IDF Fic #4: Darwin's Glasses
Myka followed Helena down the aisle in the warehouse. She was fascinated listening to Helena telling stories about various artifacts and her involvement in how they had ended up at the warehouse.
“This little item here is remarkably vicious,” Helena noted as she pointed to Houdini’s wallet.
“Tell me about it,” Myka muttered. Helena raised an eyebrow and Myka chuckled. “It fell into my briefcase and ended up back in my room at Leena’s. I experienced some things I would rather not have.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Helena said in a gentle voice. She placed her hand on Myka’s arm and patted her to show her support. Then she laughed.
“What?” Myka asked curious.
“I had to go on stage, quite scantily dressed, to acquire it,” she said and made a face.
“Really?” Myka drawled. “Tell me.”
“Absolutely not,” Helena huffed.
“Helena, you can’t just say something like that and not share the story,” Myka objected.
“Fine,” Helen said and rolled her eyes. “I was dressed like a can-can dancer. You have no idea what I had to do to get close to the man who had the wallet.”
Myka made a face. Helena chuckled and shook her head.
“Not that,” she said. “So far I’ve only had to sleep with one person to get what I needed.”
“Really?” Myka said and gaped. “Who?”
“Nikola Tesla,” Helena mumbled.
“Tesla?”
”Yes, Tesla,” Helena said and sighed. ”It wouldn’t have been so bad had it not been for that I cared more for him than he for me.”
“I’m sorry,” Myka mumbled.
“Don’t worry, darling. It was a long time ago. I was young and naive.”
“It still hurts,” Myka mumbled. “No matter how old you are.”
Helena linked her arm with Myka’s. She smiled up at her. “Come darling, let’s continue.”
They turned the corner and found themselves in an aisle with primarily office items. Helena read the labels trying to find the one on their list. She stopped short in front of an item.
“John, our Artie, gave me so much grief for putting those in my partner’s suitcase,” Helena said and laughed. “How could I have known that it would turn the entire suitcase into an artifact?”
“You put Darwin’s glasses in a suitcase? Seriously, Helena! You never put glasses in a suitcase!” Myka said upset.
Helena chuckled. “I smell a story.”
“Nothing really,” Myka muttered. “It was a long time ago. So, anyway, what happened with Darwin’s glasses?”
“My partner started to devolve. By the time we figured out what was going on he was pretty much a Neanderthal,” she said and laughed.
Myka frowned. “I thought we evolved from Homo Sapiens.”
Helena shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. His whole cranium changed. He could no longer talk, just grunt. His body hunched over and his muscles became extremely large.”
“Wow,” Myka mumbled. She eyed the glasses warily, reading the label. It pretty much told the same thing Helena had just said.
“He got very excited when he saw me,” Helena muttered and rolled her eyes. “I believe he wanted to mate with me. He chased me around the first class deck until another agent finally caught him. My savior only got a black eye and a broken rib as thank you for his trouble.”
“You let him out?”
“I had to get out!” Helena exclaimed. “He tried to rip my clothes off, Myka!”
“I’m glad he didn’t hurt you,” Myka mumbled, overcome with a sudden protectiveness towards her beautiful coworker. She looked longingly at Helena, wishing that things were different. Myka clasped her hands behind her back so she would not be tempted to pull Helena close.
“You and me both. My lover at the time was very upset with the ordeal.”
“I’m sure he felt bad for not being there to protect you,” Myka said in a gentle voice.
Helena chuckled and turned to face Myka. “My lover was with me, and she most definitely would not have been able to defend me.”
“She? You were with a woman?” Myka gasped surprised.
“I was,” Helena said and smiled. She cocked her head, her dark eyes fixated on Myka. “I’m sure the concept cannot be foreign to you.”
Helena stepped closer and ran her fingertips along Myka’s shoulder. She brushed a lock away and glanced at Myka again.
“No, not really,” Myka whispered.
“But it still surprises you that I had relationships with women?”
“A little, yeah,” Myka said and chuckled. “I mean, it was Victorian England for God’s sake.”
“And we did not do things like that? It would not be proper?” Helena teased.
“Something like that,” Myka mumbled embarrassed.
“Judging from what I’ve seen, I think my love life has been a lot more exciting and daring than the average person these days.”
“Oh is that so?” Myka said and grinned.
Helena ran a finger down Myka’s cheek and then traced her jaw line.
“Yes,” she whispered. She leaned closer and brushed her cheek against Myka’s. “Have you ever let your lover tie you up and make love to you?”
