Chapter 6: Claudia
Claudia thinks about how HG and Myka would get together sometimes. Myka's been really good to her, and Claudia loves her, but Myka looks at her like a younger sister, and she looks at HG like a child looks at a Christmas tree. Claudia's cool with the lady-loving, and she's cool with HG because she knows what it feels like to lose everything you love. She knows the way the barriers of the world can drive a woman insane, and she sees the way Myka soothes the tortured author with nothing but a smile.
It's just taking too damn long for either of them to do anything about it.
Myka would be doing paperwork in the office late in the evening, and Claudia would be helping HG with an invention, some circuitry, some soldering, something that would give HG an excuse to be in Myka's proximity and Claudia a chance to tinker with some of HG's inventions long after everyone else had wandered home. HG's feet would be up on Artie's desk again and she would be tightening tiny and extremely intricate homemade screws into the hand-forged chassis.
But Myka would be nervous, a little jumpy at each clink of each screw because of course HG's inventing something, of course she's showing off for Myka. Of course she's working on this after a big case, of course she's finished her report before Myka. Of course there's a smug smirk on her face as she tools some leather into a holster. HG'd drop a tool casually on the desk as Claudia soldered a curve of the casing, buffing out the burrs.
"Do I make you nervous, darling," HG would ask finally, amused, as Myka flinched yet again.
"What are you working on?" Myka would ask, turning to HG finally. The device is small; it would easily fit into her palm.
HG would launch into an explanation that even Claudia would have trouble following. But it would be something beautiful; all copper and rubies, and for something insanely awesome, like a portable invisibility box that nullifies the human frequency, making them in-perceivable to the human eye. Apparently cats could still see the user, but HG'd never put much stock in cats. One had given her a nasty fright on one of her test runs, and shed had to reconsider. She'd offer to run a demo and Myka would put her pen down, cross her hands in front of her expectantly.
HG would disappear completely for about 20 seconds. When HG was invisible she would step forward to brush her fingers across Myka's cheek, then step back and turn off the machine, careful not to stress the prototype's battery. Claudia would catch the way Myka's hand rose to her cheek, would catch the blush on Myka's cheeks mirrored on HG's face seconds later.
"That's amazing," Myka would say finally, and Claudia would busy herself with some soldering for a side project of her own, maybe the wireless charger she'd been thinking about for the Farnsworths. HG would blush and look away, then back at Myka, who would still be smiling at HG like she was the reservoir of all the world's lost treasures. HG would turn back to her tinkering, formulating a second generation already, tweaking and calculating, readying another batch of tiny screws with tiny transistors in the heads. She'd nonchalantly sit at the desk next to Myka with some blueprint paper, start drawing out some schematics while casting sideways glances at Myka. Eventually Myka would look over at HG, come to some decision and look over the schematics and make a small suggestion, leaning over the paper. Claudia would come over because she'd invested a lot of time in the first generation's schematics and she'd notice the way Myka's hand trailed over the parallel resistors and onto HG's wrist, the way Myka's hand glided over HG's gently before continuing over the cluster of diodes. Claudia always noticed these seemingly causal touches between her colleagues but she didn't think either of the women did – until she noticed HG's gaze wouldn't lift from the page and then Claudia would take note of her blush. Myka would meet Claudia's eyes, then look back to HG with a little smile and this whole time Claudia thought HG was the one doing all the pursuit in the situation but now it seems like Myka has a horse in this race too.
HG always made those bold remarks about many of her lovers being men, and that Myka how was the one person who knew her better than anyone, and Myka just smiled but she pined when HG was gone. It was obvious to Claudia but tonight she'd be seeing a much bolder side to Myka. Claudia would step away, turn back to her soldering. She would think about going back to Leena's and giving the women their privacy but tonight feels monumental and she can't turn down a chance to see it all go down.
The next time Claudia turned around, Myka would have wrapped a hand around HG's – still holding her pencil – the other cupping HG's face before she leaned in to brush her lips briefly against HG's. Myka would pull away, turn back to her paperwork at which point the pencil would clatter from HG's hand onto the floor and HG would pounce, would pin Myka back against the chair behind her, run her fingers through Myka's curly hair and over her face before kissing Myka in the most tender display Claudia had ever seen. Claudia would slip out as unobtrusively as possible, casting one last look over her shoulder as HG situated herself sideways across Myka's lap, cupped Myka's face and rested her lips, then her forehead on Myka's cheek, eyes closed.
Claudia sits up and opens Altium on her computer, images of schematics dancing in her brain. When she heads down to the kitchen for an energy drink late at night (or early in the morning) she sees Myka and HG on the sofa in the lounge, something unspoken hanging softly between them. They don't turn at the sound of the fridge, and Claudia watches them for a moment, a little jealous of them both of them for having someone love them that much. Then Claudia remembers that these women are her family now and there's nothing more awesome than having lesbian aunts because it means Claudia can borrow all their waistcoats.