| Ch 1-5 | Ch 6-10 | Ch 11-15 | Ch 16-20 | Ch 21-End | -------------------------------- Part 1 ---------- Barbara looked down at the lesson plan in front her, her thumb ensnared by her lips as she stared at the piece of paper not seeing anything. It wasn’t that she couldn’t see, that she had forgotten her glasses and was squinting her way through the day. She was perfectly equipped for the reading and sight. She was just to busy grinning to herself and remembering the events of the past twenty-four hours to be aware of the sheet of paper in front of her let alone to focus on it. She’d never felt this way before. She’d read about this feeling, taught about it and dissected it for papers and for her students. But she’d never felt it before. She’d never been in love with someone. She’d loved; for sure she had loved, but never like this. Never like what she felt every time she now thought about Helena. She’d spent all morning trying to rationalize what had happened. Trying to quantify it and categorize it. Analyze what was happening through applying the scientific method to her musings. It had yielded nothing more than what she had already figured out the night before as she lay in Helena’s arms. She was in love. And it seemed that there was no succinct explanation for how and why. Only that it was. And that thought and logic and reason were really irrelevant. They couldn’t explain it or eradicate it, or really do much of anything else expect confuse the matter. Which was, that she was in love. She’d wondered what it would mean. How it would change her relationship with Helena beyond the obvious? If it would affect their work? If it would help their work? If it would do anything but make either of them happier? If it would last? What would happen if it didn’t last? Would they go back to being friends? Could they go back to being friends? If it wouldn’t be easier, and simpler if they didn’t feel the way they did? If it would’ve been better for them to control what they were feeling for the good of their partnership? But she realized she had been trying to control how she was feeling. That she had been trying for years and it was still there. It was still always there. And now it was out. It was out, and free, and she couldn’t put it back in. She didn’t want to because it felt so good. It felt so very good, and so very right that it couldn’t possibly be wrong. The questions, the doubts they didn’t matter. There were no answers to them that could be found. Questioning, was as irrelevant as reasoning. It was. It just was. And it would be. Love. "You must have a very interesting lesson planned," a voice said conversationally from the doorway. "Suddenly I wish I’d paid more attention in my High School English classes," it went on walking towards her. Wade. Barbara blinked, sucking in a deep breath, the smile that had been etched on her face almost all morning evaporating. She’d forgotten about him. It was so unlike her she almost wanted to smile again. She controlled the urge. "Hey," she said somewhat uncomfortably, smiling consciously as he handed her a cup of coffee. "Thanks," she added looking down into the cup as the scent wafted up to her. It reminded her of Helena, which reminded her of other things. She turned her head to the side, trying to get the blush that was creeping across her skin under control. "It’s good to give," Wade replied watching her curiously as she cleared her throat and turned to look at him. "Dante’s Inferno." "Excuse me?" Barbara asked focusing on him really for the first time since he’d come in. "It’s playing at the Wales’ Theatre this month," he responded smiling. She was so cute when she was surprised and slightly flustered. "I was thinking that perhaps, if you could tear yourself away from all things muffin top related for a night that …" "Wade," Barbara said interrupting him before he could finish, her voice serious and remorseful. "I can’t." "I haven’t even told you what night wouldn’t be convenient for you," Wade responded his face falling a bit. Barbara shifted uncomfortably. It was like kicking a wee puppy. She was a bad, bad woman. She’d go for the kill shot and make it quick. It was the most merciful thing to do. She was pretty sure it was the most merciful thing to do. It was certainly the quickest. "We shou … can’t see each other anymore," she said taking off her glasses and staring at him. She bit her bottom lip awkwardly as he looked up at her. Wade blinked at her. "Was a theatre date too fast?" he asked his brows scrunching together uncertainly. "Cause we could go slower. Maybe off Broadway. Community theatre perhaps," he continued purposefully trying to keep his voice light. "Wade," Barbara said looking at him like she would a small child. He was sweet. She wondered why she had ever agreed to go out with him in the first place. But, she realized why, she’d just been passing the time. He’d never been a real possibility for anything more than a few fun months. He’d just been there, and that had been fine at the time. He’d been a nice, intelligent, sweet distraction. He was like chocolate in khakis. She sighed. "This isn’t about needing to go slow, or a dislike of classic theatre. It’s just …" she sucked in another deep breath and fortified herself. She just had to say it. "I’m in … I’m in … in love … with somebody else," she finally got out, feeling distinctly like a character on a bad soap opera as she said it. "You’re in love with somebody else?" Wade repeated looking at her dubiously. "Yeah. It was a bit of a surprise," Barbara responded turning her palms up in the air and shrugging helplessly before glancing away from him. "Obviously for you too," she added catching the look he shot her. "Obviously," he replied standing up from where he’d been leaning against a nearby desk. "Were you … ?" "No," Barbara responded immediately, her tone emphatic as she looked back over at him. "I never meant to hurt you. Really, if you had asked me even yesterday, I would’ve … I mean my flabber was completely gasted by this," she continued pausing after she spoke, shaking her head. She was