"Augh, Helena! You used up all the hot water!" Hunnigan complained loudly from the shower and Helena chuckled.

"I'm Catholic and a lesbian, it takes me a long time to feel clean," she jested as she dug into the food which had been meant to be dinner last night, but had been reassigned the duty of serving as breakfast after she and Hunnigan had gotten distracted and forgotten to eat.

"I'm not sure I accept your faith as an excuse," Hunnigan scoffed as she emerged from the bathroom wearing only a towel.
"And I can't even go to Mass because we're here, so it's like... double-trouble."

"I'm sure there are Catholic churches here too," Hunnigan countered and narrowed her eyes.
"Maybe, but it's too late now, I slept in because you wore me out last night, so... you only have yourself to blame," Helena shrugged innocently and took another bite of her meal.

"You're unbelievable," Hunnigan laughed softly and took a seat at the table. She'd eaten her meal while Helena had been in the shower, so she took the opportunity to check her phone which she'd kept switched off until now. Shortly after powering up, it chimed to let her know she had new messages.

Hunnigan skimmed through most of them, they could wait until Monday, but the message from Lucy caught her attention.

Boom, baby! it read, and attached was an image of her driver's license which stated that Lucy Selena Hunnigan's date of birth was now January 1st 1996, making her officially eighteen years old.

"Well, I'll be damned, my baby's all grown up," Hunnigan pretended to sniffle a little as she showed Helena the picture.
"Congratulations, now you're no longer legally responsible for her shenanigans," Helena grinned jokingly, knowing perfectly well that she never had been.

"You okay?" she then asked after Hunnigan had stared at the message silently for a long while.

"Yeah, I just feel a little cheated, I'd thought I could keep calling that runt my baby sister for a couple more years, but now she's suddenly an adult and I suppose I should start treating her like one," Hunnigan muttered and put the phone away.

"She's still your baby sis, and frankly, I'm convinced she wouldn't have it any other way," Helena assured gently and Hunnigan smiled.
"Thanks. I'm gonna go try taking that shower now," she then said and headed back to the bathroom.

After finishing her meal, Helena went over to the bookshelf to find something to entertain herself with. There was no TV and the Internet connection wasn't what she would've called stable and reliable. She didn't think it was necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, less distractions this way.

"Huh," she hummed and pulled out a photo album that was as thick as a brick. Judging from the amount of baby pictures, Alix and Lance had been very excited about their baby (and judging from how almost every picture was out of focus, they weren't exactly great photographers). Helena browsed past pictures of baby-Hunnigan napping on her father's chest, eating and making a mess of it, sitting in a sink, making weird faces, and of course, riding the family dog (not Shepard, though, obviously this was a different dog).

She grew up a little with every page turn and toward the end, there were a few pictures featuring friends and siblings. Helena wasn't sure, she'd never seen a picture of Liam, but she got the feeling that the tattooed young man with a kind smile holding Hunnigan in a half-hug in a photo that was taken at Christmas was Liam. Nina's presence in the next photo with the similar setting kind of confirmed it.

Judging from a long series of photos that followed, Hunnigan and Nina had once been the kind of sisters that were inseparable. Helena sighed a little, it seemed like such a waste that their relationship had gotten as bad as it had. Also, looking at the things Hunnigan and Nina had done as sisters made Helena miss Deborah terribly.

Realizing she hadn't thought of her sister in a long while also made her feel guilty. She wasn't even sure how she'd managed that. Granted, she'd been preoccupied with life, but...

No, I won't feel bad about it, Deb would think that me not crying over what happened all the time is a good thing, Helena then mused, and it was true; had Deborah been able to tell her one thing, she would've told her "you're alive, so live". No amount of grieving, praying and bargaining would bring her back, it was pointless to waste time on it. Sighing, Helena turned the page.

