Chapter Text
‘Please Sara?’ Nate pleaded with the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could fathom. ‘I just want to get my dad off my back about not having a girlfriend, and then I’ll be out of your hair.’
‘Fine. But only because I love your mom’s cookies and I want her recipe.’
‘And you love me.’
‘Whatever’
‘Ok, so I’ll pick you up on Monday at around four. Wear something cute, but make sure-‘ As Nate droned on about clothing, Sara was beginning to regret her decision to help her friend.
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‘Are you sure?’ Ava asked, for what must’ve been the hundredth time.
‘Yes Ava, don’t worry,’ Ray reassured her. ‘We can easily convince them we’re a couple. At least I can. I had a crush on you before we met remember?’ Ava let out a small chuckle as she reminisced.
‘How could I not? I told you I was gay and you got all ramble-y and weird, so I thought you were homophobic, but you were just in awe of meeting another queer person in our tiny conventional town.’ The lawyer said. ‘Hank will be so happy that I finally found a ‘nice husband to take care of me’.’
‘At your service!’ Ray grinned, as he exited his car to go around and hold the passenger door open with an over-exaggerated bow. Ava sighed heavily. I guess this is happening, she thought as she knocked on the door of her childhood home, with a big phone smile plastered on her face.
‘Ava! How lovely to see you! It seems like it has been an eternity. How’s that… friend of yours?’ Ava steeled herself as she was greeted with the sound of her homophobic aunt.
‘Actually, Susan, she was my girlfriend, and we broke up a while ago.’ Ava said, and relished in Susan’s disapproving glare.
’Nice to meet you, I’m Ray. Ava’s-‘ Ray glanced at Ava to double-check that she was sure about this and Ava gave a slight nod of approval. ‘-Ava’s boyfriend.’ Ray tried not to grimace at Susan’s smile, showing that she was clearly quite pleased with Ava’s choice in partner. Or rather, the fact that said partner was not a woman.
Ava quickly walked away, allowing Ray to follow her past Susan and into the modern living room, which was large, but still homely. Her eyes scanned the room to see who else had arrived. Her eyes settled on a beautiful blonde sitting next to her cousin. There’s no way Nate pulled someone like that. Ava berated herself for thinking like that, almost missing her (more tolerable) aunt and uncle rising to greet her and her supposed ‘boyfriend’.
‘Hi honey!’ Her aunt said cheerfully before engulfing her in a large hug.
‘Hi Dot, how are you? What've you guys been up to since I last saw you?’
‘I’m great!' Dot smiled warmly, before launching into what would be a long-winded speech. 'Well, we’ve been renovating the shed and Hank says that-‘
‘Who’s this?’ Ava heard a low voice coming from behind her. Lovely to meet you too, Hank.
‘Dot, Hank, this is Ray. My boyfriend.’ Ava could feel her uncle’s surprised look and her aunt’s sympathetic one, even without facing them.
‘Um- hi? I’m Ray Palmer, nice to meet you both.’ Ray said as he extended his hand towards Hank. Ava found it all too ‘60s black and white film’ for her taste. She slipped away while Hank was grilling Ray, seemingly elated with the arrival of his daughter’s supposed boyfriend, with Dot still confused, presumably because as far as she was aware, lesbians did not date men.
Ava all but sprinted into the open arms of her cousin, Nate. The two were very close, almost like siblings. After Ava's parents passed away, the Heywoods practically adopted her. Nate immediately treated her like a sister, and in return, she treated him like a brother. Nate was the most supportive one in her family after she came out, with his father ignoring it completely, and his mother coming around eventually. She was pulled back into the moment by a little ‘oof’ coming from her cousin’s mouth, and released him after he hugged back.
‘So should I be jealous of the girl you’re currently hugging or-‘ Sara trailed off as she met the eyes of one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. The girl just stared back, with a bashful smile and a slight pink tint to her cheeks. Sara immediately lost herself in the girl’s eyes, a seemingly perfect mix of grey and green, with a dash of blue fire in them.