picking up Helena’s incomprehensible speech patterns. "It took me by surprise," she finished weakly. "Yesterday?" Wade asked exasperated, angry and disillusioned. "So what happened? You went to the supermarket and fell madly in love with the produce boy over a head of lettuce?" He asked knowing it was inappropriate as the words left his mouth but not being able to help himself. "Not quite," Barbara responded evenly, she wasn’t going to rise to his bait. He was hurt. He had reason to be. She felt he deserved to get at least one good dig in. "I … saw an old friend," she continued smiling softly. She bit her lip to stop when she saw his expression. It was cute to her, not him. A fawning smile was not appropriate for a break-up. "Lucky guy," Wade said tugging his shirt down tensely as he prepared to leave. He’d never seen that smile on Barbara’s face before, which wasn’t to say he hadn’t seen it before. She was in love and not with him. It was time to go while he still had something that resembled dignity to cling to. "Who is?" a female voice asked from the doorway of the classroom. Wade turned his head sharply to see a tall, brunette woman lounging against the doorframe. There was teasing smile on her face, showcasing gorgeous dimples, and her intense blue eyes were alight with something he couldn’t identify. He knew her type, sexy, bad and loving every minute of it. Girls like her had always intimidated him. "Helena," Helena said extending her hand to him. She’d never seen the Wade before, but knew it had to be him. He was dumb looking in cute sort of way and that’s how Barbara’s descriptions of him had always come across. She’d also accidentally overheard Barbara breaking up with him. "Helena Kyle." "Ah, the elusive muffin top partner," Wade remarked shaking her hand, while thinking that Helena didn’t exactly look like the baking type. "Nice to meet you, I was just on my way out. I hope you’ll excuse …" "Don’t worry about it man, I’m not easy to offend," Helena interjected cutting him off before slapping him on the back chummily. "Oh, and I wouldn’t take the hallway to the left if I were you," she continued as she ushered him to the door, her hand still on his back. "The lunch special didn’t agree with someone. Scary doesn’t begin to describe it. Bye," she continued pushing him past the threshold and closing the door. "Nice," Barbara commented, smiling at Helena as the brunette turned back around to face her. "You’ve had a lot of practice ushering people out of rooms haven’t you?" "Yeah," Helena responded softly as she crossed over to Barbara’s desk. The redhead had made the comment lightly, as a joke, but they both knew it was true. "My farewell performance," she continued smiling slightly as she looked towards the door. "That looked like fun," she went on turning back towards Barbara. "Tons of," Barbara replied leaning back, her tone more serious. "Especially the befuddled blinking and the pained facial expressions. I’m gonna have to hurry up and do that again never," she went on reaching out for Helena’s hand, smiling as the brunette looked down at her from where she was leaning against the desk. "What’re you doing here?" "I just wanted to see you," Helena responded tilting her head to the side awkwardly. Being in love was kind of embarrassing. "You know, I just wanted to see you because … I missed you and … I’m gonna stop talking now," she finished closing her eyes and looking up towards the ceiling completely mortified before sighing deeply. "I missed you too," Barbara said smiling up at Helena’s dramatic display. She was getting some lovely theatre right there. "You know the whole embarrassed looking at the ceiling and sighing thing, is really just as cute as the smiling and revealing emotions thing," she continued her smile growing as Helena looked down at her frowning mockingly before grinning as well. "I don’t know how to do this, you know," Helena said still smiling though her tone was a bit awkward. "The whole being sweet and romantic thing," she continued rubbing Barbara’s hands slowly. "It kinda makes me feel like an ass … but I can’t help it," she finished shaking her head ruefully. "I’m not very good at it either," Barbara said drawing Helena eyes back over to her. "I guess we’ll just have to be awkward and self-conscious together," she continued smiling as she tugged on Helena’s hand lightly. The brunette leaned down smiling, softly brushing her lips against Barbara’s before leaning forward a bit more deepening the kiss. "It feels kind of dirty doing that in a classroom," Helena whispered somewhat breathlessly as she pulled away from Barbara’s lips long moments later. "I like it," she added quirking an eyebrow at the redhead. "This is usually the part in my dream when I’m told I’m a bad girl and someone picks up a meter stick." "It’s nice that you feel like sharing," Barbara responded evenly as she looked up at Helena. "Maybe not that, but in general," she continued smiling as Helena narrowed her eyes at her. "Meter stick huh?" she asked curiously as the corners of her lips turned up playfully, while her eyes roved over the chalkboard tray. "That," Helena said drawing Barbara eyes back over to her. "Would be a whole new lesson plan," she continued glancing the sheet of paper on Barbara’s desk. "The class would probably enjoy it more." She knew she would. "We can’t do it then," Barbara said sadly. "This is school. They’re not supposed to enjoy themselves." "Finally you admit it," Helena said triumphantly poking Barbara in the chest playfully. Barbara captured Helena’s finger easily and held the digit in her hand for a moment before bringing it to her lips, placing a small kiss on the tip of it before drawing it into her mouth sucking on it for a short time. "This is seriously, like the most fun I’ve ever had in school," Helena groaned when Barbara released her finger. She looked over at the redhead smiling, about to lean forward and use her lips for something distinctly more fun than talking when she heard a commotion start in the hallway. She stood up and took a step away from the desk