Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the last two years, it was rare that Mel found herself at a loose end. If she wasn’t collecting Valentina’s dry cleaning and delivering her piping hot coffee no matter the time, location or terrain, then she was committing unspeakable acts - albeit, all through a screen as to maintain some modicum of morality and perhaps a touch of plausible deniability. 

In any case, she had little to no spare time in the day and when she did get home it was all she could do to rifle through the cupboards for something that resembled dinner, pour herself a large glass of wine and stick on reruns of the Real Housewives of New York City. That’s why she was somewhat blindsided when she received a text from Val at around lunchtime that effectively relieved her of her duties for the day. The Contessa claimed that she was feeling under the weather, another highly unusual occurrence, and that in her absence there was no need for Mel to stick around. 

Having only moved to New York upon receiving an offer for the assistant job, Mel had had little time to make close friends in the area. However, she occasionally visited a few of the coffee shops in her neighbourhood and had become friendly enough with one of the baristas, a tall, blonde woman named Emma. Having no better ideas and deciding she should at least head back in the direction of her apartment, Mel packed up her things and took the lift down to the entrance of one of Valentina’s more elaborate offices. 

She arrived at the cafe, which was tucked in a corner between a small boutique and beautiful florist, to find it mostly empty following the lunch time rush. Picking a plush looking seat near the window and deciding what to order, she didn’t notice Emma approach her table. The taller woman cleared her throat and Mel startled. 

“Emma, hey. How are you?” 

“Oh you know, same old same old. Nothing new here other than the cat from down the street that keeps coming round back and eating out of our rubbish. Business as usual, you know. Which is more than can be said for you, what brings you away from your big girl job and on a Tuesday no less?” 

“You know what, I wish I could tell you but I’m not very sure myself. My boss wasn’t feeling well which is really quite unlike her and I would’ve booked her an appointment with our in-house medical team but she scarpered before I could do anything. Just sent me a text telling me I could leave for the day. I’m a little worried to be honest with you.”

“Wow, well you’re a far better employee than I am. If my boss was ill there’s no chance I’m getting near him let alone sending out for some posh doctor. But enough about bosses. Why decide to come here, you should be off taking advantage of the afternoon, see a museum, hangout, go for some beers - no?”

Mel had the decency to look sheepish at this, already feeling a little embarrassed that her only friend - acquaintance more like - was a woman who served her coffee and whose last name she didn’t know. 

“I mean, it’s a little embarrassing but I don’t really know anyone here and I haven’t had much of a chance to explore New York since I started my job, I don’t know what’s good.”

“That’s not embarrassing at all,” Emma gave her a toothy grin, “you spend almost every waking moment tending to your boss’ every need.”

“Valentina.”

“Sorry?”

“My boss, her name is Valentina.”

“Oh, right.” Emma seemed a little taken aback by the earnestness in Mel’s voice, but she recovered quickly. “Well, I think Valentina works you too hard, you deserve a break. Look, my shift finishes in just over an hour. Why don’t you take a coffee to go, get changed out of that suit into something a bit less Devil Wears Prada, and come back here for 1430.”

“I uh. What?”

“No wonder Valentina values your time, you’re so eloquent.” Emma teased, breaking into another toothy grin. “Come back here silly and I’ll take you out in New York, proper New York that is.”

Mel thought of the nights spent alone, eating takeout and reviewing work emails in lieu of real conversation. Perhaps making a real friend wouldn’t be such a bad thing. 

“Alright, you’re on. I’ll see you at two-thirty.” She paused a moment. “And Emma, thank you.” The blonde merely gave her a nod of understanding before returning to the counter to fetch Mel her usual caramel latte and send her on her way.

As she was getting ready for her afternoon with Emma, Mel’s mind drifted to Valentina, as it so often did. She wondered what was wrong with the woman, if she was at home nursing a cold, or worse, perhaps she had been infected with something during one of the lab trials. The thought of the older woman trapped in a perspex box while her army of scientists prodded and poked and tried to figure out what was wrong with her sent a shiver down Mel’s spine. No. She thought. There was no infectious lab, no common cold, it was almost certain that Val was hiding something from her assistant. The past few weeks she’d been taking more and more phone calls out of the room, assigning Mel frivolous tasks and setting up meetings across town under the pretence that it would help the young woman’s career to “get out on your own and rub shoulders with the only people in New York that matter, Melissa.” 

Mel had no doubt that her boss truly wanted her to succeed, in the way that if Mel was successful, then by default so was Valentina. She was her prodigy, clay to be moulded into whatever shape Val saw fit to do her bidding, but whatever was happening lately was clearly above her pay grade. 

Letting thoughts of Valentina and her secrets go, lest they ruin her afternoon off, Mel focused on putting the finishing touches to her outfit. Unlike her usual style of pressed slacks and crisp shirts, she had decided to go for a casual look and something she hoped Emma would deem “proper New York”. On her feet she wore red ballet flats which she had paired with a tennis style skirt, v neck jumper and Red Sox baseball cap purchased on a school trip to Boston a number of years ago. Overall, she looked good, great even. 

Emma thought so too when she met her outside the cafe not 30 minutes later.

“Hey, Gold, you scrub down nice.” Mel merely raised an eyebrow at the turn of phrase, though she felt a light blush creep up her neck under the sweater. She let herself be led by Emma, down to the subway and across town. 

