Title: To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world
Title: To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world
Author: kaitlia777
Author's e-mail/website: kaitlia777@yahoo.com
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Summary: Prompt: Artifact ~ Talisman of Love and Lust
Type / Pairings: Steve/Claudia
Main characters: Claudia Donovan, Steve Jinks
Rating: M
Warnings: Here there be smut.
Spoilers: If it’s aired in the US, then it’s fair game!
Beta: N/A
Disclaimer: Don’t own any of the recognizable character, just taking them out to play!
Author's Notes: Yeah, yeah, I know Jinks is gay, but this is fanfic, I can ship who I want, lol. Besides, I like to think of it like Ianto said about his relationship with Jack, “It’s not men, it’s just him…Only him.” But for Jinks, it’s only her. I know, I overthink.
It had started off like any day, with Artie shoving files under their noses as they huddled, half-awake over coffee and Danishes in the B&B’s parlor. “Two pings. Myka, Pete, Buffalo, suspicious bird migrations. Steve, Claudia, Miami, unexplained occurrences of…public affections and spontaneous combustion. Other couples who were not caught en-flagrante have been reporting being ‘drugged’, but were able to find somewhere private to…well, you get the idea.”
Which was Arties way of saying couples all over Miami were randomly unable to keep their hands off of each other and were having sex in public places. The few who’d been stopped before completing the deed had spontaneously combusted in holding cells. Not fun.
Well, Pete thought it sounded like they got the ‘fun’ case, but Claudia disagreed.
A bit of research revealed the couples in question had all visited the same relationship counselor only hours before their incidents, so, posing as a couple, she and Steve met with the woman and discretely inspected the office. They were very careful not to touch any of the knickknacks the woman had placed around the room, as you could never tell what was going to be an Artifact…but their caution was pointless.
Nothing reacted to the neutralizer spray…though the counselor now thought they were both insane.
“Well, that sucked,” Claudia said, leaning against the elevator wall as they rode up toward their hotel rooms. It was late and the hot, humid Miami day had drained them. A decision had been made to turn in and get a fresh start in the morning.
Directly across the small space, Steve mirrored her pose, letting his head fall forward as he nodded in agreement. “On the plus side, no one tried to kill us.”
Considering how often that happened, Claudia couldn’t help but smile in agreement. As a yawn fought its way out of her, she stretched her arms above her head, enjoying the pull of tight muscles….
A rush of heat spread from her lower belly, rushing through her faster than any arousal she’d ever known and she gasped, hearing the sound echoed by Steve, gaping at her with wide eyes.
“Oh, shit,” they chorused, all at once knowing they had somehow been exposed to the Artifact they were supposed to be bagging.
This was bad on so many levels.
Across the scant few feet that separated them, Claudia could see the muscles tense in Steve’s arms as he gripped the rail behind himself hard enough to turn his knuckles white. His eyes were on her, hot and intense in a way that made her shiver and gasp. “Claudia,” he said in a strangled voice, trailing off to clench his jaw and swallow hard.
His Adams apple bobbed and she watched as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his neck. She heard a small noise that sounded like a cross between a moan and a sigh. It took a moment for her to realize she had made that sound, mind flooded with hormones and Artifact enhanced lust.
Before she could say anything coherent, Steve had pushed off of his wall and crossed to her, standing close enough so that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body. Her pulse jumped as his hands landed on her hips and he leaned down to capture her mouth with his own. It was surprisingly not-awkward and Claudia returned the attention, hot and hard and a little messy. A small, still aware portion of her mind noted how soft his lips were, an interesting contrast to the late day stubble on his chin.
By the time they broke apart, they were both gasping for air, but that didn’t stop him from working his way across her jaw and down the side of her neck, pausing to suck gently on the tense tendons there. His hands slid up her sides, delving under her shirt and she gripped the back of his neck, pulling him closer. “Oh, God," she gasped against his ear, arching her body into his.
“Gotta be the Artifact,” he groaned, but that didn't stop him from grasping her thighs and lifting, urging her to wrap them around his waist. One of his hands, big and strong, slid up to cup her ass, kneading the muscle there as he easily supported her weight.
“Steve,” she said shakily, trying to focus but finding it really, really difficult. There were reasons they should not do this. Lots of reasons…“What…I mean, how’re we…I don’t want to burn….”
