A/N: Because Myka/Helena is my favorite pairing right now, and they need an epic love story. To all my ME fans, you should give this pairing a try. More chapters to come! Warehouse 13 owns the characters. Disney and Tchaikovsky own Sleeping Beauty.
Chapter One
Twenty-two hours and nineteen minutes. One-thousand three-hundred and thirty-nine minutes. Divided by thirteen, it equaled one-hundred and three. Helena smirked. The irony was not lost on her. She ran her fingers over the dark red upholstery of the chair and settled in. It seemed like such an insignificant number. And the chair felt surprisingly familiar, like last time. Though her purposes were not quite so sinister. No, quite the opposite. She had never considered the hours much of anything, not until she found herself missing the time. She knew the implications of course, she just needed to know the why, the when, the who. And when she found that all out, it was only a matter of filling in the gaps left by her own reckless trail.
Twenty-two hours and nineteen minutes. The thought pulsed like a beacon as she pulled the bar to her lap. Locked in. No second thoughts. Helena took a deep breath and tilted her head back with the armchair and waited for the time machine to cast her back into oblivion. The room spun. She closed her eyes. Time to save the world. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Earlier, Much Earlier
Helena opened her eyes. She stood on the porch of Leena's Bed and Breakfast. The night felt chilled. She smiled, hands in her trouser pockets. She knew this night. She had just been reinstated as a warehouse agent, supposedly a happy night, one she did not remember.
"Congratulations."
She knew that voice. "Myka." Helena turned around, unable to help the grin spreading on her face. The woman smiled at her and held up a glass of wine. A half-drained one rested in her other hand. "What on earth is this for?" Helena took the drink and raised it to her lips. She never took her eyes off her.
Myka looked away, though, and blushed. "I thought we should celebrate," she said. "You know, since you're officially on the team now."
Helena laughed. She took a small sip out of the glass, just enough. She wanted to have perfect clarity for the night ahead. "Thank you," she said. "Your acceptance means a great deal to me."
They exchanged glances again. Helena saw the glimmer of affection in Myka's eyes. She had come to know it quite well over the years, but the Helena before this night would have only dismissed it as a curious glance. The Helena before and after this night, however, was quite a few years younger. "I'm just… glad I could be there for you," said Myka. She drained the last of the wine from her glass. Helena took another small sip.
By this point in the night, she usually asked Myka to recap her day, or presented her with a musing that had been troubling her. Helena fumbled for a moment; for she did not know how to interact with the Myka she had only just met. Just think back to your tomcat days. Helena almost frowned. No, she would not seduce Myka in so lowly a manner. "So…" You can't use your default statements. Compliment her hair. "I trust your day went well."
Myka stepped a little closer. The nighttime air frosted as they exhaled. "It did," she said. She placed the empty glass down on a table. "And yours?"
"Well enough," said Helena. "I got a new job, new partners."
"Really?" asked Myka. They shuffled closer. Helena suspected she was tipsy. Not ideal circumstances, but none of this would be. It has to be this way. She reached around Myka and set her own unfinished glass down. Their arms brushed against one another. As she drew back, Myka said, "Tell me about them."
Helena laughed and took a half-step back. "Well, one is sort of a nut. He jokes around all the time, but I think it's to cover other things."
"That would be Pete." Myka rocked forward and back on her heels. Helena fought the urge to reach out and steady her like she usually did.
Instead she nodded and pressed on. "And the other one, Myka, she's the one I really have to thank. She's the only reason I got the job in the first place." Or ever wanted it.
"Ah," said Myka. She took another step closer. "How are you gonna thank her then?"
"Well." Helena took another step in the direction of the Bed and Breakfast. "I was thinking of grabbing another bottle of wine and taking a tour of the warehouse with her."
Myka grabbed her empty glass and followed her into the common room. "Really?" she asked. "I'll grab the wine, then." She took Helena's barely-finished glass.
"I'll get my coat." Helena took off for her room. She found her quarters to be in order. Everything remained in place. She checked her reflection and had to resist from touching her face. It was only a handful of years, but the difference seemed much more apparent. She fixed her hair then turned away, pulling on the trench coat and checking her pockets for loose items. Helena almost jumped when her fingers closed over the thin, metal casing of the compact. For a moment, she considered tossing it into the woods, but it would not work. Time's course altered for no one. Instead, she pulled the device from her pocket and stored it in one of her drawers. She could come retrieve it later, back when she was her old self. In a way, its presence hardened her resolve. She needed to make the most of every second with Myka. Otherwise, the world would be doomed.
"Ready to go?"
Helena looked up and saw Myka standing in her doorway with a new bottle of wine and her glass. She tied the front of her trench coat. "I'm ready now," she said.
They told the others they were going out and shooed off Pete when he joked about coming along. Even Myka showed evasion to including him, though Helena knew why. When they got to Myka's car, Helena had to pry Myka's keys away and convince her to dump out the wine in her glasses. They stored the unopened bottle and glasses in the back. Still, Myka made the move for the driver's seat.
"Out," said Helena. "Get over to the passenger's side. You've had a little too much to be behind the wheel."
Myka sidled out of the seat and walked around to the passenger side door. They got in. "And when did you find time to learn?" she asked. "They didn't have cars back in your day."
Helena laughed and started the ignition. "Please. They're a quite simple contraption. You're looking at the woman who wrote about men on the moon, time machines, and invaders from space-"
"But that last one actually happened-"
"True," said Helena. She put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway and onto the road. She put it in drive. "My point is I mastered the mechanics of the automobile quickly, so don't worry." And a few extra years of practice did not hurt either.
