Everything
by Erin Griffin
Fandom: Warehouse 13
Pairing: Claudia/Leena, Myka/Helena
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, and I doubt this is the first time this storyline has been done.
A/N: I felt like writing Cleena today. I liked this song, and since Fefe Dobson reminded me of the Cleena love child I thought I would use it. Myka and Helena are a little out of character, but whatever, I do what I want.
Leena gently moved through the coffeehouse, hoping that her movements wouldn't distract the performer and lead on that she was late. She wasn't sure exactly how late, seeing as some shows such as these tend to start later than the time announced. To be honest, she had been hesitant about going to begin with. It wasn't that she didn't want to watch Claudia perform- she always had, but she didn't trust Artie and/or Pete in the Bed and Breakfast by themselves, even for a couple of hours. Surprisingly, it had been Pete who had harassed her out to the coffee shop, and her own refusal to leave was why they were aout twenty minutes late.
Pete found Myka and Helena, the agent leaning forward so her chest was to the back of Helena's chair, and her arms around the inventor. Their table was near the front, and as if to know there would be more people joining them, there were two extra hairs available, which both Pete and Leena took quickly as to not obstruct anyone else's view of the stage where Claudia played. The current song, one Leena recognized from the radio but wouldn't win prizes for knowing who originally did it or even the title, slowly came to an end. Claudia's face pinkened with the applause and the added hoots and howling that Pete provided. She looked into the crowd at them with a warm smile. She looked then in the other direction while a young man stood to hand her another guitar from a stand, and then take the one she had been using for her other song. Claudia wrapped the strap around her neck and then went back to the microphone.
"Alright, I have been busting your eardrums for long enough-" she said smoothly into the mic, which earned a couple of hoots and Pete shouting 'we love you!'. Claudia let out a 'heh' before she continued on, "-but before I go, I wanted to do one more song dedicated to someone who... probably knows who they are. I'm gonna ask my friend Myka to help me out here. Myka. Come one. You promised, and it's too late to be shy now."
Surprised, Leena watched at Myka kissed Helena's forehead before she stood up. Leena was no lip reader, but it looked to her like the brunette agent was informing Claudia that she was not shy. The same guy who had handed Claudia the semi acoustic guitar and had set up the pedal for her, also handed Myka another microphone.
"Alright, so this song is a little older, and a bit faster. I hope you... And you all enjoy," Claudia said, and the crowd clapped. She looked to Myka who nodded. She then said, "Alright," and began to play. The first few strokes were small, and then seemed to get into a melody that caused the strip of pink in her hair to fall on her face. Then, she began to sing.
"Ayo ladadayo
Ayo ladadayo ladeeda
Sometimes I give in to sadness
Sometimes I don't
Doo doo doo
At times I'm part of the madness
Sometimes I won't-"
Leena, as well as Pete she suspected, was surprised when Myka joined in on vocals behind Claudia with, "Give in to you." Her mic was set at a lower volume, so the audience almost didn't hear it, yet it still accompanied the lead singer of the song. That was probably how Myka preferred it anyway, Leena thought. Claudia and Myka continued to sing together, their harmony clean and together.
"You see in a way
I have been drifting down a river
To nowhere"
Myka broke away from the harmony to vocalize in the background as Claudia continued on with, "And you're giving me nothing." Her chords got a little louder until she stepped on the pedal, changing the acoustic sound into an electric sound as she went into the chorus of the song. Myka's voice blended with Claudia as she joined in.
"But if you're ready to be my everything
If you're ready to see it through this time
And if you're ready for love then
This I will bring
But I'm not gonna wait for you forever this time
Ladeeda"
As Claudia went back to acoustic, she sang, "Ayo, ladadayo ladeeda." She put her foot on the pedal once more as her whole body leaned forward towards the microphone, her shoulders moving in a mini dance as she sang into the next verse.
"At times I feel myself smiling
At times I'm not
Doo doo doo doo
(Yeah yay)
What's with the guilt that you styling baby
Talk don't look good on you
You see in a way
I have been looking for a reason to go there
And you're leading me nowhere
And if you're ready to be my everything
If you're ready to see it through this time
And if you're ready for love then
This I will bring
But I'm not gonna wait for you forever this time"
Claudia let her last chord reverberate as she sang "Ladeeda ayo ladadayo ladeeda." Then her strumming became louder as she stopped one foot in time and sang,
"Are you waiting for a special occasion
To give me your heart
Cause I need a little confirmation
To make a real start
Don't wait till it's too late
Are you ready to show me?"
Stepping on the pedal again, Claudia sang, "Are you ready to love... me?" she then went into a small solo, where Myka watched her with a smile, before she brought the microphone up to her lips as the chorus started again. Claudia's stepped on the pedal and began again.
"You see in a way
I have been drifting down a river
To nowhere
And you're giving me nothing
And if you're ready to be my everything
If you're ready to see it through this time
And if you're ready for love then
This I will bring
But I'm not gonna wait for you forever this time"
Myka continued to sing bits of the chorus again with Claudia singing the reinforcements.
"And if you're ready to be
Ready to be my everything
And if you're ready to see it through this time
If you're ready for love then baby
This I will bring
But I'm not gonna wait forever this time"
With the acoustic back now, Claudia ended the song with, "Ladayo ladadayo ladee...da." Claudia looked up when the room erupted in applause, and Myka brought her hand up to clasp the hacker's in an extended high five. "Thank you everyone for letting me do this. Thank you Myka. Give it up for my sister person, Myka. Thank you, goodnight."