The tremor in her voice seemed to penetrate the fog in his head and Steve met her eyes, pressing their brows together for a quick moment. “That’s not gonna happen,” he said, kissing her again, this time softer and sweeter. Some of the intense, almost painful lust had receded once they touched, but the mind addling desire and heat was still simmering between them and they both knew what had happened to the people who had been affected and kept apart.
The elevator shuddered to a stop and when the doors opened, Steve strode out, carrying Claudia past a slightly scandalized looking older woman and her amused husband. Getting the door to Steve’s room open was a bit of a challenge, as he fumbled with using the swipe card without breaking the kiss they were locked in.
Once inside the room it seemed to take forever to reach the bed, as they bumped into walls and the one chair. Together, they tumbled onto the scratchy bedspread, hands roaming, tugging at clothing to access skin. She wasn’t quite sure how or when they both ended up shirtless, but the feel of skin on skin, of Steve’s hard chest pressed to her breasts wrenched a groan from her.
Both of them still wore their jeans, but she could feel him, hot and hard, pressed against her. Steve’s hips had settled between her thighs and, as they continued to kiss, Claudia experimentally bucked up into him. The friction was delicious and Steve gasped, clearly as pleased by her action as she was. In a sudden spark of clarity, she realized she was feeling an echo of everything he felt, just like when he was hurt.
Double Artifact induced arousal was a total brain scrambler.
When he latched onto her neck again, Claudia shook herself a mentally and said, “Steve…I’ve never done this.”
It came out in a rush and he stilled, mouth hovering at her clavicle as he looked up to meet her gaze. She could read the conflict in his eyes and hurried to reassure him, smiling and tugging slightly on his head, encouraging him to continue with what he had been doing. “I wasn’t saying stop, just FYI,” she said and she was relieved when he gave a quick nod and returned to what he was doing.
His proceed to wander down her neck and over her shoulders, finally stopping at her breasts. Steve cupped her gently before bringing his mouth down, hands continuing to massage sensitive flesh. She felt like fireworks were going off in her brain as he sucked a nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the already stiff and aching peak. The sensation caused her to arch up into him, pressing further into the warm, wet heat of his mouth.
Eventually, he released her nipple with a pop, leaving it damp and swollen, then smoothly moved to the other, biting lightly, and Claudia moaned at the feeling of mixed pleasure and a tiny hint of pain.
She squirmed under him, trying to realign their bodies, wanting to feel the friction of his hardness against her center, but, due to the difference in their heights, she can’t quite manage it.
Steve finally moved beyond her breasts, pausing to press a soothing kiss over her heart, sliding down her body and kissing her low on her belly, just above the button of her jeans. His fingers make quick work of it and the zipper. By this point, all semblance of modesty had left her and Claudia lifted her hips, allowing him to strip her pants and panties down her legs, kicking her boots off when the clothes tangled around them.
Even through the burning haze of lust, she felt a sense of surprise when he hooked one of her legs over his shoulder, dragging his tongue along her inner thigh before taking a long, slow lick along her core. Claudia jumped a little when he slid a finger into her, then a second, latching onto the little bud of nerves and worrying it with his tongue.
She’d never felt anything like this, the fire coursing through her body and she nearly sobbed, hands finding Steve’s head to hold him where he was, desperate for relief. When it came, it hit like…she didn’t have a frame of reference, a burst of pure pleasure rushing through her entire body in waves as he coached her through the aftershocks.
For a moment, she tried to catch her breath, but despite the intense orgasm, she still felt itchy, hot and desperate. Steve…that had to be what he was feeling. “Steve,” she murmured, letting out a surprised huff as he heaved himself back up her body to kiss her, his lips and tongue tasting of her. Her hands ran down his back, scraping her nails over his smooth, damp, feverish skin and enjoying the way he shuddered against her.
Together, they managed to wrestle him out of his jeans, pausing only to allow him to fish a condom out of his wallet and slide it on. He moved between her legs again and she could feel the tension in his body, could see that he was struggling to hold back for her sake even as the effects of the artifact urged him to just push into her, do anything to stop the sound of blood pounding and hormones racing.
Reaching down, Claudia wrapped a hand around Steve, causing him to choke and thrust into her grip. She could feel the heat of his skin through the thin latex as she drew him towards her, wrapping her legs around him as she felt the tip of his erection brushing against the wet entrance to her body.
He slid into her slowly and she tried to relax, muscles stretching in new and interesting ways until he stopped, encountering resistance within her body. Locking eyes with Steve, she nodded, urging him forward and letting out a small huff as a quick, sharp pain let her know she was officially no longer a virgin. It burned as he continued to press forward, but that was dulled by the waves of pleasure rolling off of Steve and, once his hips were flush to hers, she wrapped her legs more firmly around his hips.