placing a respectable distance between Barbara and herself, just as the door opened and a pile of teenagers began to come in. "Guest speaker?" Randy Vox asked Barbara as he passed by her desk. Very appreciate eyes on were on Helena as he spoke. He could definitely watch her for fifty-five minutes. "Leaving visitor actually," Barbara responded shrugging as if to say sorry. A few groans could be heard throughout the class. "It’s almost like they don’t care about The French Lieutenant’s Woman," Barbara said under her breath so that only Helena could hear. "You mean some people actually do?" Helena asked smirking as she prepared to leave. "What class does Di …" "Leave," Barbara said facing the class now, waving her hand at Helena dismissively as she worked very hard to contain a smile. ========================================= Part 2 ---------- Two days later … Dinah resettled the phone on her shoulder then ran a hand through her hair and sighed as she stared down at the textbook in front of her. Everything was just as unintelligible as it had been an hour ago, only now she had a tension headache and felt like she had gone slightly cross-eyed. "Somebody sounds like they’ve got the physics blues," a soft, teasing voice drawled from the other end of the phone. Dinah shifted in her chair, slouching down and smiled. "You think there’s a cute little song with cartoon characters and an important life lesson for that?" Dinah asked, her smile growing as she heard Gabby laugh softly on the other end of the phone. "I hope not," Gabby replied, her tone ridiculously serious. "That one with the big headed dolls singing about not putting things in your mouth, or sticking them in your face nearly traumatized me for life," she continued making a shivering sound. "Their heads were so big. So very big. Big like a motha," she finished shaking again. "So, what you’re saying is you have issues with public service announcements then?" Dinah asked smirking as her eyes drifted over the slick pages of the textbook again. "I don’t have issues. I hate them," Gabby responded. Dinah could practically hear the smile on her face. "Why don’t you just ask Ms. Gordon for help. Everyone says she’s like a genius. It’s like an unwritten rule that we can only talk about it softly though, so she doesn’t like overhear and realize she could do so much better than New Gotham High. Mitchell said she won one of those geek kid sciences prizes and got to go to Space Center in Cape Canaveral." "I don’t think Barbara’s exactly in the dark about being an supreme egghead," Dinah said laughing. "She teaches cause she likes it. I don’t know why she likes it, but that’s neither here nor there," she continued her head turning to look in the direction of Barbara’s bedroom. "Besides, she’s been kinda busy all weekend," she finished in a slightly strange tone. "What’s that about?" Gabby asked noticing Dinah’s tone. "Nothing," Dinah said sighing. "Really. She’s just been … preoccupied," she continued hesitantly, her head turning to the side as she heard the penthouse door open. Standing up she peaked her head around the corner carefully, relaxing when she saw Alfred enter carrying a large grocery bag. "Hey, how would Mitchell know if she’d won some geek kid science prize?" "His brother went to school with her," Gabby replied. "He doesn’t like her, she wouldn’t go out with him." "Go out with who? Mitchell or his brother?" Dinah asked smiling to herself as she sat back down at the kitchen table, nodding hello to Alfred as he passed by. "Very funny," Gabby responded in a tone that was suppose to convey that she didn’t find it funny, but actually came out sounding rather amused. "Hey, just a sec …" she continued a second later, followed by ruffling on the other end which Dinah assumed to be Gabby’s attempts to cover up the receiver. "What? Yeah! I know! I KNOW! I will. What’s that suppose … I’m not … I’m on the phone … I will! I … no … okay. OKAY!" Dinah heard smiling to herself as Gabby fought with her mother. "I gotta go," Gabby said in a regular tone, once again addressing Dinah. "I figured," Dinah replied in an amused tone. "Talk to you later." "Not if I talk to you first," Gabby responded saucily. "No you di-int," Dinah vamped back grinning. "Bye." Dinah leaned back in her chair, a faint smile still on her face as she put the phone down and turned to face Alfred. "Are the Misses’ about?" Alfred asked feeling the young blonde’s eyes on him as he went about restocking the refrigerator. Really, he wondered what the three of them would do if he weren’t around. It was bad enough that Barbara and Helena seemed to find forging through cupboards every couple of days for something that hadn’t expired yet an acceptable condition, but they had a growing girl in the house to consider now. "In the bedroom," Dinah said shaking her head, smiling a little bit. "Just like they’ve been all weekend," she continued. "I mean I know Helena’s metahuman but …" she went on trailing off when she saw Alfred raise an eyebrow at where she was going to go with that. Really it was their fault anyway that her mind traveled such debaucherous roads. She was sixteen what they were doing was just mean. She knew what they were doing, she knew it was fun, and she knew without a doubt that she would get yelled at for days if she even thought about doing something similar. She was about to turn back around and attempt to learn something about calculating velocity, when she heard a door slam down the hallway and feet padding rather noisily down the hallway towards the kitchen. Turning her head to side she watched as a half dressed Helena stumbled into the kitchen ruffling her own hair and rubbing at her eyes, instinctively making her way to the fridge, yanking the door open and practically sticking her head inside of it. She emerged a few moments later with a pitcher of water in her hands and a loaf of bread, twirling around and kicking the door shut with her foot before blinking and standing still, looking between Alfred and Dinah as if seeing them for the first time. "Uh," Helena said slowly, still blinking