Chapter Text
June 6, 2019
Ray,
You’re probably totally freaking out because I haven’t replied. Well, I did. Six times. My trashcan has a lot of half-written letters in it at the moment. (Oh, and thanks for the birthday cake by the way. Mona said that you picked it out. It was the highlight of my day.)
I just... I feel like I can’t do this through writing. I need to see you. And I know that’s impossible. So I think that maybe we should stop this. Writing to one another. I just can’t do it, knowing what we could have, knowing that I’m getting your hopes up. You and I could never work. I’m a Darhk, and you’re Ray Palmer. You’re a Legend, and I’m stuck in the Time Bureau’s single cell isolation prison. We never stood a chance, and I was stupid for dreaming, and for hoping for it.
I’m sorry. You deserve so much more than me. I hope that you find the one someday, and that she is the most amazing, beautiful, kind, happy person in the world, because you deserve nothing less.
Goodbye, Ray.
- Nora
Nora let out a shaky sigh as she licked the envelope closed and placed it on her table. She had known, deep down, that this moment was coming since the first day Ray had written her a letter. Eventually, she would have to reject him, to get him to see that this whole thing between them was impossible. He had to move on and find his “soulmate”, as he thought of it. It couldn’t possibly be her.
Nora lay down on her cot, feeling her eyes well up. She squeezed them together, a tear tricking down the side of her face and absorbing into her flat, uncomfortable pillow. With Ray out of the picture, there was literally nothing in her life left to live for.
She must have fallen asleep, because she opened her eyes to the sound of Mona unlocking the door and coming in with her trey of food. Nora’s face was stiff and tacky with dried tears, and she rubbed her eyes for a second to get rid of the blurriness.
Mona was watching her with concern. “Are you okay?” she asked slowly, her high, usually unbearably eager voice coming out small.
Nora didn’t reply. “Take this letter to Ray, please,” she mumbled, shoving it forward.
Mona looked suspicious. “What’s.... in it?”
“None of your business what’s in it!” Nora yelled, leaping to her feet. “Just take it!”
“Okay, okay!” Mona hurriedly exchanged the letter for Nora’s food and all but ran out of the room.
“Thank you,” Nora called after her halfheartedly, before taking her plate and putting it on her lap. The memory of a few days ago, when Mona had shown up with an entire birthday cake and told her it was from Ray, almost made the tears start up again.
Nora pushed her food aside, sniffed hard, and grabbed her newest Rebecca Silver novel off of her table to try and distract herself.
It didn’t work very well. Even as her eyes skimmed over the words, her mind was still running in circles around the problem. She could almost picture Ray’s face as he read her letter, which would surely happen today or tomorrow, if Mona actually delivered it. For a second, Nora wished that Mona would just throw it away, and she could pretend the whole thing had never happened. But she knew that the peppy food delivery girl wouldn’t.
She could imagine Ray’s face, beaming with excitement and a little bit of worry as he held her response to his oh-so-important letter in his hands, finally. Then he would open it, and read the first few lines. There’d be a sinking in his stomach and his hands would start to shake. His face would fall. And then-
Nora had to stop. Thinking about making Ray Palmer cry was more than she could take.
W / T \ Y
“Mona!” Ray chirped as the animal specialist came through the Time Portal and stepped onto the Waverider. “How are you?”
Mona looked like she was about to cry. “I have a letter from Nora,” she said meekly, holding it out. “Ray... I don’t think that it’s good.”
“Huh?” Ray refused to acknowledge the small butterfly farm that had just started breeding in his stomach. “I’m sure it’s fine Mona, don’t worry.”
Shaking her head, Mona held out the letter. The second Ray took it she turned and ran back through the Time Portal, which closed behind her.
The butterflies started to breed at an even faster rate as Ray hurried to his room. He shut the door behind him and sat on his bed, eagerly tearing open the envelope. The note he found was short, almost half the size of Nora’s usual letters. He began to read, so fast he was almost skimming the words.
Three minutes later, Ray was sitting back against his headboard, all the color gone from his face. His stomach had been sinking with dread ever since the second paragraph, and now he just felt cold. His hands were shaking.
Ray read the the letter again, twice, three times, searching desperately for some sign of why Nora would do something like this to him. Things had been going so well, or at least he thought they had. How could they have gone to talking about their dream story of becoming a couple to.... this?
The paper crumpled in his hand and fluttered to the floor. Then Ray Palmer put his face in his hands and cried.
W / T \ Y
It had been about an hour when Ray’s door slid open. He glanced up, sniffling and trying to hide the fact that he’d just been crying until he saw who it was.
