The ride to the restaurant had been quite for the most part but the silence hadn't been uncomfortable. In fact, Helen felt so relaxed that, as she looked out the window, feeling drowsy, her hand moved to Nikola's knee, massaging it gently in what was meant to be a friendly gesture of thanks but, as she realised what she was doing, a dirty little plan formed in her mind. He hummed in approval but said nothing until she slowly began to inch her hand higher and higher.

"My, my Helena, we are feeling flirtatious, aren't we?" he said, shooting her a smirk to which she only sighed in response, moving her hand still higher. She could feel the tension in his leg and slowly began to rub at the muscles with her fingertips. Sneaking a glance at his face, she was pleasantly surprised to see the tightness in his jaw. She chuckled, noticing just how white his knuckles were as he held the steering wheel.

"What's the matter, Nikki?" she cooed. "You're gripping the wheel rather hard," she said, digging her nails into his upper thigh on the last word. He gasped and the car swerved ever so slightly.

"Do that again, Helen, and I'll be forced to ruin the leather seats," he advised throatily.

"Or total the car," she added with a smirk.

"Or that," he allowed breathlessly. She thought about continuing to torture him but decided against it. It wasn't as if she had anything planned for the afternoon.

Removing her hand, Helen shifted in her seat, noticing the pout on Nikola's face as she did so.

"Don't look so crestfallen," she chastised, "you're the one who complained."

"I did not!" he cried as they pulled into the parking lot.

"Did too," she said with a wink, not waiting for him to open the door.

"Did. Not," he whispered, coming out of nowhere to stand behind her, arms snaking around her waist to pull her back against him. She gasped softly, laying her hands over his as he held her tight, letting her head fall back against his shoulder.

"Nikola," she breathed as his nose skimmed up her neck, one of his hands reaching out to push her door closed before returning to her waist.

"Yes, my dear?" he replied huskily, tightening his hold on her ever so slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"Payback's a bitch," he whispered with a chuckle and she moaned as his hands began to unwind from her waist, instead skimming down over her hips to her thighs. One hand began to bunch up the skirt of her dress while the other slowly proceeded to trace light patterns up her leg, back over her hip and then to tease her side. Helen squirmed under his hands, needing him to touch her with more than the lightest caress.

"And no pantyhose?" he breathed in her ear as the hand on her thigh encountered nothing but bare skin. "Scandalous," he joked quietly, sending a fresh bout of shivers through her sensitized body.

"Enough," she growled, finally finding enough strength to flip herself around in his arms, mouth latching onto his greedily the moment she was facing him. Nikola, it seemed, was startled, taking a second to realise that she'd turned the tables but, soon enough he caught up to her.

"This was supposed to be my turn," he grumbled as her lips began to attack his neck.

"Your turn?" she echoed, pulling back slightly to stare into this darkened eyes.

"After your little stunt in the car," he replied, running his hands over her sides.

"How's that working out for you?" she asked, secretly wondering at where this flirtatious behaviour was coming from.

"Quite well," he said with a grin, hands slipping to her arse and pulling her flush against him, making her gasp in shock and forget all about questioning her own behaviour. "But we have reservations."

Helen felt herself deflate. For once, lunch at her favourite restaurant was more of an annoyance than anything else.

"Of course, you could take me up on my previous statement that you look good enough to eat," Nikola said as he nuzzled her cheek, clearly picking up on her uncertainty.

She sighed and pulled away, biting her lip as she looked between Nikola and the restaurant. As tempting as it was to just drive back to her place (assuming they could last the whole trip), she knew a little cool down time might be a good idea. After all, she'd practically thrown herself at him and it wasn't quite her normal behaviour.

"Perhaps we can have lunch and then dessert," Nikola offered, raising his eyebrows suggestively on the last word and Helen couldn't help but laugh. He always did have a knack for lightening up any situation.

"That's very presumptuous of you, Mr. Tesla," she said with a coy smile.

"Is that a no, Miss Magnus?" he asked confidently, the use of her maiden name making her grin.

"Play your cards right and it's a maybe," she said, taking his hand and walking towards the entrance to the restaurant.

He chuckled indulgently but followed her inside.

In a matter of minutes, they were seated in the tiny courtyard attached to the restaurant. It was quite and subdued, soft music wafting over them as they briefly glanced at the menu. As was there custom, Nikola ordered the wine and Helen chose the food. The waiter looked dubiously between the pair for a few moments before stalking off with their orders.

"What on earth was that about?" Helen asked Nikola, eyeing the retreating man's back.

"Oh he's probably just horrendously jealous of me," Nikola said flippantly, leaning back in his chair with a wide smirk. "After all, I am here with the most beautiful woman in the entire establishment."

"If anything, he's jealous of me," Helen replied with a smile, pleased when Nikola's face creased in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked and she started to chuckle.

"You do give off a certain... vibe," she said vaguely with a small smile.

"What kind of vibe?" Nikola asked suspiciously.

"Well, don't be upset by this but he ah... might be under the impression you... ah, bat for the other team, shall I say?" she said with barely concealed grin.

"What?" he whispered, eyes widening.

"He wouldn't be the first," she advised him, taking a sip of water.

"WHAT?" Nikola whispered harshly, leaning across the table towards her. "Not that I have anything against the idea but who on earth has ever been under the impression that I am gay?" he asked incredulously and she began to blush. "No!" he cried, half horrified by her look.

"It was back when we first met," she said, trying to justify herself.

"But why?" he asked, moving from dazed to amused.

"Well, you do have a certain way of dressing. And your interest in art. And you never really showed much of an interest in any of the girls on campus."