before looking down at her bra clad chest and over at Alfred, shifting uncomfortably. Dinah was rather pleased to notice that Helena didn’t seem to care that she could see her half naked too. They were making progress they were. "Um," she continued awkwardly biting her lip softly. "Bye," she finished quickly heading towards the door and disappearing back down the hallway. "So," Alfred said drawing Dinah’s eyes away from the spot Helena had so quickly vacated. "What should we have for supper?" "Pot roast," Dinah said immediately, a slight thrill in her voice. She never got to pick what they had for dinner. Helena always talked so much louder than her, the stupid big-mouthed idiot. "We both know how Ms. Helena feels about …" Alfred started. "I don’t think she’s going to be joining us," Dinah interrupted looking over at the older man. "Right, pot roast it is," Alfred agreed nodding. ------------------------------------------ Monday Morning … Dinah walked into the kitchen, bag slung across her shoulder, halfway to the fridge when she noticed the figure slumped over the table. Stopping so that she could focus her full attention on the scene before her, she watched Barbara who had one arm bent on the table which her head was resting on, and was using the other to pour a cup of coffee though she already had one poured, before placing the pot back down on the table and reaching for the fresh mug. She then lifted it towards her head and tried to take a drink before realizing she’d have to lift her head up. She seemed to consider it for a moment and then put the mug back down on the table groaning softly. "Straw?" Dinah asked smiling widely. Barbara was silent for a moment as if she were seriously considering the offer then shook her head from side to side before stilling again. Dinah continued on her way to the fridge, pouring herself a glass of orange juice before walking back over to Barbara and squeezing her shoulder. "That which doesn’t kill us," the blonde muttered philosophically before jauntily moving towards the door, giving Barbara’s shoulder one last squeeze. "Twenty minutes. Trust me, you don’t want to know what I’d say if the office asked," she continued as she made her way out of the kitchen. Barbara looked up at her for a moment, and then dropped her head back down onto her arm. It was going to be a fun day. ============================================ Part 3 ---------- The Next Night … Barbara smiled and shook her head as she felt Helena’s eyes on her, but she said nothing as she finished up with her latest modifications to the Delphi system. She’d felt Helena watching her a lot since their first night together. She’d always been able to tell when the brunette was looking at her. From the first day Helena had moved in with her, she’d been amazingly sensitive to Helena’s presence. So, it wasn’t that it was new to sense Helena watching her, it wasn’t, she’d often felt the brunette’s eyes on her in quiet moments in the past, it was the intensity of it that had changed since they made love. It was like she had been getting the filtered version before, Helena-lite. But now when the brunette gazed at her, it was like she could feel her presence all around her, enveloping her in a warm, protective embrace. It was like she could feel what Helena was thinking, feel her love from across the room and it startled and awed her every time. Barbara smiled again, and felt a warm had land on her shoulder a split second later. She turned her head slowly to look up at shining blue eyes. She had felt that too. Helena was looking at her seriously, her brows drawn together slightly and her lips pursed. "Bad night?" Barbara asked, taking in the look, wondering if something had happened on Helena’s sweep after she had gone radio silent. It had been a pretty easy night, so she wasn’t worried when Helena had gone off-line, and looking at her there didn’t seem to be any evidence of a major struggle, but despite that Helena was tense. "Nah," Helena replied smirking slightly though she shifted uncomfortably. "A cake walk," she continued moving to lean against the side of Barbara’s desk so that she was facing the redhead. "You like food?" she asked suddenly peering over at Barbara innocuously. "Now or in general?" Barbara asked smiling up at the brunette curiously. "Sometime, in the near future," Helena replied shaking her head, but smiling. "That was my charming and suave way of asking you out to dinner," she continued self-depreciatingly. "I was thinking a restaurant, preferably someplace with bread sticks. Candle light too, maybe with a piano man in the corner somewhere. We could do cute things like order for each other, and I could try and get you drunk. You know …" she finished shrugging, her eyes wandering around their immediate vicinity awkwardly. "A date," Barbara said softly. "You’re asking me out on a date?" she continued, looking at Helena curiously. She was a bit surprised, truth be told, she knew Helena and the brunette was not the dating type. As far as Barbara had been able to ascertain she’d only gone on outings that could be considered dates when she knew there was going to be sex afterwards. And since they’d already … well, she hadn’t thought about dating. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought about much. That was new for her, and she wasn’t certain that it was a bad thing. She knew that the high she’d been on for the past four days wouldn’t last, that reality would start to settle down on her again, and thoughts would come and questions would need to be answered. But that day hadn’t come yet. She was still bathing in the afterglow. "Not well, but yeah," Helena responded, her eyes on Barbara as the redhead looked at her rather goofily. She had to reign in the impulse to smile. "I thought you didn’t date," Barbara said softly, focusing on Helena, her hand unconsciously reaching out for the brunette’s. "I didn’t," Helena responded seriously, though any impulse on her part to take it too seriously was soothed by Barbara’s soft caress. "I do now though. I mean I’d like to. Everybody makes it sound like so much fun," she went on smiling a bit as Barbara gazed up at her. "I’d love to have dinner with you," Barbara replied a soft smile gracing her lips. "But don’t think," she continued the smile growing. "That just because you buy me dinner I’m gonna put out," she went on pausing dramatically. "Unless of course there’s half dead roses involved, than that obviously would change things," she finished grinning up at Helena cheekily. "It wasn’t half dead," the brunette grumbled though she smiled back at the redhead. "Besides, I already know how to get you to put out," she continued easily, her posture relaxing and her words drawling lazily now that she had gotten the sappy part out of the way. "How’s that?" Barbara asked lightly seeing Helena relax and wondering at the fact that the brunette could’ve seriously been tense about asking her out on a date after they had already confessed their love for each other and engaged in what could only be called sexcapades for a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. "Show up," Helena replied smugly, her eyes roving over Barbara’s body. Barbara stared at her challengingly for a moment, and then opened her mouth about to respond when a noise behind her caught her attention. Turning her chair to the side she saw Dinah hurrying into the clock tower, a disc in her hand. "Good you’re back," she said looking at Helena. "It’s time," she intoned gravely looking over at Barbara holding up the disc for everyone to see. "What’s she on about?" Helena asked in an affectionately aggravated tone. "Tis’ the season Hel, stop being such a scrooge," Dinah replied only sliding her eyes over to the brunette for a moment before turning to look at Barbara again. "I promise you, this masterpiece can’t help but warm even the most arctic of hearts," she continued waving the disc again. "She’ll be merry if it kills her," Dinah finished glaring at Helena. "Rwwwwr, somebody’s getting dominant," Helena replied walking over to the couch and flopping down easily. "I don’t like it," she continued shaking her head. "Next thing you know she’s gonna be demanding the right to vote, saying we can’t beat her even if the lash is carefully measured to the size of a thumb, and want to get paid as much as the senior crime-fighters." "You don’t get paid," Dinah said moving over to the DVD player as Barbara headed over to the couch to join Helena. "That’s beside the point, it’s the principle behind it. You’re gonna be uppity soon, I just know it, and there’s only room for one high maintenance crime-fighter in this clock tower," Helena responded as Dinah moved over to the recliner beside the couch and picked up the remote. "And that’s Barbara," she finished smiling to herself. "Really," Dinah said in a mocking tone looking at Barbara over Helena’s head. "I don’t know how you resisted her for so long. She’s so charming," she finished smiling at Helena. "Don’t forget pretty too. I’m a masterpiece of flesh and bone," Helena replied grinning back at Dinah cheekily before she turned around to face Barbara. Holding out her hand, Helena silently invited Barbara to join her on the couch as Dinah, slapped the remote against her leg, muttering about how they could own technology that’s not even supposed to exist but couldn’t seem to find a decent universal remote. "Seriously kid, what’re you gonna torture us with?" Helena asked before screwing her face up and shaking her head from side to side derisively as she stuck her tongue out at Dinah in response to the look the blonde had given her and Barbara before mouthing ‘Awww’ and bringing her hands up to her heart. The kid was such a punk. "’A Christmas Story’," Dinah responded laughing as Barbara turned her head from where it was lying on Helena shoulder to look up at the brunette disbelievingly in response to the faces Helena was still making at Dinah. Helena shrugged at Barbara, turning her palms upwards helplessly as if she didn’t understand what Barbara’s problem was causing the redhead to stare at her for a moment longer before simply resting her head back down on Helena’s shoulder, allowing the brunette to hug her tight and place a kiss at her temple. Dinah turned her head away starting the movie up. They were ridiculously cute together. She decided that she wouldn’t mock Helena again … for the next half hour. ============================================== Part 4 ---------- Later that week… Barbara watched as Helena twirled her fork around playing with the pasta on her plate, coiling it neatly and then uncoiling it lazily before jabbing at it and starting the pattern all over again. The plate was half empty, but she was hard pressed to recall moments when Helena was actually eating the food. "Well?" the brunette asked tilting her head up to look over at Barbara, a soft smile on her face as she looked at the redhead questioningly, her dimples in full effect as the candle light lit up her face. "Well what?" Barbara asked absentmindedly as her eyes studied Helena’s features, serene and relaxed at the moment. Helena was a beauty, anytime of day and any day of the week, brooding or bright, she was always breathtaking to behold, but there was something about her in those moments when her defenses were down, and her mind was deliriously clear of worry, and regret that seized Barbara’s heart holding it captive until she sometimes thought it was going to just up and quit on her. She smiled widely and shook her head. "What happened when you opened the door," Helena prompted smiling as Barbara smiled at her. The light from the candles on the table were reflecting off of her hair in strange way, lighting it up making her look like she was surrounded by a halo of light. Tableaus of silver screen era movie goddesses flashed through her mind. They didn’t have anything on the redhead though, were pale imitations of the real thing. Still, Helena could see how directors could be inspired to try and reproduce such loveliness. Even a fraction of the reality would be magnificent. "Oh," Barbara said raising her glass to her lips. "I forgot about that," she admitted sheepishly