"You don't have to be alone."
Who: Helena and Oliver What: Walk along the beach. Where: The beach When: After the banquet, later that night. Status: Closed.
The question of a walk on the beach posed by Oliver had prompted an immediate refusal to rise to Helena's lips. She didn't do romantic walks on the beach or Disney movie love stories with happy endings. Yes, Hawaii was magical, epic even, but Helena hadn't been a fan of magical since her fiancee had been killed. Somehow, his death took the fairy tale out of it and brought reality crashing down, painfully and with a lot of heartbreak, to Helena Bertinelli. That day, she didn't think she could ever love again and she was more than convinced she didn't want to. There was too much pain, sadness, and loss. She didn't want to do it again. Hell, she was pretty sure she couldn't do it again and walk away with any heart left. As it was, the death of the man she loved had taken all her faith in humanity and finding the cause of his death, her father, had taken all her trust with it. The last thing on her mind was rekindling any of these feelings, but it was hard to refuse, to flip a switch and turn off her feelings where Oliver Queen was involved. Though as broken and busted up as she was, he had a way about him that made her whole again. He made her want to try to live in this world and believe in it and in love all over again.
So, the refusal died on her lips and was replaced by a hesitant, but "yes" all the same. The party dragged on and was still going strong when the two headed for the door, paying their respects and gratitude to the head of it all with polite smiles. Then, it was out into the open, cooling night air and Helena took a deep breath, feeling better already to be in the outside world again instead of suffocating under appearances and a thick crowd of party-goers. Her hand took up it's place, quickly becoming more natural, in Oliver's and she intertwined the fingers gently. Helena could kill a man as easily as Oliver could. For a young woman, she was an excellent fighter and at the height of human potential in strength, agility and stamina for a woman. She'd taken out the head of her father's security detail easily, a hand around his throat with little effort, and she'd been able to hold her own against the vigilante too. Yet, she was gentle, kind even, when it came to the man beside her. He brought her feeling, her emotion, out; Helena was sure it'd died long ago before he'd walked into her life. Even when he had, she'd doubted him and his caring for her. That date with Laurel and Tommy had nearly ended everything and she stormed off, determined to kill her father and get the revenge she craved so much, but Oliver stopped her and saved her life after her father got a hold of her crossbow and shot her in the stomach. Even after, she almost walked out on him in disbelief, but somehow, she didn't understand even now, he convinced her he cared and she stayed. They'd been together ever since.
They hit the beach and Helena knew immediately her heels were coming off. Sand was already fighting its way inside the expensive shoes and she paused, balance off as she bent and removed them. It was warm enough for bare legs and though pale as snow, Helena had chosen to go without pantyhose that night. Her feet touched the warm, but no longer burning sand and she took up her heels in her other hand, reclaiming his own with her other. "What have you done to me, Oliver Queen?" she glanced over at him with a playful smile; there was a strange, unfamiliar light in her eyes. "Walking barefoot on the beach? I don't think that's my style...not anymore," she finished. No, depression, revenge, and constant anger were her thing, but Oliver was taking that away, wasn't he? "I don't do romantic walks on the beach," she laughed softly, strange coming from a woman who normally wore a frown on her beautiful face. "Or moonlight. I do crime fighting." It was a tease, a jest in his direction, but it was what they usually did every night. Tonight was a rarity. For once, the couple didn't have to suit up and save the world...for the moment, they could just be Oliver and Helena.