A/N: More fluffy post-Pax Romana nonsense.
Helen woke up in Nikola's arms.
It certainly wasn't an unfamiliar sensation, but not one she'd grown accustomed to, either, particularly over the last few decades. It was, however, a decidedly comfortable one.
Helen was pressed into Nikola's side, his arms folded around her, head tilted to rest lightly on hers. She hadn't been expecting to sleep well, her mind still racing with everything that had happened, but she felt surprisingly refreshed. Nikola was warm underneath her, and his gentle embrace was a soothing distraction. It was no doubt due to their long friendship, but when he wasn't driving her crazy, simply being around Nikola put Helen at her ease.
Her fingers absently stroked the soft fabric of his waistcoat. She didn't even remember when they'd fallen asleep last night. They had finished Nikola's tea, of that much she was certain, and she had filled him in on Hollow Earth at least up to their first foray into the city. As the conversation progressed, they had begun drifting towards each other, as they had a wont to do when their inhibitions were lowered - this time by exhaustion on both their parts. She could remember her cheek dropping against Nikola's shoulder, his arm lifting automatically to wind around her as he sleepily tried to grill her about the Praxian rail system. Everything after that was a bit of a blur.
When exactly her arms had gotten wrapped tightly around Nikola in return was a mystery.
She should detach herself from him. It was her turn to need a shower, though Nikola didn't seem to particularly mind if the way his face was crushed against her hair was anything to go by. At any rate she was awake and alert enough now that falling back asleep wasn't an option, no matter how comfortable she was.
Helen slid her arms back from his waist, wincing. Every muscle in her body protested loudly at movement, any movement – a charming little gift from the last few days, no doubt. A slight groan of pain escaped her in spite of her attempts at stealth, and Nikola shifted underneath her restlessly.
She sighed. Disengaging herself without waking him up was going to be impossible. Well, she might as well face the music.
Reaching up, she put a hand on his cheek lightly. She had been planning on waking him up, but she found herself distracted by the way he immediately leaned into her touch, sighing faintly. His lips barely grazed her fingers.
"Ah, Nikola." Helen's voice was soft. No matter the crisis or the decade, some things about Nikola always remained the same. If given the opportunity, he'd probably be agreeable to staying like this for a whole day. Possibly more.
Helen glanced at the clock. It was early yet, and she doubted anyone would come to disturb them for a long while. Maybe not a whole day, but she would allow herself a little more time with him before she got up. It wasn't often that they were able to just be together like this, with so many of their usual defenses dropped, and Helen had recently begun to remember how much she enjoyed that.
Besides, she had the time.
"Nikola," Helen said, rather loudly. He'd become something of a heavy sleeper since being turned human, as the first two times she'd just tried to wake him indicated. "Wake up, Nikola, come on. You have my wine to drink, my employees to pester, my lab to -"
Nikola's eyes opened.
"Wreck," Helen finished. "Good morning."
"Helen," he breathed, a rush of unchecked affection in his voice before he slipped effortlessly into their old patterns. "You look stunning this morning."
"And you still snore," she countered.
He sat up, bristling. "Do not."
"It's been a hundred years, Nikola, stop denying it."
"Whatever. How are you feeling?"
Helen stretched an arm in front of her, grimacing. "I'll be fine."
"Hmm." Nikola eyed her. "Well, remember to get plenty of rest."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, are you my doctor now?"
"No," he said cheerfully. "Not your doctor. Just...yours."
"Dear Lord." Helen covered her forehead with her hand. "I walked right into that one."
"You really did." She could hear him grinning. "You're slipping, Helen. Sure you don't need rest?"
"I probably need more tea," Helen said, feigning an urgent tone. "There you are, Nikola, the fate of the Sanctuary rests in your hands."
"Tea is all well and good, Helen, but I'm sure I can think of other, far more pleasant ways to relax you," he whispered.
Helen glanced down at his lips, only inches from hers. They hadn't really moved any farther away from each other than they had been before - each of them, she suspected, using the familiar banter as an excuse to stay close to one another for just a little longer.
"Oh, Nikola," she murmured.
He grinned again, his teeth showing.
She laid her hand on his chest, her thumb stroking the edge of his waistcoat. "Get to work," she told him, and stood.
Instead of the whine she had been expecting, he started to laugh. "Oh, I'm glad you're back. Now all that's left before this really feels normal is you shooting me."
Helen could have pointed out that shooting him might cause a bit more damage than it usually did, but bringing up Nikola's current state of being only depressed them both, so she chose not to. Instead, she eyed her desk.
Nikola followed her eyes. "You can't really be planning to go right back to work."
"Why not?" It wasn't as if she could go back to Hollow Earth right now, and she wasn't planning on going out into the field any time soon, as stiff and painful as her movements were, but there was no reason she couldn't catch up on some news or research. Or paperwork, as loathsome as it was.
Nikola's mouth dropped open. "You...you're so responsible."
Helen laughed. "Relax, Nikola. I'm just going to make certain no one's contacted me about any emergencies while I've been away, then I'm going to have a much-anticipated shower and possibly even a decent meal." And then get back to work – after all, that was what Helen did.
"Ooh." He leaned towards her. "Can I come along?"
Helen rolled her eyes, heading over to her desk and picking up the wine bottle that had been left standing on it. "A few days," she said. "I'm gone a few days, and you're already turning the place into a winery."
