Chapter Text
Ava was tired, to say the least. She had been working hard for weeks on end, even sleeping at her office if she had to, all to win this case. A case that she eventually lost, all because the defendant was good-looking, and the judge and jury took pity on him. Stupid corrupt American justice system. Usually, Ava would throw herself back into her work when she lost a case as big as this, but staying at work was tough, what with her assistant (and half-friend), Gary constantly pestering her for advice about whatever dickhead who hadn’t called him back after he had gotten into bed with them. (Not that Ava was slut-shaming him. She just really did not need to hear about it).
So when her boss finally told her, in no uncertain terms, to just go home, she took the opportunity with open arms. So maybe she got Big Belly Burger on the way home, something she never eats except when she wants to cry (her last breakup saw her apartment filled with lots of empty paper fast-food bags). And maybe as soon as she got home, she went straight to her alcohol cabinet to open the crappiest wine she had so she could drown her sorrows in it. And maybe her hand slipped, and she accidentally turned the TV onto a reality show, one that she hates, but records anyway for days like these.
Just as Ava had settled into her bed with her Big Belly Burger in one hand and her red wine in the other, a notification came up on her phone for a text from an unknown number. Usually, Ava would just ignore the number, maybe even block them if she felt like it. But tonight, she wanted to take her mind off of the events of the day, and this seemed like a good opportunity for a distraction. After about a minutes deliberation, Ava threw caution to the wind and picked up her phone.
Unknown Number
21:42
zari i need ur advice
basically i met this rly cute girl and
im gna bring her back to my place but
you know what happened with Nyssa
and im not looking for anything
more but i dont wanna hurt this girls
feelings and shit
z, come on, this is important
Sorry, I think you have the wrong
number.
oh shit sorry
do u have any advice tho it’s kinda
urgent and i cant find my friend
Um… I don’t know. Maybe just try
telling this girl about how you feel?
are you asking me or telling me?
I don’t really know.
Look, I’m just really tired and
I’m not really in the mood to
give some random straight guy
advice, okay?
good thing im a bi woman, not a straight guy
im sara by the way
and you are…?
That’s none of your business.
21:49
ok i told her my intentions and im going home with her
thanks for the advice ;)
You’re welcome.
Ava smiled lightly, turned her phone off and put it on her nightstand. She wouldn’t admit it or let it show, but Ava had already become interested in Sara as soon as she got her message. She switched off the TV, put her wine away and got ready for bed. That night, Ava turned onto her side and let sleep take her, dreaming of new, enticing women.
————————————
Ava was brought out of her sleep by her alarm beeping loudly. She groaned as she turned it off and chugged the water and took the Advil on her nightstand when she felt her hangover hit her. It wasn’t the worst, but it was enough to put her in a bad mood.
She opted to skip her usual morning run, because of the dull pounding in her head, so she decided to take a long shower. She left her apartment earlier than she normally would, so she had time to go to her favourite coffee shop, The Waverider. She got in her car and started driving along the roads she had driven over almost every day for the past four years.
She hadn’t forgotten about the girl from last night, not at all. Quite the opposite actually. She couldn’t stop thinking about her. Sara. She thought about what she could look like, how she spoke and how she walked. How she smiled. No, Ava. Not again. This wouldn’t be the first time Ava let her imagination run wild about a girl, only to be hurt or sorely disappointed.
It was probably the first and last time she would’ve been texted by Sara. Ava knew that. She would just text her friend instead, Zari, if Ava remembers correctly. But what if she texted again? What if she’s thinking all the same thoughts about Ava? What if she’s thinking about how Ava looks, and talks, and walks?
Ava shook the ‘What if?’s away, having realised she had reached the door of the café, running mainly on muscle memory. She really needed coffee if she was going to forget this girl.
‘I’ll just have a black coffee, please,’ She said to the woman behind the counter.
She was a brunette, a little shorter than Ava, with green eyes and a cute smile. Exactly the type of woman Ava would usually date, or at the very least, flirt with.
But she just paid for her drink and waited at the counter, the emerald eyes not nearly enough to steal her thoughts away from the mystery woman. Or Sara, rather.
