12425/Dinner of the Business Sort

Dinner of the Business Sort
Date of Scene:	13 August 2022
Location:	204 -
Synopsis:	Helena invites Barbara over for a home cooked meal (Italian of course). Some Birds related Shop talk is handled and Barbara has an unexpected promotion to Offer Helena as Huntress. The two discuss the possible impact they will let that have on their personal lives.
Cast of Characters:	Helena Bertinelli, Barbara Gordon

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Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli invited Barbara to talk and have dinner. She hadn't -exactly- said she was going to be cooking. But. Italian. It is kind of implied and obligatory to cook for guests. There was to be some general business talk as well as the food. But. Still. Barbara was a guest. There would be cooking.

When Barbara arrives, the apartment smells like an Italian restaurant. The aroma of tomato sauce, of garlic. The starchy aroma of freshly made pasta ready to be put into boiling water to cook when the timing was right. Fresh baked bread? Check. Helena had done it all to the nines.

Would she go to this level for anyone? Maybe. Possibly. For Barbara? She might not admit it, yet, but yes. Every time. It also didn't hurt that the redhead was also kind of her boss.

Stepping away from cooking long enough open the door and let Barbara in, Helena smiled warmly. "Hey.. welcome! I hope you're hungry. Because. Well." A shrug, Italian. She offered a hug to the other woman. "It's good to see you Barb."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara had taken a bit of time to get ready to head over, but had still used her motorcycle to get here. She did use her helmet though, which kept her hair tied up within it, so she's lowering it down when the door opens, letting it hang loose around her shoulders as a smile crosses her lips when the door does swing ajar.

"Hey." She says happily at her friend and co-worker. "Oh my god, it smells so good in there..." She notes as her eyes drift over Helena's shoulder, then back to her. She steps in, holding up a bottle of wine from the bag at her hip then, "Drinks!" She announces before offering Helena a hug. "Thanks for the invite. It's nice to get out of the tower now and then..."

Dressed i na black leather jacket with gold stripes down the sleeves, and a pair of dark jeans, and a maroon colored tshirt with a motorcycle on the bustline, Babs is ultra casual, but it all looks new and nice.

"I like your building. Much nicer when I see it in person. You know, rather than creepin' around online on cameras around the city." She says with a big grin.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli hugs Barbara tightly and smiles. "Of course. No Bird can refuse the offer of food. Not even Mama Bird" she says fondly with a half grin.

Under the apron she wore for cooking, because tomato sauce, she wore gray Rolling Stones tee and denim cutoffs with frayed cuffs. Looking to the bottle of wine, she smiles. "Perfect! The food's still cooking but it won't be too much longer. Seems like the perfect time for a first glass?" She scoots back to check on the sauce. "It's just spaghetti" she explains as if it were like making PB&J's for someone, "But! Nona's secret recipe meatballs and fresh pasta. And Uncle Vito's Italian bread. Best garlic bread ever. I promise you that."

Getting out too wine glasses and a corkscrew she looks to Barbara, "I need to check the sauce, would you mind pouring? I'm a horrible hostess, putting work on my guest" she laments. But at least it's a chore with a reward at the end.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara lets her eyes shoot around the apartment interior before she starts to remove her jacket. Her backpack gets set down beside a chair, and she pulls the wine from it, before she laughs softly at the other. "Spaghetti is like one of my favorites. Even if it makes me feel like I weigh a hundred exstra pounds after I eat it." She notes with a playful grin for Helena.

"I don't mind pouring either." Babs says, pushing her fiery hair back behind her shoulders as she adjusts her red tshirt around her waist, it having white stripes that go down the outside of her arms. She takes the wine glasses with a smile, then the corkscrew and sets about opening the bottle.

With only a little fuss, she pops the top, then bites down on her bottom lip as she starts to pour.

"And I can tell that is not just regular ol' spaghetti." She says, eyeing the cook at work. "Much more tastey scents in the air." She says with another grin before she offers Helena a poured glass of deep red wine.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli nods seriously, "Yes. The prepackaged stuff will do that every time. Homemade pasta has zero carbs." She has a terrible poker face. Particularly against the woman who forgets nothing.

Patting the corkscrew again she nods "Thanks Barb. I'm a viglante, not a super heroine. I can't do everything at once and not screw it all up. And if I ruin dinner it'll be my fall into the darkness of villainy."