before putting the glass back down. She’d been in the middle of a story, when she’d been distracted by Helena’s movements. "What was that about and eidetic memory again?" Helena asked quirking an eyebrow at the redhead. "I so totally knew you padded your resume," she continued playfully, knowing that Barbara was far more brilliant than she let on most of the time, but that when the redhead got distracted it was like time and space ceased to exist. It was incredibly cute how lost she could get in her own thoughts. "Ha ha," Barbara replied poking her fork in Helena’s direction. "And if anyone asks, I absolutely trained elephants one magical summer in Bombay," she continued smirking at Helena, lowering her fork back to her plate. "Yes, you’re very amusing," Helena responded not trying to sound anything but amused. "If you don’t finish the story in the next five minutes, I swear I’m going to buy you J.Lo’s new scent for Christmas, and I won’t feel bad about it." "There’s a new one?" Barbara asked, knowing that it would annoy the brunette. "What’s it called?" "I don’t know, following the pattern of ‘Glow’ and ‘Shine’, it’s probably called ‘Sparkle’ or something equally insipid," Helena responded shrugging before focusing her gaze on Barbara’s seriously. "Come on seriously, you’ve titiled now you must late." "The things that you do to the English language should really be considered punishable by law," Barbara replied shaking her head, marveling at how Helena was able to bastardize pretty much any word in English and French. Titillated would never be the same again. "That’d just make more work for you, what with having to hack and destroy documents pertaining to my egregious abuses of western verbiage and the insult they caused to stuffed shirts and panty waists everywhere," Helena replied smirking as Barbara raised an eyebrow at her. "I was going to say something brilliant like ‘neener neener’ and then stick my tongue out, but I decided to use my words instead," Helena continued batting her eyes at Barbara as the redhead rolled her eyes at her. "So I opened the door to the janitor’s closet," Barbara said meeting Helena’s gaze, and having to work very hard not to smile when the brunette grinned at her rakishly, winking at her. "And see Randy Franklin huddled on the floor with last years yearbook open … abusing himself," Barbara continued her voice lowering secretively as she looked over at Helena. "Abusing himself?" Helena asked lowering her voice too as she spoke upon seeing Barbara’s horrified expression. "Why would he need a yearbook to abuse himse … and you mean ‘abusing’ himself," she said catching Barbara’s meaning. She grinned widely. "You caught some kid doing his special thing?" she asked happily. "It wasn’t funny at the time," Barbara muttered, wondering what had possessed her to start telling this story to Helena in the first place. "It was incredibly awkward, and … they don’t have anything in the manual that deals with that sort of thing and …" she trailed off shaking her head. "Now I remember why I didn’t want to finish this story." "What did you do?" Helena asked leaning forward, enjoying the slight blush that had come to Barbara’s face. "I panicked," Barbara said lowering her head. "I gave him a detention for entering an area of the school that was clearly designated for personnel only, and told him that if I caught him ‘relaxing’ on school grounds again more strenuous action would have to be taken," she continued as her eyes drifted around the restaurant. "Then I sent him to washroom and wheeled away as fast as humanly possible," she finished sighing. She looked up at Helena questioningly. "No," Helena said simply but firmly. "I know what you’re thinking and … just, no. You shouldn’t have tried to talk to him about it. That would’ve been … very, very wrong. You did the right thing, even though you followed it up by running away like a sissy," she finished nodding at Barbara. "There was nothing sissy like about it," Barbara mumbled mock scowling at Helena. "It was a very dignified retreat." "With trumpets and flower girls?" Helena asked good-naturedly. "Perhaps some stately waving?" "Exactly," Barbara replied, pausing to finish off the last of her dinner, deciding to pretend that she didn’t know Helena was mocking her. "This," she said looking around once more, "is a very nice restaurant. How’d you hear about it?" "I’m going to assume that there’s a good way to take that," Helena responded looking at Barbara through her lashes. "I’m sorry," Barbara replied, sounding only mildly sorry. "You frequent so many classy establishments, like that bar where the servers walk around in bikinis and Speedos and let people lick salt off of their skin for money, and Jerry’s House of Pancakes … who could forget Jerry’s House of Pancakes. It was wrong of me to question how you’d heard of a place with maîtrede’s." "Well, they say winter is the season for satire," Helena replied tilting her head to the side as she looked at Barbara. "Some James Bond wannabe mentioned this place over a vodka martini last week. It was the best tip of the night." Barbara smiled at Helena as the brunette’s lips curved and pouted deliciously as she spoke, her gaze focused on the brunette’s mouth for a long moment. "Dinah’s staying at Gabby’s tonight," the redhead said conversationally as Helena tipped her wine around in her glass before bringing it to her lips. "So?" Helena asked even though she knew exactly what Barbara was getting at. She liked to hear it. She was naughty that way. "So, you might wanna ask for the check," Barbara suggested, her tongue flicking out to lick at her lips. --------------------------------------------------- Helena stood at the foot of the bed watching through hooded eyes as Barbara transferred herself onto the mattress and settled so that her back was resting against the headboard. She then looked down towards the front of the bed, her eyebrow rising questioning as she stared at Helena who merely smirked at her. "Da da da da da," Helena hummed as she stuck her hand under her shirt, slowly lifting the