"Oh, my God," she whispered when she got to the last page which featured a photo of Hunnigan dressed in a navy blue dress, staring somewhere into the distance, her hair cascading freely over her shoulders. Helena couldn't tell how old Hunnigan was in it, maybe it had been her prom photo, maybe some other event which had required a formal dress, but she looked amazing. Helena dug out her phone and took a picture of the photo after deciding she definitely wanted a copy.

"That's not creepy at all," Hunnigan's voice came from behind her, startling her.
"So, I'm a creep, big deal," she commented and put the photo album back into its rightful place.

"Find anything interesting?" Hunnigan then asked, amusement flickering in her voice and eyes.
"Well, for one thing, that you really grew into your ears," Helena taunted.

"Rude!" Hunnigan scoffed with a smirk and snapped Helena with her towel only to have the younger woman grab a hold of it and yank on it, pulling Hunnigan to herself.

"It was a compliment, I really like the shape of your ears," Helena chuckled mischievously, dropped the towel onto the couch and wrapped her arms around Hunnigan's nude form, raking her fingernails over Hunnigan's back, making the taller woman's skin rise to goosebumps.

"Don't do this, I just got clean and there's no more hot water left," Hunnigan groaned when Helena's hand traveled further down, stopping to firmly cup Hunnigan's buttock as she trailed her lips over Hunnigan's jawline and the side of her neck.

"We could always take a cold shower afterward," Helena hummed softly into Hunnigan's ear.
"We'd probably need it."

Hunnigan was the first to admit that sex had never really played a huge part in her life before. Of course she'd had urges and needs just like pretty much anyone else, but she'd rarely bothered dragging another person into it to deal with it. "Masturbate and then walk away" had become kind of a mantra over the past few years, it was much easier than pursuing someone and then having to deal with them afterward, or worse; wanting someone she knew she couldn't have.

With Helena, it was different. It wasn't a matter of just having someone there whose body to use to get what she wanted. It wasn't a chore, it wasn't a power struggle, it wasn't about taking as much as you could before it was over. It was about drawing your own enjoyment out of knowing how much pleasure you could bring to your lover.

I'm going to be thirty-five this year and I think that I had never really made love until I met Helena, Hunnigan mused as she lay on her side on the couch, her arm and leg stretched over Helena's body, nuzzling onto the younger woman's neck, breathing heavily and leaning to kiss Helena's skin to taste the salt of her sweat.

"I could stay here forever," Helena murmured happily and kissed Hunnigan's forehead.
"Liar, in a few minutes you're gonna get up and go have a cigarette," Hunnigan taunted.

"Well, I do want one, now that you mentioned it... but I want to snuggle with you some more, so it'll just have to wait," Helena smiled.

After sharing a quick, relatively cold shower with Hunnigan, Helena went for her pack of cigarettes only to discover it empty and to realize she'd forgotten to buy more.

"Damn it, I don't want to have to go to the store," Helena complained and crumpled the empty pack before tossing it into the trash.
"Then don't. I'll distract you from withdrawals," Hunnigan offered with a grin and Helena quirked an eyebrow.

"You're insatiable."

"Maybe," Hunnigan chuckled and shrugged a little, "but it's really your fault. It's like Olivia once told me; great sex is never supposed to leave you satisfied, it should leave you wanting more. So, yeah, that's where we're at, beyond satisfied," she then said and Helena smiled.

"Well, that really is quite a compliment."
"...but it's not enough to keep you from going to town for a pack of smokes, is it?" Hunnigan commented, narrowing her eyes and turning her mouth into a pout as she crossed her arms under her breasts.

"I also realized we didn't buy enough beer and I could go for a few cold ones," Helena justified her intentions further.
"While you're there, bring me Kinder Surprise eggs!" Hunnigan called out just as Helena was about to step outside.

"How many?"
"Surprise me," Hunnigan smirked and Helena chuckled.

"All right, I'll see you soon," she said and exited the cabin.