“No I haven’t,” Myka confessed. “As a Secret Service Agent it doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“I see your point,” Helena said. She pulled back a little and looked Myka in the eyes. “It might surprise you, shock you even then that I have indeed tied my lovers and others up many times in the past,” she purred.
“You have?” Myka whispered. “What do you mean by others?”
Helena chuckled and started to move away but Myka grabbed her arm and pulled her back. They looked at each other for a moment and then Helena nodded.
“We had parties,” she mumbled.
“That involved tying each other up?” Myka gasped.
Helena nodded. “Sometimes for some playful punishment, other times for pure pleasure.”
Myka just stared at her. She knew of course what type of sex games Helena was talking about, but she had never ever entertained the thought of engaging in it.
“I have upset you,” Helena said and hung her head. “Do you think less of me?”
“Of course not,” Myka said quickly. She put her hands on Helena’s shoulders. “I have no right to judge you. It was a different time, a different society. For all I know, I might have taken part too.”
“You would most definitely have been a popular addition, darling,” Helena purred.
“Ahem, Helena,” Myka mumbled embarrassed.
“Yes, love?”
“Are you?” Myka blushed. She looked into Helena’s dark eyes. Myka gently touched Helena’s soft cheek. Helena was so beautiful, and definitely out of Myka’s league. She sighed. “Never mind.”
“Please, Myka,” Helena said and took Myka’s hand. “Don’t shut me out. Don’t you know how important you are to me? How dear you are?”
Myka made a face and shook her head. “I’m just plain old Myka. You are HG Wells. I can’t even come close to…” Helena’s gentle fingertips pressed against Myka’s lips stopping her ranting.
“Myka, darling,” Helena said and titled her head. “You are a very attractive woman. Someone I find myself drawn to. You are in my dreams at night, and in my mind during the day. I have even found myself wanting to write about you.”
“Helena,” Myka whispered and just stared at her.
“So I ask you, what are your feelings for me?”
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” Myka whispered.
“Would I dare ask for a kiss, or would it only grant me a slap across the face?” Helena teased.
Myka laughed at the request. She slowly shook her head at Helena’s mischievous words and grinned at her. She pulled Helena closer and wrapped her arms around Helena’s slender waist. Helena curled her arm around Myka’s neck while caressing her cheek. Myka’s eyes fluttered shut and she sighed softly as Helena’s lips brushed against hers. Her hands moved and she buried her fingers in Helena’s thick hair, pulling her closer as she met Helena’s questioning tongue. Myka felt Helena tremble and pressed her up against the shelf.
“Yo, Myka!”
Myka tore her lips away from Helena. Helena rolled her eyes and chuckled.
“Over here Claud,” Myka said loudly and took a step away from Helena.
Helena ran a fingertip down Myka’s exposed forearm. Myka took a deep breath and met Helena’s dark eyes.
“Later darling,” Helena whispered.
*** *** ***
Later at Leena’s, Myka curled up in her favorite chair by the fire. Dinner had been quiet and comfortable with just her, Helena and Leena. Pete and Claudia had decided to go see a movie and grab some pizza. Myka smiled to herself as she thought of how nice and big brother-like Pete had been to Claudia lately, after Todd’s disappearance back into witness protection. Claudia seemed to really enjoy spending time with Pete, which sometimes was not exactly a good thing, since the two had a tendency to get each other in trouble. Myka looked up from her book as someone entered the room.
“Hello darling,” Helena said cheerfully. “Would you mind me joining you?”
Myka shook her head. “Of course not. You have the same right to be here as I.”
“Of course, but it is still polite to ask,” Helena said and sank down in the chair across from her. “Had I sensed that you wanted privacy, I would not have entered.”
“Helena,” Myka whispered with a pained expression on her face. “You are part of the team. You’re welcome anywhere around here at all times. You don’t have to ask permission. Please know that, okay?”
Helena nodded seriously. “Thank you darling. I’m still struggling with settling in I’m afraid. I often find myself feeling like an outsider. Sometimes I don’t even know if it is English that I hear around here. There are times when it feels very foreign to me to be here.”
Myka chuckled and nodded. “You’re not the only one having trouble with Claudia and Pete’s expressions. I am the book nerd, you know,” she said and made a face. “I don’t know much about computer games and comics, or even certain movies for that matter.”
“So in fact you and I are more alike than you and Pete,” Helena pointed out.
“I guess, though you are way out of my league Helena,” Myka said and laughed.
