Author's note: please check the Archive of our own-copy of this story for art and a link to a playlist if you're interested. :)

Instead of having a single opening act perform before the band, they had several artists come by and perform a couple of songs Nolan and Hunnigan had written for them. Helena realized she'd been listening to their music unknowingly for quite some time as she recognized the majority of the songs performed, it had just never occurred to her that the people who'd actually written the songs would be none other than the Del Rey twins (which was the name they published music under).

The venue could host roughly six hundred people and the place was packed. Helena had wondered out loud why they'd chosen to perform a milestone gig in a small place like this, and Hunnigan had explained this was their favorite place to perform and that they preferred smaller avenues for the more intimate vibe they tended to have. And, Hunnigan had quietly admitted, she hadn't expected this many people to be interested, so she'd voted against Marisha's suggestion to move the event to a larger arena.

"Having fun?" Hawke asked Helena as she came to sit with her in the corner booth by the bar reserved for the VIPs. The rest of the group had rather ventured off into the crowd to stand nearer to the stage than stay back at the bar which suited Helena and Hawke just fine.

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't know what to expect. I've never been to a live gig before," Helena confessed and Hawke stared at her like she'd just admitted to never having seen the sky.
"...weeelll...with your penchant for introversion, I suppose that makes sense," Hawke then commented after thinking about it for a second.

Helena had never understood where the fun was in any of this. She didn't listen to much music but what little she did listen, she preferred the clean studio versions of the songs over the live versions. Going to concerts to be shoved around by a mass of sweaty people dancing and singing along the songs wasn't exactly something she found appealing either. Deborah had often invited Helena to join her when she'd gone out, but Helena never had done so. She was regretting it now, for reasons different than missing out on the experience of witnessing a band perform live.

"Hello, ladies," a slightly accented voice greeted and Helena felt her jaw drop a little (and saw Hawke's jaw drop a lot) when the woman took a seat at the small table next to theirs.

She wore a white sleeveless fitted dress, the V-shape of the neck diving all the way down to the corset design that expanded from underneath her breasts to her waist. On her ears she wore the familiar large gold earrings with the family crest on them, and in addition to those, an elegant if bordering on extravagant gold necklace that rested over her chest, and a round golden labret stud visible under her lower lip. The outfit was completed with a royal blue sash tied at an angle around her waist, and thigh-high dark brown leather boots. Simply put, she looked less like a lawyer and more like the pirate ancestor Helena had heard much about.

"Close your mouth, kid. You're gonna catch a fly," she told Hawke who promptly snapped her mouth shut.
"Isabela. You look...different," Helena managed, and Isabela laughed.

"Don't we all," she commented with a shrug. Hawke practically climbed over Helena as she eagerly stuck her arm out to shake hands and introduced herself to Isabela.
"How do you know each other?" Hawke then inquired.

"I'm her lawyer," Isabela answered for Helena, who simply nodded.
"You look kind of familiar. Didn't you play that lawyer who represented the dude who ate his own parents on Law&Order ?"
"I have never represented someone who ate his own parents," Isabela denied. "At least not on Law&Order," she then added under her breath, and Helena exchanged a curious look with Hawke.

"What happened there?" Isabela then asked and gestured across her own nose to elaborate her meaning. Hawke ran her fingers over the spot where the molded creature had taken a swipe at her.

The wound had healed and there was no sign of infection but regardless of that, the scar that remained looked kind of like a fresh smear of blood across the bridge of nose, extending to the top of her cheekbone. The DSO's resident chief medical officer, doctor Lara Cassia, didn't have an explanation for it, all she'd been able to say was that it was not infected, and as long as there was no pain or other complications, it was just a cosmetic issue.

"Birthmark," Hawke lied with a smirk.
"Sorry, I don't mean to upset you if it's a sensitive subject."

"It's not," Hawke assured.
"Good, it looks pretty cool, actually" Isabela commented.

"Thank you, I've grown fond of it myself."
"Shouldn't you be in the front row?" Isabela then asked Helena.

"I don't know?"
"Yes, she should. Get out of here," Hawke said, and Helena was sure she was doing it just to get rid of her.

"Actually, Hawke, can I have a word with you? Grab a drink with me," Helena said and headed over to the bar, Hawke following her.
"Helena, that gorgeous, ravishing MILF is about to get done. By me. And if you clitblock me now, I will literally murder you," Hawke said in a very serious tone.

"Yeah, but the thing is, you don't know whose mother it is you'd like to—"
"Literally. Murder. You," Hawke repeated, pausing for dramatic effect and to emphasize the seriousness of her threat. "I love you, but go away."

