Chapter Text
Once a week, every week, Helena and Claudia wake up early before breakfast and come downstairs to play chess while the rest of the team sleeps. Claudia, they have discovered, is actually a good enough player to provide a real challenge even to Helena. Helena eventually wins most games but they rarely are easy victories.
While there are quiet periods where the focus is fully on the game, these don’t usually last throughout the whole two hours. Sometimes, Helena tells stories about her time at Warehouse 12. Other times, they discuss politics or engineering between turns. There are weeks where barely any moves are made across the chess board.
Claudia always looks forward to these mornings with Helena. Sometimes, when things are particularly brutal and hard, or when nightmares and memories are too close to the surface, they are the only time Claudia smiles all week.