Work Text:
“Do you know that those two actors who are my parents -- I keep a picture of them on my desk in my office just so I can try to feel a little bit normal.”
I feel my heart clench at that statement. She deserves better. I know that I can’t do anything to Rip now that he is gone. I can’t deny that his sacrifice meant a lot to the Legends. However, he had done so much in the past that are far too questionable, to say the least. Recruiting Ava from the future, making her an anachronism, hiding the truth from her, and borderline manipulating her. Sometimes I just want to bring him back to life just to beat him up for everything he had done to Ava.
Ava is so pure and innocent to the world. Don’t get me wrong. She’s pretty experienced in other things… The things she does with her -- But that’s not the point. The point is I will do anything and everything in my power just to help Ava in any way possible. I want to help her move forward. To find herself.
Despite these nagging feelings, I know that I have to act normal in front of Ava. I try to give her the most comforting smile.
“Yeah, that is anything but normal.”
“Yeah.”
I see Ava trying her best to stay positive. She purses her lips while smiling. Despite that, I can see it in her eyes that she wasn’t completely fine. The creases on her forehead are also apparent, which tells me that she’s still bothered by her situation..
As much as I wanted to keep talking with her and to comfort her, I couldn’t because we hear Ray and John give us an update on the monster we were trying to catch. They ID’d the monster as a shtriga. I do my best in keeping my focus on the mission. But in the back of my mind, a plan starts to form. But for now, I will give her a taste of the childhood she deserves… Even if we are merely acting as baits for the shtriga.
“What if Constantine’s potion doesn’t work on me?”
“There’s only one way to find out. And if it does, I’ll be with you every step of the way. Show you the ropes. Teach you how to be a kid.”
“Pinky swear?”
I would do anything for her just to see that cute, hopeful smile on her beautiful face.
“Pinky swear.”
~
As John’s potion wears off, I feel her soft lips on mine. I feel her smile against my lips and I can’t help but smile as well. I’m happy that we got to make memories together in one of my favorite places during my childhood. Even if it was just for a day.
“Thank you for this day, babe.”
Ava’s eyes have always been beautiful. But now I see an extra glimmer that makes her that much more beautiful.
“Always.”
I send her a reassuring smile. I take her hands and put a kiss on each of them. Even in the darkness, I see a tinge of blush spread across her cheeks. In an attempt to hide her reaction, Ava jokingly rolls her eyes.
“You and your silly antics.”
She pulls away one of her hands to slap my shoulder. She, then, gently tugs on my hand and begins to lead us back to the Waverider.
“Let’s just go back to the ship. I need to change out of this horrendous outfit. Other Time Bureau agents can’t see me in this. They’ll probably never respect me ever again.”
I hear the humor in her voice and I can’t help but laugh at her statement.
“I didn’t know that you were such a drama queen.”
Ava stops in her tracks and faces me. Her eyebrows scrunched while squinting her eyes.
“I am not a drama queen.”
She tries to keep a straight face, but I can already see a hint of her smile start to emerge.
“Whatever you say babe.”
Ava once again jokingly rolls her eyes, but says nothing. Instead she lets out a giggle. A GIGGLE. As she continues tugging me back to the Waverider.
I know that she feels much lighter after this day. I know there is still a part of her holding her back. I have a good idea what it is. I just need something from Mick before I push through with my plan… Right after dealing with Charlie and John back in the ship.
~
“Sara? Where have you been?”
After dealing with the aftermath of the shtriga mission, I made Gideon park near a forest near Star City. Then, I used the jumpship to get to my next destination; leaving Ray in-charge of the ship, much to the science nerd’s delight.
I turn around and I see Ava back in one of her Time Bureau polyblend suits. I ignore her inquiry. I’d rather show that tell her what I’ve been up to for the past hour.
“You’re going back to work?”
“I’m gonna pretend that you ignored my question and humor your innocent act. You’re lucky that I love you.”
Ava approaches me and wraps her arms around me from the back. She snuggles on my shoulder. I feel her inhaling my scent. I release a sigh of content.
“I love you too, babe.”
“I was about to head back to work but I figured I’d wait for you to come back to the ship.”
I smirked at that statement. I couldn’t help but feel giddy. I turn around to face her while she lets her hands rest on my waist. I put my arms around her neck while my hands start to mindlessly caress her silky soft hair.
“Awww. Ava Sharpe. When did you become so sweet, waiting for your girlfriend to come back home.”
Ava rolls her eyes for the nth time this day. She lets go of our comfortable cocoon and she stands up straight.
“Alright. As much as I love this banter going on, if you don’t have anything else better to do, I would have to head back to work.”
I give her an exaggerated pout.
“Babeeeee.”
Ava narrowed her eyes and gave me a “what-are-you-up-to” look. I just smile as I take her hand.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“Fine. I’ll humor you. You’re lucky we don’t have much going on right now.”
Ava silently follows me. I notice her confusion when she realized that I was leading her out of the Waverider, but she stays silent. Before exiting the ship, I took the basket that I prepared a few minutes ago. We continue to walk a few meters away from the Waverider. While walking I looked at her face and I can’t help but admire her beauty.