“Nate!” he exclaimed, voice hoarse. “What’re you doing here?”
“Uh, Sara called me,” Nate said, stepping further into Ray’s room and closing the door behind him. “She said that Gideon told her that you were in here crying. Sara didn’t know what to do or what it was about and she figured she wouldn’t be very good at... comforting you. So she called me.”
His eyes landed on the crumpled sheet of notepaper at Ray’s feet and a look of understanding crossed his face. “It’s... something with Nora, isn’t it? Is everything okay?”
Ray shook his head, willing his eyes not to well up again. “No,” he mumbled, leaning back against his pillow. “She broke up with me.”
Nate’s eyes blew out of his head. “What?! You guys were dating?!”
“Yes! Well, no,” Ray’s shoulders slumped. “Kind of. It was... complicated. We wrote letters to each other. And we- we talked about things. Things you’d talk about in a relationship. We were- we were really getting there Nate, and I totally blew it. I- I told her that I loved her, sort of. And then she wrote back and said that she- she couldn’t keep going with things because it could never work out.”
Nate took a heavy seat on the bed and gave Ray a hug. His Time Bro sniffled again and face-planted onto his shoulder. “I love her, Nate,” he mumbled. “And now I have to experience the pain of a broken relationship without even getting the good parts of an unbroken one. It’s not fair.”
“Yeah, being a Legend generally isn’t,” Nate sighed, patting his shoulder. “Do you mind if I... read the letter? Just to know what she said and how she worded stuff and all of that? With women, it’s all in the small details.”
“Go ahead,” Ray murmured, breaking away from the hug and reaching down to un-crumple Nora’s latest letter.
Nate read it over and finally set the paper aside. “Dude, go to her,” he said, giving Ray a searching look.
Ray glanced up from his lap, surprised. “What? What do you mean?”
“I mean... break in, shrink down into a letter, whatever. Just go to her. You’ve done it before. She loves you, man. It’s obvious from this thing.”
Ray took the letter from his hands and speed-read it again. “But she- she said she couldn’t do it.”
“Dude.” Nate put his hand on Ray’s shoulder. “She’s pulling the classic hero move. She’s being self-sacrificing because she wants you to be able to move on from her.”
“But I- I don’t want to move on from her!” Ray exclaimed. “I’m willing to write letters to her for the rest of my life, if that’s what it takes. I was- I was just starting to get Ava to believe that there should be visiting hours for good behavior. I was going to surprise Nora with that; she- she would have loved it. She would have pretended to hate it but she would have loved it.”
“Then go tell her all of that!” Nate jumped up and spun around to face his best friend. “Break into the Time Bureau, Ray, I don’t care how you do it as long as neither my dad or Ava finds out. You need to tell her that you’ll wait for her. She needs to know that. She might come around.”
Ray leaped to his feet. “Do you have your Time Portal on you?” he asked, face set with determination.
“Of course.” Nate tapped his watch. “Always.”
“I just need to grab an envelope,” Ray said, hurrying towards his desk. “And then we need to find Mona. I’m going to see Nora Darhk.”
W / T \ Y
Nora was lying on her bed, on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes were red and burned from so much crying. Her nose was stuffed, she didn’t have a tissue, and she had never felt more tired and leaden in her life. That included how she’d felt after expelling a demon from her own body.
She heard the door slide open and the sound of Mona’s food trolley being pushed into the room. “Go away,” she mumbled, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m not hungry.”
“Ummm...” Nora lifted her head a few inches to see Mona shifting awkwardly in back of her cart, biting her lip. “I think that you’re going to want to take this.”
She was holding a letter.
Nora’s head fell back against the pillow. “Ray wrote back fast,” she muttered.
“I really think you’re going to want to take this!” Mona repeated urgently, hurrying around her cart and placing the letter on Nora’s table. “Please....?”
Nora swung her legs over the side of the bed, rubbing at her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I can’t do this anymore, Mona,” she said, a hint of pleading in her voice. “It’s not fair to either of us. Especially him.”
“Please just open the letter!” Mona squeaked, eyes huge. “Promise me you won’t throw it away or anything!”
Frowning in confusion, Nora hurried over to her table and picked up the letter. On most envelopes, Ray put some sort of stupid (read: cute, adorable and/or endearing) sticker on the front, like a sunshine with a smile or a kitty holding a heart. This envelope was blank, unmarked, and impersonal. Nora tore it open.
“Ray?!”