"Well, since you're determined to let your clit do the thinking, have fun," Helena smirked and headed over toward the front of the stage.

Shortly after she'd made it over and secured herself a spot from the side near the wall, not very close to the stage but with a good view, the lights in the room dimmed to indicate the gig would start soon. The cheers and whoots from the audience were loud enough to almost hurt her ears, and she dug into her pocket, taking out the earplugs Hunnigan had given her. Oddly enough, it hadn't even occurred to her she'd need those, but during the opening acts, she'd quickly realized why they were necessary.

The deep drumbeats of the epic intro playing the band in reverberated through the room, Helena could feel it vibrate the bones in her torso. As the song peaked with strings and brass joining the drums, the anticipating cheers and applause from the audience grew louder. The lights flashed across the stage to the beat of the song, each spot finally stopping to illuminate and reveal the band members one by one as they seemed to appear onto the stage from thin air. Finally, they were all lit, the intro ending in an epic swell, four semi-rapid hits to the hi-hat following kicking off the first song of the setlist.

Helena was relatively certain she'd spent the past hour with her mouth open in slack-jawed awe of her wife who seemed to come to life on stage in a way Helena had never seen her before. She'd seen videos, but it wasn't the same, the energy wasn't as palpable as it was here in this room.

The last song played out, the long piano and guitar solo accompanying Marisha and the audience's voice repeating the chorus of the song until it ended, and the audience erupted in cheers. The band abandoned their instruments on the stands placed on the stage, took a quick bow and disappeared off stage.

"They didn't play 'Dancing mad', they're coming back," Helena overheard someone say when their friend speculated would there be an encore. Shortly after, the crowd began chanting the words "We want more!" rhythmically, and Helena (much to her own surprise) joined in the chant as stagehands clad in black worked on something on stage in preparation for the encore.

A few minutes later Nolan walked on stage and took his position behind the row of keyboards, and leaned closer to his microphone.

"Hi," he said and the crowd cheered in response. "Since it's a special occasion, we managed to arrange for a special guest to make an appearance for the first time in a decade, you all know him, give it up for Daddy Del Rey!" he introduced his father who walked on stage holding a guitar, his appearance accompanied by a tidal wave of cheers and applause from the audience.

"Well, after a welcome like that, it'll be really awkward if I suck," Garrett chuckled, adjusting the height of the microphone stand. The rest of the band joined them on the stage and took their places. After everyone was set and the room quieted down, the lights dimmed once more. A few beats passed before Mel hit the song off and it erupted in a dramatic intro of heavy guitars and pipe organ, quieting down for the verse, allowing Garrett's clean tenor to bellow over a melancholy tune before it all once more swelled into a heavy metal song.

The second movement of the long song began with a haunting tune played by Nolan, the other instruments joining in after a while. Hunnigan looked over at her father who was playing the guitar over it, and mimicked his extremely stern look before smiling. He noticed the "mockery" and exaggerated his stern look further before also visibly laughing as they played.

Hunnigan stood straighter as the song morphed once more and her solo began. Helena had overheard Hunnigan practice this part of the song a few times in the past couple of weeks. It sounded almost like it could've been a segment from a classical song had the instrument been perhaps a violin. Once the solo ended, there were a couple of beats of silence before the rapid fire of drumbeats kicked off the next part that began with Nolan's solo, his father playing the same notes shortly after as Hunnigan played the second guitar for the section.

The song then slipped into a slow, melancholy tune, the stage slowly dimming around everyone except Hunnigan who was playing the last, several minutes long and heartbreakingly sad but beautiful solo. The last note of it still played when only the pipe organs joined in to repeat the intro of the song, the heavy toll of a church bell chiming in the background being the last sound to slowly fade out as the lights went down, the room growing dark and silent for several seconds before the audience erupted in wild cheers, Helena joining in, beginning to understand why people enjoyed seeing gigs live.

Garrett took a bow, thanked everyone for having him and exited the stage as Marisha entered, walking over to the electric guitar Garrett had left on the stand. Hunnigan stepped to the microphone and waited for the crowd to quiet down a bit before speaking.

"I know this is usually the part where we end the show, but I figured you might wanna hear a new song I wrote recently...I mean, if you don't, we can just..." Hunnigan trailed off, pointing to the side of the stage with her thumb to indicate the exit, her suggestion to leave met with loud objections from the audience.

