Disclaimer: Inspired by a work of fanart soon to be published. The characters of Warehouse 13 do not belong to me, but the kids
A/N: So, this is another one that fits into my unpublished but totally fleshed out AU that splits off from canon towards the end of Season 2. I've posted a few others set in this AU before with the same kids. Kids who I finally reveal the names of in this fic, if anyone cares. ;)
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year.
"Darling, I really don't think this is a good idea." There's a muffled scoff and a flash of amused eyes that shine a bright green in the dying light of the day.
"Not afraid, are you?" Helena pauses her ministrations, glancing up long enough to meet Myka's twinkling eyes with a pointed stare.
"Certainly not." She says, slowly annunciating each word and punctuating the sentence with a violent tug of the laces she holds in either hand, tightening the boot. "Though I'm afraid you may have gravely underestimated my lack of experience in such matters." She jabs a thumb out, indicating the sight before them, and Myka rolls her eyes skyward.
"It's an ice rink Helena, not a crime scene."
"Yes well, I might advise against speaking too soon on that."
"You're being over dramatic."
"I have razor blades attached to the soles of my boots and am being baited out on to a slippery surface. Please enlighten me as to which part of that is me being dramatic." Myka lets out a laugh that echo's until it hits the tree line, then it's swallowed into the shadows.
"You're being a big fuddy duddy. And you're forgetting," she ambles forward and holds her hands out to the seated woman, cocking a brow and wiggling her fingers impatiently when they aren't immediately taken. Helena sighs and slips her hands into Myka's waiting palms. "That I know exactly what I'm doing." She walks backwards in a way that makes Helena's heart jump because the ice is so close and Myka doesn't seem to be paying an ounce of attention to that. But the other woman simply steps backward onto the cool, smooth surface without so much as a wobble. Helena freezes though, right at the edge, staring down at the outdoor rink as though it were some hellish portal opening up beneath her feet. "I'll be right here." Myka says and there's a gentleness to her tone that, while teasing, is utterly sincere. "I'll protect you." Helena hums thoughtfully and takes a deep breath before finally stepping out onto the ice.
And promptly slips forward, feet almost sliding right out from under her, and into Myka's waiting arms. The taller woman laughs, loud and uninhibited, the curls not pinned beneath the toque she's wearing bouncing as she tilts her head back and laughs into a sky coloured by the sunset. Helena glares up at her partner through her lashes, fingers digging into the material of Myka's winter jack that has turned cool and crisp in the winter air.
"It's very unbecoming for a lady to laugh at another's misfortune." She grumbles, attempting to right herself.
"But it's really funny." Myka points out with a smile and a wrinkle of her nose. The breath that Helena blows out shifts the hair hanging in her face.
"You are a terrible human being." Myka only laughs again.
"Come on. Baby steps."
Darkness is almost on them, but the lights surrounding the rink blink to life and under them Myka guides the inventor forward. Helena grips her hands like a lifeline and keeps her head bowed so that she can stare at her feet as she moves. After a few minutes Myka has coerced her into actually sliding her feet over the ice as opposed to taking small, overly careful steps. She takes the curve of Helena's lips as a victory and lets her eyes roam the woman's face while she's distracted.
She never tires of looking. Not ever.
"See? Not so bad, is it?" She moves to Helena's side, chuckling when the other woman makes a grab for the hand she's just taken away. "You're fine, I'm not going anywhere."
"Yes well, I haven't fallen on my face yet so I'm afraid the jury is still out." Myka smirks but keeps her gaze trained ahead as they skate, very slowly, to the far side of the rink.
"If only you had some cavorite." She says with a wistful sigh and Helena glances askance at her.
"If I did, I wouldn't be here at all and you'd be stuck to a ceiling somewhere. Again." Myka chuckles at the memory and gives the hand in hers a squeeze.
"You're doing awesome." And she's sincere. "Ready to go it alone?"
"Absolutely not!" She barks, panicked, but Myka's already wrestling her hand out of Helena's tightening grip and before she knows it she standing near the edge of the rink with nothing supporting her but the blades beneath her feet. Her arms go out at her sides as she wobbles, staring at her feet while she shouts. "Myka, you come back here this instant!"
"You're fine!" She laughs, skating backwards and away from the uncertain woman. "You're a natural. A born skater."
"You'll wish that you'd never been born if you don't get back here right now!" Teasing Helena like this gives Myka an immense amount of pleasure and she isn't the slightest bit ashamed to admit that.
"Just skate to the barrier." She says, pointing to the foamed railing that encircles the rink and gesturing at the distance between it and Helena as if it isn't as vast as a gorge. "You'll be fine." If looks could kill then Myka would be six feet under right now, but instead she's able to feel the heat of Helena's glare from ten feet away. She looks like a child on the brink of a tantrum. "Unless you're too scared?"