Mona let out a squeal of happiness. “Okay I’m gonna leave but please please please don’t kill him I’ll be back tomorrow morning with breakfast to take him home!!!!” she babbled, rapid fire, before turning and running out of the room with her cart rattling in front of her.
Nora barely heard her. “What the- what the heck do you think you’re doing?” she hissed at Ray, glancing up at the security cameras in concern.
“Don’t worry about the cameras!” Ray called, his voice about eight decibels higher than normal. “I had Nate get Zari to loop the feed for us so it looks like you’re in here sleeping!”
Nora sat down heavily on her mattress, unable to come up with anything to say.
“Um....” Tiny-Ray was attempting to climb out of the envelope. “Can you put me on the ground so when I un-shrink I don’t break your table?”
“Can I- yes, yes, of course,” Nora replied, shaking herself from her daze and quickly holding out her finger for Ray to climb onto. He was only a tiny bit bigger than the hangnail on her thumb, and she couldn’t see a single feature of his face. Quickly, she set him down on the floor and took a step back.
“Phew!” Ray had suddenly grown to the size of an slight-above-average adult male, his voice returned to normal again. He was dressed in his atom suit and Nora felt a clenching in her chest when she saw how blotchy his face looked. “Thanks.”
They stood there for awhile, looking at each other, before Nora couldn’t stand it a single second longer and turned away. “Darn it, Ray! What are you doing here?”
“You said you couldn’t do it through a letter,” Ray reminded her, tilting his head to look at her in a gentle way. “So I shrunk myself down, again, and came. In person.”
Nora tilted her head back and took a shaky breath, trying not to start crying again.
“Are you mad?” Ray asked uncertainly.
“No, no.” Nora reached out for him but stopped herself just before she touched his arm. She clenched her hands into fists, unsure of what to do or say or even think. “It’s so nice to- to s-see you-”
With a cry, she fell back onto her mattress and buried her head in her arms. “I’m so sorry,” she wailed, back shaking with sobs. “I- I just couldn’t take it anymore. You were -are- always so h-hopeful, and you have so much faith in me and in us, and I just- I don’t know how would can possibly keep going like this!”
“Nora...” Ray murmured, reaching out to put his arms around her before realizing he was still in his awkward, clunky Atom Suit. “Hang on, let me get this thing off.”
He began to quickly shuck off his metal plates. Underneath he was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans and Nora’s tearstained face lifted. She gazed at him as he threw his suit on top of the dresser and sat down beside her, cupping her face in his hands.
“Hey,” he whispered, using his thumb to wipe away a tear that rolled down her cheek. She felt it smear damply into her hairline but wasn’t in the mood to tease him about the uselessness of that move.
“Hi,” Nora murmured back, voice wobbling. “Sorry I just totally freaked out there.”
“Eh, it’s alright,” Ray assured her. “Girls generally freak out about me.”
Nora snorted, and embarrassingly felt her nose start to run. “Ohhh, tissue tissue tissue!” she squealed, pulling away from Ray and holding her hand to her nose. “Whyyy do I not have a tissue box in here?!”
Ray hurried over to her untouched plate of lunch, still on the table where Mona had left it that afternoon, and grabbed a napkin. He presented it like he might something valuable, and, suddenly feeling the need to laugh, Nora blew her nose.
Once things had calmed down a bit and the napkin had been disposed of, the two of them settling back down on her cot. “I promise I’ll never tease you about ruining the moment again,” Nora mumbled, cheeks darkening slightly.
Ray laughed and took her hands in his. “So are you saying we’re going to have moments?”
“I guess that’s one way to put it,” Nora agreed, giving his hands a squeeze. “Look, I.... that letter wasn’t fair. It was probably less fair that me keeping your hopes up that we can make this work.”
“Yes, it was,” Ray interrupted. “Because we can/ make this work.” He let go of one of her hands and brushed her hair back from her still damp face. “You know how I said that I see every set back in a relationship as me getting closer and closer to finding The One?”
Nora nodded, remembering the letter well.
“Well, I’ve decided that you’re not going to be another setback,” Ray went on. “At least not yet. You’re going to be The One.”
Nora sucked in a breath. “Wow. That’s... that’s a big statement.”
“I know,” Ray said. “I’m sorry if the letter I sent scared you. I think... I think I might have gone too far, too fast. But I feel a lot for you, Nora. And I- I hope you feel the same way.”
“I do,” Nora blurted out. “Of course I do- Ray, I love you.”
A smile glowed across Ray’s face. He leaned closer to her and stopped a few millimeters from her lips. “Is this alright?” he whispered.