The two women spent the afternoon ducking in and out of music shops, antique stores, small bars and restaurants that were little more than a handful of chairs and tables. They ate small plates of waffles and even smaller tacos, washing it all down with sodas from Emma’s favourite bodega. Mel couldn’t remember the last time she had this much fun, the last time she’d gone so long without thinking about Valentina. She was laughing at something Emma said, when the aforementioned woman grabbed her sleeve and pulled her towards a side street previously unnoticed by Mel. 

“Oh hey, we have to grab a drink here. It’s like the cutest little place. It’s all decked out in the style of a speakeasy, run by this woman Janelle and her wife - you’re going to love it Mel.”

So, she let the blonde drag her towards the bar chuckling at her eagerness and hoping it served a good martini. On the latter she shouldn’t have been worried. 

It was clear upon entering that Emma was a regular. The bar staff knew her by name and were eager to learn more about Mel, where she was from, what brought her to New York. She kept her story suitably vague but as close to the truth as one could, when one’s job involved covert CIA operations and a boss partial to schemes which often toed the line of the law. When Janelle herself came to join them Mel was instantly taken by her, an older woman with long hair in a complicated updo, glowing, dark skin which belied her age and dressed in a sharp tan suit. In a way she reminded her of Valentina, with a no nonsense attitude and critical eye, but she was also more open and interested in what Mel had to say. 

In fact, she was deep in conversation with the woman, waiting for Emma to return from the loos, when her phone began to ring. There was only one person it could feasibly be, and while a part of Mel was sorry for her conversation with Janelle to be cut short, a bigger part of her felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of speaking to the woman she had been away from for less than 12 hours. She gave the owner of the bar an apologetic look before answering. 

“Val, hi. How are you?”

“Oh good Melissa, you’re up.”

“It’s half past nine at night Director, I…” 

“Right, right. Anyways, I’m afraid you’re going to have to come back to the office, there’s been a. Mishap.”

“What kind of mishap, are you alright? Are you still sick?”

“What? Oh uh right, well, I’m feeling a lot better now. Thanks. But the mishap, yes, I’m going to need you to help me.”

“Of course, it’s no trouble.”

“Good girl.” Once again Mel felt an involuntary shiver run up her spine, though this time is was less to do with fear and much more to do with the way Val punctuated the two words, putting Mel back up on her pedestal. Her number one girl, always reliable. Before she could reply, Valentina continued. “I’ll send a car to your house to pick up you up, it should be with you in half an hour,”

“That’s very kind, but I’m not actually at my apartment.”

There was a brief pause on the line, like Valentina hadn’t ever considered that would be a possibility. However, she recovered quickly. 

“No trouble, I’m en route anyway the driver and I can make a detour to pick you up. Send me your location.”

Mel did so, and was met with another pause, this one longer. 

“Valentina, you still there? Did you get my pin?” The silence stretched on another moment.

“You’re at a gay bar.” It was a rhetorical question but Mel was loathe to let the awkward silence continue.

“Uh, yes. I mean, I guess so? Is that a problem?”

“No. No Melissa of course not, I don’t care what my staff get up to in their spare time or who they date.”

“It’s, I’m not on a…”

“I said it’s fine Melissa, we’ll be there in 10 minutes.” With that Valentina put the phone down without so much as a see you shortly.

Well, thought Melissa. As I f this day couldn’t get any weirder.

Chapter Text

Emma returned to the bar moments after Valentina had abruptly ended their phone call. Mel was unsure what to tell her. She didn’t want it to seem like she was so obsessed with her job that she couldn’t say no, but equally, the assistant was quite sure that if she didn’t meet Val at the car the second it pulled up to the curb, she wouldn’t have job to say no to. So, she went through the motions, apologising for having to leave early and bidding a surprisingly heartfelt farewell to Janelle - promising she would come by again in the not too distant future. 

Mel had expected Emma to remain at the bar. The woman still had half a pint left and was clearly friendly enough with a few of the patrons that she could’ve stayed for the rest of the evening. However, she insisted on walking Mel out, which the shorter woman found she wasn’t opposed to. 

“I had a lot of fun tonight.” The blonde titled her head and flashed Mel a now signature grin, pulling her jacket round her shoulders a little tighter as they stepped out into an evening breeze. 

“I did too, it was nice to see a new part of the city and the company certainly didn’t hurt.”

“So, does that mean you’d want to do this again sometime?” A light pink blush graced the top of Emma’s cheeks as she said this, and Mel found the whole image to be quite adorable. 

“I’d like that Emma, truly.” 

The two stared at each other, neither making the first move to leave. Their eyes met and Mel felt hers flick down to Emma’s lips and back up again almost involuntarily. As if sensing the movement, the blonde woman leaned in slightly, reaching an arm out to seek Mel’s elbow and tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture asking for permission. Mel felt herself lean forward, capturing Emma’s lips. The kiss was soft and exploratory, comforting in a way Mel wasn’t used to. It lasted less than a minute, and yet in that time she had missed the sound of the large black town car rounding the corner and pulling up next to the pavement on the other side of the road. 

Emma watched with a mixture of awe and apprehension as the blacked out window of the passenger seat rolled down and a striking older woman with dark brown hair, a light purple, almost grey streak running down the front, lifted her head away from her phone and towards the the two women.

She fixed Emma with a steely look. Not threatening, not quite, but there was no hint of openness in her features. 

Emma looked back towards Mel who returned her gaze, a little flushed and with a sweet smile. 