“You okay, Claudia?” he asked in a shaky voice, trembling as he held himself above her, his face turning redder by the moment. “We should…wait a second….”
“It’s okay,” she said and truly, the worst of the pain had dissipated. “You can move. I want you to.”
Pressing his lips gently to hers, Steve pulled his hips back before thrusting again. The echo of his arousal caused her own to build again and Claudia moved with him, matching him stroke for stroke, finding an easy rhythm in this as they did in everything else. As his movements became erratic, she was surprised to feel the rough pad of his thumb brushing her clit and the combination of sensations set her off again, causing her body to contract around him.
Steve gave a hoarse shout and thrust forward once more, rigid in her trembling embrace. After a long moment, they both gasped for air, falling bonelessly to the bed. Together, they lay there, trying to collect themselves as the sweat cooled on their bodies.
Eventually, Steve stirred long enough to dispose of the condom in the nearby trash can and Claudia took the chance to look at her partner, who settled on the edge of the bed, breathing deeply, elbows on knees.
Needing to break the silence, Claudia said, “Well, that was…intense.”
A snort escaped Steve and he looked at her over his shoulder, prompting her to grab a pillow (hopefully subtly) and hug it to her chest. “That’s one way of putting it,” he said wryly, then his face grew concerned. “Are you okay? Physically and…otherwise?”
She knew she should feel stranger, more uncomfortable after having Artifact Induced Mind Blowing Deflowering Sex with her partner and BFF (who also happened to be gay), but really, she felt pretty damn good. “I’m surprisingly un-freaked,” she assured him, then cocked her head to the side. “How about you? I mean, with the whole I’m a girl thing.”
Grabbing his own pillow and settling it on his lap, Steve turned to face her more fully and smiled. “I’m okay too. Not the first time I’ve swung that way…though that was back in college while I was figuring things out.”
“I kinda guessed that from the whole brain melting tongue thing,” she teased. “So, let’s just put this in the old ‘Artifact Made Us Do It’ file…and yes, there is a whole filing cabinet devoted to this sort of thing, and go find whatever it is.”
Two hours later, after breaking into the therapist’s office and cutting up the couches upholstery, they unearthed a small talisman with odd symbols engraved on it. Carefully, Claudia held it in a neutralizer glove and fired up her Farnsworth.
Unsurprisingly, Artie was still awake. He squinted at the talisman and said, “Ah, of course, a signet of an acolyte of Yue-Lao, the Chinese god of love who binds two people together with an invisible red string. It amplifies the pre-existing attraction between soul mates to the point where they must physically bond or die. Should have thought of that…Good work, get to Buffalo to help Pete and Myka. Apparently, the odd avian behavior includes an aggressive war on the local squirrel population, which is upsetting Pete, so go help…and why do you look like that?”
“Look like what? There are no looks,” Claudia replied, cringing at the squeak in her voice. “Just focus on the case!”
“Yes,” Steve agreed, brandishing his phone at the Farnsworth. “See, reserving tickets to Buffalo as we speak.”
Artie gave them both a narrow eyed look and drawled, “Riiight.”
Then he hung up, but Claudia knew that wasn’t going to be the end of things. Not by a long shot.
“So,” Steve said, averting his eyes as she dropped the talisman into a neutralizer baggie, “Soul mates. Huh.”
“Yeah,” she replied and tried to laugh it off. “I was more stuck on the ‘pre-existing attraction’ bit. Cuz, okay, you’re pretty much attractive in every way and I know I’m all kinds of awesome, but you’re….”
“Gay,” he agreed with a nod. “I’m not attracted to women, just you. You’re…pretty much attractive in every way.”
Claudia blinked. “Oh. Oh wow, did you just paraphrase Torchwood?”
He grinned, a little abashed. “I did.”
Returning his smile, Claudia said, “Then you’ll totally get my reference when I say I don’t think we need any quaint little labels to define our relationship, do we? I mean, clearly, we rock in any permutation.”
“Clearly,” he agreed, then held out his hand to her. “C’mon, let’s get to the airport.”
Clasping his palm in her own, Claudia joked, “Let’s go save Pete from the vicious birdies.”
Later, she knew they’d probably have to talk about exactly how things were going to proceed, but she wasn’t worried. She and Steve were solid as friends, partners and, apparently, soul mates. Anything else was just icing on the cake.
