damncompass | Early August 2012: The Warehouse/Annapolis, MD

Joshua sighs, leaning a bit on Helena as he pulls his phone and headphones out of his bag. Under his breath, he mutters. "It's times like these that I really wish Claud would let me use that damn compass."

Eventually, though, he closes his eyes, losing himself in music from his phone. It's better than paying attention to what's going on in the plane.

"You know as well as I that she has her reasons," Helena replies in kind.

Once Joshua's settled, Helena gets out a book (Time Machine, as if she's going to properly follow through with her writing ideas, she needs to refresh herself on what she wrote back in the day) and sets about ignoring the horrid man in the aisle seat. (She's got the window shade down. Just because she's more comfortable with flying doesn't mean she wants to stare at the tops of clouds all afternoon.)

Joshua loses himself in a musical that he hasn't heard in ages, quietly humming to himself until the plane lands, and they get out, the annoying man going his own way.

Eventually, they pick up their bags, and Joshua rents a (somewhat sensible this time) car. Before long, they're in Annapolis, and in a nice hotel room.

"Alright, it's already after five, and I'm not about to harass a poor hapless reporter in her own home, so I think we should just chill for the night. What is there to do here anyway?"

"Good question." Helena collected a number of brochures at the check-in desk, and is currently looking through them. "Can't say I'm very interested in hanging about the Naval Academy."

"You sure?" Joshua smirks. "I thought people thought guys in uniform were hot." He pauses for a moment. "But then again, Naval Academy kids are younger than Claud, so the age gap would probably be a bit scary."

"I doubt they would fully appreciate my charms anyway." She flips through a few more brochures. "Oh, we could go sailing! Have you ever been on a boat, darling? It can be quite grand." In some ways, modern distance traveling just doesn't compare. "There's also a maritime museum, if we have time after the case. For tonight, though, I think we'd be best off getting dinner and calling it a night."

Joshua snorts, but a grin crosses his face. "I've always wanted to go sailing, actually. South Dakota isn't really known for its beaches or sailing ventures." He pauses. "I didn't exactly bring beach clothes, though. Maybe there'll be a shop where ever we find dinner."

No, he's not enjoying the thought of Helena in a bikini. Not at all.

"One needn't necessarily wear a bathing costume on a boat, you realise." Yes, she knows bathing costumes as she once knew them are long gone (and is she ever glad for that; trying to move about in wet wool is bloody annoying). But it still sounds better to her ears than 'swimsuit.' "But we can sort that out later. Here's one with restaurants - the Italian sounds promising, or the sushi."

Joshua gets up and looks over her shoulder. "Hm. I haven't had sushi in ages, actually." He kisses her on the cheek. "Didn't think you'd be up for something that exotic."

"Oh, I'm always up for an adventure, darling." Honestly, she would have thought he knew that by now. "Sushi it is, then."

Joshua smiles. "Well, I do know that. Hold on. Let me get out of travelling clothes." He grabs his suitcase, and goes to the bathroom, returning in a blazer, khakis, and a button-down shirt, his pin on the blazer's lapel.

"Not a bad idea, at that." While Joshua's in the loo, Helena fishes out a change of clothes for herself (she'd say it's nothing fancy, but only because she wears the same sort of thing most days) and gets changed.

Dinner is lovely, as is the wander around the harbour afterwards. They get a few ideas for things to do tomorrow, as long as the snag doesn't go to hell in a handbasket.

By the time they get back to the hotel, all of Joshua's plane nerves are gone, and a huge smile is firmly on his face. He's realizing how little time he really gets to spend with Helena anymore.

By then, Helena is grinning quite widely as well. "I must say, that was quite refreshing."

"It was." He grins at her, and takes her hand. "We really need to do more stuff together. Lately we've just kinda been... around." He's always thought that you need to cultivate relationships, not just exist with the person.

"That we have. Bit silly of us, really, but then, I'm hardly used to trying to maintain a relationship." She's perfectly happy to make time for Joshua, of course, but she's going to need some reminders.

(Therein lies the problem. They both rather easily get lost in their own little projects.)

"Well, uh..." Joshua flails a bit. "If you're not interested anymore, I get it." He does think he's quite boring.

"...Darling, I never said that!" She actually looks a bit worried. "It's only that this is new territory for me."

Joshua reaches out and put a hand on the side of her face. "Helena, what are you worried about? I just... you know how I get. I just want you to be happy, and if it's too new or too different, I want you to say so."

"But it's not too new to be worth trying. I haven't decided you're boring or not worth the effort or - or whatever it is your mind's telling you this time." Helena sighs. "I still want to try, but we both get lost in our own worlds quite easily. We need to find a way around that."

"I know." He shakes his head. "I'm... well, my last girlfriend drug me around to things rather like a lost puppy. Besides, we had a couple classes together and we did things." Debate team mostly. And they didn't actually talk much. Joshua was just kinda there most of the time.

"We need to make a point of doing things together, or at least in the same space." Honestly, if a lot of their private time were both of them in Joshua's lab working on their own projects, Helena can't say she'd mind. "Neither of us is very good at sustaining this sort of thing, and I don't want it to fall to bits because of that." She hugs him. "We're intelligent people. We can sort this out."

"I don't want it to fall apart either." He hugs her back tightly. "We're smart people. We can figure out how to have a relationship." He might be attaching a bit now.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with attaching. "Indeed we can, darling."

He kisses her, lingering in it for a long moment.

They eventually go to sleep, Joshua's phone alarm buzzing at about eight the next morning.

"mmmmf."

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