Am writing. Nothing major happens (unless you count Helen dyeing her hair) but it’s the Nikola/Helen/Nigel friendship night from Hapax Legomenon. Nigel thinks they’re adorkable idiots but she better not hurt his friend.
And later I will have to find some episodes to get a feel for the questions, because I realised I’ll have to show the tension in the team in a tense situation (because Helen refuses to talk to John because reasons, and Nikola and James know said reasons but James vaguely liked John until then, but they still wanna win)... But for now, Helen and Nikola are flirting and Nigel is wondering if he’s invisible. XD
(How much do I love this ask? *Throws arms open wide* Thiiiiiiis much! Saddle up folks, self indulgence is here!)
- When they were in university, Nikola would leave stuff in Helen’s room - cups, sweaters, essays (his grammar was atrocious so she’d fix it) - whilst she would just breeze into his, “borrow” whatever she needed and breeze back out. (Really freaked Nigel out, first time she did that, because she didn’t knock, and he was changing after an accident in the chem lab splattered goo onto him. When he asked Nikola, all he said was, “She’s out of tea.” He didn’t even look up from his essay.)
- When Nikola proposed (after a discussion couched in hypotheticals with Helen, which she loved because it wasn’t a proposal from nowhere), he asked Ashley and Henry not quite their permission but, for lack of a better word, their permission, because he was joining their family.
- They don’t have blazing rows (mostly because it isn’t great to be yelling around the kids, even when they’re asleep) but they do have intense conversations. At first they were to do with his dreamcatching ability and his reading her emotion waves but they got through that (Helen’s ability to steamroller through anything seriously helped), so now they’ll get embroiled in discussions about just about anything, and if they end up on opposite sides of the discussion, Nikola tends to be the one to break the tension, saying some madcap thing that makes Helen smile, roll her eyes and kiss him.
- Helen sleeps much better now, even if she’s done a huge reaping session, because Nikola sleeps next to her, and dulls the dreams so that they’re not super high def. And now Nikola gets to remember his dreams and not just his nightmares, because Helen. Thankfully they don’t share the same dream space (because they’re both dirty monkeys and if they did they’d never wake up).
- They formally adopt Henry when he’s eleven. (When Kate leaves - she’s the foster kid in Sledding - Henry gets kinda low, and he argues with Nikola about something really stupid (like getting to be Player one or something - not important) and storms off upstairs. Helen goes up later and finds him in a bombsite of a room because he thinks he’ll be sent away because he argued with Nikola (even though they had the same sort of argument a few days ago and Henry didn’t react like this). That’s when he tells her that he still feels like he could be sent away and no-one would care because no-one had adopted him yet but Will and Kate and Declan and all the others had been so what was wrong with him? And that’s when Helen tells him, quietly, sat on his bed, that she and Nikola had started the process to adopt him, but wanted to wait until his birthday in a few weeks time. “We thought you might have liked it as a present…” And that’s how Nikola finds the two, hugging on the edge of Henry’s bed.)
- He still calls her a super hero.
- When Helen finds out she’s pregnant she gets more than just freaked out. She’s in her late 30s, she has two foster kids, Ashley, and Henry all under one roof and all she can hear in her head is her tutor from uni telling them the old wives tale that if a reaper and a catcher have a child it would have the same power as the god of dreams himself. And she knows its stupid and improbable, but what if? And its the only time she what ifs so hard that Nikola has to ask what the hell? So it all comes tumbling out and all he hears is, “I’m pregnant,” before he squish hugs her (she carries on talking as she hugs back) - it calmed her down when they had their adoption interview for Henry so he was hoping it would work then too. And it does, until he says, “We’re having a kid?” and then Helen gets all antsy again because, “Yes, we’re having a baby and there’s a massive chance it’ll take over the world!”(Nikola reminds her that it’s their kid, of course it’s going to take over the world. But with Helen as their mum, little one is less likely to be evil with their take over.)
- Nikola’s not allowed to take part in the betting pool he set up because he has, “Insider knowledge.” He tries to argue against Josie’s verdict, but she stands firm. Helen perks him up though. ;)
Teslen + pirate AU and gamer/nerd AU ;D Sam/Jack + fantasy AU and BDSM AU ^^
Ok, so I’m not big into the pirate thing, so… bear with me. (Also, I’m concentrating on Helen because just imagine her in a stereotypical pirate’s outfit, with all her swagger? Hello!)