An almost shy smile is shot over her shoulder at Barbara as her efforts are called out. "Well. Yeah. I mean.." She shrugs weakly as she gets to stirring and checking on the sauce then bends over to check the pan of meatballs in the oven. "Okay. About ten more minutes.." She turns and gestures to the island and stools. It'll let Barbara sit and let her stay close to the food. On a rack, covered by a towel is the loaf of Italian bread, cooling.

Taking the glass from Barbara she smiles, "Thanks." She pauses as if she is realizing they should toast something before the first sip, worrying her lip in consideration.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara slips on to one of the counter stools, and folds her forearms on the edge of said counter. She smiles warmly at Helena, before an idea strikes her. "Oh." She softly says. "I got a message from Kate, saying that she was going to be preoccupied with work related things, and may not be at the Tower as much as she would like to be. So... I was curious, if you'd like to help me with the various tasks that Kate was taking on for me? Mainly helping watch out for the others on the team? Give me feedback on how they're doing? Basically... I need a second. Someone who can take over if a bit of leadership is needed in my absence too."

Babs holds her drink at its base as she swirls the contents around some while her eyes remain fixed on Helena's own.


"This something you'd be up for?" She asks more directly.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli pauses as she was about to propose a toast because Barbara breaks in with that information. Lowering her glass to listen, she frowns. "Damn. Losing Kate as an active member is going to be a hit. Nothing we can't work with of course. She brings a lot to the table."

Then there is a blink. "Well I wasn't exactly expecting /that/" she admits as she thinks it over. She pauses and sets the wine glass down to look seriously at Barbara. "What does this mean, though. For.. us?" She almost hesitates to ask it but it has to be discussed, "I mean. It's not like there _is_ anything, yet, really. But.. does this mean you want me to step up to help as well while we're trying to figure... us.. out? Or do you mean in place of.." She gestures uncertainly.

"My answer is yes. Of course it's yes. I'll always help you. I just.. need to know what you're thinking, Barb." She looks to her hands then back to those green eyes, waiting for Barbara to clarify.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
These questions all garner a grin from Babs, who just shakes her head left to right. She has to shrug her shoulders within her tshirt as she draws in a breath, then exhales it again. "To be honest? I just like to know that I have a bit of backup, in case I go down, like back at the Prison earlier this year. Especially if it's on a Birds ops. We need to have someone that the others can look up to, rely on, to tell them what they need to do incase of an emergency. But..." She trails off then.

"AS for you and I? Well. I don't know what it would do to that. Probably nothing? I hope, anyway." She reaches out a hand to take Helena's. "You've been a rock for me, of late. I appreciate it. More than I can really say with limited words available." She adds with a smirk at herself.

"If anything, I would think it'd make you and I stronger? But, like I said... I'm not so good at 'this stuff'..."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli squeezes that hand then stands and walks around the counter, still holding the hand till she is beside Barbara. Releasing the hand only then, she leans to give a tight hug. "You knew I'd tell you yes, Barbara. The answer has always been yes. Since you accepted me and my screw ups and gave me a chance to make something better for Huntress to stand for. For /myself/ to stand for." She leans her forehead to Barbara's. "Even if you'd said that everything with the Birds over rules anything else." She smiles then leans down to brush her lips to Barbara's.

"But I'm very happy that you didn't." She nods, "I think it will help us. In all ways. And you're just fine, Barb. It isn't like /I/ have a lot of experience either. How many dates do girls like us get to go on when there's always the risk they're going to find out about our real jobs. Or we get pulled away one too many times."

She smiles. "At least this way..? We both know what's going on. It isn't like either of us is running off behind the other's back. We're kind of both right there still" she says with a laugh.

Reaching fof her glass, "So yes. I'll agree to moving to that role for the Birds. I'll do everything I can to help you." She smiles, "To new roles. And a new relationship? May they both be strong." Yeah it's kind of cheesy but it's sincere as Helena holds her glass up.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara turns in her seat to face Helena when she comes around the bar to chat more closely. She is quick to lean her forheead lightly against the other woman's before she reaches a hand out to put it on Helena's hip. She grins softly at the other's words before she gives a quick kiss to her lips.

"I just wanted to make sure." She quietly replies then, her green eyes right there for Helena's own.

"I'm not looking to overwork any of you. Well... maybe some of them." She adds that last part with a grin chasing the words, along with a little short laugh. "But yes, partnership. That's a good way to look at it, I think. We got a team here, to take care of. One that is doing some pretty absurdly dangerous things on the regular, in a cityh that just seems to slip deeper in to madness on a daily basis..."

