Title: Holding Back
Author/Artist: Ariyana
Theme: Stage 1 Attraction
Rating: 13+ Some Caution
Word Count: 320
Author's Notes: I went with movie verse but some of the characterizations will be a blend of the comic and movie. My apologies if the characters seem a little OOC. I've tried my best to stay true to them. The stories contained in this collection are for Live journal community Stages of Love. So this follows the progression of Mina and Henry's relationship.

X

X

The first time he really looks at her, they are standing on the deck waiting for the solar panels to charge. He sees the way she looks at the vast ocean; he notices the sunlight glinting off her hair. He shortly decides she is beautiful and out of his league.

"Well Henry, I see you're already giving up like the coward you are!" the voice inside his mind scolds him.

He ignores the voice and continues to stand in the background watching as Gray talks to her followed by Sawyer. If they are the competition, he is already beaten.

"A whelp and a priss? Competition? Let me out I'll make short work of them both!"

Henry says nothing; he merely walks inside at Nemo's beckoning. Why should someone like Mrs. Harker be interested in a man like himself?

xXx

She can feel several pairs of eyes on her. She is determined to ignore them. Dorian tries to speak to her, she shrugs him off. She doesn't want to succumb to old feelings left between them. Sawyer sweetly flirts with her, she sighs heavily and shrugs him off as well.

She walks toward her cabin, out the corner of her eye she notices Jekyll glance her way but he says nothing and continues on his way. She stops a moment, a frown forming on her lips. The one person on the ship that knows what it feels like to have a monster inside is avoiding her. She doesn't expect anything from him but she had hoped that they could be comrades.

"Something wrong, Mrs. Harker?" Nemo asks, startling her from her thoughts.

"No, nothing is wrong," she replies, walking off toward her cabin.

Perhaps it is her vanity that is causing her annoyance at being snubbed but nonetheless she hopes that she will be able to speak with Jekyll soon. Two monsters like them should have quite a bit in common.