Helen first became a pirate under Captain Druitt. She had been kidnapped, but through grit and determination (and knowing her way around many weapons both the captain and his first mate - James, natch - kept aboard) she turned from damsel in distress to Captain Magnus, Scourge of the Seven Seas.
Her vessel was bequeathed to her by Captain Griffin, who wished to retire to an island with his bounty and his wife, so The Ruby Dawn may sail forever more. Nigel, in his haste to scarper to his island, neglected to tell his compatriot in piracy his plan, which is why Helen awoke one night to a knife to her throat and a growl in her ear asking, “Where’s the captain of the ship, wench?” With the ease of practice (one of the only women aboard ship made for an “easy” target in the minds of lesser men, made less by her steel), she had him on the floor, knife in her hand, the stranger between her thighs, his eyes flashing dangerously. “She is here. Address me as such, insolent dog.”
A tentative truce formed between the pair, slowly leading to shared raids (they both had small, but perfectly formed, crews but they both liked pillaging the larger ships) then private meets to “discuss plans”, in any place with a sturdy enough plane (wall, floor, ladder, door).
They don’t agree on everything (it’s Nikola and Helen, when do they?) and their fights are the stuff of legend not just for their own crews, but a fair portion of other crews too. They brawl, and sword fight, and throw things (insults first but it soon devolves to actual items) but the idea of, “I can fight you, no one else can,” is in full force with them. Another captain tries to fight either and they unite quicker than magnets.
More than once, in their haste to return to their ships after a “meeting”, they wear the other’s shirt/coat/hat. Nikola won’t admit it but he likes wearing her things (and seeing her in his).
(Eeep, one more for luck.) - They never married, but everyone knew he was hers and she was his.
Ok, gonna put the cut here because the post is long and the last one is (obviously) not for underage people. You have been warned.
Gamer/Nerd AU
(Ok, this is more my speed. I like computer games and stuff. XD)
They met on an MMORPG, which neither now plays as it sold out after the second round of extra content. She was a paladin, he was a hunter. They would sometimes join their guildies to do raids and dungeons, and everyone dealt with Nikola’s flighty fighting because Helen was an amazing tank.
They also play card games. They both applied to take part in a Pokémon card tournament, and both got to the final. Nikola won with his lucky Jolteon.
Helen tells everyone her favourite type of game is a puzzle action game, like Legend of Zelda or Alundra, but she really loves platformers. Nikola goes through obsessions, and at the moment its the Professor Layton games.
They have a YouTube channel, mostly for Nikola to show off, but his best rated videos are the ones with him and Helen playing games together, bantering and being themselves, and people actually tell him, when he does an end of year what should I do next video, that there should be more Teslen videos.
For birthdays/Christmas, they commission fandomy presents for each other. Nikola’s favourite is still the first present Helen gave him - an actual print of a fanart of his hunter - although the mint in box copy of Final Fantasy VII has pride of place in their home, next to her beat up Pokémon Crystal cartridge (her first proper Pokémon game that she bought with her own pocket money).
They have a room in their house for gaming/recording/various computer based things. All their special fandomy things are on display in there. They also have laptops so they can compare games between their super awesome desktop pcs and their pretty awesome laptops.
When they’re not gaming/editing/doing whatevs in the computer room, they curl up on the sofa, drinking tea and watching sci-fi, or playing board games. Helen wins at chess and Monopoly, but Nikola is a demon playing Snakes and Ladders.
Fantasy AU
(Sam/Jack!!! <3<3<3) Ok, not super into fantasy past LotR or The Dark Tower (I know, two different types of fantasy), so if this is trope-y, that’s why. XD
When they go on adventures, Jack is the leader, and a swordsman that only draws his blade to kill. He was a member of an elite squad until he lost his taste for death. Now he only fights/kills when he has to. Sam is a mage who tends to fight with fire/electric magic. She would have been a member of the same elite squad had she not fallen in love with Jack and he hadn’t fallen for her.
Sam is the daughter of an important lord, and had to keep her magic casting secret as women of the land were only to be healers or mothers. A woman caught transgressing would be put to death. Sam, therefore, dresses and travels as a man in her own country... Until she gets sick of it when she’s older. She starts fighting as herself, and her electric magic strengthens as she isn’t hiding a art of herself.
Sam hunts the food, Jack cooks the food (unless it’s fish, then Jack catches the fish himself).
