Chapter Text
“Again, Helly.”
“Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world. None may atone for my actions but me and only in me shall their stain live on. I am thankful to have been caught, my fall cut short by those with wizened hands. All I can be is sorry, and that is all I am.”
She had said it two hundred and seventeen times already. Harmony would make her say it again.
“Come on now, you didn’t mean that,” she said, almost sympathetically. If she wasn’t getting such a kick out of this, she might have been. “Again.”
Helly deflated in her seat, spirit dimming right before her eyes. Beautiful Eagan girl, crumbling just out of reach. If only…
“Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world. None may atone for my actions but me and only in me shall their–”
“Stop.” She held up her hand and shut her eyes, feigning disappointment as best she could.
Then, quietly: “Ms. Cobel?”
“My dear Helly,” she said softly–sweetly, even–as she opened her eyes. “This isn’t working, is it?”
“I really am s–”
“That’s enough, my child.” She smiled, head tilting, luring her prey. “Come.”
Two fingers beckoned the fruit of Kier’s own blood toward her. A puppet on her string, Helly stood. Obedient, still, despite her dire failings at apologizing. It would all be okay. Harmony would teach her.
The break room was dark, dark enough that when Helly stood she nearly disappeared into the black. The projector light spilled over the side of the table, though, a life preserver keeping Helly afloat in her field of view. She noticed then that Helly’s blue skirt was crumpled around her thighs, practically begging her to reach out and straighten the wrinkles in the fabric. Helly was not yet concerned with such menial things, the meaningless details of her physical appearance. Helena, though, was, and it delighted Harmony to see such a rapid fall from grace.
Each day, Helly stepped out from the elevator and desecrated the great Eagan name, spat in Kier’s face, threatened the very thing that brought her into existence. Each day, Harmony watched, finding it all too delectable to miss even a moment.
Helena had thrown herself at her once, when Harmony was much younger still. When Helena, too, had been young, barely graduated from college. She’d noticed her affliction more than once since their first meeting when Helena was still teenaged; wayward glances, lingering touches, antisociality all went ignored as her father surged forth in his conquest. But Miss Cobel, as Helena had called her then, noticed her behaviour, her predicament.
She’d been kind . Nurturing. Supportive. It wasn’t her fault that when Helena was freshly graduated they’d ended up locked in her office with Helena pressed between her and her desk. It also wasn’t her fault that Helena suddenly changed her mind, only once Harmony’s lips were pressed to the sinews of her lithe, exquisite neck, and shoved her away.
It wasn’t her fault that Helena had never stopped making eyes at her after that. Sure, she’d rejected her, pushed her off and fled, but by Kier, Harmony knew her aversion was put on. Fake. Helena wanted her. She’d shown her so. Why else would her gaze both soften and harden each time it flitted her way? Her lips always twitched just slightly when they locked eyes, and that was always enough to betray her true desires.
Harmony played the long game, and she’d been granted the most beautiful reward there was. A blank slate in an Eagan’s body; Helena’s other, better, worse half. She could have fun with this one. She would.
There was something so deliciously twisted about such a malleable thing. Helly was a lamb walking itself to slaughter as she stepped on trembling legs around the table. If Harmony hadn’t already assumed by some rumour that Helena was still a virgin, she would have been doubly thrilled by Helly’s inexperience, too.
Harmony watched as Helly stopped, heels clicking one after the other, as she reached her destination. Then, she reached out with a gentle hand and smoothed down the front of her skirt.
“Much better.” She didn’t bother looking at Helly’s face as she said it, knowing the unexpected touch would spark confusion in her expression. “Kneel.”
“Pardon me?” In her tone, an edge. Defiance.
“I said ‘kneel’.”
“Why?”
“Disobedience has no place in the Break Room. Kneel.”
She smiled as Helly sunk down, knees bowing forward and bringing her closer. The scent of Helena’s perfume, something smoky laden with amber, clearly chosen to support her facade of power, filled her nose. It didn’t work on her, especially not as Helena ’s face entered her view, kneeling and awaiting her instruction. It was cute that Helena fought so hard to maintain control even while severed.
Harmony wondered then how deep she’d have to dig to find Helena under all this Helly.
Even in the near complete darkness shrouding them, the projector illuminating only the far wall, Helly was now close enough that she could see the stray strands of hair sticking out from her otherwise perfect curls. Helly’s bangs were just out of place, less swept aside than usual, something only noticeable from this distance. It was these defects, the hairline deviations from the inherited image of Kier’s perfection, that distinguished Helly from Helena.
Her lightness came from the imperfection of her existence, from ignorance. She knew not what Helena did, and thus she knew not the cost of each miniscule shortcoming. Someone would have to teach her.
