One thing was starting to be more and more clear to Will. Women were from Venus, period. He had tried to take his distance from Abby, but the harder he tried, the harder she glued herself around him. Ever since he'd gotten out of infirmary, Abby had used every little excuse possible to be close to him. No matter how he tried giving her subtle hints, she just didn't get it. It wasn't that Will found the idea of him and her suddenly disgusting or anything like that. It was just that he was slowly realizing that the bubblyness that he had once thought was sweet was starting to be everything but. And for fucks sake, after a long day at work, the last thing he wanted was to hear her meaningless sugarcoated nonsense. The woman just did not come with a turn off –button. Was it really too much to ask for a decent discussion? Was it really too much to ask for a little space, a little time on his own? Will didn't think it was. While he thought Abby would make some man very happy some day, he also thought that it wasn't going to be him. To put it simply, he had just lost his interest after it had became more and more obvious all Abby wanted was a perfect little family and a normal life. Actually, now that he really thought about it, he was sure that even if things would have gone well for them a little longer, they would have found themselves trapped eventually. What was abnormal was his life.

Talking about women from Venus, Magnus was just as much from there as Abby was. He resisted the urge to pffft out loud. Actually, maybe he should ask her for some lessons at evading. They would probably become useful with Abby. His boss had made an art form out of keeping herself busy and evading Will every time he tried to approach her. All in all, Will was majorly frustrated. He wanted to know what he had done to hurt Magnus. After that night of being a shoulder to cry on and the morning after everything had changed. While Magnus seemed polite, and while she occasionally bantered like things were the same, things were definitely not the same. The woman was a riddle unsolved, and Will wasn't sure if he would ever learn to read Magnus like he read others. With all honesty, he had to admit he missed the discussions they used to have. He missed her filling his curiosity, and Will doubted he would ever stop being curious about Magnus. Maybe it was about the time to confront her. Yes, good idea. He was tired of feeling like a dumb puppy, and not that puppies weren't cute, but enough was enough.

Just as he'd thought, he did find Magnus from her office. The door was open and he didn't bother to knock. For a short moment, he got a glimpse of her unguarded. Her finger was playing with a loose curl and her expression was awfully cute, lips slightly pouty and brows furrowed. He was momentarily taken aback by the sight.

"Magnus."

She startled and lifted her gaze from the book she had been reading up to Will.

"Ah.. Will. If your matter is not urgent, I have a research to finish."

He walked towards her and she lifted her brow at him.

"Will, what.."

He grabbed her arms and pulled her up. The book made a low thumping sound as it hit the mattress.

".. on earth do you think you are doing?"

Good. Some emotion from her, at least.

"I'm tired of playing your games Magnus."

He had caught her off guard, and Helen's heart was beating fast as the adrenaline rushed in. Yes, she had known Will would eventually push her boundaries, but it didn't make it any easier for her. For she had realized just how much she cared of him. And that had scared her quite badly. Her protégé had managed to sneak into her heart in a way no other person had in a long while.

"I don't quite follow you, Will."

His arms on her shoulders felt like bolts of electricity. She resisted a devious temptation to kiss him. She didn't want to think how much her protégé had already figured out. Couldn't. Because no matter how badly she wanted him in every possible aspect, it was as wrong as a thing could be.

"You know exactly what I mean, Helen."

She could tell he was frustrated. Helen swallowed hard and then… Then she did the mistake of looking into his eyes. And it broke her a little inside what she saw. He was hurting and confused. It was all her fault. His gaze was locked to hers, and Helen knew he wasn't going to back down. She bit her lower lip and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Will."

"Magnus.. I'm not going to hurt you. Stop hiding yourself, I'm your friend!"

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Her head found an all too familiar place to rest on his shoulder. Helen inhaled the scent of him as he felt Will's tension slowly melt away. How good it felt to be close to him…

"I know, Will. I'm just not accustomed to letting anyone so close, I'm afraid." And she was speaking the truth, she was. It just wasn't quite the reason of why she'd been so focused into evading him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Magnus." He repeated.

And how she wanted to believe him, but she knew better. Perhaps he would not hurt her intentionally, but nevertheless he would hurt her as inevitably time would claim it's victim. Though, maybe, just maybe it wasn't the worry of now? A half smile played on her lips as an idea formed in her mind.

"If you're not awfully busy, then maybe we could dine out?"

"Just tell me when", he chuckled in response and it made her feel joy how those eyes glistened.

"Holy sweet Jesus!" She looked stunning. This for sure was not a Magnus Will got to see all too often. All dressed up and.. sexy. The little piece of shiny black fabric licked every curve of hers and with those strappy shoes, her legs looked never ending. And her eyes.. They looked deeper than ever. And gosh, the lips! His boss should definitely wear red lipstick more often. He grinned, letting out a whistle as he bowed.