When they aren’t adventuring, Jack does woodwork. Sam is a mechanic of sorts - fixing windmills, spinning wheels, things like that. Jack sometimes makes the parts to replace the broken ones.
An evil sorcerer placed a charm on Sam’s heart so that it wouldn’t beat with love for Jack. The sorcerer was paid to do so by a lonely toll house operator who had seen Sam with Jack and thought the sun rose and shone because of her. Jack for ages couldn’t understand why Sam was behaving so oddly, and for a while things looked bleak. He was about to let her leave for good when he kissed her, in front of the toll house operator, one last time. The charm was lifted. Sam was freed, as the operator had witnessed true love’s kiss. (Sam then punched the living daylights out of the guy because who the hell uses a charm like that in this day and age?)
BDSM AU. This one is kinda influenced by two Sam/Jack fics I read ages ago - Leather & Lace (it’s a series by Kimberly Jackson) and Trust Me by @amaradangeli. (I would heartily recommend both.) (And yes, this is probably just as trope laden as my previous head canons.)
Jack likes tying Sam up and torturing her (usually orgasm denial, but it’s dependent on his mood). He’s really good at that fine line balance of pleasure/pain.
Their D/s dynamic doesn’t always bleed through into their day to day dynamic, but there are times when Jack will say something a certain way and Sam’s eyes glaze for a moment. He always notices.
Sam likes the pretty patterns rope bondage leaves on her skin (Jack likes seeing them).
Jack gave Sam a box one birthday, and told her to come down to dinner in it’s contents. She ate dinner at his knee, naked except for the velvet choker around her neck.
They discovered Sam’s sub side sorta by accident - they were messing around one evening and Jack says he isn’t above spanking her. Its the way her breath catches, her big eyes wide and expressive, that tells him this is something they could explore together.
When they cuddle afterwards, it always feels like the place is glowing and warm, even if it isn’t physically. They always feel calmer after a session.
If you’ve made it to the end, well done, you deserve a prize! XD Not sure what sort of prize, but yeah. XD
“Doctor Magnus, I need to borrow you for a moment,” Doctor Tesla told her, popping his head into her office long enough to get her attention before walking away. Smirking knowingly, Helen followed Nikola into a dark staff room, hoping he checked before, “Yes,” she hissed, his lips on her neck, his leg between hers as they slammed against the door.Grinning, with one final kiss, Nikola waggled his eyebrows and said, “I shall see you later on tonight, Doctor Magnus,” before leaving a smiling, breathless Helen to some staff room tea.
“Great you’re open, because I forgot it’s my wife’s birthday tomorrow - she loves dahlias and wow, you look beautiful,” he burbled as he smiled winningly at the laughing woman behind the counter.
“Nikola,” Helen said indulgently, shaking her head, as she walked around to him, “you bought me flowers last year.” In his arms, kissing him soundly, she soon said, “But I’ll never say no to more,” against his smiling lips.
So, a short while ago, I posted this for @viennainspringtime. This is prompt number 22 (AU - two miserable people meeting at a wedding). Nikola isn’t really miserable, but yeah. Not been beta’d, so any mistakes are all mine.
Rated T, with low key John/James, and low key James/Helen friendship.
--
“Please join me as I toast our grooms, John and James.”
Everyone raised their champagne flutes and chorused, and Nikola heard a small groan next to him. He chanced a glance to his right, to a woman whose place name said ‘Helen Magnus’. She was glugging down her champagne like water, eyes wide when the alcohol hit. Wordlessly, Nikola drank his drink.
“How do you know them?”
Nikola looked over. She was playing with the rim of her glass, eyes flicking between him and the champagne flute. He was hypnotised by the blue eyes rimmed with black smokiness. Finding his tongue, he replied, “I work with James. You?”
“I’m a friend of the family,” she told him, tightly. Reaching over, she grabbed the wine bottle, pouring herself a large glass. She offered the bottle to him. Smiling, he held out his glass.
Over the course of an hour, the bottle emptied between them as they watched John and James have their first dance, and everyone else joining in in dribs and drabs. Doing something he normally hated, he grabbed Helen’s hand, standing up, “Let’s dance.”
“What?” she laughed. “No! I’ve two left feet!”
He winked, “I have two right feet. Come on.” The resistance lessened and they were walking to the dance floor, her hand warm in his. Reaching it, the music changed to the Time Warp, Helen’s cheeks flushing. The flashing lights would’ve covered it, but Nikola had just leant in to say something in her ear. “Why the blush?” he asked instead.