Ava knew she could just ask any of her cop friends to trace Sara’s number and find her. But it had only been a few hours since she first got the text, and she didn’t want to scare the other woman away and deprive herself of the company that she quietly ached for, lying alone in her large empty bed every night she found herself unable to sleep.
————————————
Ava had sat through all her meetings and had managed to finish all of her work before her lunch break was over. She had her phone closer to her than she would care to admit and had been checking her messages more than she ever had. She was currently staring at her texts with Sara, trying to decide whether or not she should just save her number. It wasn’t exactly like Sara would still want to text her. But she could just save it, just in case. Before she could stress about it anymore, she opened the contact details and typed in Sara’s name, clicking done just as her phone pinged.
Sara
13:27
heyyy
it’s me
sara
Hi
wow, no full stop, huh
are u getting careless?
Shut up.
Why did you text me, anyway?
im bored. thought i could come and bug u
u seem like you’d get annoyed easily
You’re not wrong
was that humour?
u were easier to break than i would’ve thought
I do have a sense of humour, you know
hmm, im not so sure about that
I guess you’re gonna have to find out
yourself then
i guess so
im gonna need to know your name
first though
It’s Ava
that’s cute
shit i gotta go, but ill talk to u soon, ava :)
Bye, Sara
‘Miss Sharpe, are you okay?’ She heard a voice say at her door. It was her assistant, Gary, who could be a little annoying, but Ava knew that he was useful in many situations. He was also one of Ava’s close friends, not that she would tell anybody. Having your assistant as one of your closest friends didn’t exactly scream ‘sociable person’ in Ava’s book, so much as it did ‘workaholic loner’.
‘Yes, Gary, I’m fine.’
‘Okay, it’s just, you’ve been staring at your phone for the past couple minutes and I’ve knocked on your door about five times by now, which is strange because you usually only-‘
‘Gary!’ Ava snapped.
‘Oh, sorry, was I rambling again?’ Ava just nodded and then raised her eyebrows at him in an attempt to prompt him to say what he had actually entered her office for. ‘Right, Miss Lance wanted me to tell you to call her.’ Ava smiled slightly at the mention of her friend’s name.
Laurel Lance was an Assistant to the District Attorney, and her and Ava were in the same grade back in junior high. Not to mention, she had helped Ava get her current job when she was in a worse than bad place after her ex left her, leaving Ava with a broken heart and trust issues. Not to mention Ava had to quit her job because her boss was making her life hell, one of the many downsides of your girlfriend being related to your boss. But Laurel ran in to her at a bar (literally, Ava was drunk), recognised her immediately, and helped her get her life back on track.
‘Okay Gary, thank you.’ She said as Gary was already halfway out the door to her office.
Ava picked up her work phone as soon as the door closed and dialled the number to her friend’s office.
‘Ava!’ She heard a cheerful voice say at the other end of the line
‘Laurel! How are you?’
‘I’m good. I’ve missed you like crazy.’
‘Yeah, I miss you too. But you’re an ADA! I’m so fucking proud of you.’
‘Ava Sharpe, swearing at work. These really are strange times.’ Ava giggled. ‘And giggling too.’ Laurel added.
‘Shut up, Lance. I don’t giggle.’
‘Yeah sure,’ Laurel said, not sounding convinced at all.
‘Anyway, not that I don’t love talking to you, but why’d you want me to call you?’
‘Okay, so you know my sister?’
‘Not really.’
‘Well, I’m hoping to change that.’
‘Laurel, what are you planning?’ The lawyer said suspiciously.
‘I just think that it’d be good for her to be in a relationship again. She hasn’t been with anyone long term for three years now. And neither have you. You know, since… her.’ Ava almost winced at the mere thought of her ex-girlfriend. ‘So… What do you say? Wanna go on a date with my sister?’
Ava would’ve said no, if what Laurel was saying wasn’t so true. It had been that long, and it wasn’t like she had anyone else in her life. Except Sara, a voice in her head told her. But Ava knew it wasn’t logical to say no to date because she had a crush on a woman who she barely knew.
‘Fuck it, I’m in.’
‘Great! I’ll have to ask her first of course.’
‘Sure.’
‘Alright well I have to go now, but we need to catch up. How’s lunch on Wednesday?’
‘Sounds good! Text me the details.’
‘Bye, Aves.’
‘Bye, Laur.’