quinn – that’s my best friend – made a lot of jokes about it…”
She raised a hand to cover her mouth, a nervous giggle erupting from her throat and thankfully being muffled by her palm.
“I don’t think I’m helping much with the distractions because I keep talking and talking and – the book! Yes!” she grinned, immediately hoisting her current textbook further up in her arms so she could hold it easily and follow Henry down the aisle. She found herself gawping at all the books towering high in the shelves above her, wondering how there could be so many. This library was definitely far different than the one at her high school, and not just because the librarian leading her through the winding labyrinth of leather-bound books was a sharp contrast to the one with wrinkled skin that seemed to have a personal vendetta against Wren and Quinn.
At Henry’s triumphant cry, she snapped to attention and watched as he pulled yet another book down from the shelf before handing it out to her. She gratefully reached for it and pressed it against the one she was already holding. While heavy, Wren was used to carrying large loads, such as extensive medical kits. She balanced the weight in her arms and stood up straight, shaking her head at Henry’s question.
“No, I haven’t read anything by him or… well, any other authors really! My dad was much more of a practical teacher and everything I know is from going out with him and my brothers and going birdwatching. We lived in Virginia, you see, and we’re from a mountain town so it was always easy to go into the woods and finding all sorts of birds so I never really thought that reading textbooks would come in handy because my dad knows everything there is about American birds but now that I’m here and there are so many different ones that I haven’t seen before that – well, I’m basically just trying to say thank you for this. I’m excited to read them and I know they’ll be really useful!” she grinned, for once foregoing embarrassment for gratitude.
She felt a little saddened to be leaving Henry so soon, and half-wondered if there were any other books she could ask him about. Her motives were purely innocent. Yes, she thought the man in front of her was remarkably good looking with what was possibly the cutest smile and disposition that she had come across since arriving in New Zealand, but she didn’t wish to stay solely because of that. In fact, she didn’t want to stay because of that at all especially due to her no-dating rule. She simply wanted to prolong her time in Henry’s company because it wasn’t every day that she stumbled across someone as nice as he was with the same affinity for birds as her. Even in Virginia, those people had been hard to come by and were rarely ever her age.
When he piped up and ask her if there was any specific species she was looking for, Wren jumped at the chance to carry on the conversation.
“Oh, well, actually,” she began and hurriedly shifted the weight of her two books onto one arm so she could pull at the strap of her camera around her neck and attempt to turn it on one handed. A beeping noise hit off the shelves around her, loudly echoing around the section of the library they were standing in and Wren smiled sheepishly at Henry. As she navigated her way through the pictures she had taken that morning, finally landing on the bird that had, so far, been unidentifiable to her, Wren thrust the camera towards the other man.
“This is the one I took this morning!” she told him proudly. “Do you recognise it?”
The soft, jittery feeling that seemed to be coursing through Henry's veins, it would seem, had no intentions of stopping anytime soon. His heart pounding in his chest, and tiny butterfly wings fluttering against his ribcage, Henry was almost certain that Wren would hear the very inner workings of his brain if it didn't quieten down some time soon. After introducing himself, he found himself grinning even wider – how was that possible? – when a loud laugh erupted from her lips. It wasn't what you would consider a soft laugh. It wasn't anything like the feigned, or childish, giggles that he so often heard around the library as teenager girls pointed out the objects of their affections. It was nothing like the taunting, cruel laughs that he had grown up surrounded by. No, Wren's laugh was perfectly lovely. It was sweet and a little bit silly, and most of all it was real, sincere. Henry liked the sound of her laugh very much.
Before he could even think of something to say, however, she was off again, telling him all about a Henry she had once known. A boy she had gone to school with.
“Ah, well, I don't think sports are for me,” he interjected, smiling at her. Birds were definitely much more interesting to him than running around a field and possibly injuring himself. He was much too gangly for all of that, he certainly didn't have the coordination for games like soccer or basketball. He wasn't even overly good at pool, and that didn't require a whole lot of movement.
His wide smile softened the more she spoke, an amused look on his face appearing as he ducked his head, a blush rising to his cheeks. The comment about her friend caused a light chuckle to fall from his lips. Whomever Quinn may be, he was sure they had a very different sense of humour to his own, but that didn't mean that he was immune. Glancing up, he realised that Wren, much like himself, seemed a little embarrassed as she covered her mouth to muffle yet another laugh that threatened to make its way through.
“No, certainly not. I don't mind, I quite enjoy listening to you talk,” he spoke, the words falling out before he had half a mind to stop himself. Goodness, it wouldn't do well for him to frighten Wren. After all, she was only looking for a book, not a friend. Flinching slightly at his own stupidity, he stared down at his feet again and scolded himself internally as he lead the way.
When he finally found the book, delighted with how simple it had been, Wren very easily took the book from his grasp and placed it on top of the first one he had found her. It was a strange thought to have, but Henry couldn't help but think that it was an impressive feat. Both books were huge, and very heavy, and his own weak, wiry bones, often struggled to lug his bag home to Messina depending on its contents. Still, it didn't take a lot for a person to be stronger than him, especially as they'd already established that sports and physicality wasn't his strong suit.
His ears perked up as he found Wren, once again, talking about her family and her brothers, his broad smile returning once more. He thought it was really quite lovely that she seemed to have such a close relationship with her siblings – or, rather, from his own understanding in the brief time that they had been talking – and wondered what it must have been like to go birdwatching with his own family. Not that it was an achievable goal, he knew that, but he couldn't help but dream of another universe where they were all happy and together.
“That's wonderful, truly,” he commented, his tone entirely sincere. He'd been mocked and teased for his own interests, teenagers and adults alike throwing around silly words like 'nerd' and 'weirdo', but he didn't see it that way. He didn't think that nerdiness was a negative thing, and he believed that taking such a keen interest in absolutely anything, as long as it was harmless, was to be encouraged. “Your father sounds like an intelligent man. Do your... brothers, I believe you said? Do they share your interest? You went birdwatching together, so... Ah, I assume they probably did, but you're very enthusiastic which is a rare thing to find these days...”
Letting his voice trail off, he found himself laughing once more. It was almost like a game between the two of them. One of them would say something, or lots of somethings, ramble on for a little while, and then blush or laugh and feel a little silly. It felt comforting to know that he was in similar company with Wren, though. She shared his enthusiasm for nature, and she had a penchant for long-winded rambling and awkward blushes. He found it incredibly endearing, and he imagined she must look much less ridiculous than himself.
Excitement bubbled inside of him when she confirmed that she did, in fact, have a particular bird she was interested in finding. While his question had been cheeky, and entirely down to the fact that he was enjoying her company so much, the excitement that he felt was completely genuine. Craning his neck like an overexcited child, he waited as Wren thumbed her way through the contents of her camera, before she finally landed on the image she was searching for.
“Oh, my!” Henry muttered, his eyes widening as he looked at the picture before him. How exciting. “Well, as a matter of fact, I actually do.”
Clasping his hands together, desperate to do something with them that didn't involve him flailing around like a complete buffoon, he let out an excitable giggle, and took a moment to compose himself before elaborating.
“You see, Wren, that is a black-billed Gull,” he announced, looking up and away from the camera, a proud smile filling his features. “They're only found in New Zealand, you see, and they're actually endangered. Wow. I've never seen one in real life.”
Lowing his eyes to the image again, he allowed himself a short moment to full absorb the sight. How incredible that Wren had managed to capture an image – a wonderful photo, at that – of something so close to extinction, and to not even realise the true beauty of what she had stumbled across.
“Captivating, isn't it?” he breathed, his voice low as he glanced up at her once again.