"We spent almost every waking moment together, Helen. Half my friends were convinced we were sleeping together and the other half thought I was about to propose to you, no one thought I was gay."

"Well, half the girls were in love with you and the other half were in love with your wardrobe," she countered with a devilish smile.

Nikola opened his mouth to protest but, as their waiter returned with their drinks, he was cut off. Shooting Helen a dirty look, he turned to waiter, giving the young man one of his biggest grins which, apparently had the desired effected because, as the poor man began to splutter and shake, Nikola's grin widened further.

Helen smiled politely at the waiter as she accepted her drink, trying to stifle her laughter as Nikola continued to watch the man.

"You're terrible," Helen whispered as the rather shocked young man walked away but Nikola only laughed.

"I did too show interest in some of the girls on campus," he argued as if nothing had happened, smirking over the top of his wine glass as he lounged in his seat once more.

"Really, who?" Helen challenged, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Well there was that delightful little scrap... Blonde hair, legs that went on forever..." he trailed off suggestively with a tiny smirk for her.

"You only liked me because I was the only person who ever dared stand up to the great Nikola Tesla," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at him.

"That's not true," he cried jokingly. "You also let me order the wine."

"Glad to know I have my uses."

Nikola's eyes lit up and she could practically hear the retort he had in mind.

"No," she commanded, holding up a hand and he pouted.

"It was a good one," he promised before taking a sip.

"I don't doubt it but we've actual work to discuss," she reminded him. With a melodramatic sigh, he sat up straight and they got down to business but, as the conversation continued, Helen became aware of Nikola's foot occasionally brushing against hers under the table. Without any thought for the action, she slipped one of her shoes off and began to rub against his calf. He said nothing but his small, genuine smile made her smile too.

By the time their food was arriving at the table, they'd wrapped up the business discussion and moved on to more personal topics.

"So how's Ashley doing?" Nikola asked, spearing a piece of steak from his plate.

"She's well," Helen answered as she grabbed a bite of her own chicken salad. "Last we spoke she was loving college."

"Still got her heart set on med school?"

"For all that she never got to meet my father, she's remarkably like him," Helen remarked fondly and Nikola smiled.

"Well, considering her disdain for me, that sounds imminently likely," Nikola joked.

"If you wouldn't antagonize her so fiercely," Helen retorted, "she'd probably be less inclined to refer to you as death warmed up."

"Oh, I adore that girl," Nikola said with a wide smile but Helen only rolled her eyes at him before taking another few bites. Taking advantage of her inability to talk, Nikola sat up in his seat before reaching out to capture her hand. Helen raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she continued to chew.

"Now, you have to promise to tell me the truth about this one," Nikola requested solemnly and Helen nodded, worried about whatever he was about to ask. "When did you realise I wasn't gay?"

She burst out laughing only to choke on her lunch. Nikola's eyes widened in alarm but Helen waved him off.

"That wasn't what I was expecting you to say," she croaked with a weak smile but he seemed to be expecting an answer. After taking a few swigs of water, Helen let out a breath.

"Vienna."

"Well, yes I suppose that would have made it particularly obvious," he said with a knowing smirk.

"Yes, well, when you threw yourself at me, I figured my assumption was incorrect."

"Please Helen, we were both there, there is no need to lie."

"I speak nothing but the truth," she said snootily.

"You practically begged me to go to bed with you!" he cried and she shot him a dangerous look.

"I did nothing of the sort," she whispered harshly, looking around at the few other couples out enjoying the sunshine.

"You got me drunk on the cheapest wine you could find and then dragged me back to your hotel room," he continued with a gleeful smile.

"You bought the wine and it was your hotel room," she countered with a smile. "And, if I'm not mistake, you weren't even drunk, I was."

"Which is my point exactly!" he said with a laugh and she shook her head. "But hang on, we went to Vienna not three months after we met."

"I never said it was a particularly long lived suspicion," Helen allowed and he made a face before smoothing down his waistcoat. "But some days I wonder..." she trailed off, taking a sip of wine as he rolled his eyes.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a few minutes as they finished their meals and, try as she might, Helen couldn't stop her bare foot from continuing to rub against his calf every now and then. Occasionally, Nikola would look over at her and smile softly but, until she put down her fork, he made no move to talk to her. Putting down his own utensils, he slowly reached across the small table to take her hand in his, flipping it over so that he could rub a circle into her palm in just the manner he used to when she got a cramp there. The gesture was soothing and friendly but something about the way Nikola was smiling at her, made Helen's entire body tingle.

"This had been wonderful," Nikola said softly as he squeezed her hand.

"It really has," Helen agreed with an easy smile. Being with Nikola was so natural and nothing about their relationship ever felt forced. It was wonderful to be able to simply be with him without having to worry about any of her troubles.

"What are you doing on Friday night?" he asked suddenly, eyes lighting up.

"Nothing, why?" she asked, confused by his sudden change in mood.

"Let me take you out," he insisted with a smile. "There's this wonderful gallery in town that's just opened and after that we can go to that new Old English restaurant James told you about last time he was in town." His excitement was contagious and Helen was just about to consent when something in his eyes told her this wasn't just two old friends catching up.

He was looking at her with something akin to adoration and while she didn't object to it, that kind of naked emotion wasn't something she was used to seeing in her cynical and snarky best friend. But there was something else too, something that spoke of vulnerability and fear. He was trying to hide it from her, she was sure, but there was no escaping the fact that Nikola Tesla was afraid of what she might say. Was he... Was he... asking...

And that's when her brain began to have trouble processing anything.

Dun dun dun...