“I think your ride is here Gold, and she doesn’t look like someone who appreciates being kept waiting.” The shorter woman startled then, turning to look over her shoulder.

“Shit. I’ve got to go, like, yesterday.” She pivoted to leave but Emma gently clasped her wrist before she could cross the road. 

“Come by the coffee shop, this weekend? I finish at two on Saturday.” 

“Okay, yes, yeah. I’ll see you then.” Her voice was a mix of sincerity and urgency and even as she agreed to meet on Saturday, Emma felt something shift, a change in her demeanour that had been absent right up until she’d pulled away from the kiss. Choosing to look past the strange tension that had fallen over them, she let Mel go, placing a light kiss to her palm.

“Alright then, I’ll see you Mel. Goodnight.”

Mel braced herself as she walked round to the other side of the car. How much had Valentina seen she wondered. Sure, strictly speaking, this was Mel’s time off to do with what she wished. But to have risked Val catching her kissing someone outside a bar, a woman no less, it made her stomach twist in a way she couldn’t quite explain. The door clicked open and she slid into the other passenger seat, immediately grasping for the tablet Valentina held out to her. 

The silence in the back of the car lingered for about three blocks.

“I thought you weren’t on a date.”

Mel looked up from her tablet so sharply she felt a slight twinge in her neck. 

“I’m sorry?”

“Well, it just seems unusual to kiss someone at a gay bar that you’re not on a date with, is all. But perhaps that’s just what you kids are doing these days.”

“I’m 25, and it wasn’t…” The younger woman paused, blindsided by the line of questioning and unsure of what exactly Valentina had come and swept her away from. It sure felt like a date, and she and Emma had kissed…

“It wasn’t date? Really Melissa, do you think me that unworldly.” 

“No, I’m sorry, it’s just I didn’t think it was a date and I hardly know Emma. She was just, showing me around.” Mel finished lamely. God, stop talking. Valentina doesn’t need to know this, she doesn’t want to know this. Well, she did bring it up, but surely because she doesn’t like to be left waiting. 

“Whatever you say Melissa, I just didn’t realise you had,” The Contessa paused so briefly that, to the untrained ear, you might not even notice she was considering her next words carefully. “desires. Outside of work that is.”

Mel felt a blush creep up her neck at the way Valentina’s accent wrapped around the word, her normally clipped vowels slipping into something slightly longer and reminiscent of her mother tongue. Before she could continue though, her boss went on, a switch flipping and her voice returning to the authoritative tone Mel was used to. 

“Anyway, no matter. I fear you will have to tell you darling Emma that your time over the next few weeks will be, limited. As I said, there’s been something of a mishap and I quite need to fill you in on a few things I’m afraid.”

The rest of the ride was taken up with Valentina handing Mel various briefing documents and folders which she was told in no uncertain terms not to open until they reached their destination. Fortunately, they appeared to have done so, if the large, imposing gates they pulled up in front of were anything to go by. The driver rolled down the partition that separated him from the two women and turned to Valentina.

“Director de Fontaine, someone will meet you at the back left entrance. 18 golf hotel 0//96.”

“Thank you, Jared.”

Mel had seen a lot of strange goings on since she started working for Valentina. Done a lot of things that 10 years ago she wouldn’t have dreamed herself capable of. However, as they stepped through the wrought iron gates and moved across a wide expanse of tarmac, flanked by officers wielding machine guns, she felt way out of her depth. They made their way over to a large warehouse, Valentina dismissing the officers as they rounded the left hand side of the building. The older woman approached a door and pressed her hand to a panel Mel hadn’t spotted. The speaker above crackled to life. 

“Name.”

“Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.”

“Code.”

“18 golf hotel 0//96.”

A click, and then another voice came over the speaker.

“Director. Good to have you back, are you alone or are we to prep a guest pass this evening?”

“You’re to grant full access to Melissa Gold. From this point forwards she’s to have level six clearance across all critical missions, Agent.”

A pause, and then…

“The young totty in the mini skirt and baseball cap, Director?” There was a mocking undertone to the man’s voice and Mel suddenly became conscious of the fact she hadn’t changed out of the outfit from her day with Emma. She tugged nervously at the bottom of her skirt, as if willing the fabric to magically stretch. Valentina looked at her then, as if not having registered her assistant’s attire until that very moment. Mel felt her gaze sweep down her body, both assessing and a hint of something else there - quite what, Mel couldn’t put her finger on. The Contessa turned away from her again, assessment complete, back to the intercom. 

“Agent. You will grant full access to my assistant, Melissa Gold, and then you shall turn in your badge and your gun at the gate. A car will be waiting for you, and if you’re not out in 15 minutes you will be forcibly removed from the premises.”

There was a spluttering on the end of the line. “Director, it was a, I wasn’t…” 

Valentina cut him off, her voice took on a tone that would make most grown men cry.

“That wasn’t a request agent, that was an order.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The man’s voice was sheepish, cracking on the last syllable. 

Mel stood, staring at Valentina, mouth slightly agape. The older woman turned again to face her, placing a hand gently on the small of her back and guiding her through the door which swung open with a mechanical whir.

“I have some spare clothes inside. You shouldn’t have your legs out in the warehouse, you might get injured.”

