Title: A Lure
Author: coolbyrne
Pairing: H/N
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1801
Feedback: Compliments and/or constructive criticism is appreciated, either in private or in public.
A/N: For the gwing_soup alphabet challenge. “O is for Out”. A bit of lightheartedness involving a mouse and a breast grope.
--
“Do you think it’ll come out today?”
Her eyes transfixed on the small hole, Nikki fiercely whispered, “Not if you keep nattering in my ear, Jules. You’re going to scare it away.”
“Well, that’s what we want, innit?”
Nikki lowered her head in frustration, then turned to look at the two cellmates who were comically clinging to each other in the farthest corner of the small room.
“I wonder who looks more ridiculous,” the lifer wondered aloud. “You two looking like you’re going down with the Titanic, or me lying on this godawful floor in some hair-brained scheme to catch a mouse? And could someone remind me- how did I get lured into this in the first place?”
Julie S, the shorter of the two piped up, “Because you love us?”
“Oh, right,” Nikki said, as if that explained everything. “Now, if you two don’t mind?” When no further comment seemed to be forthcoming from the twosome, Nikki shifted slightly and returned to her vigil.
--
It started a week ago when the two cons tumbled into Nikki’s cell, blurting, “We saw a mouse!”
Wade, looking up from her book, shrugged, “It’s an old building. There are probably hundreds of them. Half of them live in the kitchen, no doubt.” When she saw the Julies turn a frightening shade of white, she back-pedaled. “Start from the beginning. You saw a mouse.”
Julie J was the first to find her voice. “I was doin’ up my face, right? In front of the mirror.”
“She was,” Julie S concurred.
“When this… this thing ran straight over my foot!”
“I thought I was going to have a bleedin’ heart attack, I did!”
“You?” the taller Julie exclaimed. “You didn’t feel its tiny little feet scurrying over your skin!”
Nikki held her book up higher in order to cover her laugh. “And what do you think I can do about it?”
Seven days of lying on a cold cement floor while attempting to lure out a rodent with a dollop of peanut better was her answer. A request to Karen Betts about getting some traps or an exterminator was met with the same reaction Nikki had given them. The jail was old; so long as it didn’t become a health problem in the kitchen, there wasn’t much to be done. So now, in an effort to relieve the Julies of some worry, Nikki lay, propped up on one elbow, her other hand palm up on the floor in front of the tiny crack at the base of the wall that the two Js deduced to be the mouse’s exit route.
A not-so-proverbial game of cat-and-mouse. Nikki chuckled softly.
The sound made the Julies jump. “What is it?”
“Shhhh!” the brunette hissed. “I think I see it.”
Sure enough, a week’s worth of patience looked like it was about to pay off. A collection of whiskers, pointy nose and beady eyes tentatively emerged from the hole in the wall. The nose twitched furiously as the smell of the peanut butter wafted towards it. Like a flash, it darted towards the proffered snack, then back again. This bit of reconnaissance was repeated three more times before the safety of the situation appeared to satisfy the little spy. The only noise in the room came from the quiet squeaking of the mouse, though Nikki was sure she would hear the two Julies doing the same if she listened hard enough.
And then, just like that, it was all over. The mouse was so close to Nikki’s hand that she could feel its little paws around her finger. With reflexes faster than the marsupial, she trapped it in her fist. She got up as quickly as her cramped body would allow and turned to the Julies.
“Get me something to put this in before the bloody thing bites me and gives me rabies.” The two cellmates were pressed so closely into the corner, they were almost in the next cell. “Oh, for God’s sake,” Nikki sighed and grabbed a nearby stocking. Quickly slipping it over her fist, she then dropped the captive into the nylon prison. She held it out to the frozen women. “Here.” When neither of them moved, Nikki shrugged. “Shall I dump it in the loo, then?”
This got an immediate response, just as the lifer expected. It didn’t matter that this little grey thing had been the source of sleepless nights for the Julies; they were too soft to be that cruel. Julie J stretched out her arm and took the wriggling stocking.
“So what will you do with it?” Nikki asked as she washed her hands in the sink.
“I don’t know…”
“… we never thought that far ahead.”
“Fucking hell,” Nikki sighed in amusement. “Just don’t look at me, all right? Or down the loo it goes.”
“Nikki!” they exclaimed in unison.
Laughing, Nikki shook her head. “My work here is done, ladies.”
--
“So how’s the big game hunter, then?”
Nikki glanced up from the papers on the table. The identity of the speaker brought a huge grin to her face. “Helen.” Then, as if playing back what the woman had said, she frowned in confusion. “Big game hunter?”
“I ran into the two Julies,” Stewart smiled. “Can I come in?”
Nikki collected her papers and shut her book. “Of course.”
“Studying for that exam, I see.”
“Yeah.”
“And yet you still find time to play mouse hunter. How do you manage it all?”
Nikki smiled and pulled out a chair for Helen. “Take the piss all you want. Seven bloody days of trying to lure the damn thing out.”
Helen’s face was of playful surprise. “Nikki Wade had the patience to wait out something for an entire week?”
“Well,” the con drawled, “I’ve discovered in the past that if you make an overly aggressive move, you’ll just scare away the prey.” A glint in her eye told Helen she wasn’t just talking about the mouse.