"Let's all just leave, the audience included, let's go to a bodega and all buy the same item, like a pack of gum," Nolan said.
"That would really mess up their inventory," Hunnigan said and the audience laughed. "Anyway...Marisha has agreed to play the second guitar for this one," she continued.

"No problem, baby," Marisha interjected with a smile and gave a thumbsup.

"It's an instrumental because The Moody Blues already wrote ' Nights in white satin' ...Anyway, this is from my heart and soul just as much if not more. This one's called 'Theme of Jean'," Hunnigan introduced the song and Helena felt...she didn't even know what she felt. Hunnigan had said she'd wanted to write something for her, but she hadn't seriously considered that Hunnigan might actually do that, or that any of the songs she'd written previously might have been about Helena in one way or another.

Hunnigan stepped over to the acoustic guitar that had been placed on a stand by the stagehands during the short break prior to the encore. The guitar wasn't resting in the stand, it was ready to be played, and Helena realized Hunnigan was gonna play both, her electric guitar and the acoustic one.

So, this is what she thinks I would sound like if I were a song? Helena smiled as she listened.

The song opened with Hunnigan playing a few chords on the acoustic guitar before the rest of the instruments joined in, Hunnigan stepping away from the acoustic guitar after the intro and moving on to playing the melody of the song. There was a certain sadness to the tune but in the best possible way, in a similar fashion there was a hint of sexiness in the solo, and a simple little tune during the bridge that made Helena think of secret agents' theme songs.

Toward the end of the song, Hunnigan silenced her electric guitar, leaving those elements for Marisha to play while she flung her guitar over so that it was on her back, the headstock facing down. Hunnigan stepped back to the acoustic guitar and began picking the strings, playing the gentle acoustic outro.

The gig officially over, the musicians stood side by side at the edge of the stage, arms over each other's shoulders as they all took a bow in front of the cheering audience. Someone threw a bra at Nolan who picked it up and began putting it on, Marisha assisting him with the hooks, the act earning a good laugh from the crowd and the rest of the band. Mel gently tossed her drum sticks into the audience, and following her example, Hunnigan threw the guitar picks she'd carried in her pocket. A small scuffle threatened to start over the ownership of one of the items thrown, but thankfully it didn't escalate into a brawl.

After the stars of the evening left the stage, the crowd slowly began to move out, a few stragglers staying behind to grab a drink at the bar before heading out. Helena spent a few moments looking for Hawke but couldn't see her anywhere.

Maybe she left with Isabela, Helena smirked to herself, not really believing that would be the case. She sent Hawke a text to let her know she'd be heading back to their hotel where she and Hawke shared a room. Helena would be spending the night in Hunnigan's room (Nolan would have offered his apartment as a place to stay if it hadn't been for the fact that he intended to use it with Marisha, their on-and-off-relationship set to "on" for the time being since they were in the same town), but she figured she'd let Hawke know just in case she was wondering where Helena had gone.

Noticing there was almost no line at the bar, she decided to stay for a drink or two. Hunnigan had said she would be a while because she'd need to shower after the gig and possibly meet some fans, and Helena didn't feel like waiting by her door at the hotel hallway like a lost puppy. She messaged Hunnigan, asking her to text her when she was at the hotel. About an hour and a half later, Hunnigan finally responded and Helena exited the venue, making her way back to the hotel, humming one of the band's songs under her breath as she walked. She couldn't remember the name of it, but it was one of the faster-paced, catchy-party-tunes.

"'We can make it hot, hot, bring it on the rocks, round round down, right until you wanna'— Oh my God," Helena's hum got cut short by what she witnessed as she exited the elevator at her floor. Isabela was being carried along the hallway by Hawke, her arms around Hawke's shoulders, her legs tightly wrapped around her waist. Hawke broke their kiss long enough to slip her keycard into the lock to open the door, they stumbled inside the room and slammed the door shut behind them.

"Oh, my God," Helena repeated in a whisper to herself. She made her way over to Hunnigan's door and knocked. Hunnigan gripped her arm and yanked her inside before Helena even had a chance to greet her. She pulled Helena into a passionate kiss, and she wrapped her arms around Hunnigan's midsection, pressing their bodies together as they spent a few good minutes just kissing to make up for all the kisses they'd had to forgo today.

"My, my, miss Del Rey, what if someone saw us and tells your wife," Helena jested when they finally stopped for a moment to take a breath.
"I cannot think of an answer," Hunnigan admitted, and Helena chuckled. She pressed her palm against Hunnigan's chest to gently stop her when she leaned down to kiss her again, and Hunnigan frowned at that.

