Hobbits notes. The song is called Color of you, by Hilary Bernstien. Glitch picked it out so this is for him. the writing in bold is the lyrics, the italics are a flashback and the regular is present day. No particular timeline just some Teslen fun.
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Helen fiddles idly with the scrap of paper in her hand as she awaits somewhat apprehensively for Nikola. He's up to something, he always is. And as ever, he's pulled her into it. Helen smooths out the page and rereads the note he left on her bedside table.
Ljubav,
We have a date. Meet me at 3 o'clock in the main lounge. Dress nice.
Tesla
It makes Helen laugh and roll her eyes. She hadn't expected him to keep the date, but she clearly remembers the day they set it.
It was early in the spring, just before the Five was formed. Helen had been working in a spare class room when Nikola coughed lightly from the doorway.
"M-miss Magnus? Could I- Can we... Do you have time to... talk?" He asked shyly in his clipped accent. Helen smiled and lead him to a seat.
"Call me Helen. I always have time for you." She smiled kindly and sat beside him, smoothing out her dress. "How might I help you, Mr Tesla?"
"Nikola if you don't mind" He smiled up at her gently. "I have never met anyone so- how is the word? Supple? Ljubak. Balanced? "
Helen chuckled softly and reached out for his hand. "I thank you Nikola. But I don't see what you want with this..."
Nikola blushed. "I would like to learn to dance, I would like you to teach me. I know I can trust you and I know you can help me. Please? I will make it up to you. I will teach you many things... anything that I can in return."
Helen smiled and nodded. "I would be honored to teach you to dance."
"Dozing off, Helen?" Nikola smirks in his now perfect English. Helen opens her eyes and looks up to see the snarky vampire standing before her with a wide arrogant (if slightly crooked) grin. He is wearing an all black suit with a striking red tie and matching handkerchief peeping out of his breast pocket. Both are a deep crimson that perfectly matches Helen's mermaid gown.
"Well Nikola." Helen smiles and stands up, stretching softly. "If I didn't know better I would think you were spying on me. Great minds must think alike."
"I certainly hope not. It's improper for ladies of our day to have such dirty thoughts." Nikola smiles and roves his eyes indecently over her. "And besides, you hardly have to wonder what you look like naked."
"Honestly Nikola you can be so crass. I know you are a proper gentleman." Helen rolls her eyes. Nikola only smiles mysteriously in reply. He pulls out a blindfold and Helen shakes her head ruefully.
"Now Nikola, you know the moves, and you know the music. " Helen said as she pulled out a
blindfold. "But you are still over thinking it. Come here. "
"I think I am having a change of mind Ms. Magnus!" Nikola swallowed nervously. Helen laughed softly and tied the blindfold carefully over his eyes. "Its alright Nikola. I've got you. "
A small slow smiled blossomed from his mouth, starting in the center and spreading to the corners. "Alright. I trust you Ms- Helen."
Helen smiled and pulled one of Nikola s hands to her sapphire silk clad hip. Nikola gulped nervously and splayed his hands experimentally.
"Alright, Nikola. Just follow the music."
"Follow the music love." Nikola smirks and ties the blindfold over Helen's eyes. She reaches up to take it off again but Nikola catches her hands with a breathy chuckle she knows from experience
not to trust.
Days grow short marking autumn's arrival,
Are you here with me?
Leaves all change, a chameleon of colors,
I need you now with me
The sands of time will be washed away
But the castles they made not forgotten,
A mark has stayed, the world somehow changed,
An impression to last for all time
"Interesting choice." Helen smiles as Nikola's hands wrap around her.
"Reminds me of you Helen. And the day we met. The crisp autumn breeze, the leaves changing
to red and gold..."
"The ripples of the pond as the wind crossed the surface." Helen nods.
"The soft cooing noise the pigeons made. They told me you were coming. The most beautiful woman in the world fed them regularly." Nikola replies. Helen can tell from his tone there is a far away light in his eye. She can imagine the look on his face as he speaks of his dear Oxford pigeons, the first friends he made in England. Helen laughs warmly and without thinking about it pulls Nikola closer. They begin the dance where the pair left off all those years ago in the small unused classroom as weak autumn sunlight filtered through the large windows.
"One two three four" Helen counted carefully. Nikola counted along under his breath in Serbian with a light smile.
"This is very fun. Thank you Miss Magnus." Nikola smiled, keeping up with the steps easily. "I will pay you back for this. If it takes me 100 years."
Helen laughed and pulled Nikola closer without breaking the dance. "Alright. 100 years. If we're still alive. It's a date."
Nikola blushed and cleared his throat. "Promise me one thing."
"Anything." Helen replied easily without hesitation. "What is it?"
"Helen" Nikola whispers softly. "Do you remember your promise?"
"Promise if we are alive in 100 years we'll still be friends. Even if we are different." Nikola
asked timidly
Helen frowns at the serious sobriety in Nikola s voice.
"Yes. Nikola, I remember we promised that even if we were different we would still be friends." Helen smiles and and pulls Nikola closer. "We have changed haven't we? Sometimes I feel like if I tried I could have been a better friend. I should have been there for you. And the me- who I was back then would never have let that happen. I'm sorry Nikola."