“We’ve got one night, Ray Palmer,” Nora whispered back, feeling her heartbeat thrum with anticipation. “I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to kiss you.”
Ray leaned forward and suddenly all of Nora’s senses had been blown up with Ray-Ray-Ray. He smelled amazing. His lips were soft and his hand gently stroked her messy hair away from her face. She could feel the silky cotton of his white t-shirt brushing her skin as she rested her hand against his side, leaning closer to him.
They broke apart for air and Nora let out a soft, giddy laugh, resting her head on his shoulder. “That was... better than expected.”
“I’m not sure how to take that,” Ray admitted, running his hand down her hair.
“Just take it as a compliment,” Nora muttered, cheeks going red again. All of this relationship sappy stuff was making her awkward.
“You know, kissing is one of the things that is pretty tricky to do through letters,” Ray mused, sounding a little disappointed.
Nora pulled away from him slightly, staring at her hands. “See Ray, this is what I mean. If you’re with me... you’ll be missing out on a lot.”
Ray shook his head, leaning forward so he could see her face. “Well guess what? If I’m not with you, I’m missing out on a whole lot more.”
Nora gave him a wobbly smile, and then leaned in to kiss him again.
W / T \ Y
Ray and Nora pulled an all-nighter and spent the night talking, curled up on Nora’s bed. Yet somehow it still seemed like no time at all had passed when Mona came bustling into the room with her cart. She squealed with joy when she saw them. “You guys made up! Yay yay yayyyy!!!!!”
Ray grinned, tightening his grip around Nora’s shoulders. She let out a yawn and stretched, before nestling her head back in the crook of his neck. “Yeah, we made up,” she said with a reluctantly happy smile.
“Oh, I’m so glad,” Mona said, sighing dreamily. “But, um... Ray, you have to go. That feed of Nora sleeping is only going to be realistic for so long.”
Ray’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “But, um, hey! Maybe we could make this weekly!”
Mona looked dubious.
“Or... biweekly,” Ray continued, sounding less enthusiastic. “Or... once a month?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Nora told him, putting her hand on his knees and gazing up at him. “I’ll write you, okay?”
Ray’s eyes lit up, and he seemed to take that as a promise that she wasn’t about to quit on their blooming relationship now. “Good,” he managed, before leaning down and kissing her, hard.
Mona was practically swooning by the time they broke apart. Nora gave him a long hug, and helped him with his suit. He took a deep breath. “Alright,” he murmured, putting his hand on her cheek one last time. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Nora agreed, biting her lip in attempt to keep her eyes from welling.
Ray shrank down and Nora picked up his tiny self, carefully setting him back in the envelope. Looking incredibly sad, Mona reached through the force field and picked up the envelope, placing it on her trey. “Oh, here’s breakfast by the way,” she told Nora, handing her her meal.
“Thank you,” Nora said, remembering the way she had treated Mona yesterday and feeling a surge of guilt. “For everything. Really.”
“No problem!” Mona chirped. “I’ll be back at lunch time! You should probably get some sleep.”
She wheeled her cart out and Nora laid back down on her cot and shut her eyes.
W / T \ Y
August 18, 2019
Dear Nora,
I have terrific news! Before you get your hopes up: no, it’s not that I managed to wear down Ava enough to get them to release you. I’m working on it- I swear. I’ve been trying to get her to see that you should only be locked up because you’re a magical creature, not because of your past. I mean, you were controlled by a demon. She has to realize that that’s a powerful influence, and that you have turned over like eight new leaves. I’ve been trying not to push too hard though, just because she has the power to stop this whole letter writing thing and I really don’t want that to happen.
Anyways, my news. I would have loved for it to be a surprise, but Ava wouldn’t go along with my original plan so I’ll just tell you: I’ve convinced her to give visiting hours for good behavior! But it gets better. Because you’re basically just in here because you’re a magical creature, she’s giving you a special allowance. We won’t just get to see each other through a glass. We’ll actually get to see each other, in person. And apparently we can even touch!
The whole thing started when I worked with Cisco Ramon at STAR Labs (he’s apart of Team Flash. I’ve mentioned him before, I’m pretty sure) to create a magic-dampening device! It’ll just be a simple cuff that goes on your wrist and it’ll keep you from using your powers. I know that you wouldn’t, but it was the last straw for Ava to be convinced that you could be trusted enough to be let out of your cell.
