Title: The Reason is You [1/?]
Author: ismellapples (ismellapplesx3 on tumblr)
Pairing: Myka/HG
Rating: PG/K+ [eventually NC-17]
Summary: Canon through parts of 2x11 (Buried). Reset never happens. They still go to Egypt, but HG doesn't betray them. Starts off as Pete and Myka manage to figure out the last obstacle in Warehouse 2 and follows with the development of Myka and HG's relationship. Written from mostly Myka's viewpoint.
Disclaimer: Warehouse 13 and its characters belong to SyFy and the creators/writers. I do not own any of them, unfortunately. This is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Not for profit in any way.
Author's Note: This is my first attempt at Myka/HG fanfiction. I do hope I do them justice. And I hope y'all enjoy this. And let me know what you think! :) Oh, and I'm pure American (from the Southeast), so I am not up on British lingo, so I apologize if I get anything wrong with HG's vocabulary.
::~*~*~::
"The water barer holds the key, that's it!" Pete cried out as he ripped the necklace Valda had given him from around his beck. He stretched up, reaching up in attempt to place the key in the right hole. He could almost reach it… Just another… inch…
"Come on, Pete, you're almost there! Just one more inch," Myka encouraged him, feeling the pressure.
Pete grunted as he stretched his torso even more, reaching as far as he could. Finally, he managed to place the key in the right hole, causing water to spray from the other holes. He and Myka both ducked to avoid getting water on them, both unsuccessful.
A bright light pulsed and a flash of what looked like lightning emanated from the overactive orb on the warehouse floor before it finally calmed down and returned to what they assumed was it's original, undisturbed state.
They looked at each other, then started laughing and whooping at their success. Pete held up a hand and Myka gave him a high five. "We did it!" she cried, pulling the man she'd come to think of as a brother into her a hug.
They parted and Pete's attention turned back to the warehouse floor. "Myka, Myka," he said, gesturing towards the calm orb. They both jogged to the railing, looking on to the magnificent sight of Warehouse 2 before them. "Thank you, Dad," Pete said, referring to the hours he'd spent with his dad stargazing when he was younger.
Myka sighed in utter relief, a smile forming on her face as she chuckled at Pete's enthusiasm.
Pete grinned smugly. "That's two I got," he indicated. "You know?"
"I know," Myka replied, hoping that he wouldn't rub it in too much.
Of course, he wasn't going to give up the opportunity to rub in Myka's face his quick whit. "You solved one, and I solved two."
Myka rolled her eyes slightly. "I know," she said quickly.
"It's not a contest," Pete started.
"You're right, it's not a contest," Myka countered, knowing he wasn't finished.
"But if it were, I'd be winning," he said slyly, pride evident on his face.
Myka looked over at him, eyes narrowed in slight annoyance, but mostly in amusement at her partner's antics.
Suddenly, a voice from the warehouse floor reverberated through the space. "Myka! You have to see this!" HG called out.
Myka and Pete immediately made their way down to where HG stood in front of the glowing orb of light. "What's wrong?" Myka asked when she noted HG just standing in front of the column the orb stood on.
HG glanced over her shoulder and swallowed hard before stepping forward and running her fingertips over the hieroglyphs marking the surface of the stone. "These hieroglyphs… They say that danger is coming." She turned to face the other agents. "Quicksand."
Pete looked down at his feet. "We should get out of here, then," he said. "The same way we got here. We know there's no quicksand that way."
Myka studied HG, who looked troubled. She was about to ask what was wrong when a sudden groaning noise caught her attention.
"Not that kind of quicksand, Pete," HG clarified as thousands of tons of sand began falling from the sides of the structure to the warehouse floor.
"It's already blocked the way we came in!" Myka observed, beginning to panic.
"Okay, well, there's got to be another way out!" Pete called over the noise of the falling sand.
"A back door!" Myka said. "Our warehouse has a back door so there's got to be another way out."
"Yes!" HG cried, already looking around frantically.
"You guys, look!" Myka cried out, pointing upwards. "A hatch!"
"What?" Pete said, looking up. "Yes! Myka you found a hatch! A hatch!"
