Chapter Text
The autumn air is crisp and pleasantly fresh when Dinah steps outside, stretching as she looks around; the other side of the bed has been empty when she has woken, but that is nothing unusual, and she doesn’t worry, knowing Helena will come back some time soon, the woman tends to get up at an ungodly hour and go out, but always brings back stuff when she returns.
She takes a moment to glance around, it has happened before that Helena has come back just when Dinah is outside, and she enjoys greeting her with a hug and kiss then; today is not one of those days, and after another stretch and deep breath, Dinah walks back inside, and makes her way to the kitchen, getting started on breakfast, knowing Helena will most likely be hungry when she returns.
Over the past few months, she has gotten fairly good at preparing meals with what Helena brings back, the taller woman in turn having become quite proficient at hunting wildlife and finding edible plants for them in the woods around them; Dinah is not quite sure if they will be able to stay in this place when winter comes, but for now, they have a home, and have everything they need here.
She figures she can worry about winter when it happens, if this whole mess has taught her anything, it’s to enjoy every day as it comes; and so, she feels good and content, smiling when she hears the door open and turns to see Helena step inside, the taller woman immediately smiling back at her as their eyes meet.
“Morning”, Helena greets her, closing the door behind herself before she moves over to where Dinah stands to kiss her Hello, “did you sleep well?”
“Very”, Dinah reassures her, eying Helena’s bag before she goes on, “found anything good?”
“The traps are working”, Helena tells her, with a hint of pride in her voice, having constructed said traps all by herself, “look here.”
She reaches into her bag and pulls out two rabbits, presenting them proudly; Dinah smiles at the sight and rewards her with another kiss, knowing this will feed them all tonight, Cassandra has balked at first at eating rabbit, but by now, none of them minds anymore, all of them happy whenever Helena’s efforts bring meat onto their table.
“Good job”, Dinah tells her once they have pulled apart again, Helena’s arms still around her, “but then, I knew you’d do good, being my huntress and all.”
Helena smirks at that and shrugs, then pulls back from the embrace to prepare the rabbits for consumption; and while she does that, Dinah focuses on breakfast again, glancing at Helena every now and then as she does so, unable to stop smiling.
Just as she had said months ago, they have found a cabin in the woods, and a fully furnished one on top of that; and just as she has said, there’s another one nearby, one where Harley, Cass and Renee are staying, even though Renee sometimes drops by unannounced in the evening, whenever Harley and Cass are a little too much to handle.
(After one memorable evening, Renee also has learned to not walk in without knocking, unless she wants to risk getting an eyeful of both Helena and Dinah, something she’s not all too keen on even on the best of days.)
They live off what Helena hunts and scavenges in the woods around their home, and they live well; as the next town is several miles away, none of the things have made an appearance since they’ve found this place, and neither has the military, none of them is sure if they are still after Helena, but if they truly are, they have no idea how and where to find them.
Dinah sometimes finds herself wondering if they have doomed humanity when they have fled the lab, and perhaps, this makes her a selfish person, but she finds it hard to care; after how the military has lied to them and deceived them, she can’t feel bad for them, and Helena means much to her, too much so she just could have let it happen for the military people to kill her.
“Let’s go visit the others after breakfast”, she says out loud, once again pushing thoughts about humanity ending aside, telling herself that it can’t be changed anymore now anyway, “and tell them the good news about tonight’s dinner, Renee’s gonna be thrilled.”
Helena smirks at that and nods, Renee has been the one to complain the most about the lack of meat the past few days; Dinah glances away again when Helena starts skinning her catch, she has gotten used to eating wildlife, but watching that still makes her queasy, and she’s glad Helena doesn’t have that sort of trouble, not sure any of the others would have been able to do this.
Thankfully, Helena is quite skilled at this by now, and soon is done with her work, going to wash her hands; and when she comes back and they share another kiss before they sit down for breakfast, Dinah once more realizes how happy she is.
The world is still dangerous, filled to the brim with the undead things, but they are happy here, and relatively safe, and they can be together, without anyone coming after them to do them harm.
She’s happy, Dinah realizes, Helena makes her happy and she knows she makes Helena happy, too, and for this new world they’re stuck in, she knows this is much more than most people have, they have a safe home and they have each other, and this is all Dinah and Helena need.