It actually gets even better than that, if you can believe it. Ava has agreed that, if the situation really calls for it, she will let you out to work with the Legends!! We’ll have to keep it super low-key, of course, to keep Nate’s dad or anyone else in charge from figuring out what’s going on. But hey, if you travel with the Legends... we could easily keep you on board for weeks without anyone knowing! All we’d have to do is drop you off where in time we picked you up. No one would be the wiser. Isn’t that awesome?!
As I said, I had this whole elaborate plan to surprise you. I wanted Mona to come in saying that there was something badly wrong, and then she would let you out and she’d say something like, “Take this cuff! It’ll stop the alarm from going off!” And then she’d give you the magic-dampening cuff. And then she’d take you to the visiting room and I’d be there and we could reunite because I know I said that the sneaking in and visiting you thing would be regular but...
Well, long story short, Sara found out and she threatened to tell Ava if I did it again, because she knew she’d get in huge trouble if her girlfriend found out. I didn’t want to tell you earlier because I thought you might be a little mad that I was too much of a goody-two-shoes to go against my captain’s wishes but now it’s all worked out!! We’ll be able to see each other regularly. The visiting max is once a week, but considering Ava set that aforementioned max, I bet I could get her to change it.
So there you have it. See, I told you this would work out. Things aren’t perfect, Nora. But they’re getting there :)
Love,
Ray
W / T \ Y
Nora was so excited she thought she might explode. She had been sitting on her bed, ruler stiff, for what felt like multiple hours, unable to focus her mind on anything but today was the day that she got to get out of her cell and see Ray.
Mona had come by at breakfast with a few gifts. “I got you some clothes!” she chirped, sliding a reusable cloth bag through the energy field around Nora’s cell.
“Mona...” Nora was touched. Mona could be a little annoying at times, but she was also the best female friend Nora had ever had. “That’s so nice; you didn’t have to do that.”
“Try it on!” Mona urged, bouncing on her toes.
Laughing a little, Nora reached into the bag. The outfit ended up being dark jeans that flared at the bottom, paired with a dark red cold shoulder top. It was maybe a little less black then Nora was used to, but she supposed that’s what happened when you sent Mona to the store for you. She had done a pretty good job, considering her personal taste.
“Thank you,” Nora said, smiling over at her. “I love it.”
“There’s some makeup in there, too,” Mona told her, looking her up and down appreciatively.
“Mona, you really didn’t have to buy me all of this,” Nora said, reaching down to root inside of the bag again. She came up with a dark red lipstick, a smoky eyeshadow kit, and a small table-top makeup mirror, and smiled. “This is perfect.”
“Hey, consider it a really late birthday gift!” Mona shrugged. “Also, this job pays realllly well, and I don’t buy stuff that much. Shopping for you was fun! It always feels nice to have a new outfit, especially when you haven’t seen your special someone for two and a half months, and you’re about to.”
She winked and Nora felt a surge of anticipation, nerves, and excitement in her stomach.
That had been awhile ago. Now, for the first time in Nora’s prisoned life, she wished that there was a clock on the wall. Normally, she hated clocks in prison. It was very easy to fall into the hole of sitting and gazing at the clock, watching the hands move slowly around the face and bemoaning how much of your life you were wasting. Without a clock, you were never sure how much time there was until your next meal, or when you should sleep. You ate when food came, slept when you were tired, read when you were bored, and kept in shape because you knew it was the right thing to do.
Nora repositioned on the bed, letting out a deep breath and trying to calm the fluttering in her chest. It had been way too long since she had seen Ray. It was even harder to go without seeing him now that she had the, admittedly slightly faded, memories of him coming to her cell, and kissing him, and curling up against him.
At the very least, now Nora knew that she wouldn’t have to go that long without seeing him, hopefully ever again. Once a week was more than she could have ever hoped for.
Her door slid open and Nora leapt to her feet, watching as Ava walked into her room followed by two armed guards. “Good morning, Miss Darhk,” Ava greeted calmly, walking over to the wall and touching the screen to lower the energy fields around Nora’s cell. Nora considered for a second if it would be possible to get into Ava’s head a little today. If she could make the other woman think about what it would be like if she and Sara were in Nora and Ray’s position, she wondered if she would be a little more lenient.
The guards lifted their guns as Ava moved away from the wall, and Nora raised an eyebrow, breaking away from her thoughts. “Security precaution,” Ava told her apologetically, walking into her cell. “Give me your hand, please.”
Slowly, Nora extended her arm. Ava reached forward and clamped a thick metal cuff briskly around her wrist. The magic-dampening cuff made a small, electronic hiss-click noise, and Nora waited to feel some sort of pain as her magic was tamped down.