Hunnigan finished getting dressed and went downstairs to brew some coffee since she'd missed her morning cup. She'd just sat down to enjoy it when there was a knock on the door. Frowning, she got up and went to answer it.

"Michael," she said, barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the sight of him. She knew she shouldn't have told him where she'd be staying, but then again, it was kind of obvious where she'd be, Hunnigan hardly had any other business here.

"Hey. I was in the neighborhood," he grinned as he opened with the ancient dialogue they'd gone through more times than either could count.
"I'd be surprised it you weren't since you live nearby," Hunnigan said her line before frowning deeply at him, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, seeing you yesterday got me thinking about the good old days and I figured I'd stop by and see if you felt like catching up," he smiled.
"The good old days, huh?" Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow. That wasn't exactly how she remembered them. Judging from the somewhat uncomfortable chuckle, he couldn't in all sincerity really call them all good times either.

"Ah, you know... Actually, I did want to apologize to you sooner, but I had no means of contacting you since you changed your number and I couldn't find you online either," he shrugged one shoulder.

"Yeah, I don't do social media, working for the government leaves one paranoid like that," Hunnigan smirked. It wasn't as much about paranoia as it was about a lack of interest toward the platforms and her genuine inability to ever be able to bring herself to understand people who wouldn't get out of bed in the morning if no one liked their pictures or status updates.

"Well, since we're here... I'm sorry about what happened. I was feeling like shit and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have, and I'm sorry."
"It really has been a long time, so don't worry about it, no permanent damage done," Hunnigan chuckled.

"Not to you maybe."
"Oh, come on," she sighed.

"I'm serious, I've thought about you a lot and really needed to apologize," he said and Hunnigan didn't have the heart to tell him that she hadn't thought about him, let alone about how things between them had ended, at all.

"Well, now you've apologized and I accept your apology, so you have nothing to worry about," she assured him.
"Okay, well, that's... uh, that's a relief then," Michael chuckled awkwardly and pursed his lips as he tried to think of a way to continue the conversation despite it being rather obvious that she didn't intend to invite him in.

"Do you still play the bass?" he asked.
"Hah, no, haven't in years," she laughed softly.

"Shame, you were really good at it."
"I guess," she shrugged again, leaning to the door while still firmly standing in the doorway rather than stepping aside to silently invite him in.

"Any chance I could scrounge a coffee and... we could chat?"

"To what end, Michael?" Hunnigan sighed deeply, "Let's say we chat now and exchange numbers and occasionally text each other about what the weather's like. Then what? How long would it be before I'd need to block your number again? And, furthermore, what would we even talk about?"

"Wow, okay, that's... blunt," he nodded and scratched the back of his head a little.
"I don't mean to hurt your feelings, I'm just asking what it is that you assume we could talk about?"

"Well, you know, the kind of stuff we used to talk about before. Movies, music... so on."
"Look..." Hunnigan exhaled, her tone soft and almost gentle because she really didn't want to hurt his feelings, he wasn't a bad guy, he was just... exhausting. Or, had been, as far as she could remember, but she was relatively certain that if one trait of him were to always remain the same no matter how much time would pass, it would be that one.

"I don't have anything to say to you. I'm not an angsty teenager anymore, I can't relate to how you see the world and feel about it," she said.

...no matter how well I know that you're not always wrong about the world and its shameful state, but unlike you, I have to sustain the hope that it'll change because I don't want to become jaded, she added mentally.

"I'm not standing here claiming to be a changed man, but things are different now," Michael said.
"Maybe, but based on past experience of you saying that, I already know that we can't be friends because nothing's changed that much," Hunnigan shook her head.

"Well, you suddenly being a lesbian is a pretty big change," he smirked and Hunnigan rolled her eyes at him.
"Please don't tell me you're one of the people who think that being gay is a choice."

"No, I'm not, I mean... considering how bad the situation still is in many ways, I can't imagine who would ever choose to be gay and risk all the rejection that comes with it," Michael shook his head and Hunnigan quirked an eyebrow. Well, that was something she could agree with him about. Then he continued his speech and her opinion of him went back to the negative side.

