Before the Flames Consume
Chapter 1: Lost in Thought
Claudia Donovan/Leena
Summary: Set sometime after A New Hope, with a living Steve, a sane Artie, and a canon Bering-Wells pairing. After dealing with the misery of unrequited love, an artifact sends Claudia over the edge.
Rated T (eventually)
Disclaimer: I don't own Warehouse 13 or any of the characters. The story's overall plot is influenced mostly by the song "The Sound of Drums" by Chameleon Circuit (oddly enough) and the fic "The Innkeeper's Caretaker", by miekhead. The plot may be rather long and drawn out at times, but hopefully the story can take its course before I'm overcome by writer's block.
…
"Are you okay?"
Claudia sat on a couch in the downstairs of the B&B, gazing thoughtfully towards the kitchen, where she could hear the occasional clang of pots and pans as Leena cooked. She turned in her seat to see the concerned look on Steve's face.
"I'm fine." the young inventor curtly replied, turning her head before her expression gave away any more than her voice already had. Not that it mattered – the words would have an obvious lie even to someone other than Steve.
"I wish you would just get it over with and tell her."
"Not happening, Jinxy." She had kept her feelings for Leena hidden this long already; she wasn't about to risk losing her friend over something so potentially inane.
The relationship between her and Leena was so different from that of Helena and Myka. Claudia had seen the obvious Chemistry between the two since she first saw the two together. Leena however, had spent so much time distrusting Claudia, certainly never seeing her as anything more than a friend.
Still, the redhead's fear of rejection couldn't shut out the dizziness she felt when the B&B owner walked into the room. At breakfast, she would sometimes catch herself staring at the woman, forcing herself to look away before the brown eyes glance in her direction. Before Pete, or Myka noticed her captivation. Or, God forbid, if Artie were to–
"Claudia, you have to tell her sooner or later." Steve's concerned tone once again interrupted her train of thought. "Please, for your own sake, do something before this drives you crazy."
She fell back against the couch with a heavy sigh. Her fingers ran through her hair, a habit into which her anxiety had begun to manifest over the past few weeks.
She often wished that she could just rid herself of this confusion, this slight, yet ever-present weight lingering in the center of her chest. Just the sight of Leena, however, always erased any regrets she had about her love for the woman.
Love? Was that was this was? Bouncing between misery and ecstasy? From what she had seen of it, that was how love began. Perhaps she shouldn't have dismissed Steve's suggestion so quickly. Maybe she could have the same happiness she saw in Helena and Myka.
No. She silenced her own thoughts as quickly as they had appeared. She could never love you.
She would resist the temptation. Stamp out the sparks before the flames were began to consume her. She wouldn't dare reveal her emotions. She couldn't.
Still, in the back of her mind, a flicker of unknown hope remained.