But there was nothing. Maybe a slight tingling around her pulse, but she could have been imagining it. Covertly, she bent her un-cuffed hand at the wrist formed it into a choking motion. She was relieved when Ava didn’t start gasping for air, and quickly dropped her hand. The cuffs worked.
Ava grasped her elbow and quickly led her down from her enclosure and towards the door. Nora hurried to keep up with the other woman’s long strides. It felt so good to be out in the hallway, breathing different air and seeing a different four walls. Nora felt a sudden craving to be in the sun again. If she was lucky, the meeting room would have windows. If not.... Ray Palmer was a good sunshine substitute.
Unfortunately for Nora’s eager legs, they reached a new looking part of the containment facility fairly quickly. Ava punched in a quick access code to a door along the wall and it opened for the group of four to walk in.
The meeting room was pretty small, about fifteen square feet, with a couch and a chair and a small table in the corner. There were windows along one side of the wall, and Nora felt something lurch in her chest when she caught sight of a figure standing in front of one of them. Not only was there sunshine... but there was her sunshine.
“Ray-” Nora managed, throat closing.
Ray spun around and a giant grin spread across his face. Nora broke away from Ava and ran forward, throwing herself into his arms. For a second their hands were everywhere- gripping each others shirts and hair, Nora’s face pressed into Ray’s neck. Unable to stop smiling, Nora pulled back and turned her head to look at Ava. “Thank you,” she said, her voice wobbly but sincere.
Ava looked surprised. Was it possible that her eyes had teared a little? Nora couldn’t be sure. “Just doing my job,” she replied stiffly. “I’ll let you two alone. You have two hours.”
Nora and Ray nodded and Ava turned around, leading the guards out of the room. Nora shifted her attention back to Ray and he reached forward, cupping her face. “It’s so good to see you,” he murmured, thumbs stroking her cheekbones. “I missed you so much, Nora.”
“I missed you, too,” she replied breathlessly, before pulling his face down and kissing him.
“I missed that, too,” Ray said with a laugh when they broke apart, panting a little.
Nora drifted a little ways away from him and went to look out the window. She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face for the first time in almost five months. Ray came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I wish I could just take you out of here,” he murmured, nuzzling the area behind her ear. “You don’t deserve to be in here.”
“It’s alright,” Nora replied, covering his hands with her own. “Tell me about the Legends. How is everyone? How are you?”
“Aw, I knew you cared about my team,” Ray teased. “Things are great! Well I mean, as great as they ever are. Sara and Ava are doing a bit better. Guess what? I think they’re going to make it.”
Nora smiled at the satisfied note in his voice. “Like you and me, huh?”
“Yeah.” Ray leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Just like you and me.”
W / T \ Y
About 6 months after Mona had delivered Nora’s “break up” letter, she came flying onto the Waverider with a skip in her step and an envelope in her hand.
“Mona!” Ray greeted happily. “How’s it going?”
“Great!” Mona chirped. “Now read the letter pleeeease I think I know what it is but I’m not certain and if it’s what I think it is I think you’re really gonna like it!!”
Dutifully, Ray took the letter and tore it open.
December 11, 2019
Ray,
Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to your last letter. Things have been completely wild around here. I have absolutely amazing news. I wanted to tell you in person, but I also wanted to tell you as soon as possible, so I ended up going with the latter option. I feel like I probably know your facial expressions enough to imagine them as you’re reading this letter haha.
Alright, so my news: Ava came in and had a long conversation with me yesterday. She’s finally caved enough to realize that demons really are an impossibly influential force, and my actions since I was, like, 13 weren’t really my own. The point you made to her a few weeks ago about Constantine being magical human and not being locked up really impacted her. So...
She’s letting me go.
I can picture your face right now. Don’t squeal too loudly for the sake of Mona’s ears, Ray.
Things aren’t perfect quite yet. I’ll be released next week, and then be on house arrest for four months. Ava said that if I go back to my demon-like ways for even an instant, she will be dragging me back inside the cell, cutting off all visitors, and I will be in there for the rest of my life, no exceptions. So let’s hope no demons try and take me over again, ‘cause that’d be really bad.
I miss you like crazy, but I’ll see you soon, right? In person. Outside. I can’t wait ;)
Love you forever,
Nora
Ray dropped the letter, his mouth hanging open and a buzzing, jubilant energy starting up from the tips of his toes and zinging through his body. “YES!” he yelled, starting to jump up and down. “WHOO HOO!!!”