"My, thank you Will, I take it that I look quite all right."

"Quite all right is the understatement of the century."

And she smiled, and the familiar dimple took it's place on her cheek. As her boss turned around and walked towards the car, Will lost his breathe again. Jesus Christ. He swallowed hard. Magnus most definitely had a very nicely shaped as… sitting muscles.

The dinner was most certainly delicious, and Helen had to admit it felt good to be out and about. Will had been right about the fact that she really didn't let loose all too often. And Will had been most entertaining companion so far. For the evening, things had felt closer to normal. Whatever that may mean, she didn't quite know. Helen didn't feel like ending the evening, not yet. She thought that a drink or few could not hurt.

"So, Will, know any place to get a good glass of red wine?"

As it turned out, the red wine was awfully bitter, but she didn't mind the flavor after third glass. The nightclub was a pleasant surprise however, though was not something she would have ever entered on her own choice. Décor was quite minimal, but the few abstract art pieces hanging on the walls were actually rather nice. She looked at the young suburban people dancing and turned her eyes on Will. A mischievous smile played on her lips.

"Do you know how to dance, Will?"

"I.. I.. I.. " He startled in panic. Helen laughed.

"Worry not, my young William, I'm quite good leader."

Yeah. She was. No doubt of that. He should have just said no, but that smile, and those blue eyes.. How could have he said no to her? He cursed himself for being weak as he tried to follow Magnus's lead. He had no damn idea how she managed to move so smoothly with those killer high heels. It would have been a small comfort at least if she would have been at least little clumsy. But, no. He was focusing hard trying not to step on her toes, trying not to get too close.. And then he tripped. What a surprise. He tensed at the realization that his head was inch away from her cleavage.

"Now.. this is awkward", he mumbled to himself. And she just laughed that mischievous laughter of hers. Devil wears Prada, or how was it?

Will had no idea what his boss was going on about. He couldn't stop staring at that beautiful cleavage. Will wondered if Magnus had chosen that specific dress only to torture him. No, of course not, he should be ashamed of thinking his boss would do such evil things. And he should be ashamed of staring that cleavage, too. Somehow, quite possibly because he was drunk, he didn't really care. If that beautiful creature had came all the way down from Venus, surely it deserved a little admiring?

"Will."

"Hmmhm."

"Will, my eyes are up here."

Ouchh! Busted.

"Women are from Venus."

Magnus laughed at that as she stood up. Will's eyes had trouble following.

"I think it would be a decent idea to take a little walk. Otherwise, I'm afraid, you will feel quite awful tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Why should he care about tomorrow?

The cool evening air caressed Helen's skin like a lover, cooling down the flames. Maybe the dress hadn't been the most convenient option, but she couldn't help but to smile. Will's obvious admiration.. Yes, she quite liked that. It wasn't that men hadn't admired her, for they had, but this was different. Completely different, for she felt like the most beautiful thing on earth. Or Venus. She giggled like a young girl would. How was it that her protégé had not only chased away the ghosts, but the years, too? Or was it the wine? His hand on hers, oh, how right it felt.

"Venus, you said?" She couldn't help herself teasing him a little. Because for tonight, past and future had entwined, and all that mattered was now.

"Magnus.."

He was looking at her with new born eyes, oh, how beautiful she felt. His palm brushing her cheek sent shivers down Helen's spine. The fire inside of her took wind beneath flames and her lips touched his. His protégé's eyes blinked in surprise, but then.. Oh, then he kissed her back so sweet and nothing else mattered. How sweet was his taste? She felt a little warm, her cheeks were burning, and all she knew was that she wanted more.

"Helen." Softly spoken was her name as he pulled her closer and kissed her again. His lips found the pulse point on her neck, and he nibbled it gently. A moan escaped his boss's lips and it drove Will absolutely crazy. Breathing in the scent of violets, his hands wandered on the sides of her figure in wild amazement. How utterly, crazily gorgeous she was!

"I think", everything around him was spinning when she kissed him, tongue sliding in his mouth "that we should head somewhere more private."

Will couldn't agree more, and his feet, alas drunkenly, took a determined pace towards the familiar route to Sanctuary.

She had gotten him into bed, and he had passed out like a torch. All that tension, all those kisses, all the fire, the sparkles and he had just passed out? She furrowed her brows slightly annoyed and made a mental note that Will's tolerance for alcohol was definitely bad. Mumbling something about how men and beer were a bad combination, she pulled Will's shoes off. It took a little more effort to remove her high heels and carelessly she tossed them at the corner of her bedchamber.

Sighing, she looked at Will and then the door. She contemplated only for a brief moment before giving into the temptation, and she snuck in the bed next to him and wrapped his arms around her. And when she fell asleep, she dreamt of him.