Chapter 2: Artie

Artie thinks about how Myka and HG would get together sometimes; there's always some intra-agency dating, it's clear Pete and Myka aren't going to go there and Myka's been blushing every time HG looks at her for weeks (months, years) now. Myka's always cared too much about HG so a crush would make sense. Lately, though, Artie's noticed that her crush hasn't exactly been unfounded. He's caught the author staring at his top agent with such a forlorn look that he knows now why HG put the trident down in Yosemite. It wasn't out of compassion for the world, it wasn't so she wouldn't have to shoot a former colleague.

It was because Myka asked her to.

It'd be after office hours and the office would be deserted, Claudia skyping her brother in her room or playing guitar down at the bar with Jinks in the crowd, Pete in his man cave. HG would be pleased with Myka's company for the evening. Myka and HG would finally be alone, reading together in companionable silence. Neither of them would be quite ready to go home for the day; home means other people and they're perfectly content alone with each other.

Myka would read a passage aloud, some line of prose she found beautiful and HG would watch Myka's mouth hungrily as she spoke. Myka would look up from her page and blush under HG's gaze, and HG would know then that she wasn't alone in this. She'd move her chair a little closer, she'd rest a casual hand on the armrest of Myka's chair.

After an hour, HG would curl up on the leather sofa and look invitingly at Myka. It would be quite late now, and HG would have dimmed the lights to make it easier on their eyes. The dark rosewood of the office furniture would gleam in the soft light, the copper of the desktop in the corner would glint. It would remind HG of the lamplight of her past. Myka would stretch, get up and join Helena on the couch, leaning on of the couches' arms. They'd start off with some distance between them, but HG would steadily close in on Myka, brush her shoulder against Myka's insidiously. HG would stretch and press her back against Myka, wriggle backwards until Myka's arm settled over her shoulders. Both of them would find the other turning their pages less frequently, find themselves reading the same sentences over and over again. Myka would find her hand in HG's lustrous hair, finally tangling in the shiny strands. HG would press herself backwards until Myka's arms opened around her as she turned to lean against the arm instead of the back of the sofa. Myka'd bring her legs up and HG would hook her feet behind Myka's knees and lean back until her back rested against Myka's soft chest, until she could rest her head on Myka's shoulder, both books on her lap now, Myka reading over HG's shoulder. One of HG's hands would rest on Myka's knee and their books would fall unnoticed from their hands.

HG would find peace in this sleepy embrace, would find the acceptance she'd been seeking for years. Myka would enjoy the warmth of the other woman, would remember the times HG was little more than a hologram, a memory, a shell inhabited by a false Emily Lake and Myka wasn't able to hold her all those times. Myka would pull HG impossibly tighter, would kiss HG on the top of her head. Myka would think about all the flirting that had gone on over the years, but by the time she tilted HG's face back to look at her, HG's face would be limp with sleep and Myka's chance would be gone. Still, feeling a little foolish, she would give HG's sleeping mouth a soft kiss. It would take her longer than she could have imagined to pull away and HG's eyes would open sleepily.

"I've been waiting centuries for you to wake my bronze heart," HG would say a little cryptically when Myka pulled away, Brothers Grimm book falling from HG's lap as she half turned so she could burrow her face into Myka's shoulder. Myka would tighten her grip and let sleep claim her too.

In the morning, Artie would find them still curled together on the couch. He would leave the office, drop something noisy outside the door and take his time to pick it up but when he came back into the office they'd still be tangled together, awake now and staring at him curiously.

"Something to tell me, ladies?" He would ask a little drily, and HG would nod and Myka would nod and Myka would turn HG's face so she could finally gaze at her with all the love she'd held secret for so long before catching HG's mouth with her own again. They'd pull apart as Artie threw his hands in the air and sat at his desk and by the time Pete came into the office they'd have managed to widen the gap between then to about two inches. They would take Pete's teasing in stride, hands linked in Myka's lap, and Artie would finally find himself hopeful for the future.

Artie walks into the office the next morning and it's almost like his imagination foretold it. Myka is asleep on the sofa under a soft, warm blanket, her head cushioned in HG's lap. HG looks up, holds her forefinger to her lips and keeps reading. Myka wakes up when Pete comes bounding in and he wolf whistles when he sees them. Myka just groans and turns her face to HG's stomach, and HG raises an entirely different finger to Pete who, surprisingly, doesn't have a comeback to that. When Artie looks up again, HG's fingers are combing Myka's hair as Myka yawns and readies herself to sit up. Claudia saunters in, takes one look and offers HG a fist bump as she walks past the sofa.

Artie finds himself, against all odds, hopeful for the future.