Mona squealed and clapped her hands together. “You did it you did it you did it!!!!” she cried, happy tears welling up in her eyes.
Ray hugged her tightly and then spun around. “Sara!” he shouted, taking off down the hallway, headed towards the Bridge. “Nate! We did it! Nora’s out! NORA’S COMING HOME!!”
W / T \ Y
Even after four full months of being out of prison, texting still felt a bit odd for Ray and Nora. That was why Nora had gotten a letter a week ago instead of a text telling her to meet Ray at his apartment at 6pm on Saturday, and to wear her nicest dress. It had taken Nora and Mona almost three hours at the mall to find that aforementioned “nicest dress”, but it had been managed and now here Nora was.
She reached up to knock and stopped, catching sight of an envelope taped over door handle. Nora leaned closer, frowning as she saw the letters N O R and A stenciled boldly on the front.
Nora quickly plucked the envelope from it’s spot stuck to the wall and ripped it open. Inside was a fairly short letter.
Dear Nora,
You are probably standing outside my door reading this and being very confused right now. Well, just try and play along and trust me for a little bit, okay? The door’s unlocked; let yourself in.
Just wanted to tell you that you’re the most beautiful, amazing person I’ve ever met in my entire life.
All my love,
Ray
Nora looked quizzically at the letter, touched. She tried desperately to remember if there was anything special to them that day... but no. Their six-month anniversary had been a little while ago, and Nora could distinctly remember Ray mailing her an envelope with a beautiful necklace inside and asking her to dinner. Their one-year wasn’t for awhile.
Nora shrugged, putting the letter into her purse. Maybe it was just one of Ray Palmer’s flights of fancy that he wanted to take an evening to appreciate her. He got like that sometimes, and it usually ended in a lot of compliments and generally some good food. She wasn’t about to argue.
When Nora opened the door and walked inside, her eyes went wide. There were fairy lights strung in scalloped shapes along the walls, and when she peered closer she saw pieces of paper hanging from strings from the lights. She walked up to the nearest one. It was a photocopy of a letter.
April 5, 2019
Ray,
You have no idea how stupid I feel writing this letter. I literally had to ask Mona to bring me paper because she managed to forget that I’d need some to give you a response. Please don’t fangirl too much when you see that I’ve written back... We’re not going to be pen pals or anything stupid like that, I’m just bored. Single cell isolation sucks.
Nora laughed out loud. She remembered writing this first letter, trying to hide her pencil and paper from the security cameras the entire time. Mona had cheered quite loudly when she passed her the finished note and told her to take it to Ray.
She moved on to the next letter.
April 14, 2019
Ray,
Replying seven days after I write my letter isn’t late, you doofus. You actually have a life, unlike me. My life currently consists of eating, trying to get abs (it’s going badly), reading steamy romance novels, and having a pen pal. Yes, I admitted that you’re my pen pal whoo hoo jump and cheer yay. That was sarcasm, in case it didn’t read well.
Nora laughed again. She had actually been a little annoyed when Ray’s letter came seven days after she wrote hers. It had been his idea, after all. He should be making an effort.
The next piece of paper had a little more of the original letter than the first two.
April 24, 2019
Ray,
Was that better? I didn’t reply for a full four days (I know date wise it’s five days but I get the letters generally a day or two after you write them)
Shut up, of course I care. If I didn’t care do you think I’d be here right now? Do you know how much trouble you’d get in if the Bureau knew you knew where I was and you weren’t telling anyone? I mean, not that I did this all for you. I did it for me, too. But still. Also, what makes concern a shade, not a color? That’s stupid.
Nora shook her head reading over her old writing. She had been pretty harsh to Ray at times. But she supposed that that’s how she had acted before he had smashed down all her walls with his giant feet and taught her how to actually show people that you love them.
May 1, 2019
Ray,
Look at that, we’ve made it to another month. Congrats to us. I think this is some sort of pen pal milestone, wouldn’t you say? We should throw a party (sarcasm included).
Jeez, no I’m not kidnapped. I promise if anyone tries to ambush me I’ll take them out. And then maybe I’ll come find the Waverider. Do you think your team would let me travel with them for a bit? Not that I want to be apart of a stupid team or a family or anything, just because I think I could be helpful. Also it’d be nice to stretch my legs and get some action.
Nora had to blink rapidly to get her eyes to clear. She remembered just how much she had wanted to be apart of that “stupid family”, no matter how much she had pretended she didn’t. And look where she was now. Where they were now.