"Uh, you guys?" HG said warily. "Sorry to burst your bubbles, but how are we supposed to get up there?"
"Well, it wouldn't be up there if there was no way to get to it," Myka said, always the logical thinker.
"Right!" Pete agreed.
"So let's look for something to, you know…"
Pete and HG both grinned. "Egyptian endless wonder," Pete said in awe.
The three panned out, looking for some way to get to the hatch 100 feet in the air. "There's gotta be something," Myka mused, looking over old clay vases and other useless looking artifacts.
HG, who was near Pete, couldn't help but laugh as she saw Pete run past an old carpet on a pedestal, then turn back and hop on it as if it were a magic flying carpet. "And go!" Pete said, but nothing happened. "And fly!" Still nothing.
That's when HG saw the wings. "Myka, Pete, over here!" she cried out. She lifted the wings off the holder and held them up as Myka and Pete joined her.
"Whoa," Pete said.
"Those wings were probably designed by Daedalus who was the father of-" Myka started.
"Icarus," Pete finished.
"Exactly," HG said with a huge smile as she held them out to Pete. "Turn around."
"What? Why me?"
"Just do it," Myka said, forcing him to turn around as HG helped guide his arms through the straps.
"They smell," Pete whined.
Myka and HG ignored him. HG instructed Myka to jump onto Pete's back while she grabbed onto Myka's legs as Pete took off, rising slowly towards the hatch. Had the circumstances been different and less threatening, HG would have been able to enjoy the view of Myka's backside which her face was a mere inches away from. But as it was, she was too focused on the rapidly rising sand from below.
"Pete!" Myka cried out. "Go faster!"
"I can't!" he yelled. "Too much weight…" he huffed and tried to flap the wings faster, but the weight of both Myka and HG was too much. He couldn't quite get to the hatch.
HG looked down again, then back up at Myka, knowing what she had to do.
Myka was startled to feel HG's grip on her legs loosen. She gasped and quickly looked down to see HG's hands start to let go. "Helena, no!" she cried out, willing her to keep holding tight.
HG looked Myka in the eye. "I have to," she said. "Save yourselves."
"HG!" Pete cried out. "I can do it. I can reach it!"
"You can't," she said. "Not with the both of us. Save Myka." She let go and fell to the sand and was quickly buried.
"No!" Myka cried out, nearly letting go but Pete's suddenly ability to move upwards toward the hatch prevented her from reaching out to try and catch HG. She felt a single tear drop down her cheek and she buried her face in the back of Pete's shirt.
It was mere seconds before they reached the hatch. "Myka, you have to open the hatch!" Pete cried out. Myka nodded and reached up, trying to open the escape route.
"It's stuck!" she cried out in a hoarse voice. "I can't get it!" She tried again, putting all her strength into it, but the handle snapped off, falling to the sand below. "Oh, no!"
The distinct sound of a Farnsworth ringing suddenly sounded, catching their attentions. "That's… that's the Farnsworth!" Myka cried out. "We must be close enough to the surface!" She reached into Pete's pocket and retrieved the device, struggling to open it. She'd never been so happy to see Artie's face appear on the tiny screen.
"Close your eyes!" was all Artie said before hanging up, stunning Pete and Myka.
"That's it?" Pete said. "Close your eyes? That's the last thing he's going to say to us?"
"He didn't even say goodbye."
A sudden rumbling noise from above ground startled them, as did the subsequent feeling of flying through the air and then plummeting to the earth. Myka landed hard on top of Pete, who grunted, then groaned as the wind was knocked out of him.
"Myka! Pete!"
Myka looked up, coughing at the sand and dust that was filling her mouth and nose to see Artie standing over them. Myka quickly moved off Pete, who struggled to sit up, stripping himself of the wings. There was sand all over them and Myka went into a coughing fit, trying to expel the sand from her lungs.
"Where's HG?" Artie asked.
Myka glanced up at him, shook her head, then fell to her knees, continuing coughing even though she didn't really need to anymore. She just coughed to cover her sobs. Pete knew she was covering, though, and moved to kneel behind her, rubbing her back gently in a soothing manner. He looked up at Artie. "I couldn't carry both of them upwards with the wings. HG sacrificed herself." He glanced at his partner. "To save Myka."