‘Nope, not at all,’ Nate said, snapping both women out of their reverie. ‘Sara, this is my cousin/sister type thing, Ava Sharpe, and Ava, this is Sara Lance.’
‘Hi,’ Sara said, at a loss for words.
‘Hi,’ Ava echoed, the blush on her cheeks intensifying. The girls just stared at each other for a moment, their eyes locked together in a silent, unmoving dance.
‘Ok, I’m gonna get a drink. Want anything?’ Nate asked the women, clasping his hands together. When both Ava and Sara simply shook their heads, Nate left, completely and blissfully unaware of the moment he had witnessed between the two.
’So, Sara, what do you do?’ Ava asked.
‘I’m a dancer. I actually teach at Star City High School. You?’
‘I’m a civil rights lawyer.’ Ava replied. She paused for a moment before asking, ‘What’s a girl like you doing with my cousin?’
‘Well, we were friends for a while before we started going out. He charmed me right into a relationship.’
’That’s sort of strange... seeing as Nate’s gay.’ The lawyer smirked. Shit, Sara thought. ‘How ‘bout you tell me the real story?’
‘Okay. But not here.’
Ava nodded and led Sara up the stairs to her childhood bedroom. It was decorated much like the rest of the house, but one wall was grey, and there were lights strung around the walls. There were photos above the double bed in the centre of the room, pictures of a young Ava and various friends and family. Sara noticed the carefree smiles on her face as she examined the photos, before moving around the rest of the room, and eventually settling on the bed.
’So…’ Ava started, ‘Tell me the real story.’
‘Well, as you probably already figured out, Nate and I work together, with him teaching history, and me teaching dance and gym classes. We met through work, and we became close with a few other members of staff. The other staff call us ‘The Legends’. Sara rolled her eyes dramatically at the nickname, causing Ava to let out a giggle. Fuck, I don’t usually giggle. I sound like a schoolgirl with a crush. ‘And I knew Nate was gay already, even before he told us. You see, not a single person in our group isn’t part of the community, and we tend to gravitate towards each other.’
‘Yeah, I can back that one up.’
‘So you aren’t straight, then?’ Sara asked hopefully.
‘Not at all.’ Ava huffed at the thought of ever going out with a man.
‘And the guy you brought with you is…?’
‘That’s Ray. My friend. He’s bi. I guess we had a similar situation to yours, and he decided he would come with me for moral support, and so I don’t have to hear Hank going on about how I ‘just haven’t found the right man yet.’ I just need him off my back for a couple days, while we stay here.'
‘So, tell me about those pictures. I definitely want to know more about that one,’ Sara said amusedly, pointing to a photo of Ava in her prom dress and causing Ava to bury her head in her hand in an attempt to hide her growing blush.
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Ava and Sara hadn’t left each others side the whole evening. They were going downstairs to pick up some food, before Sara said, ‘Let me just check on the boys and see if they want anything.’
‘Sure’ Ava replied, as she descended the stairs, not being able to remove a certain smirk and two extremely distracting eyes from her mind.
Sara knocked on the door, but didn’t wait for an answer, and opened it to find Nate and Ray in a very compromising position. She quickly closed the door, before sprinting away quietly, so they didn’t hear her, and make the situation more awkward. She went up the stairs to the loft, before climbing up onto the roof, where Ava was sat on a beanbag, mesmerised by the view. Sara however, was more interested in the view directly in front of her, and she strode over to Ava before dramatically falling in a beanbag and chuckling, before picking up a plate of food.
‘Guess what I just saw.’
‘Hank being taught how to floss by my 9-year-old cousin?’
‘No. What? That’s oddly specific.’ Ava just shrugged, with a little grin on her face. ‘Anyway, I just walked in on-‘ Sara paused for dramatic effect, causing Ava to hit her lightly with a ‘Just tell me, idiot’.