“Why do you say that?” Helena asked confused.
“You’re HG Wells,” Myka mumbled. “One of the most brilliant minds in recent history, inventor of incredible things, including a whole new genre of literature,” Myka sighed and shot Helena a quick glance. “You’re the smartest and most intriguing person I’ve ever met.”
“Thank God for that! At least I have something going for me,” Helena exclaimed. She got up and crossed the floor to where Myka was sitting. She knelt before her and took Myka’s hand. “You describe who I was, not who I am. Here in this world I’m but a mere antique; a relic of a world extinct. I don’t understand the basic things that you take for granted. You’ve been my guide on more things than anyone since I finished my schooling. Myka, I look to you for guidance and knowledge.”
Myka smiled. “Perhaps we are on equal footing after all?”
“We absolutely are,” Helena said with emphasis. “Myka, darling, I have never wanted to be worshipped. I am who I am, and nothing can be done about that. If you can care about me the way I am, including all my flaws, then I have truly succeeded, and will consider myself fortunate.”
“I’m not sure I know what you want from me Helena,” Myka mumbled. “You tease and you flirt, you kiss me and then you laugh and walk away. Maybe I’m supposed to get it, but I don’t.”
Helena caressed Myka’s cheek. “I want to court you Myka. I want to be the one that makes you blush in anticipation of kisses and intimate touches, the one you have secrets with, intimate secrets at that. Yes I tease and flirt. It is a hard habit to break,” she said and made a face. “Perhaps if you know that it is only with you, that will make you feel more comfortable with my antics?”
Myka chuckled and nodded. “What makes you so sure that I want to pursue a relationship with a woman? With you?” she said and smirked, but her eyes twinkled.
“I… well,” Helena was stunned, speechless. She looked Myka in the eyes and finally realized that Myka was teasing her. “You’re a naughty young woman.”
“I’m starting to figure you out,” Myka said smugly. “I need to keep you on a short leash.”
Helena huffed. She got up and looked down at Myka. Myka took her hands and pulled her down on her lap. Helena laughed and wrapped her arms around Myka’s neck.
“Even so, this is delightful.”
“I like this cuddly HG Wells,” Myka teased. “Who knew that one of our greatest authors likes to cuddle?”
Helena leaned against her with her head on Myka’s shoulder. “I haven’t cuddled with anyone in a very long time Myka,” she whispered.
Myka stroked Helena’s hair and rested her hand on Helena’s thigh. It felt so right to hold her.
“We joke and we tease, but I know that you really like this,” Myka whispered.
“I do, darling. I most definitely do.”
Helena sat up and cupped Myka’s face. She kissed her very softly on the lips. Myka sighed and pressed her lips firmer against Helena’s. She whimpered softly when Helena’s tongue traced her upper lip before meeting hers in a slow caress. Myka pulled Helena closer, moving her hands over Helena’s hips and up her back. A soft chuckle made them separate.
“I see the two of you are getting along fine,” Leena teased. She sat down across from them. “How long have you been hiding this?”
“About an hour,” Helena muttered, annoyed at the interruption.
“Helena,” Myka warned. “It’s new Leena. Very new.”
“I can tell by the brightness of your auras,” she teased. She got up again. “Well, don’t mind me. I’ll make myself scarce.”
“You don’t have to,” Myka said embarrassed and pushed on Helena for her to get off her lap. Helena wrapped her arms around her neck, refusing to move. “Helena and I can go upstairs.”
“What a delightful idea,” Helena said cheerfully.
“Helena,” Myka warned. “Behave.”
Helena chuckled and kissed her cheek. Leena shook her head and left the room.
“Helena,” Myka mumbled. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“She understands,” Helena said. “New love is selfish. We need time to get to know each other. To be alone,” she leaned closer. “To be intimate,” she whispered.
Myka blushed and swallowed. “Perhaps we should go on a date before we get to that?”
“If you absolutely insist,” Helena said and sighed dramatically. “I think it is an awful waste of time. It will end the same anyway.”
“Oh will it now?” Myka said and laughed. “With me naked?”
“Exactly!” Helena said and laughed.
“I must admit that the thought of being naked in bed with you is very appealing,” Myka mumbled.
“Isn’t it?” Helena purred.
“Perhaps we should go upstairs after all,” Myka mumbled.
Helena laughed and slipped off of Myka’s lap. She held out her hand to Myka and together they rushed upstairs.
Leena chuckled and shook her head as she heard the laughter and running on the stairs.
THE END