"Oh please, don't you try that on me." She squares her shoulders and stands as upright as she dares. "I practically invented that particular method of coercion." And Myka doesn't challenge the boast because she can actually kind of see it being true, even if it isn't. She waves a hand out at Helena, silently urging her to prove her wrong then, and a determined breath is blown out into the frosty air.
With her first step Helena is perilously close to a Bambi moment, but she catches herself and then she's moving, sliding, steadily along. Uncertainly skating towards the barrier. Myka watches with a wide smile. A smile that slips right along with Helena.
Just before she reaches safety, the inventor loses her footing and she's going over before Myka has time to react, not that she could have made it in time anyway. Helena hits the ground backside first with a dull thud and Myka is at her side a moment later, concern shining in her eyes.
"You okay?" She's given a withering expression in lieu of a verbal response; an upward gaze and a mouth drawn into a thin, unamused line.
"I dare say my pride is somewhat bruised, but other than that I appear to be unharmed." Myka offers her a hand and a rueful smile and Helena takes them both, allowing herself to be hauled up. She makes a face and Myka arcs a questioning eyebrow. "My trousers haven't fared quite as well. Bit damp." Myka's other eyebrow rises to join the first and she loops her arms around Helena's waist to steady her.
"Yeah?" With a smirk, she slides her hands down until they're tucked inside Helena's back pockets. "Hmm, little bit." She muses and now the inventor is finally smiling again, her arms reaching around Myka's neck, forearms resting on her shoulders.
"I know exactly what you're doing." She says, matter of fact, and with a perfectly practised knowing expression.
"Oh you do, do you?" Helena bobs her head and mouthes a yes. "Still just a big know it all, aren't you?" Dark eyes widen and red lips part, readying themselves for an outraged protest. That never comes. Myka swoops in and steals it away with a kiss that's really only her smiling against Helena's mouth until the offended party relaxes, which doesn't take long at all.
Then there's a warmth that evaporates the cold and a sense of secure contentment that makes Helena forget where she is and every anxious thought it has birthed. She sighs into the kiss and it the sound of it drifts away from them on the breeze. Their kiss is slow and deep and perfect.
"Hey, no hanky panky on the ice!" And it's broken by a new, though familiar voice. A voice that's quickly echoed by a high pitched imitation, the words being repeated shrilly across the rink. Both women turn their heads and spot the small pack of people approaching.
Pete is grinning down at the girl clinging to his arm with both hands and she giggles at what she's just said like it's the funniest thing in the world. Claudia's following on his right, a boy with dark hair and eyes grinning from his spot perched on her back. She squeezes the feet of the legs he has threaded through her arms and he bounces. Steve, Leena, Artie and Vanessa trail along just behind them, bundled up in hats and scarves as they trudge through the snow.
"Peter we've spoken about this. Please don't teach her new phrases." He scoffs at Helena and waves her away with his free hand.
"She doesn't even know what that means."
"It means kissing! And special cuddles!" The girl squeals, just to prove him wrong, and she twists beside him until she's looking up at him with her head bent backwards, blinking Myka's eyes at him. His eyes slide back to the women on the ice and he finds them both frowning.
"Okay, I didn't teach her that." He insists quickly. Having one of them mad at him was bad enough, but both of them? Might as well dig your own grave ahead of time.
"What are special cuddles?" Is muttered in a whisper that only a child is capable of. One intended to be quiet but is actually loud enough for all to hear. And Claudia hears it loud and clear, because it's whispered right into her ear. Her eyes widen and her lips form themselves into a perfect circle.
"Uh..."
"Who wants to skate!" Steve manages to save her, holding up the two pairs of ice skates he's been put in charge of carrying. As expected, both children are instantly distracted, shrieking with excitement and clapping their hands.
They're met by Helena and Myka at the opening of the rink and the girl lets go of Pete's hand, rushing her parents and propelling herself into their legs. Helena almost topples again but manages to grip the railing in time, face turning a shade paler. Myka does not manage to hide her grin.
"Really?" Myka levels Pete with a glare that he's sure is reserved solely for him. He swallows and then lets out a nervous laugh, dropping the duffle bag he had brought with him to the ground.
"Pretty sure it was Claudia." He stage whispers and the redhead twists her head in his direction.
"Dude! Seriously?!"
"Now, now, children." Artie's dramatic sigh comes from behind them and it's another second before he's moving around Pete with Vanessa at his side. "Don't make me cut this excursion short and send you all to bed early." Pete slumps his shoulders and stomps his foot.