"Oops," Nikola said, darting up and over to her desk to cradle the bottle protectively against him. "That's mine."
"Is it?" Helen raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I stole it from your cellar myself."
"You have a curious definition of property."
"You can take it out of my paycheck."
"I don't pay you, remember?" she pointed out, referencing their conversation from last night.
"Why don't you?" he mused.
"Why should I?"
"Well, for starters, I'm about a hundred times more useful than the louts you have working for you now."
"You underestimate them, Nikola. Plus, you cost more to maintain."
"Hmm." Nikola looked at his wine. "That might be true, but come on, Helen, world domination doesn't fund itself."
"Ah yes," Helen said, nodding, "and that would be another reason why I don't." Her tone became mischievous. "Besides, Nikola, do you mean to tell me you don't help me out of the goodness of your heart?"
"Now you're just fighting dirty." He pursed his lips before his face melted into a grin. "I love it when you do that."
Helen shook her head, chuckling a little despite herself as she sat down. "Are you planning on standing around here all day?"
"Yes," he said lightly.
She glanced up at him, expecting a smarmy follow-up, but he just stood in the center of her office, looking back at her with a curious sincerity.
Nikola hadn't left her side since she'd returned from Hollow Earth. Helen knew, since he had done a very poor job of hiding it, that he had been worried about her. She could understand that easily – there had been quite a few times when she'd felt the same about him. She could even sympathize with his half-baked plan to help her, by turns highly amusing, exasperating, and oddly endearing, in true Nikola fashion. If their positions had been reversed, she probably wouldn't have waited as long as he had before going after him, obstacles be damned.
Letting him stay was actually rather tempting. It would probably make them both feel better – with all the turmoil of the last week, Helen wouldn't mind settling into some comfortable routines, and bickering with him was one of her most familiar. And hadn't she just been thinking about how she'd been enjoying her time with him?
Still, it wasn't practical for him to just stick to her all day, magnetic or no. (It was depressing that she'd even thought that. Nikola and his ridiculous puns must have had more of an effect on her than she thought.)
Helen stood up. "Are you sure? The sooner you get to work on the new shield, the sooner you and I can get to Hollow Earth."
He wavered. Helen could see it. This was the first time she'd outright offered to take him with her next time, and he was clearly eager to get there. "Helen," he began.
"And you can have this back when you're done." She reached out, seizing the bottle from his distracted hands.
He was thrown from whatever he'd just started to say. "What? That's just unfair," he complained.
"You did say you liked it when I fought dirty," Helen pointed out, smiling.
Nikola made a grab for the bottle, but Helen twisted it behind her back and set it on her desk.
"Don't be childish, Nikola." She raised a hand as he opened his mouth. "And don't say 'but I do it so well.'"
"But I do!" he protested.
"You realize you're trying to convince me of your own immaturity," Helen said, pressing her lips together to avoid laughing.
"No, just that I do everything well." Nikola sold his obvious attempt at a save with such a convincingly smug grin that Helen felt like congratulating him.
She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose instead.
"Alright, fine." He lifted his hands in surrender. "I'll go work on the shield. Since I'm clearly not wanted here," he tacked on dramatically, but continued before Helen could respond. "Remember, I expect a trip to Hollow Earth out of this."
"That was the deal," she assured him, her voice a little teasing. "And have I ever let you down?"
"Never," he said softly, casting such a heartfelt look at her that her breath caught a little.
Nikola always managed to surprise her.
"Well then," she said, her train of thought somewhat derailed. "I suppose you had better get to work."
"Only suppose?" Her reaction must have showed on her face, because Nikola was starting to smile. "Why, Helen, if you wanted me to stay, you should have just said so."
Helen narrowed her eyes at him, considering, before she smiled. "Go work on your shield, Nikola. I wouldn't want you to have to wait any longer for Hollow Earth than necessary."
He exhaled. "I've always enjoyed our shared love of scientific pursuits, Helen, but –"
"And come by my office tonight," she continued, interrupting him. "We can finish this off -" she tapped the bottle behind her. "I never finished telling you about Praxis, after all."
"Oh," he said, smile creeping back onto his face. "Well, that…that works for me."
"Glad to hear it," Helen said, amused. "While you're in the lab, Nikola, you may want to ask Henry about Praxis as well," she added casually. "He had far more of an opportunity to work with their technology than I did."
Nikola's head snapped up. "Wait a minute. Wolf-boy got a chance to mess with their stuff?" he breathed. "Did he see it in detail?"
"Some of it, I believe. You'll have to ask him."
He was practically glowing. "You do know I'm going to hound him the entire day now. Pun not intended."
"I realize that," Helen said, lips twitching.
Nikola took her hands. "You are incredible," he said fervently, and kissed her cheek before dashing out of her office.
Helen looked after him with a fond smile. She was almost sorry to have set him on Henry like that, but she had needed something to take Nikola's mind off his lingering worry for her, something of a more immediate nature than going to Hollow Earth at some vague, future date.
The way his eyes lit up had been so…cute, for lack of a better word. Helen's smile widened. Taking him to Hollow Earth was going to be quite the experience. She couldn't wait to get back herself, or to show it to Nikola, who hadn't seen any of it before – even if she fully expected to have to bodily drag him away from anything remotely interesting-looking.
She was looking forward to it.