Helen rolled her eyes. “Did James ever tell you how he met John?” Nikola shook his head. She grinned, “Remind me to tell you later.” She winked and started shimmying in time to the song.
It’s just a jump to the left
Everyone was following, and Nikola looked down at Helen’s feet, shocked to see her three inch heels off the floor as she jumped. “Come on Niko,” she called as she danced, moving like quicksilver through the steps. Grabbing her waist gently, he kept his balance as she swung her hips.
The next few songs were a blur of colour, Helen and sensation until the dj started a slow song. Smiling, Nikola held her close, the two of them swaying on the spot.
“You’re singing,” she whispered softly, her fingers playing with the hair at the base of his head.
“Do you mind?” he whispered back as softly.
She shook her head. He smiled, holding her a bit tighter, squeezing the hand he held, revelling when she squeezed back. Things were perfect in the bubble of the song
“May I cut in?” a dark voice asked behind Nikola. He didn’t turn, seeing the flash of something in her eyes, the way her fingers clenched around his.
“We were just about to sit down,” she replied frostily.
He turned. It was John. looming.
“Helen…?”
For the rest of his life, Nikola didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the intense urge to engage in a pissing contest, but he turned, smirked and said, “Come on Johnny, she’s just turned you down. Better run along to your new husband.” He turned to Helen. “Shall we?”
She nodded defiantly, looping her arm through his and they sauntered off the floor. “I hate when people make decisions for me.”
“Did you want to dance with Lurch?” he asked, brow furrowed. Helen snorted, making his brow furrow further. “What?”
She laughed, “Nothing bad. Come on, grab those bottles, no-one’s going to miss them, and follow me.”
He decided there and then he’d follow this strange and beautiful woman anywhere.
At the bottom of the stairs opposite the hall, she turned and said, “Are you afraid of heights?”
“Not so much as I am of falling,” he replied.
“Smooth,” she answered, winking. Purposefully, she walked up the stairs, letting Nikola follow in her wake.
“Where are we going?” he asked when he reached her.
She tilted her head to the door. “Up.”
Nikola’s jaw dropped when he stepped onto the roof. The venue was far enough away from civilisation that he could see the stars in the sky, winking and blinking at them. “Wha…? How did you know this was up here?”
Helen shrugged, sitting on the wall, and looked over the edge. Nikola looked over. They were above the hall, the lights streaming out through the windows, the music a dull roar of bass. “John and I looked at this place a few years ago.”
“John and…? You and Lurch?” Nikola asked, sitting next to her and handing her a wine bottle.
She smiled self deprecatingly. “Yes, until he removed his head from his arse and realised he was in love with Jimmy.” She took a long swig, grimacing slightly at the taste.
“Jimmy?!” Nikola asked, taking the bottle from her and drinking it himself.
Helen waggled her eyebrows, grinning wickedly. “Wee Jimmy Watson moved in next door to me when he was five. We went to school together… I probably should have figured it out when James snogged John on a dare.” She tapped her chin. “Or when he said he wanted to climb John like a jungle gym and that I was a very lucky woman.”
Nikola was glad he’d swallowed his wine, or Helen would have been covered. “James? Said that? James Watson?”
Helen leant forward, her voice low and throaty, “You don’t know the half of it.”
He looked down her body, then up at her face. She smirked, and he slid closer. “I’d rather not talk about them,” he murmured, his voice gravelly even to his own ears.
“Oh?”
He quirked his eyebrow meaningfully, “I’d rather not talk,” he whispered, touching her cheek before kissing her softly.
Humming, she grinned against his lips. “Much better idea,” she conceded.
They stayed like that for a while, songs playing from the hall as their background, until Nikola had to put his hand on the wall to steady himself. He chuckled, and explained. “I don’t want us to fall backwards.”
She smiled. “Enjoying yourself?” she breathed, leaning back.
He nodded, before standing up. Taking her hand again, he dragged her to her feet. “Dance with me.”
“There’s barely any music,” she argued weakly, smile widening.
“I have two right feet,” he reminded her as she stepped into his arms, “so it’s probably better.”
Swaying and circling on the spot, they hummed to the music they could vaguely hear. Helen suddenly shivered. “Cold?” he asked.
She nodded. “A little.”
Without thought, Nikola took off his jacket and rested it on her shoulders. Smoothing down the lapels across her collarbone, he felt her breath catch. With the gentlest of tugs, he brought her flush against him, her hands on his chest, flexing on the material of his waistcoat.