Ray,
I felt like an overeager beaver (don’t judge; that’s something my dad would say) replying the day I received your letter every single time, so that’s why this one’s a little later than normal.
Good grief, you have nightmares about me? Really try not to worry too much, you’ll get grey hairs. Not that that’s so bad- grey hairs can be distinguished on some men. But please don’t dye your hair grey because I said that.... “some” men doesn’t mean you. And no, I wouldn’t have gotten mad at you if you had come to visit... but Ava would have and she may have put the kabash on these letters, so I wouldn’t risk it.
Ha, well, I don’t say that many sweet things so don’t get used to it. You probably get four or five a year, tops. And only because you’re special.
That “sweet things per year” number had grown to be about one or two hundred. That was one of the many things that Ray had rubbed off on her over the months.
There were two more notes down the line. The next one was the longest, and Nora recognized it immediately. She felt an ache in her chest, but forced herself to read it.
June 6, 2019
Ray,
You’re probably totally freaking out because I haven’t replied. Well, I did. Six times. My trashcan has a lot of half-written letters in it at the moment. (Oh,
and thanks for the birthday cake by the way. Mona said that you picked it out. It was the highlight of my day.)
I just... I feel like I can’t do this through writing. I need to see you. And I know that’s impossible. So I think that maybe we should stop this. Writing to one another. I just can’t do it, knowing what we could have, knowing that I’m getting your hopes up. You and I could never work. I’m a Darhk, and you’re Ray Palmer. You’re a Legend, and I’m stuck in the Time Bureau’s single cell isolation prison. We never stood a chance, and I was stupid for dreaming, and for hoping for it.
I’m sorry. You deserve so much more than me. I hope that you find the one someday, and that she is the most amazing, beautiful, kind, happy person in the world, because you deserve nothing less.
Goodbye, Ray.
- Nora
Nora took a shaky breath, wiping her eyes across the back of her hand. She remembered sitting in her cell the day after she wrote the letter, staring at the ceiling with her eyes glazed over. She hadn’t wanted to move. She had barely had the energy to breathe.
And then Ray had showed up, and the worst day of her life had turned into the best. Well, at least at the time. The updated best-day-of-her-life title went to the day Nora got out of prison. Ava had walked her to the door and she had stepped into the fresh, freezing winter air to see snow fluttering down from the sky, and the entirety of Team Legends waiting for her. She had barreled into Ray’s arms and they had both started crying, and then all the rest of the Team wrapped them in a giant group hug. Sara even made Ava join, though she was reluctant.
Forced to wipe her eyes again, Nora moved on to the last letter. It seemed it had read her mind as to what the content was.
December 11, 2019
Ray,
Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to your last letter. Things have been completely wild around here. I have absolutely amazing news. I wanted to tell you in person, but I also wanted to tell you as soon as possible, so I ended up going with the latter option. I feel like I probably know your facial expressions enough to imagine them as you’re reading this letter haha.
Alright, so my news: Ava came in and had a long conversation with me yesterday. She’s finally caved enough to realize that demons really are an impossibly influential force, and my actions since I was, like, 13 weren’t really my own. The point you made to her a few weeks ago about Constantine being magical human and not being locked up really impacted her. So...
She’s letting me go.
Nora had reached the end of Ray’s entry hall/living room, and the end of the string lights. She opened up the door into kitchen/dinning room, and saw one last letter taped to the table directly across from her.
Nora hurried over, trying to figure out what it could be. But this letter wasn’t a photocopy... and it wasn’t one she recognized.
Dear Nora,
It’s your favorite pen pal again, hi ;) I hope you liked the line up. Nate and Mona helped me set it up, and I’m pretty sure both of them started crying at least once before they left this afternoon.
You look beautiful. I can write that without even seeing you because you’re always beautiful, inside and out. You are the love of my life, Nora Darhk, and nothing could ever change that.
You may be wondering why the heck I’m doing all of this. No, it’s not our anniversary. I couldn’t wait until then heh heh. But it is a special day. I wanted to do it right, which meant writing everything down so I could actually get it out instead of just looking at you and blubbering something dorky.
Alright, I’m pretty much done now. Finish the letter, and then turn around ;)
I love you forever,
Ray
p.s: Will you marry me?
Nora let out a gasp and the letter fell from her hands. She spun around to see Ray behind her, dressed in a suit and down on one knee. Smiling widely with tears in his eyes, he handed her a pencil and a pad of paper.
Nora’s hand was shaking as she took the pencil and scribbled something on it. Then she handed it back to Ray and dropped to the floor to kiss him.
Ray,
YES