Mel was inclined to make the point that the Director herself was wearing a skirt, albeit longer, and a pair of four inch Louboutins which could hardly be appropriate attire for whatever they were about to do. However, the older woman’s palm still sat low on her back and when she spoke, it was close enough to Mel’s ear that she felt an involuntary shiver that had little to do with the large cool room they had stepped into. So, she swallowed her objections and let herself be led towards a corner office.

The office was smaller than Valentina would normally allow, but Mel supposed the environment lent itself to functionality rather than the grandeur the Contessa was used to. Once inside, Valentina approached a small dark panelled wardrobe and disappeared from view for a moment as she rifled through. She returned brandishing a clothes bag somewhat triumphantly in Mel’s direction. The younger woman stepped forward to take it, before fumbling a moment as she realised there was nowhere for her to change. As if sensing her hesitation, Valentina turned away, towards the filing system in the corner and started thumbing through folders at such pace she couldn’t actively be searching for something. 

“Well go on then Mel, we haven’t got all day.”

Mel unzipped the bag slowly to reveal a dark purple pantsuit, almost black, and cream satin shirt, it didn’t exactly scream warehouse appropriate but she supposed it would be okay in a pinch. She ditched her skirt and quickly pulled the pants on, zipping them and pulling her shoes back on. Signalling to Valentina that she was ready, the older woman turned back to her and immediately raised an eyebrow.

“Melissa, those are three hundred dollar pants, you cannot possibly wear them with a jumper from what, Forever 21?”

“Hey, this is J.Crew, it’s nice.” Mel frowned, tugging at the neck of her jumper which until about 30 seconds ago had been one of her favourites.

“Wear the shirt at least. I can’t have people thinking my dutiful assistant is some kind of fashion victim.”

“Jesus, fine fine I’ll wear the shirt.” Mel huffed, pulling her jumper over her head in a way that was reminiscent of a child mid-tantrum. Such was her ire at Valentina in that moment, she had forgotten her initial embarrassment of changing in front of her. However, rather than spinning on her heels, back to the filing cabinet as Mel had expected, she saw through the gap in the neck of the jumper the older woman frozen, eyes locked on Mel and expression unreadable. Unsure of what exactly had captured the woman’s attention, she threw the jumper to the side and grabbed the silk shirt which felt cool as she slid her arms into the sleeves. Still Valentina hadn’t looked away, staring intensely at her until the younger woman had done up the last button and tucked the bottom of the shirt into her pants. 

Mel should feel uneasy, the piercing gaze of her boss looking at her as she put on her clothes no less. But instead, she found herself grow warm under the woman’s attention, the coolness of the blouse contrasting against the heat that now spread across her chest at Valentina’s gaze. It was a loud rap on the other side of the door that broke the tension. Suddenly, Valentina seemed to remember herself, striding past Mel and swinging the door to the office open to greet a woman on the other side, dressed in a lab coat and holding a tablet similar to the one Mel used. 

“Director de Fontaine, I’m sorry to barge in but they told me you had arrived.”

“It’s no trouble Alex, my assistant and I were just prepping, though I’m afraid I’ve not yet had a chance to brief her on the sensitivities of the project.”

“Well Director, I’m afraid we’ve not much time to do so now, it seems like this one might have to be more show less tell. The…” she paused, looking over Valentina’s shoulder at Mel as if assessing how much was appropriate to say. “The problem has been contained, for now. But I must insist that you both come down to the wet lab post haste.”

“Of course, Alex. Come on now Melissa, we have work to do.”

For the second time that night Mel felt like she had gotten whiplash. How was it that not two hours ago she was having drinks, in a bar, on a date, like a normal person. And now, well wherever they were going Mel had a bad feeling about it.

Chapter Text

Valentina’s POV

Val really hadn’t wanted to drag Mel into this particular mess. Sure, she trusted the younger woman with almost every aspect of her working - and occasionally personal - life, but in all those instances Val was untouchable, a god. Now. Well, even she could admit that everybody makes mistakes. 

The guttural shouts that grew louder as they moved through the labyrinth-like warehouse did little to settle her nerves. She glanced back at Mel who, dutiful as always, or perhaps a little scared, kept a few paces behind her. 

Mel. 

Even in abject crisis Valentina found her mind drifting to her assistant - what was she doing, thinking, feeling. It wasn’t obsession, not really, but throughout her life Val had found herself prone to fixations. It was the reason she was able to become Director of the CIA, how she could remember names, faces and grudges from decades before, but it was also the reason she went to bed at night wondering if her assistant was out on the town, tucked up on her sofa watching trash telly or - god forbid - round at some greasy boyfriend’s house who didn’t even know she liked her wine with ice (heathen). 

No, she supposed. Not boyfriend. And wasn’t that a funny thing. All the times Val had imagined the brunette wrapped in the arms of some unworthy scroate. Someone tall, dark and not handsome per-se but who had the kind of appeal that young women see in fleece-wearing, Wall Street types. These men she conjured up were easy prey, Valentina could - would - eat them for breakfast. 

Emma on the other hand. 

Even thinking of the blonde elicited a rage in the Contessa that she normally saved for political fracas and psychological warfare. Though she’d had less than five minutes to observe Mel’s girlfriend, she knew instantly that the woman would be trouble. For one thing, there was no chance Melissa would be taking her to any of the upcoming charity balls - that kind of distraction could be positively catastrophic. For business that is. 

Fortunately, before she could work herself up into a frenzy of hypotheticals, Alex’s voice cut through her thoughts to announce the trio had arrived at their destination. 