"But you're no lesbian."
"I don't believe that my sexual preferences are any of your business."

"True, but what I'm saying is that you don't have to put up with this facade of being gay, you could just tell me you don't want me."
"Oh, my God, Michael," Hunnigan groaned, pushed had glasses to her forehead and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head at his comment.

"You can rest assured, nothing about my relationship with Helena is faked, especially not just to let you down easy."
"I've known you since we were like fourteen, and based on what I know, there's not a gay bone in your body."

"Do you hear yourself? Like, do you actually hear what you're saying and do you understand how ridiculous and how offensive you're being? Believe me, I wouldn't bother putting up a facade of this magnitude just to spare your feelings."

"Nah, you see, the thing is, if that were the truth, I could live with it, but you're lying" Michael said and Hunnigan frowned. Just what the hell kind of proof was he expecting?

"Excuse me?" Hunnigan asked, her tone becoming less friendly. She knew she should've just shut the door and walked away, but a part of her was curious to hear what he had to say.

"I get it, you're not obligated to tell me anything, but at least be honest with me. If you don't want me in your life, then just say it, don't pretend that you're gay or whatever," he scoffed.
"Uh, well, I would've imagined that making myself unavailable to you for the past decade would've been as honest a way of telling you I don't want you in my life as they came, but still, here you are," Hunnigan narrowed her eyes at him.

"Yeah, 'cuz I thought we could discuss it, but since you seem happy pretending to be something you're not just to get rid of me, I guess that ain't gonna happen."

"Okay, look. I'm in love with someone else and I do not want you, not in my bed, not as my boyfriend. I haven't in a long time. You know that and you would realize that if you weren't off your meds," Hunnigan said, trying to wrap her head around how he'd even gotten the idea to turn up like no time had passed. She didn't think she'd given him any reason to believe that. She hadn't initiated the hug at the store, he had and she'd merely tolerated it, so that couldn't have been it either. Unless he was delusional enough to think otherwise... which, actually, had to be considered.

"I'm amazed you'd even entertain the idea that I would still be at your beck and call like I was when I was a kid. I loved you, sincerely, but you didn't care about that, and now you have the balls to turn up here thinking you can just snap your fingers and have me? What is wrong with you?" Hunnigan questioned, her voice raising to an outraged falsetto. Nearly a decade was long time for people to change, but apparently, not everyone changed.

Michael turned to look over his shoulder when Helena drove up the driveway in the black Audi she'd rented. Hunnigan let out an inaudible sigh of relief. She had never been one to willingly even fathom the idea of being a damsel in distress (even when she really had been), but right now, she was willing to happily throw herself in Helena's arms while dramatically proclaiming she needed a savior. Helena got out, grabbed the groceries from the backseat and paused to light a cigarette before walking over to the door.

"Yo, everythin' a'right?" she asked, squinting her left eye to keep the smoke from getting into it, the cigarette between her lips bouncing as she spoke. She could tell the conversation between Hunnigan and Michael couldn't have been a pleasant one. Hunnigan didn't know it, but her body language gave away a lot more than she thought it did. Thing was, not a lot of people had learned to read her the way Helena had.

"Yes, he was just leaving," Hunnigan said, her words directed at Helena, but her glare firmly set on Michael.

"If you ever decide to be honest about yourself, you know where to find me," he said, turned around and walked past Helena, exchanging a glance with the young woman, deciding at the last moment not to intentionally bump into her because the way she looked at him sent a message which was that she wouldn't hesitate to break his bones if he gave her any reason to.

"What did he want?" Helena inquired.

"...to know if I still played the bass," Hunnigan sighed and turned to go back inside. The smell of burnt coffee filled the space and she went to turn off the coffee maker and then emptied her cup into the sink, the liquid having gone cold a good while ago.