Comments, pretty please?
Author: kaitlia777
Author's e-mail/website: kaitlia777@yahoo.com
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Summary: Prompt: Artifact ~ Talisman of Love and Lust
Type / Pairings: Steve/Claudia
Main characters: Claudia Donovan, Steve Jinks
Rating: M
Warnings: Here there be smut.
Spoilers: If it’s aired in the US, then it’s fair game!
Beta: N/A
Disclaimer: Don’t own any of the recognizable character, just taking them out to play!
Author's Notes: Yeah, yeah, I know Jinks is gay, but this is fanfic, I can ship who I want, lol. Besides, I like to think of it like Ianto said about his relationship with Jack, “It’s not men, it’s just him…Only him.” But for Jinks, it’s only her. I know, I overthink.
It had started off like any day, with Artie shoving files under their noses as they huddled, half-awake over coffee and Danishes in the B&B’s parlor. “Two pings. Myka, Pete, Buffalo, suspicious bird migrations. Steve, Claudia, Miami, unexplained occurrences of…public affections and spontaneous combustion. Other couples who were not caught en-flagrante have been reporting being ‘drugged’, but were able to find somewhere private to…well, you get the idea.”
Which was Arties way of saying couples all over Miami were randomly unable to keep their hands off of each other and were having sex in public places. The few who’d been stopped before completing the deed had spontaneously combusted in holding cells. Not fun.
Well, Pete thought it sounded like they got the ‘fun’ case, but Claudia disagreed.
A bit of research revealed the couples in question had all visited the same relationship counselor only hours before their incidents, so, posing as a couple, she and Steve met with the woman and discretely inspected the office. They were very careful not to touch any of the knickknacks the woman had placed around the room, as you could never tell what was going to be an Artifact…but their caution was pointless.
Nothing reacted to the neutralizer spray…though the counselor now thought they were both insane.
“Well, that sucked,” Claudia said, leaning against the elevator wall as they rode up toward their hotel rooms. It was late and the hot, humid Miami day had drained them. A decision had been made to turn in and get a fresh start in the morning.
Directly across the small space, Steve mirrored her pose, letting his head fall forward as he nodded in agreement. “On the plus side, no one tried to kill us.”
Considering how often that happened, Claudia couldn’t help but smile in agreement. As a yawn fought its way out of her, she stretched her arms above her head, enjoying the pull of tight muscles….
A rush of heat spread from her lower belly, rushing through her faster than any arousal she’d ever known and she gasped, hearing the sound echoed by Steve, gaping at her with wide eyes.
“Oh, shit,” they chorused, all at once knowing they had somehow been exposed to the Artifact they were supposed to be bagging.
This was bad on so many levels.
Across the scant few feet that separated them, Claudia could see the muscles tense in Steve’s arms as he gripped the rail behind himself hard enough to turn his knuckles white. His eyes were on her, hot and intense in a way that made her shiver and gasp. “Claudia,” he said in a strangled voice, trailing off to clench his jaw and swallow hard.
His Adams apple bobbed and she watched as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his neck. She heard a small noise that sounded like a cross between a moan and a sigh. It took a moment for her to realize she had made that sound, mind flooded with hormones and Artifact enhanced lust.
Before she could say anything coherent, Steve had pushed off of his wall and crossed to her, standing close enough so that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body. Her pulse jumped as his hands landed on her hips and he leaned down to capture her mouth with his own. It was surprisingly not-awkward and Claudia returned the attention, hot and hard and a little messy. A small, still aware portion of her mind noted how soft his lips were, an interesting contrast to the late day stubble on his chin.
By the time they broke apart, they were both gasping for air, but that didn’t stop him from working his way across her jaw and down the side of her neck, pausing to suck gently on the tense tendons there. His hands slid up her sides, delving under her shirt and she gripped the back of his neck, pulling him closer. “Oh, God," she gasped against his ear, arching her body into his.
“Gotta be the Artifact,” he groaned, but that didn't stop him from grasping her thighs and lifting, urging her to wrap them around his waist. One of his hands, big and strong, slid up to cup her ass, kneading the muscle there as he easily supported her weight.
“Steve,” she said shakily, trying to focus but finding it really, really difficult. There were reasons they should not do this. Lots of reasons…“What…I mean, how’re we…I don’t want to burn….”
The tremor in her voice seemed to penetrate the fog in his head and Steve met her eyes, pressing their brows together for a quick moment. “That’s not gonna happen,” he said, kissing her again, this time softer and sweeter. Some of the intense, almost painful lust had receded once they touched, but the mind addling desire and heat was still simmering between them and they both knew what had happened to the people who had been affected and kept apart.
