Chapter 9 – Tea And Scones
~~~~October 1878~~~~
Nikola sat in the library of Oxford alone, flipping through a Physics textbook, almost mind-numbingly. He didn't need to read the page, he knew everything backwards and forwards, nor did he really want to read it. His eyes stared of into space as his hand just went into auto-mode, and kept turning the pages one by one.
It had been 4 weeks since that afternoon when Helen had been rescued so admirably by the handsome Montague Druitt, pah! He wanted to laugh. He was tall, well-built, and meagerly acceptable in appearance, but the way Helen went on about him he may as well have been Hercules prancing around on Pegasus. It grinded his gears. He hadn't spent a moment a Helen in the last few weeks where she hadn't been ranting, "Druitt this, John that; he's so kind and sweet and generous - yaddy-yaddy-yah - who knows what would've happened if he hadn't showed up and helped…"
Nikola clenched his fist. For one thing he wouldn't be sitting here by himself while Helen went off and galavanted with her new friend and his chums.
Nikola missed her terribly; he wouldn't deny it to himself, to her maybe, but to himself…no.
When had this school become so accepting of her presence, more and more of the gentleman at Oxford were starting to notice her, and soon she was spending time with them.
Nikola was left forgotten again; the outsider again.
He finally put the book down, and jumped in his seat when he saw Helen sitting across from him, with the slightest hint of a smile caressing her lips.
"My god, Helen, how long have you been there?" he coughed awkwardly and fiddled with the three books he had sitting out in front of him.
"Not long, I didn't want to disturb you, you looked very deep in thought," she said softly, leaning over to put her hand on his.
"I-I wasn't, just flitting through some books to pass the time, you should've said something," he stopped fiddling with the books and he pulled out his handkerchief and compulsively wiped his hands.
"I was just with John and…"
Nikola groaned audibly and rolled his eyes.
"I could've guessed, you're always with the Montague these days, it's like he's your best friend now! I don't care how kind and generous, or sweet, he is, he's not the centre of the earth!" Nikola stood up and took his books with him, Helen followed, a small frown gracing her features.
"Nikola, that's ridiculous, you're the closest friend I have, you know that, there are things we've shared that don't even compare to what I've done with John," he put the books away on the same shelf and he picked three more off the next one, not even glancing at their covers.
"And when you're not with John, you're up to your ears in beakers and test vials with James, or discussing Chemistry with that little chump…the one with the, uh, sideburns; Nester," Nikola walked to the third table in the long row of tables and sat down haughtily, flipping open a book and pretending to read it.
"Nigel, Nikola, his name is Nigel, he's a friend of James, you would like his ideas too if you would stop feeling sorry for yourself," she crossed her arms at him watching him disdainfully as he pretended to ignore her.
She didn't know what his problem was, she had invited him to come out with her, John, James, and Nigel many times, but he had candidly refused and said he was busy working on a project.
She smiled slightly, watching him, and the smile curved into a devious grin and she went up to him and wrapped her long arms around his neck, effectively making him drop his gaze from the book and sigh.
"You're not jealous, are you, Mister Tesla?" she said slyly, leaning her on his shoulder.
"Me? Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I am more genius than the three of them combined!" She was wearing the necklace he had given her and he eyed it as it swung from her neck near his ear.
She played with the small mustache on his lip.
"You are jealous! You want me all for yourself!" she giggled, and he tensed slightly. "Aw, Nikola, have I been neglecting you?"
She teased him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"Maybe a little, I have been feeling slightly ignored as of late, but I'm not jealous…just a little, you know, lonely."
She giggled again and stole his book from his hand and placing it delicately on the table.
"I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention," she took his hand. "How can I possibly make it up to you?"
Nikola smiled slightly.
"I can think of a few ways," he joked and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Nikola! Don' be crude or I'll leave you in the library again," she tapped him on the chest lightly and he gave her a grin.
"Come now, Helen, you know I would never disgrace your honor like that, I am much too fond of you for that," she giggled at his words and pulled him out of the library and outside.
They walked though the park, just like old times, teasing, running, giggling, not having a care in the world.
They reached her flat across the park.
"Come up, I'll make us some tea," she opened the door and he entered into her very tasteful apartment.
It had a small kitchen and a pantry, a bedroom and master bathroom, a smaller bedroom and an even smaller guest bathroom, and a lovely sitting area.
Helen had chosen this place to live, not just because it was close to the University, but it was also closer to the school dormitory, where Nikola was staying, for now.
Nigel also lived in the dormitories a floor below Nikola. Nikola lived on the third floor in Room 303, he always had, in fact he was adamant about that particular room.
Helen sat Nikola down on the beautiful settee, which he did, rather hesitantly.
"Do you have something stronger than tea?" he asked, a glint of a tease in his eye.
"No, you are not permitted to drink in this apartment, every time we drink together we end up falling asleep together, what would my landlady say?" Helen joked.
"That I am very handsome," he joked back.
Helen laughed as she went into the kitchen.