material up her abdomen as she swiveled her hips. "Da da!" she continued smirking before she ripped her shirt over her head and tossed it the side with a dramatic flare. She then winked at Barbara who was smiling widely before stepping towards the bed moving onto it, crawling up the mattress until she sat straddling Barbara’s legs. "What about the rest of the show?" Barbara asked softly her eyes on Helena’s smiling face before she lowered them to the brunette’s hands, which had made their way to her waist. "One is loneliest number," Helena drawled softly, her lips pouting slightly as she looked over at Barbara through her lashes. "I want somebody to play with me," she continued sliding her hands underneath Barbara’s shirt, her thumbs fanning out to caressing the rapidly heating skin underneath her hands. "Da da da da da," she went on, her smirk returning as she pushed the material of Barbara’s shirt up, lifting it off of her when the redhead raised her arms helpfully. It soon joined Helena’s own shirt in the nether regions of Barbara’s bedroom. "Da da da … oh fuck it," Helena muttered as she leaned forward fastening her lips to Barbara’s as her hands slid down to the redhead’s waist and started to unbutton her pants, her mouth swallowing Barbara’s laughter as the redhead leaned forward increasing the contact between them. ******************************* Helena shuddered as she felt Barbara’s fingers trailing up along the inside of her thighs, her eyes fluttering shut momentarily, as her breath hitched in her throat when the redhead ran her fingers through the slick heat at the apex of her thighs, playfully pinching her clit between her fingers and rolling it as she held Helena’s gaze. "You’re wicked," Helena moaned before lowering her head down to Barbara’s neck, kissing and nipping at it as Barbara continued to tease her. "Atrocious behavior, you should be ashamed of yourself," she muttered as she kissed a path down Barbara’s sweaty chest to her breast, where she took one of the redhead’s hard nipples into her mouth, sucking softly at first and then biting down suddenly, causing Barbara to suck in a deep breath. She smiled against the redhead’s skin. "We’re only as good as our company," Barbara breathed out, her free hand working it’s way to Helena’s head, stroking her hair as her other hand continued to move along Helena’s slit in an increasingly purposeful way. Barbara smoothed the dark hair that had fallen in front of Helena’s face back, urging the brunette’s face up so that she could see her. Helena looked up, her eyes dark with passion, her lips wet and parted slightly as she stared at Barbara before they curved upwards naughtily a minute later, which was followed by her biting down on her bottom lip when she felt Barbara position her fingers at her opening just barely teasing the flesh. Helena lifted her hips up not blinking, her eyes never leaving Barbara’s as she moved, and then she slowly lowered herself onto the redhead’s waiting fingers, moaning low and deep from the back of her throat, the guttural sound filling the room as she impaled herself on Barbara’s fingers, her hips starting to move in time with Barbara’s motions as the redhead began to thrust into her. **************************** Helena’s left arm shook with strain as she lifted her right hand off the bed where it had been helping to support her body, and moved it in-between their bodies, grasping Barbara’s wrist, stopping the redhead’s fingers from pumping into her. Her breathing was ragged and her heart was pounding in her chest so hard it wouldn’t have surprised her if it just stopped, her mind hazy and feverish with pleasure. There was a pleasant tingling in the pit of her stomach, and she couldn’t seem to make her body stop shivering as she stared down at Barbara, her skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat. She was close. Teetering on the edge of a mind-blowing orgasm as she clenched Barbara’s now still fingers inside of her and looked at the redhead. She stared down into Barbara’s questioning eyes tilting her head into the redhead’s touch as she felt Barbara rest a hand on her cheek and begin stroking the slick, smooth skin with her thumb. "I love you," Helena whispered, her voice a faint rasp as she blinked rapidly, her eyes stinging with unshed tears as she shuddered above the redhead. And then Helena’s head dropped down against her chest again and her eyes closed as her hand fell away from Barbara’s wrist returning to its former position on the mattress, allowing Barbara to begin to rock them again, her right hand starting to move in and out of Helena immediately as her left drew around the brunette’s back drawing her down on top of her firmly and securely. Helena sagged against Barbara as her hips continued to buck into the redhead. She could hear the redhead whispering to her, though she could no longer make out her words, as she continued to desperately thrust her hips towards Barbara, meeting the redhead’s fingers every time they plunged deep inside of her, her face settling in the crook of Barbara’s neck and shoulder as they moved together, her breathes now no more than a series of ragged gasps, her lips parted and pressed into Barbara’s neck as she was able to make out her name and the word ‘love’ being whispered into ear, her hips bucking wildly as she gasped, her orgasm washing over her causing her body to tremble and shake. ***************************** "You’re very strange," Barbara breathed out softly as she stroked Helena’s hair. The brunette’s fingers were gently running along her abdomen as she spoke sleepily from her resting spot on Barbara’s shoulder. "I’m not strange, nursery rhythms are just fucked up," Helena declared, wrapping her arm around Barbara’s waist and snuggling in closer to her as she inhaled deeply, sighing as Barbara’s scent came to her, traveled through her leaving a pleasant warmth in its wake. Barbara smiled and brushed her lips against Helena’s forehead. The brunette was unbelievably cute when she was on the verge of falling sleep. "I mean ‘hey diddle diddle, the cat and fiddle’? Who the hell diddle diddle, and what’s a cat doing with a fucking fiddle?" Helena continued, her words coming out slightly blurred as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "And what’s with the little dog laughing, huh? That’s just upsetting," she went on yawning. "I’m sure it made perfect sense when you were a kid," Barbara replied softly a few seconds later not wanting to start Helena up again if she was asleep or almost asleep. "It didn’t," Helena mumbled somewhat militantly. "That’s why she stopped reading them to me. Cause I was always asking stuff like ‘why’s Mary quite contrary?’ What’s she contrary to? She let me watch ‘Jake and the Fatman’ instead." Barbara started to laugh, inordinately amused by the idea of Selina Kyle being harassed into watching ‘Jake and the Fatman’ by a quizzical four year old, opening her mouth to comment on the fact when she felt Helena’s breathing even out and realized that the brunette had finally fallen asleep. Looking up at the ceiling, tracing it for a few moments as a small smile played across her lips. Then, still smiling Barbara allowed her eyes to close too, quickly joining the brunette in sleep. ============================================== Part 5 --------- Three days later … Reese looked up towards the rooftops his eyes scanning the skyline for any sign of movement as his thumb unconsciously stroked the smooth surface of the ring that was on his index finger. He could feel a string of excitement begin to work its way through his body, as the air shifted slightly. She was somewhere near by. He was actually kind of pleased with how good he had gotten at sensing her presence before she revealed herself. It was a relatively rare occasion now that she was able to sneak up on him. "You rang," Helena drawled dropping down in front of Reese, mildly disappointed to note that she hadn’t freaked him out. It was getting harder and harder to scare the shit out of him. It took away half the fun of dealing with him. "Thanks for coming," he said resting against the cruiser, nodding to the side indicating that she should make herself comfortable. Helena shrugged her shoulders and settled herself against the car as well. If he was in a semi-decent mood, which he seemed to be she didn’t particularly want to rile him up. Teasing banter was one thing, actually having a bitch fight with him another. "Anything on your mind, or did you just want to share the view?" Helena asked her eyes on the trash piles littering the curbs. Usually there wouldn’t be nearly as much as was there, but garbage pick-ups had become increasing sporadic over the past few weeks. "No," Reese replied sighing turning to look at her momentarily before looking away again. "Although I do know a few nice ones," he added his gaze on his shoes. They were scuffed. He waited for a second, anticipating a soft exhalation and smile on her part. It didn’t come though she did look over at him. "There’s been some strange activity in city over the past few couple weeks," he continued straightening his back and turning to look at her again. "I know," Helena replied frowning. "It’s like the whole city is getting in touch with their inner delinquent," she continued turning to face him. "Other people’s anti-authoritarian streaks aren’t fun like mine," she finished smirking at him. "You don’t have any idea what’s going on do you?" he asked. "Buzz at the station is that the lunar cycle is making people a little crazy, but I’m not buying it. There’s something … more there." "I’m with you on that, but I can’t tell you anything more than you already know," Helena responded somewhat regretfully. "We’re just as in the dark about this as you are," she continued. "Constant vigilance," she added with a smile, remembering as Barbara poked her in the chest earlier that evening saying the exact same words. She patted Reese on the shoulder and moved to take off. "A while back," Reese said impulsively before she had moved out of earshot. She stopped and he took a step towards her. "You mentioned something about coffee," he continued trying to keep his tone neutral. He hadn’t planned on doing this, he wasn’t sure if wanted to do it, or if it was smart to do it, or anything really. He didn’t really know her, and sometimes he thought that he didn’t want to know her. But deep down he knew better. The truth was that she intrigued him. Fascinated him really. He wanted to get to know her better. At the beginning, he’d thought he’d had time to think it over, and ruminate about the situation, after all every time he’d turned around she seemed to be there, and somewhat arrogantly he’d assumed that was how things would stay. But they hadn’t. Over the past month or so, she’d hadn’t shown up out of the blue, surprising him once or twice a week, leaving their only interactions to times when he’d summoned her with the ring. He’d been disconcerted to realize that he’d missed her. Irritating, and aggravating, and unruly as she was he’d missed her. "There’s a surprisingly good place around the corner. Nobody should leap from rooftops without being properly caffinated," he finished giving her a small smile as he looked up at her though his head was tilted downwards somewhat shyly. "I …" Helena started turning around to face him, somewhat surprised by the invitation and not quite knowing what to do with it. "I can’t. Places to be," she said looking up towards the roof of the nearest building. "But I appreciate the offer," she continued. "How do you like it? For next time?" he asked, not sure what to make of her response. He didn’t particularly expect her to jump at the offer, but he’d at least been anticipating some witty repartee, maybe a few double entendres. Something, anything like before. "About a quarter cup of coffee with my sugar and milk would be nice," Helena replied with a wink and smirk as she backed up. And then she turned her back on him and jumped onto a nearby fire escape, scaling it and disappearing into the night sky seconds later. ======================================= |
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