Claudia took the guitar strap off and handed it to the same young man. Claudia went back to the microphone, "And say hello to Greg. Big help, Greg. Thank you for lending me your guitar, man." Greg gave a thumbs up as he took in some of the applause. Claudia, who still had Myka's hand walked off of the stage, a blush and a smile on her face. "Here's your girl back, Helena."
"Thanks darling," the inventor replied as she held up her arms and drew the agent onto her lap.
"Gotta say, I never knew you could sing, Mykes. That was amazing!" Pete said excitedly after giving Claudia a high five that was so loud, it sounded like it hurt.
"In the shower," Myka said with her head boing side to side, almost head-butting her girlfriend in the process. When it looked as though either Helena or Pete were going to say something that may embarrass Myka, she warned, "Don't."
Leena smiled up at Claudia as well. "Your performance was great, Claudia," she said.
"Yeah, about that-"
"Hold my spot. I need to use the restroom," the darker woman said. Helena reached around Myka's body to point her the way, and then she was off. As soon as she was behind the closed doors of the women's bathroom, Leena let in a shuddering breath and let it out. She couldn't seem to get her heart to stop pounding as it had throughout the hacker's performance. She couldn't think too much on it, as the door opened behind he seconds later, revealing the subject of her thoughts. The younger woman turned and locked the door behind her, and then she advanced quickly on Leena.
"I don't know how much more I have to stomp and clatter for you to hear that I want you, Leena. That was for you- You can't pretend that it wasn't."
"I hoped. I didn't know-"
"Of course you knew," Claudia cut in, taking another step. "Didn't you?"
Leena shut her eyes and turned away from Claudia so that she could get at least a little of her composure back. "Yes."
"And if you hoped, then you for sure feel something for me, right?"
"Of course I do," Leena admitted, looking up into Claudia's eyes.
Claudia's hands went up to the side of her head, her fingers curled slightly in her frustration. "Then what is the problem? It can't be our- our job because you already know. It has nothing to do with both of us being women or- And age difference? Hello, Helena and Myka. What what what is the issue?" Claudia took a couple of steps towards the sink.
"I don't want to hurt you." Leena said quietly.
Claudia brought her thumb up to her lips almost as if to chew on the fingernail, but then brought it down to about her clavicle as she let out a small sarcastic 'heh' of a laugh. "I'm a big girl, I can't handle a relationship, Leena. If you don't want that, then just let me know, you know? Don't sit there in the B 'n' B lookin' at me like you do- and you can't deny that you don't. Don't- Don't tell me that I am beautiful or write one of your poems about me if this," she gestured between the two of them, "isn't happening, because that, that is what hurts me."
Leena swallowed as she finally said what she really wanted to say. "Well maybe... I don't want you to hurt me either."
"And neither of us can guarantee that I won't, or that you won't, or- or that WE won't... Or that we will." Claudia turned and locked eyes with Leena as she reached out for the darker woman's hand. She felt a little encouraged when Leena didn't pull away. "That's the funny thing about the future isn't it? All I want is a chance. Everything else we've been doing is confusing me."
"I'm sorry.
"I'm not. I'm in love with you. I hope that didn't, like freak you out or make you feel pressured or anything, because you don't have to say anything back. I just want you to know that that is why I feel like the risk could be worth it, if you said yes."
"No pressure, huh?"
"Well, sorry," Claudia said.
Leena studied Claudia. More like, she studied her aura, which pulsated in colors now. There were no hints of maroon, the color of lies, and the other colors were almost too hard on her eyes to look at. Colors she had associated with hope and love, and even a little bit of pain and jealousy were all she saw outside of Claudia's otherwise strange grey-orange hue. She brought her hand up to it, touching through the colors until her hand ran through Claudia's hair. "We can only promise to try this, can't we?" Claudia's eyes fluttered shut as she nodded, and Leena leaned forward and kissed the hacker, keeping her eyes open to the shift quickly as the pulsation slowed even as it continued to radiate. The painful colors were almost gone, and when Claudia began to kiss her back eagerly, Leena had no doubt how the hacker felt for her. When she broke away from the kiss, Leena said, "Maybe we should talk about this some more at home, hm?"
"Yeah," Claudia said, but she didn't move for a second. Then she turned and unlocked the door, where she nearly ran into Helena, who had Myka pinned to the wall, where she was saying something into the agent's ear. She looked up when she saw the two leaving the room.
"Claudia was in such a rush after you, we weren't sure if she was going to kill you or not."
"You got over that concern quickly, I see," Claudia replied. The foursome walked out towards the door, where they met up with Pete, and they stood for a moment in the parking lot.
"So, since Myka sings in the shower, and I know you know this for a fact, do you two ever sing nakey duets?"
"Well actually-"
"Don't," Myka warned again.
Helena turned to Pete and shrugged. "You lot take the jeep back. Myka and I will meet you later, as I have promised to take her to an ice cream establishment."
"Why can't I go?" Pete asked.
"Because I am almost certain those two are about to go on a date. We have ice cream at home, plus Artie made cookies this afternoon." Claudia explained.
"Thank you Darling. Also, we don't want you to come," Helena teased. Pete glared at her, and she only winked in return. "If you're a good boy I could be arsed to bring you something."
"What-EVER," Pete huffed playfully. "Alright, enjoy your date and all that. Come one companions," he said to Leena and Claudia, who looked at each other hesitantly for a second. "I know you two will make kissy eyes and hold hands in the back seat or whatever, but if you don't move it now, i am leaving you here AND eating all the cookies."
"Fine, Pete god," Claudia said back. The hacker reached her hand out to Leena's and when they were all secure in the back of the jeep, Pete's stomach more than the man himself drove the trio home.
That night as Claudia lay with Leena, she knew that if they could just try to be together the that would be everything.