Artie tiled his head, then looked around as the sand and dust settled. "What is it?" Pete asked, noting his survey of the barren land.
Myka looked up, wondering what Pete was referring to, and noticed Artie's pensive look and under his breath mumbling. "Artie?"
He looked at them. "The blast that pulled you out of the warehouse… it's an artifact that detects all living humans and essentially pulls them out of harm's way."
Myka didn't want to think of the implication behind his words. It looks for living humans. What if… what if HG had already been… not living?
A tiny sound caught Myka's ears. She stood quickly and turned towards the direction she heard it, listening even harder now. There. There it was again. It sounded like… someone struggling to cough. She took off towards the sound, not seeing anything in the sand, but still hoping beyond all hope. "HG?" she called out. "Helena?"
"Myka," a voice so soft she almost thought she'd imagined it came from her right. Myka turned and let out a breath when she noticed a half buried figure lying in the sand. HG. She knew it was hers from those ridiculous, but oh so sexy, shorts.
"Helena!" Myka fell to her knees and quickly brushed the sand out of HG's face, noting that it appeared that she'd lost consciousness again. "Pete! Artie! Help!"
Pete immediately helped Myka uncover HG and move her out of the sand ditch. Artie dug in his bag and pulled out a smelling salt. He put it up to HG's nose and she immediately regained consciousness, sucking in a quick breath of air before going into a huge coughing fit. Myka sat beside her, rubbing her back.
Artie nodded once and handed Pete a canteen of water. "I'll go make arrangements to get us out of here," he said, stalking off. He still didn't completely trust HG, but saving his agents was a good start.
Pete handed HG the canteen first, encouraging her to take a long drink before passing it to Myka who did the same. He nodded and went to join Artie, sensing that the two women needed a moment alone together.
HG started at Myka. "You're crying, darling," she croaked, voice still scratchy from the sand.
Myka wiped her cheeks. "Yeah, well, I thought you were…" she shook her head. "Don't do that to me," she ordered. "I can't… I just can't."
HG reached out with a shaky hand to cup Myka's damp cheek. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving you," she said, startling Myka with the confession.
Before Myka could form a reply, Artie returned to inform them that arrangements for a flight home for the following morning. For now, they'd head back to the hotel that the three had checked into that morning as soon as they'd landed in Egypt.
"Good," HG said. "I'm exhausted."
Myka couldn't help but grin as she helped HG to her feet, supporting her weight as much as she could as she helped her walk to the off road vehicle Artie had parked a few hundred feet away. Now that she was sure HG was okay, Myka noticed how close she was to her. HG's arm was wrapped around her shoulder and her own arm was wrapped around her small waist. HG's shirt had ridden up a bit and Myka could feel HG's soft, heated skin against her fingertips.
Myka sucked in a quick breath and pulled her hand away like she'd been burned. HG glanced at her questioningly and Myka pretended to need to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face as a cover up before returning her hand to HG's waist, making sure to stay on top of her shirt.
She was grateful when they'd reached the car and she opened the rear passenger door, helping HG to settle in the backseat before moving to open the front passenger door.
"Shotgun!" Pete called out, brushing past Myka at the last second to hop into the front seat as Artie slid into the driver's seat.
"Pete!" Myka admonished, hands on her hips. "I was going to sit there!"
"Too slow!" he called out, pulling the door shut and sticking his tongue out at Myka.
"You're such a child sometimes," Myka shot back at him, then rounded the back of the range rover to get into the back seat next to HG, who was leaning her head back against the headrest, eyes closed. The position caused her throat and upper chest to be exposed to Myka's gaze and she swallowed hard at the sight.
Pulling herself out of her trance, Myka shook her head and forced herself to look forward at the back of Artie's head as he drove. What the hell was happening to her? She'd never… lusted after a woman before.
Whoa, where had that come from? Lusted? No, no, this was just… an aesthetic appreciation. HG was stunning, after all. Yeah, that was it. Just an aesthetic appreciation. There was no way she was lusting after a woman.