Babs raises her glass up to clink it against Helena's. "So, I think everyone will be excited to get to know you a bit better too, hopefully. I can't just be the only one." She smiles sweetly then before taking another sip of her drink.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles and nods, sipping from her glass then she oh's! and scoots around the island just as the sauce is bubbling and starting to spit in dangerously messy ways. After stirring and turning the burner heat down, she takes the fresh pasta and drops it into the pot of boiling water. "Okay. We're about five minutes from eating." She glances over and smiles.

"since this is kind of work and personal, on the work side, I made contact with Mika and offered her a probationary invitiation to the team. She agreed. I'm happy to take her on some patrols myself but I think some of the other girls should also get a chance to know her and patrol. I think we need to be completely sure she's going to fit with the team. Like you said, through, she seems pretty stable. Her skills can't be denied."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs is drinking from her wine as Helena steps back around the counter to tend to the cooking food. She lowers her glass down to the counter's top to set it gently down once more. A smile sweeps across her visage then at the news of Mika. "That is fantastic. I thought I had a good feeling about her. An EMT, and a ... capable fighter? I mean, those are pretty clear indications of someone quite unique, all by themselves."

Babs looks around then. "Sure you don't want me to help with anything?" She asks idly before her eyes return to Helena.

"And yeah, I'd love to get her in with some of the others. Cass, Carrie, Steph, anyone that we can. But if you're getting a good feeling from her, we can bring her to the tower too. Maybe she needs that kinda extra support, or even if she doesn't... it's just good to know it's there as a base away from the madness..."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli nods as she moves to cut the loaf of bread. "Just fresh bread and butter? Or do you want live dangerously and go full on garlic bread with melted Mozz on it?" A brow raise. The gauntlet has been through down. What will the redhead choose!

"She's got a public persona. I set her expectations to be that we would maintain private identities. We will need to help her with armor that conceals who she is. It'll be bad if an actress is seen beating the crap out of Gotham thugs, right?" she jokes.

"But she also has a lot at risk. So if you're confortable bringing her to the tower before her probationary time is over, I'll support it. I wasn't going to offer that going in. We all have a lot at stake that a careless person could place at risk."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Another light laugh comes from the redhead then. "The latter. This is an official cheat night for my diet." She jests with a light smirk. Another sip of her wine is had before she nods to what Helena says further.

"We should hold off. I don't mind helping her conceal her identity... Especially from the kind of thugs who'd look to exploit it. But yeah, if she's showing signs at some point of not being trustworthy... well... some of our Birds may be spooked. I might be a little over confident in exposing my own identity, but after the past ten years..." She exhales as she says that, rolling her shoulders a little. "I'm just looking to face my enemies a bit more directly. That being said, some of the other girls aren't so eager to be reckless, so I should respect that."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli looks over, "Well your days of being over confident are coming to an end. You've got someone else to think about. And now so do I." She says it with a smile as she cuts the loaf of bread and begins to prepare it as proper, if horrible for the diet, garlic bread. She puts it into the oven for the cheese to melt as they talk.

"Almost ready." She glances over, "Plate are in that cupboard? Silverware that drawer if you don't mind?" She's finally putting Barbara's offer to help into action even if the food is her domain alone.

"Facing your enemies is one thing, hon. But directly risking?" She looks over. "There's a point where it is just... a little too carefree? We need you. You started this. Even if you're laid up with an injury, I can't hold this group together long term. I'm not you. No one can replace you." She smiles. "No one wants to. We all want you in charge. And now? You promoted me. And you agreed to give this dating thing a try. You're kind of stuck with me" she says with a wink. "No one goes back on their word to a daughter of the Mob." It's a joke.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara is quick to set down her glass, then rise up from her seat at the counter. She moves to get the utensils, and plates from the indicated locations. A smile crosses her lips and she sarcastically fires back with. "Ha ha." to the mobster line. As she passes Helena again, she dips in to deliver a kiss to the woman's cheek before she grins at her, and steps over to the table to set out the places for both of them.

"We have a good team right now. I'm happy about how it is going. I do need to check in on a couple of the shadier members, like Harley... and it's been awhile since I heard from Ivy too. I'd like to find out how she is doing. You're more than welcome to come with me on either of those also."

Back to her drink, Babs stands there now as she sips from it once more, with her free hand on her hip.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli finishes preparing the meal and gets everything set out. "Help yourself.." She offers, letting Barbara get as much pasta, sauce, meatballs and garlic bread as she likes then she'll follow for herself.

"Sure. If I'm going to be second for you I need to start showing up and acting like it" she says with a bit of a laugh. "But it would be good to catch up with them. And the other members we haven't seen in a while."