‘I just walked in on your brother or cousin or whatever, my supposed ‘boyfriend’, making out with your friend, your supposed 'boyfriend', in his room.’
Ava’s eyes widened comically, before she burst into a fit of laughter, making Sara laugh along with her. ‘Shit, I’m so sorry you had to see that. I can't imagine having to see Nate making out with someone.’ Ava shuddered at the thought.
‘I once walked in on my sister and her boyfriend doing shit in the living room, and I did not sit on the couch for a good two months’
Ava giggled, and shuddered once again, from the breeze this time.
‘You cold?’ Sara asked, with a look of mostly concern in her eyes, but something else that Ava was too scared to try and name.
‘A little,’ The lawyer admitted. Sara shifted her beanbag closer to Ava’s, before taking off her jacket and draping it over the two of them. Ava tensed at being in close proximity with the dancer, and she could now clearly see her defined muscles through her tight turtleneck.
‘Are you checking me out?’ The dancer teased.
‘No, shut up and eat.’ Ava said, hoping her blush wasn’t visible under the stars.
‘Oh really, cause if you were, I would’ve kissed you.’
‘You would?’
‘Guess we’ll never know.’
‘Shut up.’
‘Make me.’ The dancer said before turning to face Ava, and slowly leaning closer, giving Ava enough of a chance to move away if she wanted to. Instead of moving away, Ava closed the gap, and as soon as their lips brushed together, it felt like they'd been doing this for years. The kiss started off slow, but after they came up for air, Sara threaded her hands into the lawyer’s hair, and Ava’s hands found Sara’s waist. Sara tentatively ran her tongue across the lawyer’s lower lip, requesting entrance. Ava’s mouth immediately fell open, and Sara slowly licked into it, with Ava’s tongue meeting hers. The kiss quickly became heated, with Sara sporadically nipping Ava’s lip, then soothing the spot she'd bit with her tongue. Ava reached behind the dancer, and effortlessly pulled her onto her lap, still not breaking the kiss.
They both broke away, panting heavily, Ava’s breath mixing with Sara’s, with their foreheads rested against each other, neither woman wanting to break contact.
‘Wow.’ The dancer simply said.
‘Yeah. I agree.’
‘I think we should maybe talk to the guys about this, maybe you and Nate could swap partners, and see if they notice.’
‘I’m fairly sure they would.’ Ava grinned. ‘But it’s a good idea.’
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‘Wait a minute. My cousin kissed my girlfriend?’ Nate whispered, surprised.
’She’s not your girlfriend, you’re gay. And you made out with Ray.’
Nate and Ray both sucked in a breath. ‘Shit, how did you know that?’ Nate asked, as realisation dawned on Ray’s face.
‘I knew I heard the door open!’ He exclaimed.
‘Ok, so we have a proposal.’ Sara said, trying to get the conversation back on track. She told the boys their plan before they all nodded and Ava and Sara headed back to Ava’s bedroom, leaving Ray and Nate in Nate’s. Sara thought it was strange that Dot didn’t let any of the couples room together, but it seemed that the woman had predicted the outcome of this evening before any of the others did.
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The two women were lying in Ava's childhood bed, wrapped up in each other. Sara had her head buried in Ava’s neck, with her leg draping over Ava’s waist. Ava's arm was curled around the smaller woman, and was breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo while rubbing soft circles on her back.
‘I could get used to this.’ Sara said, breaking the soft silence.
‘Yeah. Me too.’
‘It’s not often I do this.’ Sara wasn’t lying. She’s only had about three real relationships that didn’t end with her sneaking out in the middle of the night.
‘Me neither. But then again, it’s not often a beautiful girl walks into my house pretending to be my gay cousin’s girlfriend.’
‘Smooth,’ Sara said with a little chuckle, and gave Ava a light kiss on the nose. She snuggled closer into Ava’s chest, letting the regularity of Ava’s heartbeats relax her as she slowly drifted off to sleep.