She raised an eyebrow, and smirked. “Do women tend to fall over themselves around you?” she asked coquettishly, brushing a finger along where waistcoat rested against shirt.
“Only the really hot ones,” he replied. “And the one wearing my jacket is delectable.”
She blinked, then smiled a bright, brilliant smile that Nikola really liked. “Well then, Mr Tesla, you best kiss me now before--” She didn’t finish her sentence. Nikola’s hands had migrated to her hair, holding her head gently as his lips found hers.
“Sorry, I interrupted you,” he said, resting his forehead against hers.
“Just don’t make a habit of it,” she told him, before kissing him again. Her fingers gripped his hips, and soon kissing in the starlight wasn’t enough.
So the sentence is “tell me you don’t feel the same.” and ofc ship is Teslen <3
(So, this idea of them as actors wouldn’t leave me alone. Don’t ask me why, cause I don’t know. But I hope you like this! Unbeta’d, so any/all mistakes are mine.)
Rated T.
—
“Tell me you don’t feel the same,” he said, eyes wide and earnest. “Tell me that this is all in my head, and I’ll leave. You’ll never see me again.”
She took a breath, gaze never wavering. “I–”
“CUT! Jesus, Nikola, you’re trying to get her to admit her feelings, not sell her a car. Make me believe it,” the director yelled from his chair.
Nikola rolled his eyes as he nodded, looking at Helen Magnus, shining star of the silver screen, who was currently being primped by hair and makeup. His heart leapt into his throat. He’d heard the stories, how men had lost their heart to this siren of a leading lady, about how guileless and serene she was (the reason so many people fell for her), how dedicated she was to her craft. He knew how with one soft smile, hardened action men melted for her.
He swore he wouldn’t be like the others, that she was just another actress.
How wrong he was. She smiled at everyone, younger members of the cast had been taken under her wing and Nikola? She took none of his shit. She flirted a storm with him (so much that even the papers were mentioning it, comments underneath paparazzi pictures of her), but it was in the quiet moments - tea in her trailer, running lines over lunch, watching dailies with James, the second director - that Nikola had fallen.
“Right, take five everyone,” John, the director, yelled, getting out of his chair and stalking off. Probably to call James, see how recording on the second stage was going.
“Nikola? Shall we run the scene again?” Helen asked, her English accent soothing his nerves.
He nodded, and off they went to a secluded corner. “You do seem to like having me all to yourself in these dark corner, Miss Magnus,” he whispered into her ear as he followed her, so close it was almost inappropriate.
“And you don’t?” she asked, looking back and winking.
“Be still my beating heart,” he muttered, grinning when she laughed. He liked making her laugh.
“Shall we go from my, “Just leave,” line?” she asked, leaning against the wall. He nodded, and watched as she changed from Helen Magnus to Sophie Evans, the woman stuck between caring for her dying husband and falling for their kind neighbour. “Just leave, Robin. Leave me alone. Leave us alone. Stop… stop being so helpful and kind and… and…”
He nodded earnestly. “I will, if you tell me you don’t feel the same,” he murmured as he gently pushed back a lock of her hair, stepping into her personal space. “Tell me that this is all in my head, and I’ll leave. You’ll never see me again.”
“I… I…” She shook her head, looking down. “I can’t. It isn’t.” She swallowed, looking to the ceiling, eyes wet with unshed tears. “I shouldn’t want this… you… but I do. I want you so much it hurts.” Her fingers had curled around his tie. “Make it go away,” she whispered, pulling herself to him, kissing his lips gently.
Backing away, something flashed in her eyes that drew him to her. Fire ignited in his belly when they kissed again, her hands in his hair, fingers flexing. Without thought, he had her pinned to the wall, pressing his hips to hers. She hissed at the contact, head thrown back as he kissed her neck. “Yes, Nikola, there…” she panted, her fingernails scratching down his back.
“What?” he asked sharply, his head snapping up at his name, his real name, falling from her lips.
Her eyes wide, Helen’s mouth worked soundlessly.
“Places everyone!” they heard John yell.
“You…”
Shaking her head and combing her fingers through her hair, Helen Magnus - consummate professional - was back. “Later.” She pushed against his chest gently. Following her lead, he stepped back, slightly dazed. She smiled shyly. “Come on, we’ll talk later.” With every ounce of grace, she walked away.
Heart in his throat, Nikola followed, counting down the seconds to later.