“What?”
I didn’t notice that I have been staring at her face far too long to be caught by her. I shake my head and smile.
“Nothing. Just admiring the view.”
I see her start to blush. Ava smiles widely and uses her other hand to playfully pinch my nose.
“Ouch!”
“That’s what you get for being a smart ass.”
“Whatever. You love me.”
“Yeah. I do.”
Ava stares at me lovingly. Now, it’s my turn to blush.
“Now you’re speechless. Where are we going anyway?”
I snap out of my trance and realize that we were just a few more meters away from our destination.
“We’re near.”
Silence enveloped us, but it wasn’t at all awkward. It was comfortable. I feel the cool breeze blowing against my skin, in perfect contrast to the warm hand of my girlfriend. I see the stack of wood that I asked Mick to get. I stop and face Ava.
“We’re here.”
“Here, where?”
Ava curiously looks around. Confusion clouding her face as she sees nothing else but the wood. I put down the bag and reveal what was inside.
“Sara, what is Mick’s gun doing here?”
“Before I explain the function of this gun in this situation, I’d like to first explain why I even brought you out here in the first place. Let’s sit down first.”
I took out a blanket that I asked Gideon to fabricate for me a while ago. I sat down and reach my hand out to Ava. She took my hand and tentatively sat in front of me. I take her other hand and I gazed into her eyes to show her how serious I am about her and our life together.
“Ava…”
“You’re not gonna propose are you?”
Her eyes widen comically. I can’t help but laugh at her as I shake my head.
“No. No. Not yet, anyway.”
I smile sheepishly. Ava lets out a sigh of relief.
“You got me there. Just get to the point, please. You’re making me nervous.”
I chuckled at her remark.
“It’s nothing bad. I promise. Anyways. First of all, I want to remind you how much you mean to me. And I want you to know that I love you with all of my heart.”
I say these things as sincerely as possible. A warm smile appears on Ava’s face and my heart melts. I urge myself to keep talking.
“I actually took you here because of that. It really pains me to see you so bothered by the actions that Rip chose to take which directly affects you and your life. When you said that you still kept your actor parents’ picture on your desk, I knew I wanted to change that. I needed to. Because I love you too much to let yourself feel like you need them to feel some sense of normalcy.”
I feel Ava squeeze my hands a bit tighter and her eyes start to glaze over with tears. I let go of one of her hands to wipe the stray tear on her cheek.
“You don’t need them Ava. I want to be your new normal. Granted, the Legends aren’t exactly normal. I mean… I’ve died more times than I can imagine. We have a guy that turns to steel, a temperamental pyromaniac thief, a guy that shrinks, a magician, a totem bearer, and recently, a shapeshifter. And yes… Our job is travelling through time and saving the universe with occasional screw-ups.”
Ava lets out a watery laugh at that. And I can’t help but laugh along.
“We aren’t perfect. And we may not be very normal. But it’s as normal as you can get in our line of work. And most importantly, they are family. They are my family. And they are yours as well. Ava Sharpe, I want you to be my normal. And if you would let me… I want to be your normal as well. Let go of the past and let’s face our new normal together.”
Ava nods happily.
“Yes. It would be my honor. I love you, babe. Thank you.”
I kiss her forehead and pull her into a hug. After we break apart, I wipe away the tears on her face. She smiles cheekily as I hold her in my hands.
“Wait. What was Mick’s gun for?”
“Oh right. I almost forgot.”
I laugh cause I almost forgot about that. I bring out Mick’s gun and aimed it at the stack of wood.I pulled the trigger lightly, creating a campfire. I hear Ava chuckle beside me.
“And you call me a drama queen.”
“The occasion called for dramatics. Anyways, I did not light this up just for a campfire… We are gonna use this to completely let go of your past.”
“What do you mean?”
I bring out the item which took up most of my preparation time.
“My actor parents’ picture? Sara! You stole this from my desk?”
“I got it because I wanted to replace it.”
“So… You stole it.”
“Eh. Po-tay-to. Po-tah-to.”
“Why did you even have to get it? And replace it with what?”
“Well… You don’t need that anymore. As I said, I want to be your normal. I want the Legends to be your normal. So instead of those actors’ picture… I suggest you put this instead… I really did like you in that cowboy costume.”
I hand Ava our picture with the Legends which was taken after we defeated Mallus.
“This is beautiful, babe. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, babe. Now, we can get rid of this.”
I point at the picture with the actor parents on it.
“So that’s what the fire was for.”
“It’s a satisfying way to close a chapter.”
Ava takes one last look at the picture of her actor parents. Finally saying goodbye to her past. She tosses the picture to the fire. We watch as the picture slowly fades and turns into ash. We spend a few more moments in front of the campfire. Enjoying each other’s comforting presence. Knowing that whatever tomorrow brings us, we will go through it together.
For the first time, I have found someone who I want to be with for a very long time. Long enough for her to be my normal.