“Right folks, I’m gonna need you both to pop these eye glasses on and just touch that button to the left hand side when you’re ready.” The scientist handed Mel and Val a pair of mirrored sunglasses that wouldn’t look out of place on a marathon runner. 

Val slipped hers on, taking in a sharp breath in as the world around her went pitch black. 

“Now just touch that button ladies and you’ll be back in the room with us.”

As soon as she did so the scene in front of her sprang back to life, but this time everything was covered by an orange hue. Val turned again to look at Mel, who was moving her hand from side to side in front of her face, clearly adjusting to the new view. Valentina hated that she found the gesture to be quite adorable. 

“That’s wonderful. Now, here are some noise cancelling headphones. Once you put them on you’ll only be able to hear through the comms channel, so, just speak into the microphone when you want to communicate, okay.” 

The two woman nodded and accepted the headphones from Alex. Valentina put hers on carefully, not wanting to mess up her hair even in a crisis. Mel seemed to have no such qualms and used hers as a makeshift Alice band, sweeping her hair behind her ears so it didn’t get in her way.

Once the comms channels were tested and Alex had made sure that all the necessary safeguards were in place the trio made there way into the lab. 

Mel’s POV

If she could’ve heard anything beyond the soft static of the open comms channel, Mel was sure it would’ve been a collective intake of breath. Alex had been insistent that they check their PPE was working twice over before entering the lab, and she was glad of it now. Where once the space had been bustling with agents, lab-techs and off the books OXE employees, it now resembled something of a graveyard. Scattered across the room, some mid-stride, others gathered at desks or hunched over computers, were great marble statues. The craftsmanship was exquisite, folds of clothes caught mid-breeze and features cut from glass. She didn’t know what to make of it for a moment. That was, until she spotted a statue to the left that seemed eerily familiar. 

Mel wasn’t friendly with too many of the people she worked with, but found she always had time for a chat with Callum, one of the IT guys in Val’s team. Indeed, he had fixed her tablet on more than one occasion and even once saved her from a probable firing when she had dropped it into the infinity pool on top of one of Val’s grander office buildings - a story for another time. 

Now, she was almost certain that the tall, ghostly statue was a carbon copy of the man. But who would go out of their way to depict an IT guy’s likeness in marble.

Unless. No. Surely not. 

Unless, the marble statue really was Callum. 

Mel suddenly felt queasy. She did another sweep of the room, this time noticing faces she’d seen in corridors or at galas and in meetings - all stone. 

She began to hyperventilate even as she heard the comms channel crackle to life, Valentina’s voice booming directly into her brain, tone entirely unphased as if she’s expected to walk straight into a room of the dead. 

“Alex, you said the problem was contained. Yes?”

“Yes Director. If you’ll follow me I can show you.” The scientist beckoned Val and Mel towards the far end of the lab to the door of what looked like a deep freeze, with a screen mounted to it. She tapped a few buttons and the screen sprung to life, revealing what appeared to be a dark, empty room. 

The three women were huddled around when suddenly something leapt out of the shadows, straight at the screen. 

“Holy fuck.” Mel yelled, jumping back as if scalded. Alex - though clearly not as affected as Mel - had also inched away and only Valentina remained, staring at the creature whose face now filled the frame. 

Although, thought Mel, somewhat recovered from her initial scare, it wasn’t a creature that peered up at them but rather a woman. She had long gold hair, rich brown eyes and a heart shaped face. From the sounds Mel heard from the corridor earlier, she had expected some heinous, monstrous thing lurked in the warehouse but this woman could almost be described as ethereal. 

The comms channel crackled to life again. 

“How can you be sure this will contain her?” It was Val again, who had resumed a position back next to Alex and Mel and now examined a clipboard on the to the side of the chamber with vague disinterest.  

“It’s a simple principle really. What you’re seeing is a closed-circuit imaging system, true exposure requires direct photon contact between her eyes and the human retina. So, high-resolution sensors capture her image first, then those sensors strip the light down to electrical charge and once it’s data, whatever stone-turning property her gaze carries has been destroyed.”

Alex took in the faces of the two women, both of whom seemed somewhat uncertain of what they were meant to be following. 

“The cameras are our shield.” She continued. “Just as Perseus used his polished shield to survive Medusa’s reflection, we use silicon and circuitry. The curse dies the moment it touches a sensor, the glasses and headphones are just an extra precaution. Should the the chamber’s imaging system ever fail, these would feed us a filtered, infrared reconstruction of the room, cut off from the visible spectrum entirely. We could be standing in front of her and still be looking at a simulation.”

“Hold on, back up a minute. Did you say curse, Medusa? Val, what the hell is going on?” Mel couldn’t believe what she was hearing and yet, as she turned slowly towards the towering marble statues that littered the room and then back to Alex, Val and finally the screen on the chamber, the enormity of the situation began to sink in. “Oh, holy fuck.” 

Valentina’s POV

The three women were now sat back in Val’s makeshift office, briefing documents spread out across the table and a pot of coffee, now cold, in the middle. It had taken the better part of two hours to bring Mel up to speed on the ‘mishap’. 

It had occurred as follows. 

Almost three weeks ago Valentina had been informed by one of her operatives that there had been a suspicious crash in Ferncliff Forest, out in Dutchess County. Upon further investigation they had found what appeared to be some kind of futuristic pod. Being the CIA, it was immediately commandeered and brought in for testing where it remained for just under a week. However, no sooner had the paperwork been signed and orders cleared for removal to a larger testing facility at the Pentagon, then the whole pod - or ‘ship’ as they were then calling it - disappeared. 