"But daaaaad!" He whines, then winks at the little girl who grins back at him before moving to sit on the closest of the benches that surround the area.
"So, did Myka teach you any moves out there?" Leena smiles, approaching them at the barrier as Helena is slowly working her way off the ice and around the side of it. Her smile is tight and strained and she grips the padded railing too tightly.
"She certainly taught me that chivalry is dead."
"Oh please." Myka protests with a shake of her head. "She slipped."
"And you didn't catch her?!" Pete gasps, aghast, and Myka glances over to find him pressing his palm against his chest like someone just told him she let his dog fall off the side of a cliff.
He doesn't even have a dog.
"One little slip, otherwise she was great." Helena does not seem convinced.
"Can we put our skates on now?" Two sets of parental eyes find the boy still being piggy-backed by Claudia. He's been excited about this all week and, not one for crazy displays of emotion, it's the most extroverted they've seen him act in a while.
"That depends." Helena says, ominously. "Have you two been on your best behaviour?" They both nod vigorously but she looks to the others for their opinion.
"Their bestest." Claudia confirms.
"Way better than me." Pete's nod is mimicked in earnest by Artie, who motions for Vanessa to take a seat on the bench beside the girl before he sits himself.
"Aunty 'Nessa?" She says, swivelling around to set big green eyes on the older woman.
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Are you gonna skate too?" Vanessa raises her eyebrows at the question and lets out a short burst of laughter.
"It's been far too long since the last time I went ice skating. I don't think I'd remember how." And she reaches up and presses the tip of her pointer finger against the curve of the little girl's nose.
"Mummy can show you!" She turns excitedly towards Myka.
"Amelia, I think Aunt Vanessa maybe just wants to sit and spend time with Artie. And watch you guys skate!" She adds with a hopeful smile but a disappointed voice flutters her way.
"Grumps isn't going to skate?" The boy that had been perched on Claudia's back is now being deposited onto solid ground and his little face is almost heartbreaking in its upset.
"I'm too old for that." Artie gripes with a good natured grumpiness that makes the boy smile. "What if I fall and break a hip?"
"Then Aunty 'Nessa will fix you." He says, like the Warehouse Doctor can do anything and everything, and he almost sounds proud. It's a strange thing to hear on someone so young.
"Well while these two lame old fuddy duddies sit on the sidelines," Pete jabs his thumb at them while Helena flashes a thoroughly unamused look in Myka's direction, "why don't we show them what fun looks like, huh? Remind them." Amelia squeals her delight once more and hops off the bench, headed for Pete as her brother dashes after her.
"Teddy darling, don't run!" Helena's admonishment is quickly heeded and he walks the rest of the distance, stopping beside Pete and Steve who each have a pair of small skates in their hands.
They're laced up and hobbling towards entrance of the rink with a similarly laced up Claudia when Teddy suddenly gets cold feet.
"I don't want to anymore." He mutters, looking at his boots. Claudia frowns down at him.
"How come, Theo-dude?" He shrugs and Amelia tugs at Claudia's hand to get her attention.
"He's afraid." She whispers up to her and then looks around her to speak to him. "Are you afraid?"
"No!" He says immediately and Myka can feel Helena's eyes on her again. She doesn't look this time, instead she crouches down between the barrier and her son and reaches for the button that's popped open on his coat.
"It's okay if you are." She tells him, fingers working the button back through the stiff material. "Your mom was afraid too." He looks over at Helena with wide eyes, narrowly missing the eye roll she'd given the side of Myka's head.
"Really?" He doesn't believe Myka, they can all hear it in his voice. Can't possibly fathom how his mother could be afraid of anything. Helena smiles at him.
"Yes, darling. I even fell over a few moments ago." He chuckles and then turns sombre again.
"Did it hurt?" She shakes her head.
"Only for an instant."
"Will you come with me?" Myka sees the anxiety flash across Helena's face and hides her smile behind her hand.
"Of course I will." She says after a moment of hesitation, nodding at him to go ahead with Claudia and his sister.
"Come on, Little Bear." The redhead gives his hand a squeeze and a tug and then the three of them are gingerly stepping out onto the ice as Pete announces "Sir Theodore and Lady Amelia" in a grand, booming voice. He attempts a British accent that is terrible and H.G. throws him a dirty look.
It isn't the twins' first time and they move with clumsy ease once Claudia's sure they've found their footing. She skates like a dancer across the smooth surface, as if she was raised on the ice, and Myka stands beside Helena on the 'safe' side of the barrier and they spend a moment watching the three of them. Amelia is making wide figure eights in her baby blue boots, giggling manically whenever Claudia skates by purposefully close. Teddy alternates between following the redhead and skating back and forth in a long line. After a little while, he stops and his eyes find his parents still standing on the sidelines. He waves at them.