"What's wrong?"
"Uh...well, shit. I have to tell you something."

"I know, I smell so bad, I haven't actually showered yet."
"What? No. I like your BO," Helena said sheepishly.

"You're weird."
"And you're lucky, you could save tons on deodorant."

"I'm pretty sure other people would still find my BO offensive," Hunnigan smirked.
"Well, then they should pay for your deodorant."

"What a brilliant idea, I'll save like three dollars a month."
"That's thirty-six dollars in a year, nothing to be sniffed at, pun intended," Helena said and Hunnigan laughed heartily.

"What is it that you wanted to tell me?" she then asked and went to take a seat on the bed, Helena joining her.
"I saw your mom making out with Hawke in the hallway just before they went into Hawke's room," Helena blurted out and Hunnigan blinked in surprise at the news. "I probably shouldn't have said anything, it's none of my business, but then again, I think maybe you should know...because it's your mom...and it's Hawke...I don't know, I'm just...reporting. If you see something, say something, and all that," she continued babbling.

"I appreciate you telling me. But it's okay, my parents have an arrangement."
"Oh?" Helena's eyebrows rose.

"Yeah, my dad can sleep with any man he wants to, and my mom can sleep with any woman she wants to, as long as their one night stands are of the same sex and there are no feelings involved, it's fine because that way he'll still be the only man she's slept with and she's the only woman he's slept with."

"Oh..." Helena repeated as she let the information sink in. "Do I even want to know how you know of that arrangement?" she then asked and Hunnigan grimaced a little.
"Well, once upon a time I entered the tour bus unannounced only to discover my dad balls deep in the bus driver's ass."

"Ewww," Helena laughed through her teeth.

"I exaggerate, I didn't see anything explicit, thank God, but it was obvious what was happening, and my dad and I had to have a very awkward chat about what I'd seen."
"I wish I hadn't asked," Helena exhaled and Hunnigan chuckled.

"Forget about them, how are you, how was your night?" she changed the subject and took Helena's hands into her own as they sat on the bed, facing each other.

"So fun, I didn't expect it to be, but that was awesome, you were awesome, and so cool, and that song! That was so beautiful, I had no idea, you're...I'm babbling, but I just...yes, everything was great, you're great, and I love you. I love you so much," Helena chattered and Hunnigan smiled.

"I love you too," she replied and leaned in to kiss Helena again, this time gently and slowly, wrapping her arms around Helena and holding her tightly.

"What do you say we take a quick shower and get into bed?" she suggested a few moments later and Helena nodded in agreement, not minding Hunnigan's alleged stink, but aware that she herself probably reeked of sweat, cigarettes and beer, all of it forming a less than pleasant combination.

"Hey, what was that song you mentioned, something about satin?" Helena asked about twenty minutes later after they'd both showered and were going through their post-shower ritual involving skin care.
"Nights in white satin," Hunnigan said as she rubbed lotion on Helena's back and shoulders.

"I don't think I've ever heard it. Or, odds are, I have heard it, but I just don't recognize the name, I don't know any songs by their titles," Helena mused.
"Here," Hunnigan said a couple of minutes later. She handed Helena an earbud and she put it in while Hunnigan took the other, thumbed the screen of her phone and slipped it into the pocket of her bathrobe.

Helena smiled and pressed the side of her face against Hunnigan's shoulder as the taller woman wrapped her arms around Helena, and the couple proceeded to slowly dance to the song (which Helena did recognize now that she heard it).

"This is wonderful," Helena mumbled into Hunnigan's shoulder.
"It is," Hunnigan agreed and pressed a kiss on the top of Helena's head.

"I liked your song better," Helena then commented after the song ended, and Hunnigan chuckled.
"Well, good. Gotta like something of mine best, since apparently Mel's steak is better than mine," Hunnigan pretended to pout.

"I was just trying to make the best of your competitiveness, now you'll spend your time cooking me great steak just to prove you're better than Mel," Helena explained.
"You know me so well," Hunnigan smiled, slipped out of her bathrobe and got in bed, Helena joining her shortly after.

"You wouldn't happen to have that song you wrote about me handy? I'd love to hear it again."
"Which one, I've written dozens of songs about you," Hunnigan chuckled.

"Really? I had no idea!" Helena exclaimed.
"I'll make you a playlist," Hunnigan promised and settled to lay down. When Helena lay next to her, Hunnigan leaned over and kissed her deeply and slowly.

"I missed you so much today," she said into the kiss.
"I know, I missed you too," Helena responded.