The Scot shifted in her seat. “Is that so?”
“Yeah,” Nikki said, leaning in. “I’ve found that patience is the key. A soft, slow approach works best. Lure them in and in the end, they’ll want to come.” The twitch of amusement at the corner of her mouth emphasized the last word, and the glint grew in its wickedness.
“You’re bad,” Helen chuckled.
They were so close that their noses briefly bumped across each other. “No, I’m good,” Nikki whispered. “After all, I caught the mouse, didn’t I?” Her fingers grazed across the top of Helen’s hand and slid up under the cuff.
“And just how did you do it, in the end?”
“A little bit of peanut butter on the end of my finger.” She watched as Helen’s eyes grew in amazement. “What can I say? I have very talented fingers.”
A small moan slipped through Helen’s parted lips and her eyes dropped down to Nikki’s mouth. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re not bad.”
“No?”
“No. You’re wicked. Very, very wicked.”
The tone of Nikki’s chuckle did little to prove otherwise. Mouths touched and retreated, neither committing.
“You do realize that it takes everything in me to not lock the door and shag you senseless.”
“You’ll get no argument from me, miss.”
Helen brought up her hand and cupped Nikki’s face. “It gets harder and harder for me to leave without you at the end of the day, you know.”
There was a genuine tinge of sadness to her words. In an attempt to inject a bit of humour, the brunette replied, “Well, imagine how hard it is for me to get a good wank on with middle England in the bunk above me.”
The ploy worked. Leaning back, Helen laughed. “Talk about a glass of cold water! I’ll never be able to look at Barbara the same.”
“Well, don’t think of Barbara,” Nikki said. “Think of this instead.” In a move that mirrored one she attempted in the potting shed all those months ago, she brought Helen’s hand up to her breast. This time, however, there was a softness to the direction and a willingness on Helen’s part.
“Nikki…” she feebly objected.
“I know, I know, we can’t do anything here. I just thought I’d give you a little something for later.”
The jangle of keys quickly drew them apart, seconds before the door opened wide.
“Well, look who’s here,” Jim Fenner leered, “to no one’s surprise. Did I interrupt anything, or were you able to get all the buttons done up in time?”
“Piss off, Fenner,” Wade bit back.
Helen stood up tall. “Actually, I was checking up on the prisoner to make sure she was preparing for her upcoming exam. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Fenner’s eyes slid over the stack of papers and books on the table. “Yeah, well, whatever gets you through the night,” he replied, his tone indicating he didn’t believe a word. With a jerk of his head in Nikki’s direction, he added, “Though how this one gets you through the night is beyond me.”
A flicker from Helen stopped Nikki from a retort of her own. Turning back to Fenner, the governor asked, “Anything else, Jim?”
The guard snorted and stalked away.
“We not only have a mouse problem in this place,” Nikki said, “we’ve got a rat problem as well.”
“You’d better keep your talented fingers away from him,” Helen smiled.
Making a face, Nikki grimaced, “Bloody hell. I’ll never get that image out of my head.”
After a quick glance over her shoulder towards the door, Helen grabbed the con’s hand and placed it on her breast. “Not even now?”
“Jesus, Helen!”
“Think about it,” Helen smirked, then had the good grace to look apologetic. “I’ve got to go.”
“I know.” She gently squeezed the soft flesh in her hand, Helen’s nipple a hard pebble against her palm.
The Scot groaned. “I’ve really got to go now.”
“Coming, going, coming, going,” Nikki whispered mischievously, then pulled her hand away.
Helen barely had time to bemoan the absence when Barbara walked in.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” the older woman apologized. “Shall I come back?”
Helen was still close enough for Nikki to hear the quiet squeak of surprise. Stifling her laughter, Nikki said, “No, it’s all right, Barbara. Miss Stewart got what she came for, didn’t you, miss?” She opened her eyes wider, as if trying to prompt an answer.
The shorter woman bit the inside of her cheek and glowered at the lifer. She opened her mouth several times to speak, until finally settling on, “Yes, I got quite a handful, thank you.”
With that, she left the small cell as professionally as the situation would allow. Barbara watched her exit, then turned to a smirking Nikki. Puzzled, she asked, “Did I just miss something?”
-end.
Loved it. Sexual tension and humor... It kinda makes me realize why Nikki needed a night out of Larkhall and in Helen's bed. Heck, maybe half their quarels were caused by sexual frustration...
Excellent writing.
A.
Hi I've just registered on this site even though I have been on many times. I am known on Enhanced and have been around for many years maybe too many. I had to register to say this piece of fanfic is the 1,000 story I have listed as finished.
With another 453 unfinished ones thats some going for a TV drama don't you think
lkb
Canadabadgirl Quoted.
Loved it. Sexual tension and humor... It kinda makes me realize why Nikki needed a night out of Larkhall and in Helen's bed. Heck, maybe half their quarels were caused by sexual frustration...
I absolutely agree!!
Think about it, Helen got no play since she and Sean broke up so what's a girl to do.
I'm finally getting a chance to catch up on this series (ripping songs from cds onto my iPod is a long and tedious business), and I have to say, this one is my favorite so far. The perfect combination of humor and sexiness that I have always felt these two embodied. Very flirtatious in just the right way.