helenahxntsâ:
.
A curious tilt of Helenaâs head answered Vicâs question, dark brows rising in a silent entreatment for more explanation. And then, of course, when Vic did explainâŚ
Helena watched her faceless lover with shocked-huge black eyes, a spark of delight skittering right through her like static and settling warm and sweet in her belly. And so when Vic leaned in, the curve of his cheek rounding into a smile she couldnât see, Helena leaned in right back. Over the edge of the table, to catch his lips, off-center in her excitement and the lack of visibility; then another, better kiss; then a sound third. âYes,â she sighed into Vicâs mouth, hand clenching in the soft leather of the coat sheâd been working on before she twisted around and tossed it with unerring accuracy over the camera in the corner. Problem sorted, because:
âYes, baby, yes,â Helena repeated, happy, as she caught his face in her hands and kissed him again. âLet me see you,â she murmured, giving up on her seat to shuffle closer and loop her arms around his neck.Â
âYeah, I wanna meet your dad,â she said into his mouth, the giddiness those words inspired bubbling right up in her chest. Sal, Tot, the rightness of itâGod damn it, Helena wasnât going to fuck him in the armory. She wasnât.Â
It was justâVic wanted her to meet his dad.Â
She maybe wanted to fuck him in the armory a little bit. âI canât wait,â Helena said instead, stroking her thumbs through his hair, fingers half-laced where they cupped his skull. âBeen wanting to meet him for a while. Give him an earful about how Douglas haunts my dreams,â she joked, dimples slashing deep into her cheeks. She rocked on the balls of her feet, still watching him with bright eyes. âYou think heâll like me?âÂ
Heâd just about fallen into that kiss, dipping to meet her, hold her. Yes. Maybe itâd be a little thing, for most people. Even here, where parents, people, in general, connections beyond these stony walls, were in short supply. (According to the personnel records, anyway. No accounting for secret families stashed away in... some off-grid farmstead in Iowa, or something equally desperate.) But Tot - Tot, and Helena, were it. Absolutely it, so far as his heart was concerned. And it was kicking, now, quick, as their kisses found each other through the magic. Then even that was fading away, the illusion glimmering, gone, as Helenaâs arms reeled him in. He went, easy.Â
Oh, it was getting dangerously easy to just - believe in this. Hadnât they asked all their questions? Even the hardest ones, the kind thatâd felt like tests. Thereâd be more, he knew. Always. But for now, for now... Vic let himself cling a little, to Helena, to those solid, real answers. Seen and seeing, smiling against her cheek, her brow, as he kissed her beautiful face. She couldnât wait. Neither could he. And the old man was impatient as hell, so that worked out.Â
Vic had a warm chuckle, caught in those hands. One of his had slung around the small of her back, his knuckles rolling lightly along the path of her spine. âHrm. Well. Put it this way.â The way Tot had put it, with bright eyes, crinkled up with a flockâs worth of crowâs feet. âShowed him those shots of Sicily. And he said, I quote: heâd never seen anyone look so happy as I was, there, with you. Anyone. Nevermind me.â
Miserable bastard that you can be, Tot had half-laughed, rubbing a wrinkled hand over his face. Real subtle. Almost managed to keep the sniffle to himself. Too bad that fucked up freshman heâd brought home had turned out to be some kinda detective. Vic snuck in a kiss to one of those damn dimples, nosing against the softness of Helenaâs cheek. âHe loves you, already. So weâre clear.â Crystal. That said, he rolled his fingertips up and down her backbone, a fond sort of smirk sneaking over his face. âJust... donât rag on the jackalope too hard. Might give him ideas. Stranger ones.â Vic had picked up that questionable sense of humour from somewhere, after all.Â




