Admittedly, Valentina had glossed over a couple of the more complicated points as to how the ship had eventually found itself in an OXE warehouse facility, but she trusted that Mel knew when not to ask follow up questions. 

After further tests from her more trusted researchers, they eventually found traces of some sort of life form in the ship which led them to spend the next two weeks attempting to gain access. That’s what bought them up to around lunchtime that day. Valentina had a call from the lab, confirming that the ship had begun running some kind of code, which appeared to be a countdown. She’d been mid-conversation when the scientist - whose name she had forgotten at this point in recounting the story, sue her - exclaimed that the ship was opening. Then, the line went dead. 

From there, I imagine you can begin to piece together the rest of the story. 

So now they found themselves down 14 members of staff, including the only competent IT gremlin in Valentina’s close circle, and harbouring a modern-day Medusa. Hardly an ideal situation, at least Mel certainly thought so. 

“How are we even meant to begin trying to turn them back?” The younger woman let out an exasperated sigh, head flopping down on top of one of the larger briefing files. She still wore the suit Val had loaned her, although the sleeves of the silk shirt were now rolled up revealing toned, tanned forearms. Valentina took a moment to visually trace one of the blue veins that crept all the way from the edge of her palm to the tip of her sleeve, before shaking herself out of it. 

“Never mind turn them back, Melissa, what the hell are we doing to do about the Gorgon in the deep freeze.” 

Alex took this moment to jump in, lest the two women descend into the their third argument of the hour. “Director de Fontaine, I must remind you that we don’t know what this creature is, and she is not being stored in a fridge. It’s a highly secure containment chamber. Which I conceptualised and had created in under 12 hours mind you.” She huffed the last part under her breath. 

“Whatever. We need to make sure not a word of this gets out. That’s why I’m briefing you in Mel, you’ll manage any potential leaks, enquiries and reactive statements, okay. People will begin to ask questions when the people in that room don’t turn up for meetings, events, christ even dinner time I suppose. I need you to come up with a cover story that buys us at least 72 hours.”

“72 hours, Val you can’t be serious.” 

“Serious as a fucking heart attack darling.” 

The team of three continued like that for the next few hours, bickering and bouncing plausible ideas around until they eventually agreed on a cover story that would help them fly under the radar for a few days longer - hopefully, long enough to sort this mess out one way or another. 

It was almost four in the morning when Valentina noticed Mel’s eyes had started to droop, lazily following the same three sentences back and forth. 

“Come on now, let’s call it a night. We’ve got a plan of attack and I don’t suppose there’s much use in having to carry Mel out of here already asleep.” Valentina’s assistant looked up from her page, big doe eyes blinking slowly as though not quite computing what was being said. The older woman approached her and plucked the file from her hand with ease. “That’s it sleepy head, let’s get you home.” 

It was unusual for Val to be so amenable this time of night, but all she really wanted was a glass of scotch and to fall dead asleep, and with Mel looking at her like that, any last traces of angst from the evening melted away. 

The two women bid farewell to Alex, who had a cot on site and who promised to share any updates as soon as she had them, and went to meet Valentina’s driver back at the entrance. 

“Where to ladies?”

“Just to mine please, Jared.” Mel looked at her then, tired eyes clouding with confusion. “We have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow Melissa, you’ll sleep in my spare room.”

The younger woman seemed like she was about to argue, but thought better of it as Valentina’s hand reached out to pat her cheek - a strange, tender gesture that lingered a moment too long to feel maternal. Valentina retracted her hand and brought it to her lap, trying her best to make the movement seem casual. Put it down to a long, very strange day she supposed. 

They pulled away from the warehouse facility, and before they were even a half a mile away it seemed the Mel had fallen fast asleep. The younger woman’s forehead was pressed against the cool glass of the window and Valentina watched in silence as her slow, even breathing caused the glass to fog. It was a funny thing to feel herself so entranced by such as simple moment and yet it was only when she was brought back to reality by Jared announcing they were home, that she realised any time had passed at all.

A very strange day indeed. 

Chapter Text

Mel’s POV 

Melissa Gold awoke with a start, jolted by a dream that was slipping away faster than she could grasp it. She found herself wrapped in a large duvet more comfortable than anything she had ever owned, or indeed slept in, and sat up against a wall of large soft pillows in a room that bore no resemblance to her own, small apartment. The walls were a pink so pale it was almost white, large windows with heavy linen curtains and thick sashes let through a sliver of light that illuminated a mahogany chest of drawers and matching wardrobe. Definitely not her apartment then. Which begged the question, where the hell was she. 

Oh. Wait. Hadn’t she been on a date, but then, no, this wasn’t the kind of bedroom she’d expect from a barista, or was that rude. Mel yawned, head foggy and still unsettled by a dream she couldn’t remember - she stretched her arms up and over her head. Her arms that were covered in a very nice, very expensive silk. Valentina. Of course Valentina, always Valentina. And as if pulled from another dream, everything came flooding back to her - the date, the car ride, the warehouse, the lab, Medusa - well, the closest thing to - almost falling asleep on a pile of paperwork and then, Valentina’s house. 

