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It was no secret that Sara and Ava had a certain something going on. Everyone had seen the furtive glances, the lingering touches, and rather more startlingly obvious – the two of them heading towards Sara's bedroom together. For all of their faults most of the Legends were rather subtle in their jibes and jokes but as is always the case, there has to be one of them who just can't do subtle and when it came to Ava and Sara that person was Nate.
So it wasn't surprising that Ray launched himself at Nate when the two strolled into the control room after spending the night together, miraculously he made it just in time to slap a hand over Nate's mouth and stop him from waking up the terrifying beast that was Sara Lance in denial. The Legends regularly did everything in their power to prevent having an angry Sara on board, they would say it's because Sara doesn't need any unnecessary drama, but in reality, they were absolutely terrified of her when she was in a rage.
Ava's watch beeped and she sighed, “it's director Bennett, he's ordered me back to the bureau for a meeting", her face grew worried and she turned to leave followed closely by Sara.
“Hey, what's this all about? You said you didn't have any meetings today" Sara asked, concerned about the reason for this.
“I didn't have any, he's just called an emergency 1-on-1 meeting with me", she paused and took a deep breath.
“Look, Sara, I have a feeling I know what this is about. I might not be able to visit you guys again for a while but please don't give up on me!” she said, her voice shaking slightly near the end.
Sara glanced around before taking Ava's hands in her own. “Wait. So you think you're in trouble?” she queried.
Ava's shoulders hunched and she nodded in response, she lifted Sara's hand up and planted a gentle kiss on it before opening a portal and leaving without giving Sara the opportunity to ask any more questions.
About three days passed before Sara heard Gideon announce the familiar alert “incoming transmission from Agent Sharpe".
“Put her on!” she responded, trying to conceal her excitement.
Ava appeared on the screen, looking a little dishevelled and wearing casual clothes which Sara had never seen her in before. The most casual Sat had ever seen her was when they had to dress up as Vikings in order to save Christmas, and that was the furthest thing from casual. Ava was sitting in her office and Sara couldn't help but notice the box with Ava's things stacked in resting on the desk behind her.
“Hey” Ava said, smiling sincerely, “hope you haven't missed me too much", she was fidgeting with her hands and apparently struggled to hold eye contact even through a screen. “Listen, Sara, you probably won't get to see me again unless you're ever miraculously here in the present day" she sighed before continuing, “Director Bennett called me in because he's been monitoring my time jumps – where I open portals, at what time, and how long I stay there".
Sara's face fell, she knew exactly what was coming next and she couldn’t help feeling like this was her fault.
“Apparently travelling to a time ship every other night and staying there until the next morning is not an appropriate use of Time Bureau technology and also doesn't help to fix any anachronism or restore time", Sara could see the sadness in her face, she knew how much Ava adored her job.
Ava let out a soft whimper before saying “he's terminated my position as a Time Agent Sara, what am I going to do?”, she was trying to be so strong but there were tears rolling down her face and she couldn't catch them quick enough to stop them falling.
“Come with us and be a Legend” Sara blurted out before she'd even realised what she was saying, but she didn't withdraw the statement, there's nothing she'd love more than for Ava to join the Legends. “You already know everyone here and it's basically the same job as yours... except we screw things up more before we fix them, but that just adds to the excitement" she said enthusiastically, “plus I'd love to have you here every night instead of every other night" she added, her cheeks tinted with a rosy glow of embarrassment... who knew Sara Lance could be so soppy.
She was so sure that Ava was going to say yes that it felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach when her response was in fact a no.
“If the bureau finds out I'm time travelling again I could get sent to prison, just like Rip, they took my licence Sara, I'm not legally allowed to time travel" Ava retorted.
A look of confusion flashed across Sara's face. “A licence? Well who knew you needed one of those" she chuckled, but Ava's face stayed stern. “Look, Aves, we will keep you safe here. You know if they ever came to arrest you we would never let them take you, the Legends stick together okay? We're a team and we look out for each other”. Sara was trying so hard to convince her but her expression remained the same and Sara knew that her stubbornness meant there was nothing that could change her mind.
“I am truly sorry Sara, if I'd have been more careful this would never have happened but my life is here. And I gave to learn how to live like a normal human, in one time zone and one city again” she said solemnly. “I won't have access to this video call feature once I leave but I swear to you, I will speak to you every single day. And maybe once you've fixed time you could come back here and we could give this a shot".
Now Sara was the one with tears rolling down her cheeks, she had just offered Ava the opportunity to do the job she loved whilst building a life with her and it felt like she'd declined for personal reasons rather than professional.
“The licencing excuse is bullshit Ava, if you don't want to join us then just say it. For once I was putting someone else before myself but at least I won’t make that mistake again" Sara remarked stoically, even through the tears coating her cheeks.
“Sara wait--" was all Ava managed to say before the transmission was cut off by Sara.
The next few weeks were difficult for both of them. Sara found it difficult to get to sleep in a big bed all on her own and Ava realised how badly she needed a new mattress and a hot water bottle just to make her as comfortable as she was in Sara's company. Ava had tried to call Sara several times but was always met with the busy tone. On the third week apart Sara woke up and decided that she'd wallowed enough, so she took her feelings and put them into a box, then put that box as far away as possible in the drop ship of the Waverider.
She didn't think about Ava all day and was pleased with the strength and resilience she was showing in the face of what was effectively heartbreak. Sara was in the control room selecting an anachronism that the Legends could deal with next when she heard a familiar voice come from behind her.
“Thanks for cutting me off, jerk", Ava said.
Sara spun around ready to show her how angry she really was but seeing Ava stood there, bruises on her face, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and her casual clothes ruined by what had obviously been a pretty intense fight, all that anger faded into concern.
“Mind if I ugh-" Ava tumbled to the ground landing on her bottom and propping herself up with her hands “- take a seat" she chuckled.
Within seconds Sara was next to her on the floor, cupping her face to assess the injuries. “What the hell happened to you?” she asked desperately “and how did you even get here?” she continued.
Sara pulled her close and Ava leaned her head against Sara's chest so that she could muster some energy to explain.
“I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, Sara, and you weren't answering my calls so the only way I could reach you was to physically time jump to see you” she murmured.
Sara stroked her hair in an attempt to help her recover and catch her breath.
“- but" she continued “the bureau took my portal thingy so the only way to get it back was to steal one... hence the bruises and blood".
By this point Sara was already helping her up and walking her towards the med bay, arms wrapped tightly around Ava's waist and her other hand clinging on to Ava's hand which hung loosely over her shoulder.
Once she was in the chair and Gideon was working on her Sara spoke. “You could've been arrested today, or even worse you could've been killed! What were you thinking?” her tone was harsh but it was only because she was so worried.
“What else was I supposed to do? You were ignoring my calls” Ava said, sounding upset.
“I was not ignoring them. I was sending you the busy tone to show that I was pissed off, there's a difference" Sara retorted wittily.
“I did a lot of thinking and I realised something, I have always prioritised my job but without even realising it had become secondary to you. You were my priority Sara", after saying this Ava drew in a sharp breath like it had physically pained her to admit it.
Sara moved closer to the chair and raised her hand to stroke Ava's cheek, she rested it there whilst taking in what Ava had said.
Ava took Sara's hand and held it against her chest. “I realised that sure, travelling through time and space is cool, but Sara – I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone”, as she spoke a single tear fell down her cheek, but everything was okay now because Sara was there to catch it before it fell, and she always would be.
As Ava drifted off to sleep to help with her recovery Sara rested her forehead against Ava's and kissed her, it was a gentle kiss but it meant so much more than any kiss she had ever had before.