At My side
by Erin Griffin
Fandom: Birds of Prey TV
Pairing: Slight Gabby/Dinah, mention of unrequited Helena/Dinah
Disclaimer: I do no own these characters.
Note: I found this in my black hole of a bedroom. I don't know when I wrote this story, but it wasn't this year. I don't know where I was originally going with this story, but I am sure that where it ended up was far from where I had wanted for it to go, as I am not usually one who writes such melancholy stuff.
I love this time of year, when the first few days of sun surprise and awaken the cold and sleepy citizens of New Gotham. Seven weeks ago, the ball dropped in Time square, and just last week snuggles and smooches and 'I love you's were shared on Valentine's Day. The wind no longer bit with its freezing rage, nor did the rain fall, often mixed with just a hint of snow. Dare I say it? Spring is coming, and she will be beautiful.
I wish, as I often did, that Gabby were there to walk with me some of these nights, but I know even as the thoughts make me sing inside, that I can't. I picture it anyway: her footsteps scrapping with mine on the sidewalk, her hand in mine as the slight mist causes a fuzzy glow when we look at the street lights. As Oracle tells me of a mugging on North Field Boulevard, she kisses me and tells me to be careful, and the affects of that kiss would cover me like a shield protecting me so that there was no way I wouldn't be returning to her.
I let the images fade away as I turn the corner of 30th and Brenner. I'd made my choice two years ago. I had my chances to make my images a reality, but I let them pass. I had to. She deserved so much more than my lies, my empty promises to be safe out there and to come home. She was exactly where she needed to be, taking classes at NGU, and being normal with a normal girlfriend in a normal apartment in the most normal part of the city.
Slowly, I make my way towards the dockyards. It was the place where I had my first mission with my family, the first time I got to use my extraordinary skills for something good. I still go there on occasions where I needed to be reminded of why I do it all. All of the memories of Ketterly and the villains since him cross my mind, erasing those of the girl that got away. The same eagerness to do something useful with my powers, to prove I wasn't JUST a freak was fresh again in my mind. I remember the lives I've saved, both single handedly as well as with Huntress, and I take a deep breath.
I feel her presence before I hear the softest of air movements, then I feel arms around me and a warm body against my back. I smell the slight hint of lemon, leather and New Gotham air, along with her own unique scent of sweat. She says nothing, and we stay in silence. I hear the air move in through her nostrils, then I feel it down through my hair onto my neck. I can almost feel her heart beating on my shoulder blade, but it might just be my imagination. "You want some coffee?" she asks after a while.
"Work tomorrow. Can't... But thanks."
"Sure." She's hurt, I can tell, so I continue to speak, to somehow make it better.
"How 'bout cocoa?" I ask, and I assume the slight change in her body movement is her nodding.
"Yeah, there's that."
"Okay."
Helena takes a step back, and as I turn to face her, she looks away. I see the slightest hint of a blush, something I never would have noticed if I hadn't known her for as long as I have or studied her face in my dreams since I was nine. God, why couldn't I have fallen in love with her? Helena shoves her hands deep into her pockets and starts to walk away. I follow, my pace quick in order to keep up. She turns partially to see if I am by her side, but says nothing as she turns back to the sidewalk before her. Her pace slows down though, and our steps are almost completely in sync. She takes in a deep breath, letting out what almost sounds like a contented sigh as a small amount of mist leaves her nose, and I know she loves this time of year, too.
Slowly, I snake my hand through the space between her hip and her elbow, resting it on her forearm. She looks at me, smiles, and together we continue on.