Many of my lovers were men.
HG's earlier comment back at the warehouse, Warehouse 13, that is, reverberated through her mind. Many of my lovers were men. The implications of that simple statement… They stuck out in Myka's mind and she couldn't stop thinking about it.
She was grateful when Artie pulled up to their hotel. Artie immediately stalked off towards the elevators and Myka rolled her eyes at Pete, who shrugged and followed him.
Myka turned to HG, who still looked a bit weak. "Are you okay?" she asked softly, noting the tiredness in her still beautiful features.
HG nodded. "I'll be fine after a hot bath and a decent rest," she assured Myka with a smile. Myka nodded and they followed after Pete and Artie, managing to catch the same elevator.
"Try not to get into anymore trouble tonight," Artie huffed as the elevator doors opened on the 5th floor and they exited the metal box. He stalked off down the hallway towards his room, which Myka imagined he'd checked into earlier, as the three agents turned the opposite way towards their suite. They could get away with a suite now that there was three of them.
"He sure is cheerful," HG said, walking a bit more steadily than before. Myka figured she could walk on her own now and went to remove her arm from around HG's waist. But HG surprised her by gripping the hand at her waist, preventing Myka from removing her arm. She glanced over at HG who had a completely neutral expression on her face as they stopped in from of suite 504 and waited for Pete to open the door.
Once inside, Pete immediately went to raid the mini bar, grabbing a bag of chips and a soda. Myka rolled her eyes at her partner's action. She felt HG pulling away and let her go. She watched her grab a bag and rifle through it. "If no one minds, I'm going to claim the shower first," she said. "I feel like there's five layers of dirt and sand on my skin and in places I don't even want to think about." She didn't wait for a response before going into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Myka had to force her mind to stay out of the gutter at HG's final remark.
Myka fell onto the couch, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees as she covered her face with her hands. Pete noticed his partner's position and set down his snack, sitting next to Myka and putting an arm around her.
"She's okay, Mykes," he said softly. Pete may be immature and annoying at times, but he was pretty perceptive, especially when it came to his partner and best friend.
Myka straightened up, taking a deep breath, trying to act unaffected. "Of course she is. Artie to the rescue and all that."
Pete just kept looking at her. She tried to ignore him, just sitting there on the couch with her arms crossed staring straight ahead, but soon, he got the better of her. "What, Pete?" she finally acknowledged him, still looking straight ahead.
"You like her."
Myka could hear the smile in his voice. She just rolled her eyes and stood up. "Whatever you say," she muttered, stalking into one of the bedrooms and shutting the door behind her. She sat on the edge of the bed, reaching down to take off her boots before falling back on the soft comforter, covering her face with her hands once again as she thought over the events of the day.
HG had almost died. Saving her. Holy crap.
And Myka… she'd been upset. More than upset. She'd been… devastated. Almost… heartbroken. Where had that come from?
Myka thought about the past few months. Their first encounter with HG in London, again when she'd caught her snooping around the coach's office, then the whole grappling and flying through the air thing… When the Regents had first asked her what she thought about HG being reinstated as an agent, her first thought was extreme joy at the thought of working closely with her childhood hero… er, heroine. But now, she wondered if it were more than that. Did she, Myka Ophelia Bering, straight-laced, hardcore rule-following, straight Myka… have a crush on HG Wells?
The door to the bedroom suddenly opened and Myka sat up, prepared to yell at Pete for interrupting her alone time, but she was silenced when she saw instead HG, dressed in light cotton pants and a loose top standing in the doorway, hair still damp from her shower.
"Oh, I'm sorry darling," HG said. "I didn't mean to disturb you."
Myka shook her head. "It's okay. You need to rest. I'm sure you're tired. I am too. Here, you take the bed. I'll sleep out on the pullout couch."
HG chuckled. "Nonsense, dear," she said, closing the door and walking to the head of the bed. Myka swallowed hard. "The bed's plenty big enough."
HG moved to sit next to Myka, but Myka jumped up before she could. "I need a shower," she said, hurrying out the door, not looking back at HG. But if she had, she'd have seen the mischievous, smug grin on HG's perfect lips.