The elevator shuddered to a stop and when the doors opened, Steve strode out, carrying Claudia past a slightly scandalized looking older woman and her amused husband. Getting the door to Steve’s room open was a bit of a challenge, as he fumbled with using the swipe card without breaking the kiss they were locked in.
Once inside the room it seemed to take forever to reach the bed, as they bumped into walls and the one chair. Together, they tumbled onto the scratchy bedspread, hands roaming, tugging at clothing to access skin. She wasn’t quite sure how or when they both ended up shirtless, but the feel of skin on skin, of Steve’s hard chest pressed to her breasts wrenched a groan from her.
Both of them still wore their jeans, but she could feel him, hot and hard, pressed against her. Steve’s hips had settled between her thighs and, as they continued to kiss, Claudia experimentally bucked up into him. The friction was delicious and Steve gasped, clearly as pleased by her action as she was. In a sudden spark of clarity, she realized she was feeling an echo of everything he felt, just like when he was hurt.
Double Artifact induced arousal was a total brain scrambler.
When he latched onto her neck again, Claudia shook herself a mentally and said, “Steve…I’ve never done this.”
It came out in a rush and he stilled, mouth hovering at her clavicle as he looked up to meet her gaze. She could read the conflict in his eyes and hurried to reassure him, smiling and tugging slightly on his head, encouraging him to continue with what he had been doing. “I wasn’t saying stop, just FYI,” she said and she was relieved when he gave a quick nod and returned to what he was doing.
His proceed to wander down her neck and over her shoulders, finally stopping at her breasts. Steve cupped her gently before bringing his mouth down, hands continuing to massage sensitive flesh. She felt like fireworks were going off in her brain as he sucked a nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the already stiff and aching peak. The sensation caused her to arch up into him, pressing further into the warm, wet heat of his mouth.
Eventually, he released her nipple with a pop, leaving it damp and swollen, then smoothly moved to the other, biting lightly, and Claudia moaned at the feeling of mixed pleasure and a tiny hint of pain.
She squirmed under him, trying to realign their bodies, wanting to feel the friction of his hardness against her center, but, due to the difference in their heights, she can’t quite manage it.
Steve finally moved beyond her breasts, pausing to press a soothing kiss over her heart, sliding down her body and kissing her low on her belly, just above the button of her jeans. His fingers make quick work of it and the zipper. By this point, all semblance of modesty had left her and Claudia lifted her hips, allowing him to strip her pants and panties down her legs, kicking her boots off when the clothes tangled around them.
Even through the burning haze of lust, she felt a sense of surprise when he hooked one of her legs over his shoulder, dragging his tongue along her inner thigh before taking a long, slow lick along her core. Claudia jumped a little when he slid a finger into her, then a second, latching onto the little bud of nerves and worrying it with his tongue.
She’d never felt anything like this, the fire coursing through her body and she nearly sobbed, hands finding Steve’s head to hold him where he was, desperate for relief. When it came, it hit like…she didn’t have a frame of reference, a burst of pure pleasure rushing through her entire body in waves as he coached her through the aftershocks.
For a moment, she tried to catch her breath, but despite the intense orgasm, she still felt itchy, hot and desperate. Steve…that had to be what he was feeling. “Steve,” she murmured, letting out a surprised huff as he heaved himself back up her body to kiss her, his lips and tongue tasting of her. Her hands ran down his back, scraping her nails over his smooth, damp, feverish skin and enjoying the way he shuddered against her.
Together, they managed to wrestle him out of his jeans, pausing only to allow him to fish a condom out of his wallet and slide it on. He moved between her legs again and she could feel the tension in his body, could see that he was struggling to hold back for her sake even as the effects of the artifact urged him to just push into her, do anything to stop the sound of blood pounding and hormones racing.
Reaching down, Claudia wrapped a hand around Steve, causing him to choke and thrust into her grip. She could feel the heat of his skin through the thin latex as she drew him towards her, wrapping her legs around him as she felt the tip of his erection brushing against the wet entrance to her body.
He slid into her slowly and she tried to relax, muscles stretching in new and interesting ways until he stopped, encountering resistance within her body. Locking eyes with Steve, she nodded, urging him forward and letting out a small huff as a quick, sharp pain let her know she was officially no longer a virgin. It burned as he continued to press forward, but that was dulled by the waves of pleasure rolling off of Steve and, once his hips were flush to hers, she wrapped her legs more firmly around his hips.
