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Renee is contemplating going home.

She is doing this contemplation by being at the lakeside, where the larger boulders are, standing on one hand and bending her legs back towards her occiput.

Hey, it helps her think.

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That sound of silence? Is the sound of Helena's heart skipping a beat.

"... That woman's dangerous," she says quietly. "She could have killed you.

What the hell did you do to get on her bad side?"

"Yeah," Renee says, in a tone that says she already knows that.

"I didn't do anything. She just turned up and wanted to beat me up. I didn't exactly opt in."

"Look, don't take this the wrong way, I know you can handle yourself but... you know if you need help you can call me, right?"

She pauses briefly before continuing: "I mean it'll be future me but she'll help. I'll help. If I can."

"I know," Renee says quickly. "And I do - I will, I mean. But when crazy ladies turn up on my doorstep saying they'll kill me if I don't spar with them right now, I don't get a lot of time to break open my rolodex."

"Right, I get that. But if a case comes up. If you can. Call me."

"OK." She smiles. "I will. Thank you."

It matters, that reassurance. They can be friends again, and Helena doesn't hate her. It's important.

Except that maybe in this 'not hating her' thing, Helena's started acting weird.

"You're sure you're okay?"

"Anytime," she says softly.

Is she alright? How to answer that question?

She thinks for a moment before she replies, "I'm better than I've been in a long time."

"Good," Renee says lightly, as if the question was no big thing.

"You know that goes both ways. You can call me up, if your other girls aren't enough for you."

Helena is amazed by Renee. What the hell did she do to deserve having this woman - this amazing, beautiful, dangerous woman - in her corner?

"Why?" she asks, perplexed. "After the way I've been... you don't even owe me the time of day. Why would you bother doing anything for me?"

Renee blinks.

"Wait, what?" she says, honestly surprised. "Why would I...?

"Because we're friends, dummy."

"I haven't exactly been the greatest friend to you though, have I?

Renee lifts half a shoulder in an attempt at a shrug.

It's not like her friends are thick on the ground.

"What, by being straight? I'll get over it."

"No, I don't mean... I'm not..."

Breathe, Helena.

"I'm not saying this right.

I'm sorry. I know i'm not the easiest person to be around and I've screwed up a lot. But I don't wanna do that anymore."

"Everyone screws up. It's okay."

Renee smiles, still kind of puzzled.

"Am I missing something?"

Funny. Helena can take on the baddest mob guys and the evilest supervillains, and yet somehow this - expressing her feelings to Renee - still seems like the hardest thing she's ever had to do.

She always tells her students that honesty is the best policy. Time to put that theory to the test. She takes a deep breath and bites the bullet.

"When I kissed you I did it because I wanted to. And I didn't know how to handle that.

"I know I don't deserve anything from you. I've messed up. A lot. I don't expect anything from you. But I just want you to know that."

Oh.

Oh, that.

Renee turns and gives Helena her full attention.

"Okay, apology accepted."

If that's what that was, and Renee interprets it as implied.

"Uh... are you saying it's the kind of thing you'd want to do again?"

She nods.

"I'm just not... I'm not good at this kind of thing."

"Alright."

Renee moves to tilt her hat away from her eyes, then realizes she isn't wearing a hat. Instead, she holds both hands out for Helena's.

"Helena, would you like to have dinner with me, say - tomorrow night?"

Helena looks confused, and doesn't take the offered hands - yet.

"Like... on a date?"

Just so she's clear.

"Exactly like a date," Renee says. "Maybe even with kissing, if you'd like."

"... I'd like that. I'd like that a lot..."

She tentatively takes Renee's hands.

Renee squeezes Helena's hands gently.

And grins brightly.

"Took your time," she points out.

"Yeah," she admits.

"I said I'm not good at this, right? Feelings, relationships... I couldn't even figure it out with a guy. And then you came along and... kinda caught me off guard."

"Catching people off guard," says Renee. "Gets me through a lot."

She leans forward, and lightly places a kiss on the side of Helena's mouth.

The delicate touch of Renee's lips sends shivers down her spine.

"So... dinner?" she asks in a small voice, ignoring the part of her that wants more than just a chaste kiss; the part that wants to slip her arms around Renee and pull her close and -

And this time she's going to go slow. Do this right. And that means a real date. Which, come to think of it, Helena has never had before.