They spent another long moment just kissing and caressing each other, and at the point where it would've tipped from a little make out-session into full-blown foreplay, Hunnigan stopped, and Helena felt a sting of odd guilt over it. If there ever was a perfect moment to initiate sex, it would've been right now; after a good gig, when they both were relaxed and in a good mood, freshly showered, slow danced a little— and Helena hurt when she considered that had Hunnigan been here with anyone other than her, she would've continued, and it would've been the most natural way of ending the evening.

Well, there is one solution, Helena sighed internally.

"Ingrid? There's something I want to talk to you about."
"I'm listening."

"The arrangement you mentioned your parents have...it got me thinking, maybe you and I should...agree on something similar because I don't want you to have to be celibate because of me, you know."
"Sure, that's a great idea. So, should I be looking for men or women, I can go both ways, so if one would make you less uncomfortable, let me know," Hunnigan said and turned to lay on her back, tucking one hand under her head as she did.

"Uh...no, no restrictions, at least not for now," Helena stammered a little, not having expected Hunnigan to take her up on the offer.

Well, maybe you shouldn't offer things you're not actually willing to give, you moron, Frances's voice scoffed, and it was right. A part of Helena wanted to argue that Hunnigan shouldn't have accepted it, but at the same time, Helena never should've made the offer either unless she meant it, so really, it was her own fault.

"Leon's gonna be back from his furlough in a couple of weeks, maybe I'll bring this up with him, he's been trying to bed me for a decade," Hunnigan mused.
"Leon, seriously?" Helena scoffed.

"Well, I would've considered Hawke but she's probably currently knuckle-deep in my mother, so she's off the list. Actually, it might be better if I picked up someone I don't know, sleeping with Leon could make things awkward at the office."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Besides, you've got plenty of fanboys and fangirls, so I don't think finding someone will be a problem," Helena muttered.
"Good point," Hunnigan agreed.

"Okay, good, so...that's settled."
"Do you want me to tell you when I'm doing it or would you prefer if I just didn't mention it?"

"Um, no, I...I would rather not know any details."
"What would you do if I got up and went to fuck someone right now?" Hunnigan asked, rising to rest her weight on her forearm, apparently preparing to get out of bed.

"I—"
"Trick question because I would never do that, my God, Helena, I wasn't serious. I mean, come on, as if I'd sleep with Leon. Only in the interest of renewing the mankind would I ever—"

"Wait, wait—" Helena held up a hand, but Hunnigan continued speaking.
"I don't want 'just sex', you can keep telling me you're completely fine with the idea of me fucking around, even though, frankly, I'm a little insulted that you would think I'd actually do that, but I'm not going to do anything of the sort because—"

"Okay, okay! You're right, I wouldn't really be okay with it, but like I said...I don't want you to have to forego sex because of me."
"Helena, what do I have to do or say to make you believe that I don't care about sex? You're imagining this problem, or have I said or done something that has made you believe I feel like I'm missing out on something? Because if I have, I assure you, I have not meant to."

"No, you haven't said anything, I just...thought..."

"Helena..." Hunnigan whispered softly and cupped Helena's cheek with her palm. "Listen to me very carefully because I'm only going to say this once, and I don't want us to have this particular conversation on this subject again, all right? I would never fuck around for the sake of fucking around, and I don't know why you seem to be under the impression that I would; I've literally only slept with two people in my life. I don't care about sex. I care about you. I love you, and being here with you, like this, is all I need. Do you understand?"

"...yes."
"Do you accept that, and will you stop being silly over this?"

"...I'll try."
"Thank you."

"If you change your—"
"Oh, no, no, no, we're not continuing this conversation, there is nothing to discuss, I've said everything I am about to say, and that is going to have to be enough for you, because if it's not, then I don't know how to help you," Hunnigan said, her voice somehow stern and gentle at the same time.

"What if I'll change my mind and want sex with you?" Helena smirked, and Hunnigan chuckled softly.
"We've already had that conversation, too. You're allowed to change your mind either way whenever you want, no questions asked."

"Okay. No more sex talk. At least not in this context."
"Good. Now, what do you say we get some sleep, huh? I mean, I'm flattered you think I'd have the energy to have sex after the day and night I've had, but right now I can't imagine any physical sensation I'd enjoy more than sleep," Hunnigan said, her words punctuated by a well-timed long yawn that followed them.

"That sounds wonderful," Helena agreed and snuggled against Hunnigan, both of them fast asleep in each other's arms within minutes.