Helly’s eyebrows threaded together even tighter when Harmony spoke. “Say it again. From memory.”
She watched as Helly’s eyes dropped from her own as she opened her mouth. Only a few words of her apology made it out.
“Forgive me for the harm–”
“No, Helly. Look me in the eyes as you say it. Convince me.”
A reluctance graced Helly’s body, a hesitant quality staining her movements as she shifted uncomfortably on her haunches. Slowly, her eyes lifted. Harmony didn’t ignore the way her bottom lip, pink and pristine, was worried between her teeth. She had half a mind to cup her chin and tug it out with her thumb.
It didn’t matter. Helena’s voice filled her ears before the thought could fully form.
“Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world. None may atone for my actions but me and only in me shall their stain live on. I am thankful to have been caught, my fall cut short by those with wizened hands. All I can be is sorry, and that is all I am.”
“Almost better. Let’s try something else.”
A soft hand pressed into Helly’s cheek then, an appeasement for her obvious uncertainty. She was holding Harmony’s eyes well in spite of it all, like she was seeking instruction despite the distaste she so freely expressed. Good .
“Just do as I say, and you’ll be forgiven soon enough.”
As quickly as she had cradled Helly’s face in her palm, she retracted the touch. She almost laughed when Helly chased after it, leaning forward in search of the warmth, but she held her tongue. Such a sweet thing.
“Come closer,” Harmony instructed quietly.
She hoped that if she spoke low enough that Helly would need to lean in even more to hear. All in service of her quickly forming vision.
“Closer.”
Helly shifted forward on her knees and Harmony spread hers. Unwitting, Helly slotted herself right between them, eyes glued to Harmony’s face as she did.
There was nothing left to do before crossing that line, before truly staking her claim on Helena’s innie, so Harmony began pulling up her skirt. It bunched around her thighs, the fitted fabric growing more taut the higher she went.
With one hand, she held the material in place. With the other, she reached out for Helena’s gorgeous red hair and pulled.
“You’re going to pull down my panties and use your mouth to make me feel good.”
Truly, she wasn’t sure how much Helly would understand about what she was asking. Reluctant hands reached for the waistband of her underwear, anyway, and then they slid down her legs.
Helly’s mouth was warm, her tongue soft in stark contrast to the trademarked Eagan sharpness so readily delivered by Helena. She was eager, too, willing and desperate. This was a punishment to her now, but that was a temporary outlook. Soon, Helly would understand.
Under her hand, Helly’s hair was soft. The curls had fallen, but the slight crunch of hairspray remained right near her roots where Harmony’s fingers dug in. Gently, she scratched her nails at Helly’s scalp, coaxing the sweet kitten licks from her wet tongue.
In what Harmony could only assume would be a fashion completely unlike Helena, Helly didn’t pretend to know what she was doing. Her hands stayed firmly in her lap as she leaned in, wholly at Harmony’s mercy, all but letting herself be used . It took everything in Harmony not to truly objectify her, not to grip her head tightly with both hands and take, take, take , but she remained resolute. This was not for her no matter how she enjoyed it, how delectable Helly’s lips felt as they wrapped around her clit–this was for Helly . This was discipline.
Still, she couldn’t help how her hips bucked when Helly’s tongue stuttered in its rhythm. She would come on an Eagan tongue, into Helena’s waiting mouth, but it would not be for nothing. Kier valued benevolence, and so did she–once Helly gave, Harmony would, too.
“That’s it, Helly–” Harmony’s breath shook as she spoke– “just a little while longer. Almost th–”
A moan tore through her then, accompanied by something white-hot and aching as Helly’s tongue flattened firmly against her. Her stomach clenched and she whimpered , a degrading sound, in overwhelm. In the darkness of the Break Room, Harmony was enlightened. Helena Eagan delivering her on her tongue had been a mere fantasy until now, and if not for the waves of tangible, undeniable pleasure that coursed through her body she would have thought it was still.
This, though, the way she was falling apart right into Helena’s mouth, hand viced in her hair like she might run away, this was real .
Dutifully, Helly continued, likely unaware of what exactly was going on. Harmony liked it best that way, she decided then, as Helena’s tongue persisted against her wanton flesh even as she tensed up and moaned once again. She’d go until Harmony told her to stop, but, as enticing as that was, she suppressed the urge to let Helly bring her to completion again. She still had more to learn; Harmony still had more to teach.
Perhaps more roughly than was necessary, Harmony pulled Helly’s head back when she’d had enough. Helly looked at her with Helena’s eyes widened, the face that didn’t truly belong to her shining with Harmony’s own arousal as it contorted into something guilty. Shameful. Beautiful .