“You okay, Claudia?” he asked in a shaky voice, trembling as he held himself above her, his face turning redder by the moment. “We should…wait a second….”
“It’s okay,” she said and truly, the worst of the pain had dissipated. “You can move. I want you to.”
Pressing his lips gently to hers, Steve pulled his hips back before thrusting again. The echo of his arousal caused her own to build again and Claudia moved with him, matching him stroke for stroke, finding an easy rhythm in this as they did in everything else. As his movements became erratic, she was surprised to feel the rough pad of his thumb brushing her clit and the combination of sensations set her off again, causing her body to contract around him.
Steve gave a hoarse shout and thrust forward once more, rigid in her trembling embrace. After a long moment, they both gasped for air, falling bonelessly to the bed. Together, they lay there, trying to collect themselves as the sweat cooled on their bodies.
Eventually, Steve stirred long enough to dispose of the condom in the nearby trash can and Claudia took the chance to look at her partner, who settled on the edge of the bed, breathing deeply, elbows on knees.
Needing to break the silence, Claudia said, “Well, that was…intense.”
A snort escaped Steve and he looked at her over his shoulder, prompting her to grab a pillow (hopefully subtly) and hug it to her chest. “That’s one way of putting it,” he said wryly, then his face grew concerned. “Are you okay? Physically and…otherwise?”
She knew she should feel stranger, more uncomfortable after having Artifact Induced Mind Blowing Deflowering Sex with her partner and BFF (who also happened to be gay), but really, she felt pretty damn good. “I’m surprisingly un-freaked,” she assured him, then cocked her head to the side. “How about you? I mean, with the whole I’m a girl thing.”
Grabbing his own pillow and settling it on his lap, Steve turned to face her more fully and smiled. “I’m okay too. Not the first time I’ve swung that way…though that was back in college while I was figuring things out.”
“I kinda guessed that from the whole brain melting tongue thing,” she teased. “So, let’s just put this in the old ‘Artifact Made Us Do It’ file…and yes, there is a whole filing cabinet devoted to this sort of thing, and go find whatever it is.”
Two hours later, after breaking into the therapist’s office and cutting up the couches upholstery, they unearthed a small talisman with odd symbols engraved on it. Carefully, Claudia held it in a neutralizer glove and fired up her Farnsworth.
Unsurprisingly, Artie was still awake. He squinted at the talisman and said, “Ah, of course, a signet of an acolyte of Yue-Lao, the Chinese god of love who binds two people together with an invisible red string. It amplifies the pre-existing attraction between soul mates to the point where they must physically bond or die. Should have thought of that…Good work, get to Buffalo to help Pete and Myka. Apparently, the odd avian behavior includes an aggressive war on the local squirrel population, which is upsetting Pete, so go help…and why do you look like that?”
“Look like what? There are no looks,” Claudia replied, cringing at the squeak in her voice. “Just focus on the case!”
“Yes,” Steve agreed, brandishing his phone at the Farnsworth. “See, reserving tickets to Buffalo as we speak.”
Artie gave them both a narrow eyed look and drawled, “Riiight.”
Then he hung up, but Claudia knew that wasn’t going to be the end of things. Not by a long shot.
“So,” Steve said, averting his eyes as she dropped the talisman into a neutralizer baggie, “Soul mates. Huh.”
“Yeah,” she replied and tried to laugh it off. “I was more stuck on the ‘pre-existing attraction’ bit. Cuz, okay, you’re pretty much attractive in every way and I know I’m all kinds of awesome, but you’re….”
“Gay,” he agreed with a nod. “I’m not attracted to women, just you. You’re…pretty much attractive in every way.”
Claudia blinked. “Oh. Oh wow, did you just paraphrase Torchwood?”
He grinned, a little abashed. “I did.”
Returning his smile, Claudia said, “Then you’ll totally get my reference when I say I don’t think we need any quaint little labels to define our relationship, do we? I mean, clearly, we rock in any permutation.”
“Clearly,” he agreed, then held out his hand to her. “C’mon, let’s get to the airport.”
Clasping his palm in her own, Claudia joked, “Let’s go save Pete from the vicious birdies.”
Later, she knew they’d probably have to talk about exactly how things were going to proceed, but she wasn’t worried. She and Steve were solid as friends, partners and, apparently, soul mates. Anything else was just icing on the cake.
Comments, pretty please?