"I think that's our cue." Myka looks back at Helena over her shoulder, a grin parting her lips. "Ready for round two?" Helena shuffles awkwardly around to the entrance and takes Myka's offered hand in her own again.
"Not in the slightest." And Myka laughs.
Pete and Steve follow them out, each carrying a hockey stick that they'd retrieved out of the duffle bag. Steve had surprised them all by bringing a stick and puck along the first time they'd all gone skating together; apparently he had played in highschool. He and Pete pass it back and forth between one another until Steve notices Teddy watching them. He waves the boy over and puts the stick in his hands, standing behind him and guiding him through the motions. Together they fire the puck at Pete who tries to catch it and fails over dramatically. He drops to his knees on the ice and screams his sorrow into the sky.
Leena stays with Artie and Vanessa, claiming that her aura doesn't mix well with cold things, and they chat amongst themselves as they watch the others.
"I never expected it to turn out like this." Artie's confession is vague but he's looking towards H.G. and Myka, hands still clasped together presumably because the inventor refuses to let go. Amelia skates up to Helena and wraps her arms around her long legs. The woman wobbles and Myka feels H.G.'s hand squeeze hers in a death grip. The girl says something that's too quiet for Artie, Leena or Vanessa to hear but they see the mothers laugh at whatever it is.
"Really?" Vanessa tilts her head as she looks at him and Artie shrugs halfheartedly, waving a hand out towards the rink.
"She's H.G. Wells." He isn't sure that explains his reasoning at all but that's what he goes with.
"I did." Leena's expression is all fond warmth and there's a hint of a smug smile teasing her lips. Artie blinks at her, long and slow like he doesn't believe it. "Their auras." It's an easy explanation and he wants to argue it, but he knows that's a battle he can't win.
"You can see that kind of thing?" Vanessa asks, sounding thoroughly intrigued, and Leena nods.
"Sometimes. But it was more than that with them." And she leans in a little closer to Artie, though she doesn't look at him. "A blind man could have seen it." He harrumphs loudly, his human equivalent of ruffling feathers, and sputters out a few vowel sounds before he can find enough letters to form an actual word.
"Excuse me for not prying too closely into the personal lives of my agents." He barks, ignoring the way Leena is grinning at him.
"Well regardless of who did and didn't expect it," Vanessa cuts in, easing the grouchy old coot beside her like only she can, "I think it all turned out wonderfully, don't you?" And Artie nods. Not a moment of hesitation in sight.
"Grumps!" Amelia shouts to him across the ice. "Uncle Pete says you made cookies! Did you make cookies?" Her excitement is palpable and Artie's entire frame shakes with his chuckle.
"There might even be hot chocolate with special Christmas marshmallows!" He calls back and her shriek is nigh on ear piercing. She takes off in his direction, only vaguely heeding her parents insistence that she slow down until Artie threatens a bedtime without either treat if she doesn't.
It serves as a signal to the rest of them, playtime is over. Night has rolled in for the evening and the air is turning colder by the minute. Pete and Steve make their way back to opening in the barrier, their sticks in one hand and Teddy's mittened paws in the other. Every few steps they haul him up off the ice by his hands and swing him forward, and he giggles every time.
Helena and Myka take it slow, the inventor still unsteady but a little more sure of herself.
"See, that wasn't so bad was it?" Myka asks her, lips curving into a lopsided smile that warms Helena from the inside out. "All those years refusing and for what?"
"Well I kept my pride intact a little longer." Helena mutters darkly and Myka laughs, winding her arm around the woman's waist and sliding closer to her. She ducks her head and presses her lips to the shell of other woman's ear.
"I'll kiss it better later." She pulls back to find Helena regarding her with thinly veiled desire; eyelids hooded, lips parted, small breathes leaving her to cloud in the air between them.
And the years don't matter, it's always like this. What's between them haven't faded and Myka doesn't think it ever will. The years will stretch on and they'll see many more a Christmas Eve spent just like this.
Together.
Myka leans in just before they reach the opening and catches Helena in a kiss. It's soft and sweet but still it steals their breath. Burns up all the oxygen inside them. Until they're reminded where they are.
"No hanky panky on the ice!"
Amelia's wild giggling reaches out to pull them back to the present and they find her standing beside her brother.
Their children.
Steve grabs Amelia from behind and spins her until he can sit her down on the bench and untie her laces. Claudia does the same with Theodore and before long they're all ready to head back to Leena's for the night.
Their family.
And Myka and Helena smile.