She had been beyond exhausted when they returned from the warehouse, so much so she could barely protest as Val shook her gently and informed her that they would be staying at her home that night. Mel had never been inside. She’d dropped her boss off, sat in the car on the drive as she waited for the older woman to collect files, or finish getting ready before a gala, always fashionably late, but yesterday, even in her tired state, she couldn’t help look around in awe as the they stepped through the door of the mansion. She barely remembered getting to bed, only that Val had stroked her hair oh so gently and guided her to a spare room at the end of the hall where a pair of pyjamas and a toothbrush were laid out neatly on the bedspread. And now, here she was. In her boss’s guest bedroom, in her boss’s pyjamas, her boss which she supposed she should get up and find, because if last night was anything to go by they had a lot to do today. 

Mel reached over to the bedside table in the hope of finding her phone and tablet, but alas, nothing. They must be charging downstairs she supposed. Not bothering to change back into her borrowed clothes from the night before, Melissa brushed her teeth, pulled her hair into a ponytail that was messier than she would’ve liked and made her way out and into the hallway. 

Despite the size of the house it wasn’t difficult to find the kitchen. Mel followed the scent of freshly brewing coffee down the stairs and through the foyer to a large south facing room with floor to ceiling windows and a large marble island. She couldn’t have been asleep too long as the light was still weak, no more than 8am if she had to guess. Valentina had her back to Mel and was reading from a OXE-branded manila folder, cup of coffee in her left hand as she thumbed through its content with her right. It was hard to tell from the angle, but if the normally put-together woman’s damp hair and loose robe were anything to go by, she too wasn’t quite ready to face the day. She cleared her throat. 

The older woman turned and suddenly Mel felt the need to focus very hard on the appliance to the left of her boss. Under the loose fitting robe Valentine wore a matching set of pyjamas, small maroon shorts that showed off shapely legs and a lace camisole that was cut low and left alarmingly little to the imagination. 

“Melissa, earth to Mel. I said ‘would you like a cup of coffee’?” Well that’s not bait at all, focus Melissa, you can do this, just don’t look at her legs, or her arms, or, do you know what, fuck it.

“Sorry, Val I’m a bit slow in the mornings. Coffee would be lovely, thank you.” 

Val continued to make conversation as she pottered around the kitchen preparing Mel’s coffee. “I hope you slept well Mel, we have a busy day ahead of us. I thought we’d get some of the leg work done here this morning, then we have a press conference at 1400. I’ll need you to prepare a release to go out under embargo this morning, ahead of the conference, and brief our Chief Scientific Officer once we get to the event space. We’ll leave here at noon and I’ve had Alex update your tablet with the latest patches so we can monitor the lab in real time - in case there’s anything we need to get ahead of.” 

Mel took a moment to digest Val’s spiel. She wasn’t lying when she said it took her a hot minute to get going in the mornings. 

“Right, gotcha. Release, briefing, press conference. All in a day’s work boss.” She did a mock salute and immediately cringed at herself. Pull it together Mel, Jesus. 

Thankfully, Valentina let out a genuine chuckle as she passed over her coffee, their fingers brushing as her hand lingered a moment longer than necessary. “At ease soldier. Get this down you, if this morning’s display is anything to go by you clearly have at least three coffees by the time I get my hands on you.” 

Mel took the cup with gratitude and took a long slip. God, that was good coffee. 

Val’s POV

The moan that Mel let out following her first sip of coffee was borderline indecent and Valentina felt a light blush creep up her neck. God damn these the hormonal flushes, always happening at the most inappropriate of times. 

“Now Mel darling, I hate to interrupt whatever you and that cup of coffee have going on but I’m going to need you to get on to Christian and ask him to pick up today’s papers and have them dropped here within the hour. Then if you could ring Cornelia at The Post and Richard at The New York Times, I want to know what’s teed up for tomorrow’s papers - invite them to this afternoon’s press conference and tell Cornelia that she can have an exclusive interview with the CIA’s Chief Scientific Officer if we can have the front page.” 

“Of course, I’ll get to it now. It’s just, you haven’t seen my phone have you?” 

“It’s charging in my study, along with your tablet, let me fetch it while you finish talking business with that coffee of yours.” It was unlike Val to be this helpful, particularly before 9am but something about Mel standing in her kitchen, in her pyjamas, cradling a steaming mug of coffee in the morning light made her feel pliant and eager to maintain the easy atmosphere that had settled over them, despite all the chaos. 

Unsurprisingly, there was little protest from Mel who was content to sit at the island and nurse her drink as Val went to fetch her devices. 

Valentina was returning from the study when the phone in her hand dinged. 

From Emma (Hot Barista):

Morning Gold, I had a great time last night. I hope work didn’t keep you up too late? 

Emma (Hot Barista) is typing… 

From Emma (Hot Barista): 

Fancy doing it again sometime? ;) x

Valentina felt the heat return to her cheeks and neck, although this time it was a wave of anger that flooded her, and something else she couldn’t quite place. Who did this Emma think she was to interrupt their morning - important, working morning that is - with inane questions of ‘hanging out’. It’s not that she begrudged Mel having a relationship, it’s just that, well, she needed standards and some backwater, bleach blonde barista was not the type of person that went out with the assistant of the most powerful woman in New York City. 

This woman would only slow down their day and so Valentina, almost without thinking, swiped away the notifications as she’d seen Mel do so many times before. 

