The Best Man
Author: Regency
Title: The Best Man
Fandom: Sanctuary
Rating: G
Category: UST, angst, drama, humor(, maybe cracky), romance
Pairing: implied Nikola/Helen UST, implied Henry/Helen UST
Word count: ~611
Summary: Henry and Nikola vie for Helen’s favor by presenting her with the gift of gadgets.
Author’s Notes: Written for the comment_fic prompt, Sanctuary, Tesla & Henry, out-inventing each other (with tech) for Helen’s attention.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters recognizable as being from Sanctuary. They are the property of their producers, writers, and studios, not me. No copyright infringement was intended and no money was made in the writing or distribution of this story. It was good, clean fun.
~!~
A virtual reality training simulator. Sure, Henry had been working on it for months with Helen's permission, but it was finally done. Tesla was unimpressed if that sneer he tried to pass off as polite approval was anything to go by.
A personal cloaking device. It had been a true stroke of genius; Tesla's nanocytes and their blood, programmed to do just about anything. These were programmed to make someone refract light, or cause the user to appear invisible. Helen had agreed to test it and Henry had hurriedly volunteered to go with. Magnus was out of sight--though not out of mind--for half an hour. No one saw Henry for two days. The good doctor had not been pleased with Nikola; Henry was somewhat comforted by that.
A self-drying umbrella. Nikola had laughed but Henry'd had the last laugh when Helen had stepped, grinning, out of an Old City downpour without leaving a puddle in the doorway.
An eternal rose in bloom. The former vamp had meant well--for him anyway--but he'd known from the flash of sadness in her eyes that he'd done more to hurt her than win her over. He didn't quite have the courage to tell her it reminded him of her. Unlike other roses, not only did its scent linger, its beauty did as well. Henry understood them both too well and when neither was looking, he ‘d bought her a regular rose and signed it, Nikola. Because it made her smile again.
The 'Ashley' crossbow. Henry mentioned its name in passing and explained its function at length. It was a petite piece of handiwork; strong and glimmering, with a hint of play in its shining finish. He didn't tell her that Ashley had been helping him design alternatives to the handguns she had been using. She didn't think they were effective enough. She'd wanted to go 'back to basics' and he'd gone right along, as he always had when they were young. Instead of being theirs together, it was all hers instead. This big bang in a small package was all her daughter's legacy. He hoped she’d love it, but she never said. He supposed her tears said everything she needed to.
A thermal blazer. It wasn't the most innovative thing he'd ever created and he certainly hadn't revolutionized the technology, but she'd looked cold on the roof overlooking Old City. She was hugging a nasty-looking weapon to her chest and her eyes were shut so tight, he thought she must have gone blind. He forgot how much he relied on her cool blue eyes to tell him where he stood, he forgot until he couldn't see them and badly missed them.
He draped the blazer on her shoulders and smoothed his fingers down the sleeves. He felt the minute tremble of her muscles as she fought to maintain her hard-won control. It hurt him to see her in pain, to see her grieve this intensely. It hurt him because he knew that he might have been the same if it had been her. Nikola may have been a vampire, but he wasn't completely dead.
He just couldn't help her. Nanocytes and chemicals and physics he could do. The heart was a test subject for different sort of mad man.
He leaned forward and dropped a kiss to the graceful curve of her jaw. She didn't flinch, simply burrowing into the jacket's hidden warmth, and he was gladdened by that small victory. Somewhat.
"I'll get wolfboy. Try to keep warm."
She didn't protest and as he walked away, he knew that, for the moment, the best man for her had won.
Title: The Best Man
Fandom: Sanctuary
Rating: G
Category: UST, angst, drama, humor(, maybe cracky), romance
Pairing: implied Nikola/Helen UST, implied Henry/Helen UST
Word count: ~611
Summary: Henry and Nikola vie for Helen’s favor by presenting her with the gift of gadgets.
Author’s Notes: Written for the comment_fic prompt, Sanctuary, Tesla & Henry, out-inventing each other (with tech) for Helen’s attention.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters recognizable as being from Sanctuary. They are the property of their producers, writers, and studios, not me. No copyright infringement was intended and no money was made in the writing or distribution of this story. It was good, clean fun.
~!~
A virtual reality training simulator. Sure, Henry had been working on it for months with Helen's permission, but it was finally done. Tesla was unimpressed if that sneer he tried to pass off as polite approval was anything to go by.
A personal cloaking device. It had been a true stroke of genius; Tesla's nanocytes and their blood, programmed to do just about anything. These were programmed to make someone refract light, or cause the user to appear invisible. Helen had agreed to test it and Henry had hurriedly volunteered to go with. Magnus was out of sight--though not out of mind--for half an hour. No one saw Henry for two days. The good doctor had not been pleased with Nikola; Henry was somewhat comforted by that.
A self-drying umbrella. Nikola had laughed but Henry'd had the last laugh when Helen had stepped, grinning, out of an Old City downpour without leaving a puddle in the doorway.
An eternal rose in bloom. The former vamp had meant well--for him anyway--but he'd known from the flash of sadness in her eyes that he'd done more to hurt her than win her over. He didn't quite have the courage to tell her it reminded him of her. Unlike other roses, not only did its scent linger, its beauty did as well. Henry understood them both too well and when neither was looking, he ‘d bought her a regular rose and signed it, Nikola. Because it made her smile again.
The 'Ashley' crossbow. Henry mentioned its name in passing and explained its function at length. It was a petite piece of handiwork; strong and glimmering, with a hint of play in its shining finish. He didn't tell her that Ashley had been helping him design alternatives to the handguns she had been using. She didn't think they were effective enough. She'd wanted to go 'back to basics' and he'd gone right along, as he always had when they were young. Instead of being theirs together, it was all hers instead. This big bang in a small package was all her daughter's legacy. He hoped she’d love it, but she never said. He supposed her tears said everything she needed to.
A thermal blazer. It wasn't the most innovative thing he'd ever created and he certainly hadn't revolutionized the technology, but she'd looked cold on the roof overlooking Old City. She was hugging a nasty-looking weapon to her chest and her eyes were shut so tight, he thought she must have gone blind. He forgot how much he relied on her cool blue eyes to tell him where he stood, he forgot until he couldn't see them and badly missed them.
He draped the blazer on her shoulders and smoothed his fingers down the sleeves. He felt the minute tremble of her muscles as she fought to maintain her hard-won control. It hurt him to see her in pain, to see her grieve this intensely. It hurt him because he knew that he might have been the same if it had been her. Nikola may have been a vampire, but he wasn't completely dead.
He just couldn't help her. Nanocytes and chemicals and physics he could do. The heart was a test subject for different sort of mad man.
He leaned forward and dropped a kiss to the graceful curve of her jaw. She didn't flinch, simply burrowing into the jacket's hidden warmth, and he was gladdened by that small victory. Somewhat.
"I'll get wolfboy. Try to keep warm."
She didn't protest and as he walked away, he knew that, for the moment, the best man for her had won.