"Well my neighbor already thinks I am the local harlot by all the men I bring up here, she thinks you're my most frequent customer," Helen said with a laugh and Nikola laughed with her.
"That's ridiculous, a harlot could never afford a place as nice as this, she probably thinks you're my mistress, or concubine or something," he laughed as she brought in a small tray of scones and set them on the small table.
"Now that's just silly," she shook her head and sat beside him. "We are much too indiscreet to be secret lovers."
"Who knows, maybe we can be indiscreet because I have no wife," he shrugs.
"Now you are just speaking nonsense," Helen laughed.
"The whole thing is nonsense, you are not even a fragment of the word harlot, and I am far from being a client, or a lecherous unfaithful, people just don't understand us, so they make excuses to seem above us," he entwined his fingers with hers. "Point is: we shouldn't care."
Helen smiled softly at him.
"I've missed you," she giggled and placed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"Have you?" he raised an eyebrow and she leaned her head on his chest and embraced him in a small hug.
"I'd almost forgotten how much fun you are," she giggled against his chest.
"Now, Helen, I'm insulted," he smirked.
"How could you forget something as important as that," he reached over and tickled her senselessly. She slid down the couch trying to squirm away from his long teasing fingers at her sides, he laughter coming out in howls as he found her most sensitively ticklish area.
As she kicked her petticoats went flying and she could barely see him through the tears and lace about her, but she could still feel his fingers moving rapidly over her sides.
He stopped tickling her, and she breathed heavily, still letting out her small chuckles as she fought to catch her breath. He was semi-lying on top of her, his hands resting on her sides and his eyes locked with hers.
She smiled, still panting, enjoying the comfort of having him close to her again.
It was like that moment in the park before Druitt had so rudely interrupted it.
Helen, once again, thought about kissing him, like on her birthday, Nikola thought the same and he leaned down hesitantly towards her, his eyes darting to her lips, he was so close, she could feel his warm breath just grace her chin.
She wanted to reach up and pull him towards her, his tentativeness was killing her with anticipation. He leaned in closer, his lips just touching her, so softly it would be hard to be counted as a kiss.
Suddenly a loud whistling came from the kitchen, snapping them out of their trance.
"Oh, the tea," Helen said pushing Nikola away from her, and he sat up silently, letting her run into the kitchen to fetch the tea.
He was so close; so close to confirming what he wanted, more than his goals of electric mastery; to know that Helen would truly be his closest, closer than anybody, friend forever. But the tea had ruined everything…tea always ruins everything…
Helen reached the kitchen and took the kettle off the wood stove and poured the hot water into the pot. She stopped and sighed, taking a moment from, well, whatever just happened, she couldn't really tell. He was going to kiss her, it seemed like that, or had she been dreaming? Or was it just one of those small meaningless kisses they gave each other?
She couldn't tell, and she wasn't, it wasn't important right now, compared to her friendship with Nikola, the fact whether it was a real kiss or just a kiss was elementary; as James often put it.
Helen took out the tea on a tray with two cups, sugar, cream, and napkins.
Nikola was absentmindedly picking at a scone as she set the tea tray and sat next to him again.
"Well, it's not wine, but it's perfectly adequate for drinking," she poured the tea into one of the cups and added sugar and cream before handing it to him. "Here you are, just as you like it, completely vulgarized by sugar."
He chuckled.
"It's the only way I can choke it down!" he took the tea and sipped it, cringing at it slightly. "Adequate for drinking my foot."
It was her turn to chuckle.
"Stop complaining," she teased and he gave her a funny look but drank the vulgar liquid anyway.
They drank the rest of their tea in companionable silence, secretly agreeing to forget the instance before and move on.
They were silent till Helen broke it by discussing an interesting chemical process Nigel had explained to her, Nikola listened intently, criticizing the theory with good humor, and in a moment both their minds were far away from what had happened on minutes before and they spent the rest of the afternoon like they had spent many such afternoons together, till she remembered she had accepted an invitation to join John and the others for a drink.
This time Nikola accepted her request to join them.
~~~~Author's notes~~~~
Notice the threes :P another cute chapter. I know...so aggravatingly close! But sorry, this is not trying to be AU, though if anyone wishes to take something i've written and expand on it, or fix it to suit their fantasies (wink wink) be my guest! I can only bring them soo close together before it becomes too unrealistic, this maybe be the last cute tender almost kiss moment. As i've hinted the fun with the Five is coming just around the riverbend, so still cute moments between the, but very unlikely they will get this close again.
I hope i'm not writing it too OOC, they'll probably act more like normal once the five is created and then Helen will stop giggling soo much!
And Nikola does have his mustache, but only slightly, it's not the full beast it is like in Sanctuary flashbacks, it's just a small mustache, but i think it would look very sexy on him, kind of like one of the three musketeers kind of look, except he's not french...anyways...Read and Review.
If you'd like to expand on something i've written just write me and say hey, making it AU, no big...or something...sorry i'm high of throat losenges right now...