No longer feeling quite so charitable, the Director practically slammed the devices down in front of Mel and bit out a ‘here you go’. She returned to the coffee machine not waiting for a reply and poured herself another cup of the strong, black liquid. It was only when she had finished it that she chanced a look back at her assistant. Thankfully, the younger woman was not staring down at her phone like some disgusting, love sick teenager, but rather had already opened her tablet and seemed in the midst of drafting something - and email, briefing document, press release, Val didn’t know, but she suddenly felt eternally grateful that whatever had captured Melissa’s attention it wasn’t her cheap girlfriend. 

It was just over an hour later and she and Mel had been sat in relatively companionable silence at her kitchen island, both working on the preparation for this afternoon’s press office, when her assistant piped up. 

“Val, I’m almost done with this release and I’ll get Cornelia on the phone shortly, but if we’re to be ready to convene ahead of the conference I rather think we might get changed into something a little more camera ready - don’t you?” 

Val, buoyed by the easy atmosphere which had returned, found herself moving round the counter to Mel’s side, just shy of invading her personal space. She picked up the hem of her long robe and started to swish it round her legs, leaning forward even further in a ridiculously exaggerated catwalk-esque pose. 

“Why Melissa, do you not think this beautiful gown screams authoritative, professional business woman.” Mel turned her body to the left suddenly, facing Valentina and inadvertently capturing herself within the older woman’s lazily windmilling arms. She brought her own arms up to Val’s shoulders, grasping the top of the robe and suddenly, almost violently, pulled it down and away in a move that brought Valentina’s arms behind her back while effectively pinning the woman to the large countertop behind her. 

Valentina felt a sudden rush of heat to her core at the same time the cool breeze of the kitchen graced her now bare shoulders. Blood pounded in her ears and for a moment it was all she could do not to crane her neck up just an inch or two and capture Mel’s lips in a hot, messy kiss. 

Christ. 

Thankfully, before she could make any rash and wildly ill-informed decisions the woman released her robe and brought her lips away from her face and towards her ear. 

“I feel a lot of things about this outfit Valentina, but I’m afraid professional isn’t one of them. Hmmm. So, how about you direct us to that big walk-in wardrobe of yours - you must have one, right, or is it a whole room - and find us some of those power suits you so favour.”

To be disarmed so easily, and in her own kitchen, is something that would normally send Valentina apoplectic and yet all she could manage was a light nod and a rasping ‘right you are soldier’ before directing them out of the kitchen and towards her wardrobe. It was an entire room, so points for Mel’s powers of deduction she supposed. 

Mel’s POV

Mel didn’t know what had hit her in the kitchen just now, only that she had been utterly enraptured by a Valentina that had softened at the edges in the comfort of her own home, and who had made Mel coffee and toast and looked at her through long lashes, free of the dark eye makeup that made her look hot, yes, but also almost untouchable. And then the texts. Mel worked for the CIA for god’s sake, she could tell when someone had deleted notifications from her phone and it didn’t take a genius to realise that Val had swiped away Emma’s messages en route from the study. Not that she minded, far from it. Emma was sweet and sensitive and pretty cool if Mel was being honest, she was good-looking, had good chat, would make someone an excellent girlfriend. But that wasn’t Mel. Mel didn’t want sweet and sensitive, she wanted calculated, clever, ambitious and a little bit scary. She wanted Valentina. 

She couldn’t have her, she wasn’t stupid, but there was no point in leading someone along because of unrequited feelings for a woman so out of her league it was embarrassing. 

Mel had text Emma back while Val busied herself making a new cup of coffee. The older woman hadn’t been sulking exactly but Mel could tell she was angry - because she felt her assistant was getting distracted from her work (likely, if the deleting of notifications was anything to go by) or because of the wider issue with the marble people, Mel was unsure. 

To Emma (Hot Barista): 

I had a great time too, I really did. Thank you for showing me proper New York, it’s been a long time since I’ve had such an easygoing afternoon. I’d like to see you again, but as a friend, I’m sorry. You’re a lovely girl and I could only hope to go out with someone so sweet but I’m afraid it wouldn’t be fair to you. My work is strange hours and even stranger happenings and I quite think that we may go weeks and weeks without seeing each other. Forgive me? :) x

The reply was almost instant. 

From Emma (Hot Barista): 

Melissa Gold. You’re a very honest woman, a ridiculous woman but honest. I won’t pretend I’m not a bit gutted but I appreciate not being led on. Of course, it would be great to be your friend and I would love to help you get to know New York if you ever have some free time x

Emma (Hot Barista) is typing… 

In the spirit of friendship. 

I hope you don’t mind me saying. 

Well. It’s just. Your boss, what’s the deal with her? 

To Emma (Hot Barista):

Deal? I’m not sure I understand.  

Emma (Hot Barista) is typing… 

I mean, I of course don’t want you to get over me quite so immediately. It’d be a little rude. But you clearly like her. And, having met the woman - who is CRAZY hot, by the way - for all of a minute, I would be inclined to think you’re her favourite, am I wrong?

To Emma (Hot Barista):

I don’t know what you’re trying to imply… 

From Emma (Hot Barista): 

I think you do, Gold. 

Now, happy working. I’ll see you around yeah. Don’t be a stranger x

And now, here she was. Being virtually manhandled by Valentina, about to wear her clothes for the third time in less than 24 hours and suddenly, cripplingly aware of the fact that a) she had the hots for her boss, and b) maybe, just maybe, her boss felt something similar.