“Thank you, Helly,” she said as softly as she could. “You did well.”
Against her grip on her hair, Harmony felt Helly attempt to nod. “Thank you, Ms. Cobel.”
She didn’t say anything in reply, far too preoccupied staring at Helly’s face–her knitted brows, the slight frown tugging at her lips. Harmony’s chest heaved as she waited for something more, expecting some sort of reaction that never came. For a moment, she almost wished Helena would break through Helly’s confusion, her naive and certain misunderstanding, just to yell at her. To scold her in that uppity way she’d perfected and perhaps call her perverted, even though she, too, wanted this.
Helly’s reluctant voice broke the silence. “Am I excused?”
“Not yet, Helly. I have one more thing for you to do.”
Helly’s fingernails dug into Harmony’s shoulders through thick fabric as she held herself up in Harmony’s lap. It was enough to sting, but no chiding words came at the discomfort. Weeping heat wrapped around her single probing finger, one digit breaching into Helena’s cunt as Helly whined.
Despite the resistance, Harmony eased in another finger. She was gentle, careful not to damage such quality goods as she stretched Helena open. Something low in her stomach churned–desire, need , at the velvety insides that welcomed her. Around her, Helly clenched, practically begging her to continue, to fill her and take her and reward her for such valiant effort between Harmony’s own legs mere minutes earlier.
It was as Helly whimpered, a slightly pained sound despite how she dripped into her palm, that Harmony knew for certain her suspicions were true. There was no way Helena had ever been touched this way. She’d always thought that Helena was too prudish and full of herself to be so vulnerable, especially with her family name looming over her shoulder. It was undeniable now, as Helena’s body wound up with lightning speed, that she was truly as inexperienced with this as Helly was with everything . Harmony was the first to see her falling apart, the first to hear her strained breath in her ear.
“Ms. Cobel, I–”
She was close already. Disappointing. “Say it, Helly.”
“What?”
Harmony pressed her thumb against Helena’s clit then and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at how Helly squealed. “Recite the script.”
“I c– fuck , I can’t.”
Helly’s words were breathy, Helena’s body taut and shaking from the unfamiliar stimulation. It would have pained Harmony to be so cruel if she didn’t know any better, if this wasn’t for the good of the company.
“Say it.”
“F- ah! ”
Harmony curled her fingers against the spongy inside of Helena’s cunt just to make Helly squirm. She fell forward, her head hitting Harmony’s shoulder. This time Harmony did laugh, a mean sound. Selfish.
She could atone later. “Look at me and continue, or I’ll keep you feeling this way much longer than you think you can handle.”
Helly met her eyes then, shaky elbows holding her upright. “Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world.”
Tears were pricking in her eyes and her brow was furrowed. As torturous as Helly found the monotonous repetition of the Break Room script, Harmony knew this was worse in some deep, intimate way. This would work .
A deep breath rattled as it passed through Helena’s pink lips, the ones Harmony suddenly wished quite sincerely to feel against hers. She didn’t act on such greed, though, not with Helly this close to breaking. Instead, she nodded, egging her along gently as her thumb continued in circles.
“None may atone for my actions but me and only in me shall their stain live on. I am thankful to have been caught, my fall cut short by those with wizened hands. All I can be is sorry, and that is all I am.”
“ Good , Helly,” Harmony praised. Her fingers picked up speed then and crude noises filled her ears.
If Helly’s face hadn’t crumpled right then, if she hadn’t been able to see the effects of her hand painted on Helena’s features, she would have cringed at it. Instead, her chest swelled.
“Let go.”
And Helly screamed.
“What am I telling Ms. Eagan?”
Milchick was hovering. 5:10pm. Dylan and Irving were both gone, and Mark would be on his way in a matter of minutes. Helly would stay an extra five minutes to clean herself up in the bathroom, per Harmony’s suggestion. Milchick knew she was locked in there on her own, but knew nothing of what happened.
He was prying, and Harmony would have none of it.
“I will handle Helena,” she replied plainly. An edge creeped into her tone; annoyance. Maybe something more. Resentment, perhaps, at his attention to detail. “You can go anytime, Seth.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but no further sign of insubordination betrayed his exterior. “Alright, Ms. Cobel. See you Monday.”
Harmony was waiting outside the elevators when they binged. She’d dismissed Judd–it would be just her and Helena.
“Helena,” Harmony said as soon as the doors split open.
Helena blinked once, then Harmony was sure she detected a microscopic wobble in her posture. Her knees were surely aching from the linoleum she’d kneeled on so reverently, but Helena would have no idea why. Switching back to Helena after a day as Helly would almost certainly be disorienting, but this … Harmony greeting her with a smile, her joints tender, salt dried to her cheeks from her tears… this would be something else.