Nikola shakes his head. "Helen No. You're perfect just as you are. You are less naive then you were back in Oxford. But I see a lot of who you were in who you are."
"And you are still you. Despite everything I've done to ruin you." Helen sighs.
"Oh Helen" Nikola admonishes. "You helped me to reach my full potential. You bring out the best in me. And you keep me humble. I don't think you noticed but every now and then I do tend to get a bit of a swelled head-"
He is interrupted by a loud laugh from the woman in his arms, but he doesn't mind. It's the same Helen he remembers.
Through the change, there's a thread that remains
Interweaving the lives of the present and past,
And though I won't see you as you used to be,
The whole world will be cast with a glow...
In the color of you
"What makes you think we'll be alive in 100 years Nikola?" Helen laughed as the pair circled in perfect step around the empty classroom.
Nikola leaned in close to her ear and whispered lightly in Serbian. "Moja ljubav je zauvek"
Helen shivered despite not knowing what those words meant.
Helen shivers at the memory and Nikola pulls her closer, murmuring this time in Latin, small words of comfort.
"You could have just taught me to speak Serbian in return for the dance lessons, Nikola." Helen smiles lightly. Nikola laughs and spins her out exuberantly. Helen gasps and laughs in surprise as the pair spin around the room. She feels almost like she's flying. She hasn't felt this alive in 100 years, not since the last time the pair danced like this.
And through the rains, there's a cloud that remains
And surrounding it glows a silver lining,
It's then I'm convinced you will always exist,
And it's there that I see the world's lit...
By the color of you.
Helen runs her hands carefully along Nikola's neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps in her wake. She hooks her hand just behind his ears and pulls him forward.
"Helen?" Nikola asks in that uncertain way he had about him back in Oxford.
Every time the wind takes my breath,
"Helen?"Nikola whispered softly and pulled the woman in his arms closer She melted against him so her breath ruffled his mustache. Without a second thought, Nikola pressed his lips to her own. Deprived of his sight, he could better smell her intoxicating perfume
Nikola can smell Helen's perfume better now that he is a vampire. That same intoxicating scent that makes his brain spin. Helen wears a strange half quirk of a smile as she pulled Nikola forward and presses her mouth fiercely to his.
Leaving me without a word to say
Nikola was stunned for a moment at his own daring and held still with his lips barely touching her. But when Helen didn't pulled away, he slipped his tongue in carefully, tasting her more fully. He knew immediately she would be his undoing. With a small grow Nikola pushed fruitlessly at his mind. Release her now and he may yet hold his sanity
Sanity dictates that Helen should pull away now, while she still has a choice. Before things go to far like last time. but already it is much too late. Her tongue is slipping carefully into Nikola's mouth to taste him fully. Already she is savoring his every nuance. Nikola's hands are at her waist, pushing her backwards until she is pressed between him and the table. She feels his strong arms lift her. Nikola places her deftly on the desk, never breaking the kiss
I see a glow in someone's eye,
Nikola felt his way along to the desk and placed Helen on top of it. She gave a soft noise of surprise, but still hadn't pulled away. Nikola smiled against her mouth and pulled her closer for a deeper kiss. Deprived of his sight, Nikola's senses were overtaken by Helen. Her every sound, every taste
Helen tastes Nikola carefully. A flavor that is richer and sweeter than any wine she has found in the last 100 years. She has spent her life looking for this exact flavor, but it belongs exclusively to her vampire.
Or hear a newborn baby cry
Nikola felt Helen's legs wrap around him and pulled her closer, enjoying the way her body seemed to mold to his own. He wanted to pull the blindfold off, but kept it in place, unwilling to take his hands off her long enough. Helen's hands tangled in his unruly hair, the hair that took him three hours to put in place. It would be a complete mess but he didn't care just then. He had Helen wrapped in his arms.
Helen pulls in Nikola closer. His hands are everywhere,places they are not supposed to be. Her skirts are up over her knees and Nikola is closer every moment. Helen hardly cares though, in fact she is pulling him ever closer. Nikola moans softly and Helen can't get enough of him. No one has ever kissed like Nikola.
It fills me with the sense...that I'm in your presence
Helen pulls away and takes off the blindfold. Nikola looks down at her completely vulnerable. No doubt he is remembering their last encounter like this.
With a slight gasp of air Helen pushed away as Nikola pulled off his blindfold. There was a strange terror in her eyes and she was pale as a sheet. It wasn't like Helen to look so frightened and it shook Nikola to his core.
"Helen?" He asked, taking a step toward her. But she shook him off as though she received an electric shock. "I- I have to go. Nikola. I am so sorry. I'll see you in class." Helen stammered before she positively fled for the door, leaving a dumbfounded Nikola in her wake.
"Well Nikola." Helen smiles nervously. "You really haven't lost your touch." For answer,Nikola smirks and pulls her into another kiss.
I can feel that the world is on fire...with the color of you
Hobbits Notes:
I tried not to use too much Serbian. I do not know anyone who speaks it. But here are the
translations of what I used:
Ljubav- Love/ My love (As nigh every Teslen no doubt knows)
Ljubak- Graceful
Moja ljubav je zauvek- My love is forever
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Hobbit