They made it to the warehouse with little difficulty. Helena had to remember to 'ask' for directions every now and then, but the ride proved easy enough. They parked in front of the warehouse and retrieved their wine and glasses before heading inside. While they walked down the sterile, white hall, Myka asked, "So, what do you like most about the twenty-first century?"
You. Helena really said, "the stars." They paused while Myka let the retina scanner confirm her identity. The door swung open.
"Have they really changed that much?" asked Myka. She set the wine bottle down and pulled the stopper out.
"No," said Helena. She held her empty glass and let Myka fill it. "That's why I like them. Even after a hundred years, they're still the same."
Myka nodded and poured herself a drink. "But they won't be in another million years," she said.
Helena sighed and took a sip from the wine. "No, I suppose not."
Myka must have caught the tone in her voice, because she set the bottle down and looked up with wide eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. That was a little insensitive of me."
Helena smiled and shook her head. "Don't be. I'm used to it by now."
"I suppose people forget what it's like often, then?" asked Myka.
The statement made Helena realize her slip. She had been referring to Myka's off-the-cuff comments. She had gotten used to those over the years, even found them endearing in a way. She recovered quickly, "I- yes. People don't like to think of me as the woman from the 19th century."
"Well, you were forward thinking for your time," said Myka.
"You have no idea." Helena stopped herself as her gaze flickered over Myka. She caught the woman's gaze and thought she saw a hint of blush. "Shall we take a walk?" She gestured with her wine glass out to the warehouse.
"Yes, that sounds good." The two of them set off into the warehouse. Helena was relieved they did not run into Artie anywhere. It would have made her plans so much more difficult to follow through with. As they walked by the rows and rows of equipment, the two talked. Helena had to remind herself that they were still relatively unfamiliar with one another. She asked the standard "get-to-know-you" questions that any suitor would fish around for. She heard again about Myka's family while they sipped wine, though she more or less pretended to drink from her glass. They passed by a particular aisle and Helena stopped. She heard music. "What is it?" asked Myka.
"A sound is coming from over there," she said. The two turned down the aisle to the left and walked until they reached a small 1940's style radio. It played Tchaikovsky. Helena read the screen. "It says it's a O&W radio company product, a store that sold radios before it was sold off and leveled for the construction of the World Trade Center in New York."
"Really?" asked Myka. She leaned into Helena, probably trying to read the screen. Helena tried to hold back a shiver at the touching of their arms. "Why is it playing this, then?"
"It picks up on people's emotions and plays music appropriate to them," said Helena, scanning the description. "Though this is the garland waltz from the sleeping beauty ballet." She set down her wine glass and stepped back. "Care to dance?" she asked.
Myka blushed and cautiously took Helena's offered hand. She pulled her in close and wrapped an arm around Myka's middle. She felt Myka's other hand searching for an appropriate grip. "My shoulder, dear," she said. "It is a waltz, after all."
"Oh! Of course!" said Myka.
Helena bit back a laugh as she glanced down at her feet. "It's a fairly simple waltz," she said. "Just count like so: one, two, three..." They began moving, though Myka stumbled a little bit at first, they soon got into the rhythm and waltzed up and down the aisle of the warehouse.
After a minute of keeping rhythm successfully, Myka spoke. "So, how do you know this song?"
Helena grinned and spun them around. Myka yelped and missed a step, but they settled back into the pattern quickly. "It's part of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Ballet. This is from act one. It's the waltz that the members of court perform for the king and queen." She paused as she noticed the small smile spreading on Myka's face. "I went to the premier in 1890."
"And there was no handsome prince waltzing through the woods with a princess?"
Helena's brow furrowed. "Aurora does not waltz through the woods."
Myka laughed. Her foot pressed on Helena's for a second. Her fingers squeezed into her shoulder a little tighter. "There's a modern rendition of this," she said. "They did it for kids, gave this song words."
"They put words to Tchaikovsky's masterpiece ballet? The whole point is that it transcends words!" They still danced, though Helena felt a little irritated with the song. It still played.
"They're really pretty words, though," said Myka. "Oh, I can't remember all of them, but the one phrase, they say it right here: 'I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream.'"
The meaning behind the song clicked in Helena's head. Of course it was not playing for her. It played for Myka's understanding of the song. She arched an eyebrow. "So it's a love song?" she asked.
Myka blushed and looked down. "I... suppose it is."
Their motions slowed. Their hands lowered, though fingertips still clung at clothing, hesitant to part. The waltz ended and the pas d'action began. Helena smiled as the harp trilled over the chords. "Now this song," she said. "This is when the two lovers dance together."
"Does it end in a kiss?" asked Myka.
Helena smiled. She knew almost everyone else at the warehouse was spending this night with someone they cared about. Pete had Kelly. Claudia had her nerd. She knew Myka felt particularly lonely in this moment, and the current Helena almost felt guilty for taking advantage of her emotionally fragile state, but the fate of the world hung in the balance. The old Helena needed to find love again, find it somewhere other than in the world that had changed forever. If that meant she had to come back in time and give herself a nudge in the right direction, that seemed hardly a large ordeal. At least, it did until she arrived back in time. She looked Myka in the eyes. She saw the curiosity there, the want that she knew scared Myka in that moment. They had talked about this instance so many times. Helena nearly had it all memorized like a script. "I don't know," she said. "Let's find out."