“Harmony,” Helena said at last.
Her voice came out gravelly, thick . Almost imperceptibly, her eyes widened in what Harmony could only read as surprise. The invisible crown, the one Harmony pursued in vain day in and day out, had long been tipped. It sat askew on her perfect Eagan head now, threatening to topple off. If it did, it wouldn’t only be her red, red hair it took down with it–Lumon would run red with something much more dire if Helena wasn’t careful.
Reckless, she was, and Harmony was the only one to see it. It was up to her to straighten it out, to replace Helena on her path in Kier’s image.
“ Helly R. had quite the day today.”
Three steps took Helena out of the elevator. She brushed past Harmony in the process, her wrinkled sleeve–an impending and unwelcome discovery–catching on the rougher fabric of her blazer.
“I hope for your sake she finds Kier’s path soon,” Helena said then, without looking, unphased by the notion. “And I hope for mine she stops finding new ways to send me home in pain.”
Harmony smiled next, letting her eyes bore into the side of Helena’s head as she busied herself switching out her badge and putting on her coat. Only once Helena had shaken her hair back over her shoulders and righted herself did she look back over. Harmony hadn’t blinked.
“I’m sure Helly will learn,” she said slowly. “The Break Room will wear her down.”
A curt nod. “How many times was it today?”
Two hundred and seventeen was the technical answer, but the truth was not so straightforward. An unconscious smirk pulled at Harmony’s lips.
“Only two hundred and nineteen,” she replied, voice lilting on a breathy laugh. Helena’s brow furrowed. “But we had to try something unconventional when it just wasn’t working. As effective as the protocol is, sometimes the words aren’t enough.”
“Meaning?”
Harmony held out the tape, the small cassette she’d been gripping like a lifeline. Helly R. Break Room, Session 10; Cobel was written in bold across the plastic.
Helena took it hesitantly and read the text once, then twice, then a third time before looking up at Harmony. “ You administered the protocol today?”
“Milchick had a problem to attend to.” She didn’t offer anything more.
“So you recorded it?”
“I thought it would be prudent to provide you with the truth about your aches and pains.”
“That is a wise decision, Harmony.”
“I think you’ll find the contents quite interesting.”
Helena sighed deeply. It was an inauthentic sound, nothing like the raw, uninhibited ones Harmony had heard so recently.
“Thank you, Harmony. I hope a meeting of this nature is not needed again anytime soon.”
The glaring attempt to irritate Harmony didn’t go unnoticed, she simply didn’t care. Not with the contents of that tape in Helena’s hands. “I’m sure Helly will adjust just fine.”
“Goodnight, Harmony.”
Helena smiled, but it was just as forced and uptight as the nod that came Harmony’s way. “Goodnight.”
Harmony watched for a long moment as Helena turned on her heel and began to walk away. She almost let her go, almost denied herself the bliss of one last dig at Helena’s feeble facade. Unfortunately for Helena, and perhaps herself, she was not above that.
“And Helena?” She called out, just as Helena’s body disappeared into the hall. Her head peeked back in, a certain annoyance there that Helly never seemed to muster. “Your mascara is smudged.”
Horrified, Helena’s hand shot to her face. Her fingers tugged at the soft skin under her eyes right along her lower lashes with poiseless imprecision, all too rough and all too frantic. Harmony was not granted the privilege of watching her composure slip completely, though, because Helena turned around a moment later and all but fled into the hall.
Harmony was safe. Steadfastly, she was sure that Helena knew just as well as she did that Jame wouldn’t take her seriously, not with such perversion. Surely she would be removed from the public eye, maybe worse. She might lose out on the position she’d been so deservedly given by way of her birth. Helena was too smart for that; the risk was too great.
Only a symphony of pride and self-assuredness burst in Harmony’s chest, blisteringly hot and vindicating. She’d tasted her off her own fingers, watched as she debased herself on her knees in the cold darkness of the Severed Floor’s Break Room. To conquer an Eagan this way, to have her very essence in the palm of her hand, awaiting destruction with a simple squeeze, was exquisite. Intoxicating.
She’d bring it with her to her grave, of course, never daring to speak it into unsevered air, but she’d carry it close. The forefront of her mind would run, perpetually, on the sound of Helena’s broken whimpers as she clenched around her fingers, dripped into her palm. She smelled of deliverance, of Harmony’s own dedication. Kier had given her his own blood, his own flesh offered for the taking, and Harmony accepted without question.
Helena Eagan would be moulded by her hand even if just by Helly R.’s proxy, the nine core principles shining through the darkness of the world outside of Lumon. Harmony would see to it personally, in service of Kier himself as she’d been called to do.