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It was becoming a regular occurrence that Sara would wake up in her room on the Waverider with an arm draped over her stomach and legs keeping her cocooned in this bubble of warmth and bliss. She had to give Ava credit where it was due, to say she came across as such a cold, condescending woman, she made a surprisingly comfortable big spoon who was, as a matter of fact, not at all cold.
It was also becoming quite the routine that she would wake up before Ava did and then spend this next hour and a half trying not to move in any way that might wake Ava up.
Sara would be the first person to admit that this was not how she usually ‘rolled', in every other situation where this has happened she would use her stealth she learned in her time with the league of assassins and be out of there in less than 3 minutes without making a sound. But the one thing she would never admit was that Ava was different to all those past flings.
She proved this theory at least once a week, like when Ava first stayed the night and Mick asked why they'd slept in so late and she responded by saying “well we didn’t have much time for sleep last night so we caught up this morning" followed by her trademark wink... so smooth. Or the time two weeks ago when Zari burst into Sara's room to ask for her help practicing her combat skills and was met by a gentle “shhhh" from the Captain's mouth, and when she asked about it later Sara snarked back saying “she's already moody enough without you waking her up suddenly, imagine what she'd have done to us if you'd have woken her!”. Even much more recently when Nate had called her to ask about a level 5 anachronism that had randomly popped up a few miles away and she greeted him with an “I'm a bit busy right now Nate, I'll be up in about an hour, let a girl get some rest". After which Gideon proceeded to correct her, announcing to the entire ship that “Captain Lance is currently in her bed, trying not to wake Agent Sharpe, not exactly busy".
Sara was known for being the straight-talking, harsh, and at times brutal Captain of the Waverider and no matter how hard she was trying to come up with these ‘convincing' excuses, no one was believing them for a second.
The truth was she enjoyed spending time with Ava. She never pushed her for information or made her confess her deepest fears or worries, it was just easy to spend time with her and when she was with Ava these things that other people were so desperate to hear just seemed to tumble out of her mouth.
She lay, waiting for the slightest movement and after the usual hour and a half it began. Ava's arm tightened around her stomach, pulling her closer and her legs extended stretching out with a small yawn escaping her mouth. She nuzzled into Sara's neck and opened an eye to see if she was already awake... of course she was – she always was.
“How are you always awake so early?” she mumbled.
“Oh well good morning to you too" Sara retorted, rolling over so that she was now face to face with Ava.
“Sorry" she whined, “I just don't understand how you can be so eager to wake up early".
Sara propped herself up on her elbow, “I've got to be up early, didn't you know that I spend my days tirelessly altering time?” she paused for minute before adding “I'm basically a superhero".
Ava laughed loudly at this statement, which was also something she never did apart from when she's with Sara, but when she saw Sara's completely exaggerated but nevertheless hurt facial expression Ava stopped laughing and pulled her in closer, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
This was another thing that Sara never allowed, usually. On the rare occasion that Sara's ‘companion’ would wake up before she did, she would ensure that there was no physical contact whatsoever, no cuddling, no chatting and absolutely no kissing. She would bluntly announce that she had to leave, no excuse necessary, and be out of the door moments later. But that wasn't the case with Ava.
Ava was allowed to do what she wanted, each morning they would cuddle and chat about an immensely wide range of random things. Today though Ava could tell that something was bothering Sara more than usual. It was evident in the way she started at the corner of the room a little too long, and how she held Ava that little bit closer – that little bit tighter than she normally does.
“What's bothering you?” Ava asked casually, which Sara appreciated, it made her more comfortable confronting her troubles, she trusted Ava and more than anything she actually wanted to confine in her.
“I've just been thinking about lots of little things you know? And they've just piled up on top of each other and now I have a tower block of smaller worries which, if I'm being honest, feels worse than having one big one" she mumbled.
Ava adjusted herself so that she could assess Sara's face whilst she spoke, she took Sara's hand in her own and held it close to her chest. It was as though Ava had read every single book ever written about how to keep someone calm and how to help them heal, the soothing pattern that she traced on Sara's hand with her thumb relaxed her and the light pounding of her heartbeat against Sara's hand ensured that she stayed grounded. Sara took a deep breath and began speaking again.
“I've been thinking about Martin" she said, solemnly. “All he ever wanted to do was to be with Clarissa. She was his life. I don't understand how that feels and it worries me, because what if I never do, Ava?”. She spoke in a way that Ava had never heard in the whole time she had known Sara, being the furthest thing from an expert in the field of love and romance Ava had no idea how to comfort Sara.
“Hey, you'll be fine”, she began, “I'm someone who believes that you should live your life for yourself, to make sure you have the best life possible, not to spend it always putting others before yourself. Sure, for some people like Martin that meant devoting his life to the woman he loved, because her happiness was his happiness, but people like you and me... we don’t rely on other people”, she offered up her honest opinion not knowing how Sara would react but also unsure of what else she possibly could have said.
The corners of Sara's mouth twitched upwards for a brief moment before returning to their pursed form, she looked at Ava as though she expected her to continue, which boosted Ava's confidence in doing so.
“We spend our whole lives now saving people. People we don't even know in most cases, but every now and then we have to take time out for ourselves" she continued, “that's why moments like this, relaxing, cathartic parts of our days are so important. Spending time with the people we care about...” She stopped herself after realising what she'd said.
She went through the motions of what was coming next: “You care about me? That's not what this is" followed by an eternal awkwardness and her being too embarrassed by what she had said to ever see Sara Lance again, professionally or personally.
And it was for this reason that she was completely taken aback by how the minutes following her accidental confession actually played out.
“... I care about you too" Sara had almost whispered seconds later, her cheeks glowing a glorious shade of pink and her eyes dropping as though she was a shy child all over again.
The two lay in silence for a few moments before Sara spoke again.
“Well we got to small problem number 3 in my tower block of worries sooner than I had expected, but we might as well just deal with it now" she chuckled.
Ava's face set in an unreadable expression, “wait... I was one of your worries?” she asked, concern now plastered all over her face.
“Not so much you, but how I feel about you was definitely up there amongst the biggest of them" she sighed,
“I think I was more worried that I would lose you as a friend, or whatever this is, if I admitted that I'd started missing you when you weren't here, and wondering when I would next get to wake up next to you".
Sara could feel the catharsis that finally being honest and open gifted to her and it felt incredible, but what was more incredible than that was how Ava's hand released her own and drifted up to Sara's cheek. And how her lips brushed softly against Sara's, the perfect amount of pressure. And how it felt like with every touch, and every kiss, and every word spoken between them Sara's mind was becoming more and more clear, no more worries clouding her thoughts, just her and Ava in this moment of pure bliss.
No one asked Sara why she'd slept in so late this time – probably because they never actually got up and left the room, but mainly because she never gave them the chance to.
And so it became tradition that Sara would share her worries with Ava, and Ava would kiss and hug and reason them all away – and they wouldn't leave the bedroom until both of them felt completely at ease (which was sometimes more difficult than others), though they never slept in quite as long as that day ever again.
It came to Sara one day, whilst she lay wrapped up in Ava's arms, that Ava wasn't just different to the others... she was the exception.